Stop Eating Too Many Youtiao Because It is Toxic

[Johnrambo]

They add alum to make it crispy when they make Youtiao…alum is toxic, dunt eat too much.

 

[Johnrambo]

 

[blackmondy]

Only the tiong version is toxic.

 

[Johnrambo]

how you so sure SG version not toxic?

 

[blackmondy]

Because every fucking thing is fucking toxic in fucking China.

 

[zhihau]

can eat, don’t waste

 

[UltimaOnline]

Youtiao with a twist​

JUNE 26, 2014PUBLISHED AT 3:00 AM

The youtiao, a traditional breakfast food, is a common sight at morning markets.
In Cantonese, youtiao goes by the curious name of yau char kwai, or "oil fried devil". Perhaps it's because the long dough fritters look like the skeletal remains of human limbs.

More from AsiaOneRead the condensed version of this story, and other top stories with NewsLite.
It is also known as Chinese crullers, Chinese baguette/ficelle, fried breadsticks, fried twisted dough, and rope or chopstick cake. The Malays call it cakoi, and enjoy the saltish fried bread dipped into sweetened kopi O.

Youtiao is one of those things that most of us are never really motivated to learn how to make.
But it is part of our culinary heritage and we should all know how to make it.
Traditionally, youtiao is prepared using a cocktail of chemicals - something called alum, and ammonium bicarbonate - to give it its characteristic crust and airy texture.

Ammonia has an evil, pungent smell - perhaps it was from this that the devil in the name came about - and it is classified as a hazardous substance as it can affect you when breathed in, irritating the nose and respiratory system, and skin and eyes.
In the kitchen, it is used as a leavening agent to make dough rise and give it a crisp texture. Before the days of baking powder and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), ammonium bicarbonate (baking ammonia) was used as a rising agent. The alkaline substance also occurs naturally in the body and it is gotten rid of through urination.
In small quantities, it is deemed harmless and the tiny amount needed to make youtiao is safe. (The FDA allows up to 3 per cent in baked goods.) While it has been linked to cancer and flu treatment, it isn't necessarily healthy, nor unhealthy.
And is alum safe for consumption? The alum used to give food a crunchy texture is potassium alum, and the type used in baking powder is sodium aluminium sulfate. While it is approved as a food additive by the FDA, it is toxic in large doses. Aluminium can cause the degeneration of the nervous system and lead to an increased risk of certain cancers and Alzheimer's Disease.
It is always a good practice to reduce reliance on dodgy chemicals to improve food texture. So you may be motivated to make your own youtiao following the recipe here which uses baking powder and baking soda as rising agents.
"The air bubbles made by baking soda are smaller, but sufficient," says culinary instructor and cookbook author Catherine Lau. "This recipe does make a crispy youtiao, but the crunch does not last as long as youtiao made using alum."
And oh, there really is an old devil that lives in the cruller - two devils, in fact. Legend has it that the youtiao was created when a group of denizens who were venting their anger against a couple of traitors created dough effigies of them (made with nasty ingredients like alum and ammonium) and extracted social justice by frying them in hot oil. They just didn't reckon on liking the taste so much.


https://www.asiaone.com/youtiao-twist-0

 

[UltimaOnline]

In the Victorian era, alum was used along with other substances like plaster of Paris to adulterate certain food products, particularly bread. It was used to make lower-grade flour appear whiter, allowing the producers to spend less on whiter flour. Because it retains water, it would make the bread heavier, meaning that merchants could charge more for it in their shops. The amount of alum present in each loaf of bread could reach levels that would be toxic to humans and cause chronic diarrhea, which could lead to death in young children.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum#Uses

https://historycollection.com/10-ways-victorians-unwittingly-poisoned-every-single-day/6/

 

[The Crow]

Too much oily food is always unhealthy, not only 油条 ...

 

[laksaboy]

Only the tiong version is toxic.

Tiong anything is usually toxic.

Want to hear a joke? China food safety standards.

 

[syed putra]

Too much oily food is always unhealthy, not only 油条 ...

Nonsense. I love banana fritters.
You can consum youtiao with soup.or curry.

 

[glockman]

Shit! There goes my breakfast staple. What can I dunk in my kopi o kosong or tau huay chwee now?

 

[Rogue Trader]

Fried dough is one of the most unhealthy food you can eat. Like prata and other shit. Zero nutrients but high in carbs and unhealthy oils

 

[Pinkieslut]

Nonsense. Toxic how come PRC Piak Piak so many people?