Is Princess still using tran-fat in their baked goods?

[Loreni]

Does anyone know?

[ar1950]

Does anyone know?

 

Not sure about the transfat, but just off the Ruby where I did the ship's tour and we saw a ton of unsalted butter in the bakery area. :D

[Loreni]

Not sure about the transfat, but just off the Ruby where I did the ship's tour and we saw a ton of unsalted butter in the bakery area. :D

 

Butter is good! I had a croissant at the IC and it wasn't very crisp or flakey. It was good, but soft all the way through. I wonder if it is made with butter or transfat. I also wonder if many of their layer cakes are sponge cake and whipped cream. Sponge cake is cheaper to make than butter cake. Had a blueberry apple pie at HC and inside there were thin apple slices, but no blueberries, just pale bluish purple jelly glop...maybe blueberry juice, water, and cornstarch. I would rather have a bit less variety but higher quality treats. I am glad sweet and nutritious fruit is always available.

[Redwing55]

I would think butter is still a staple in a lot of recipes, but not sure on baked goods where "fat" is used. I admit that since my bypass I've been pretty obsessed with watching trans-fat... do my best to avoid it. I know I have it in some selections from time to time, but they are conscious decisions on my part.

 

With so many choices typically available on the cruise, I wish there would be a place to find out what is in a lot of these choices. So many times I'm flipping a coin as to what I eat on the ships. If I knew one is healthier, I'd surely go that way..... here's hoping for some more info! Note- I'm not hoping to see these numbers on the menu- just have it so that if one wants to find it, they can.

 

I gotta believe that any cheesecake is a no-no though.

[VibeGuy]

I am pretty sure I recall seeing "ZT" products when I've toured the baking galley areas - these are products that are zero trans per serving, so even at a couple of "servings", you would still be below two grams.

 

I notice a lot of actual butter being used in Princess baking in terms of the laminated doughs.

[VibeGuy]

I gotta believe that any cheesecake is a no-no though.

 

Surprisingly, the only possible source of man made trans- fat in cheesecake would be the crust if it were made with partially-hydrogenated oils (such as in very old-school margarine formulas). Cream cheese can have small amounts of two particular trans- fats that form in the gut of grass-fed ruminants like cows, but they have not been linked to cardiovascular risks. This, while loaded with fat, including saturated fat, it's the least likely of the desserts to contain trans- fats.

 

The ones I would watch out for are puff pastry, pie crusts and cookies. They're the most likely to contain shortening, and shortening/margarine (for baking, not vegetable oil spreads sold next to the butter) with trans- are still available from foodservice distributors.

 

Carnival has been trans- free for some time now; I vaguely suspect the other brands in the corporate stable may have quietly joined them.

[FritzG]

Butter is good! I had a croissant at the IC and it wasn't very crisp or flakey. It was good, but soft all the way through. I wonder if it is made with butter or transfat. I also wonder if many of their layer cakes are sponge cake and whipped cream. Sponge cake is cheaper to make than butter cake. Had a blueberry apple pie at HC and inside there were thin apple slices, but no blueberries, just pale bluish purple jelly glop...maybe blueberry juice, water, and cornstarch. I would rather have a bit less variety but higher quality treats. I am glad sweet and nutritious fruit is always available.

 

Agree!!! I used to love the croissants and Danish, but a couple of years ago they stopped using real butter in them. Now they taste like frozen grocery store pastries. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be looking for quality bakeries ashore to get real butter croissants to bring back to the ship. In August we'll be taking a Baltic/ta, and we'll be in Copenhagen twice. We'll be bringing a big bag of bakery onboard both times.

[Redwing55]

Surprisingly, the only possible source of man made trans- fat in cheesecake would be the crust if it were made with partially-hydrogenated oils (such as in very old-school margarine formulas). Cream cheese can have small amounts of two particular trans- fats that form in the gut of grass-fed ruminants like cows, but they have not been linked to cardiovascular risks. This, while loaded with fat, including saturated fat, it's the least likely of the desserts to contain trans- fats.

 

The ones I would watch out for are puff pastry, pie crusts and cookies. They're the most likely to contain shortening, and shortening/margarine (for baking, not vegetable oil spreads sold next to the butter) with trans- are still available from foodservice distributors.

 

Carnival has been trans- free for some time now; I vaguely suspect the other brands in the corporate stable may have quietly joined them.

 

Good point on Cheesecake... though they are high in SatFats(which I try to limit though not eliminate.) I did recall reading about natural vs manmade trans fats. Thanks for that reminder!

 

And it would be great if you're correct about the rest of CCL going Tfat free.

[Luvmyrotti]

The top source of trans fat in most baked goods is the use of Crisco shortening-like products. These are used in a lot of commercial baking because they tend to result in a more "stable' product that can be stored longer with a longer shelf-life. Given that there is constant baking going on in a cruise ship galley, this is less of a need/concern for the pastry chef and makes it just as easy to use butter as opposed to shortening. Hopefully this is a route they are going. This year I'm going to try to do the cooking demonstration and galley tour and try to ask about this, as I really try to limit my trans fats. Give me saturated fat any day over trans fat!