What is "Processed Food"?

CoachReddy

You can't buy whole oats. You can buy steel cut, rolled, etc. They've all been harvested and then mechanically processed to remove the indigestible/inedible parts, and then dried. Pretty much everything you can buy in a box or jar has been processed.

Oy. That's fine with me.

And it should be. "Processed" doesn't mean "bad" even though people keep wanting to use it that way.

Processing raw foods makes them easier to transport, store, display, and sell. It significantly reduces loss due to damage and spoilage. You can also process raw foods that people would not buy (because they don't look good/are bruised/etc) or could not use at home (because they lack the equipment necessary to make it edible/palatable), thus increasing raw yields. That's why processed food is generally cheaper.

processed doesn't inherently mean bad, but as we discussed pages ago, there are degrees of processing. the more processed, generally speaking, the less nutritious it is for you. it's a gradient.

holothuroidea

Yep. I could get whole oats at the local hippy grocery store if I wanted to. I've seen them there in the bulk bins.

I don't know anyone who's not a horse that would want to eat it, though.

jonnythan

You can't buy whole oats. You can buy steel cut, rolled, etc. They've all been harvested and then mechanically processed to remove the indigestible/inedible parts, and then dried. Pretty much everything you can buy in a box or jar has been processed.

Yes, you can buy whole oats.

http://www.google.com/shopping/product/13266731642685331879?q=whole oats&safe=active&bav=on.2,or.&bvm=bv.45580626,d.eWU&biw=1280&bih=968&wrapid=tlif136682057745221&sa=X&ei=4QZ4UeHwHYbq8wSAvYGIDw&ved=0CIMBEPMCMAI

That's animal feed. It doesn't come in a cardboard tube on the grocery store shelves. I guess I should have said "you can't buy whole oats in the grocery store."

They have whole oats, whole barley, and whole red winter wheat at one of the local hipster groceries near me, as well as at one of the Winco Foods near me. Winco has it bulk, the hipsters have it in old timey looking boxes.

And it's probably sold in bulk, not in cardboard tubes.

EmmaKarney

Food that contain synthetically produced additives that are designed to artificially enhance a food's flavour, colour or texture.

EmmaKarney

Sorry, but picking IS a process. Just like chopping carrots with my food PROCESSOR, is processing carrots.

But the end result is still carrots.

Not carrots, orange dye and sugar.

bigdgeek

JMHO, to me a 'processed' food is a food that is shelf-stable at room temperature, i.e. anything that comes in a can, a box, or a jar. Includes any frozen food where the ingredients contain anything except that specific frozen food, i.e. a bag of frozen broccoli florets to me is not processed but a bag of frozen broccoli florets with cheese sauce is.