Written by Natasha• Dezembro 10, 2018• 9:24 pm• Food • Views: 0

Black food has much more to offer than charcoal!

After the Black Friday, how about enjoying black food? It appeared on social media with all the force and conquered its place in the menus worldwide.

In South Korea, there is a holiday in honor of black food, April 14, which marks the day of the singles in which supporters dress in black and consume black food. Brazil has imported the American Black Friday, which is slowly establishing itself after years of fraud complaints. After the blue foods (such as blue wine and blue corn popcorn), how about enjoying the black wave? Let’s move on to another growing topic: black food.

Pizza with charcoal base

For years the pasta with squid ink has been featured on menus around the world, but charcoal is the star of today’s black food. At the height of Instagram‘s popularity, it’s not enough to post beautiful food, you have to get attention. Want a more beautiful way of drawing attention to your dish than using and abusing of colors?

Traditional squid ink colored pasta

Is it safe? Is it healthy?

Powdered activated charcoal

Activated charcoal is made usually with wood heated at high temperatures until the charcoal is formed which is then oxidized (which is called the “activation” process). This makes the surface of the porous charcoal like a sponge, which can absorb various substances, so it is used in water filtration systems, for example.

It is believed that the consumption of activated charcoal is healthy because it is used in hospitals to treat overdoses and poisonings. However, there is no scientific evidence of any teeth whitening effect, flatulence reducer and much less detox effect.

Worse, the intake of charcoal can further inhibit the absorption of drugs and vitamins that are ingested simultaneously. And if you had hoped to cure the hangover with charcoal, forget it, it has no affinity for alcohol. The effects of charcoal are limited to the intestinal tract, ie, do not detoxify your body (for this you have liver and kidneys, they detoxify your body!).

Some attempts fail: those pieces of fried breaded fish look, well … you may have already realized what they look like!

Are the coal days counted?

In New York it was banned, the Health Department banned its use in foods. The city’s restaurant owners have protested, but it is not known whether the probation will last long.

Cheerful protest from an ice cream parlor in New York asking for the return of his coconut ash ice cream.

While the ban does not reach elsewhere, in Indonesia, for example, “Kopi Joss” is served with a charcoal … a burning charcoal!

alimentos pretos

In Brazil Bob’s chain launched a black ice cream in honor of Black Friday, but they do not reveal what gives the product a black color.

Black ice cream specially developed for the Black Friday at Bob’s

Except for coal, what are the alternatives to black foods?

If you do not want to consume charcoal, but do not give up having your version of gothic food, there are alternatives. The squid ink I mention at the beginning of the article is one of them, it is versatile and can be found in markets and emporiums.

Other less popular options are black garlic, which is also the basic ingredient of this alternative to coffee:

Coffee? No, black garlic.

There is the black tomato:

Black Tomato Spirit, a gin made from black tomatos sea water drops.

Black sesame seed can be crushed and used in powder as a dye to give a black touch to the dishes. Of course, the most common are still coffee and cocoa, which, while not completely black, can darken any preparation.

Black sesame paste

The use of coal is controversial and there is a lack of studies as to its effect and in what quantities it can be beneficial or not. The fact is that it will certainly continue to be used in the industry … and on your barbecue. So enjoy the black foods!