Charcoal food may be trending, but is it tasty?
Snaps of dramatic black dishes made with a sprinkling of edible veg charcoal powder are flooding the internet. Hilary Biller taste tests the trend
When SA's top food stylist Maranda Engelbrecht used charcoal powder in a food feature, and the Fresh Earth Food Store in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, added a charcoal hamburger to its menu, I was intrigued to find out more.
WHAT IS ACTIVATED CHARCOAL?
"Activated charcoal is not the stuff you use in your braai," wrote cookbook author Daniel Jardim in a recent Sunday Times Lifestyle article. "It's a purified form of charcoal that's made from coal treated at high temperatures."
WHY IS IT TRENDING?
Although activated charcoal has long been used medicinally to treat flatulence and upset tummies, it's recent spike in popularity is as a detox aid. The dramatic colour it imparts to food has inspired chefs to play around with it in the kitchen too.
Matthew Ballenden, nutritional chef and owner of Fresh Earth Food Store, cautions that although magical detoxing properties are attributed to activated charcoal, the charcoal, once ingested, is unable to differentiate between toxins and nutrients and the body will not absorb all the good nutrition when charcoal is part of the meal.
It can also be very constipating, so take care not to overdo it.WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?
I decided my fail-safe rolled pavlova recipe would be the first test case, and so I added some vegetable charcoal powder to the mix.
The contrast between the black meringue and the cream was, in a word, startling.
Not sure about the taste, though: it was just like biting into a lump of crispy coal.TASTE FOR YOURSELF
ROLLED CHARCOAL PAVLOVA
Serves: 10
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
6 extra-large egg whites
5ml (1 tsp) white vinegar
350g ( 1 ¾ cups) caster sugar
90ml (6 tbsp) vegetable charcoal powder (leave it out for a plain pavlova, replacing it with 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract)
Decoration:
250ml (1 cup) cream, whipped
A handful of strawberriesMethod:..
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