Ah,
Pringles. One of the college foodgroups, along with Ramen, soda, and
Swedish Fish. But of what, exactly, are these crunchy wonders comprised? And why do they have such unusual chip-viscosity?
Facts according to the pretty little 50gram (1 3/4 oz) can in front of me:
Ingredients! Dried potatoes, vegetable oil (contains one or more of the following: corn oil, cottonseed oil, and/or sunflower oil), malodextrin (from corn), and dextrose (from corn)
Hmn. The Latin prefix 'mal' means 'bad', right? So 'mal'dextrin...hmn...must be some bad corn.
This contents of the happy little can leave the consumer with an extra 290 calories, 180 from fat. Altogether there are twenty grams of fat (remember, the 'net weight' is only 50 grams), five of these saturated. No cholesterol! Yippee! 330 mg of sodium - not bad compared to Ramen. 26g carbs. 2 grams protein and 'dietary fiber', 8% vitamin C (?), and 2% iron. And all of this based on a 2,000 calorie diet....
So let's see. 20+26+2+2 = 50. Very well. In other words, 40% of my Pringles are fat. Yum.
Now don't get me wrong - I love Pringles. I think Pringles are great. And to all you people at Procter & Gamble, in Cincinnati Ohio, good job. Thank you for making your cans out of recycled material. I really appreciate it. I couldn't justify eating them otherwise. "Quiet, dieticians! They're recyclable!"
To eat or not to eat?
Thoughts of a salty mind in a greasy season.