The charm of snail powder lies in its unique taste and aroma, or stink. And this "stink" comes from sour bamboo shoots .
Sour bamboo shoots are called "the soul of snail powder", which attracts a large number of fans with its unique taste. However, recently, some self-media sharply pointed out that it has “low nutritional value”, “much harmful substances such as carcinogens ”, and “essentially regarded as junk food left over from the poor era to satisfy cravings”.
From the perspective of nutritional composition, the main content of sour bamboo shoots is basically water, sugar, salt, oil, and calories are very low, and no relevant evidence has been found to prove that the sour bamboo shoots contain harmful substances such as purine and nitrite. With high content, it is unfair to call it "junk food". In the traditional production process of
, bamboo shoots are naturally fermented in water with a certain amount of salt added to make sour bamboo shoots.
During the fermentation process, a large amount of protein is decomposed to release amino acids, and a large amount of sugar is converted into organic acid . Amino acids, organic acids, sugars and other components are further transformed, and reacts , which will generate a variety of aldehydes, acids, phenols, esters, alcohols and other substances. Among them, the hydrogen sulfide released by the decomposition of cysteine , and the skatole converted into by the decomposition of tryptophan, finally constitute the unique odor of sour bamboo shoots.
According to the data, it is found that there are few studies on the nutrients in sour bamboo shoots. A master's thesis of of Guangxi University has analyzed the main nutrients of sour bamboo shoots, which may provide reference:
Source: Zhu Zhaohua.Sour Nutrient composition detection of bamboo shoots and research on main flavor substances
Photo source:Zhu Zhaohua. Nutrient composition detection of sour bamboo shoots and research on main flavor substances
Compared with the corresponding raw material moso bamboo shoots, the loss of more than half during the fermentation process protein and sugar, while dietary fiber did not change much. It is worth noting that the sodium content is only 53 mg/100 grams, which is equivalent to the sodium content of pure milk , and it is not "high salt" at all.
From the perspective of nutritional composition, sour bamboo shoots are a kind of food with very low solid content, extremely high water content, low sodium, low sugar, no fat and low calorie. In terms of nutrient content per unit weight of food, it can also be said to be "low nutritional value". However, it would be unfair to call it "junk food" when you consider that it's mostly water and is low in sugar, salt, oil, and calories.
In general, vegetables may have nitrates converted to nitrites during fermentation, which is often the source of the statement "sauerkraut contains carcinogens".
However, in the fermentation process, this conversion reaction only takes place in the early stage. If the fermentation time is long enough, the miscellaneous bacteria that converts nitrate will be inhibited and eliminated, and the nitrite will also be decomposed, and the final residual content is not high.
Natural fermentation is a very complex reaction. As for whether other carcinogens will be produced, it can only be said that it is "theoretically possible", but the actual situation still needs to be explained by data.
Generally speaking, there are only a few sour bamboo shoots in a bowl of snail noodles, which is acceptable to the human body.
However, although snail noodles are delicious, don't be greedy.
