A Meatball Recipe

                              A Meatball Recipe

Late last night, under the influence of a single glass of red wine, I forced myself up from the couch and into the kitchen. The cupboard was bare but for a cupcake size container of Chef Boyardee Mini-Bites.

Full disclosure: I didn't actually purchase the Mini-Bites (never!). They were leftover from a grandchild's visit. FYI: The subtext of "Mini-Bites," is Spaghetti Rings & Meatballs.

I popped the contents into the microwave and 60 seconds later proceeded to down the whole thing - without leaving the kitchen counter.

The following day, I felt compelled to check the ingredients for the meatballs. I confess I feared the worst.

Here are the ingredients (most prevalent items are listed first):

It starts with beef and pork. OK so far, except for me. I claim to be a vegetarian.

I blame the wine.

Then there's water, crakermeal, a few vitamins (niacin, iron and thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid) added to counter anti-nutrition claims I'm sure. Finally, there is Soy protein, (Concentrate they call it). Fine.

So nothing lethal, I guess, conclude I'm not going to succumb to a Mini-Bite overdose after all.

But the next ingredient surprises me. It's caramel coloring and it's listed ahead of, and thus in larger proportion than, “flavorings.”  Flavorings are a secret so your guess is a good as mine. I'd wish otherwise but assume that food laws say it's OK. So be it. Anyway the last thing is soybean oil. All together not bad for a "prepared food."

But I said that the caramel coloring surprised me. I don't know why it's necessary. For the life of me I can't recall any complaints about the coloring of any meatballs over the years - ever. And I'd bet loads that no homemade version has caramel coloring, Still it pops up frequently in numerous food products.

Ice tea in a bottle is a prime example. Why? Is all I can say.

Seriously, does anyone have caramel coloring in their cupboard?

OK - Chef Boyardee - or ConAgra Foods, the parent corporation - whichever you prefer - it is their label that is the source of the above ingredients and Chef Boyardee spaghetti was a favorite of mine as a kid. Chef B named products are still around but I'd wager the caramel coloring wasn’t in there during my childhood in the late 1940s. I could be wrong, but I, for one, never thought about the meatball color? Maybe because it was always such a nice caramel color. Oh well.

Go to the link below to view an original 1940s Chef Boyardee TV commercial on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx9KzBx4nNc

Below is a comment about the YouTube clip:

Yes, there was a real "Chef Boy-ar-dee". His name was Ettore "Hector" Boiardi, and he operated a successful Italian restaurant in Cleveland during the 1920s and '30s. His customers liked his spaghetti sauce SO much, he began giving it to them "on the side" (eventually, with grated cheese and uncooked spaghetti) - then, he sold a "complete spaghetti dinner" in packages, with other canned products, and concentrated on that business. By the end of the '40s, American Home Products bought him out.