Consumer Association finds: this is how unhealthy (many) stock cubes are
‘Stock cubes are our friends,’ Sylvia Witteman wrote in one of her books, and ever since then, that has more or less been my life motto. There’s nothing wrong with a stock cube—no need for bones in the oven and hours of simmering on the stove. But now it turns out that our cube friends have a second side, and it isn’t pretty. The Dutch Consumers’ Association examined stock cubes and came to some striking conclusions.
Of the 49 different brands of stock cubes that the Dutch Consumers’ Association carefully analysed, no fewer than 16 contained more than 2.2 grams of salt, the standard set by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority. It doesn’t matter whether you choose chicken, beef or vegetable stock cubes: they are all too salty. Albert Heijn’s chicken stock was the worst, with 58% salt per cube, but the other cubes aren’t far behind. That means more than half of the stock cube is simply table salt.
Unclear packaging
The Dutch Consumers’ Association was not positive about the stock packaging anyway. It was unclear how much salt the cubes contained, what percentage of the ingredients actually consisted of beef, chicken or vegetables, and what the proportions and quantities were after dissolving the cube in water according to the instructions.
Tasty… sweet?
Of course, we already knew that stock cubes make your food considerably more savoury. Is a soup or sauce a little bland? A spoonful of drinking stock works wonders. Stew? Add a stock cube. Split pea soup? Crumble a stock cube over it. But what we didn’t expect was that the cubes contain not only a lot of salt, but also… sugar! Huh?
Maximum six grams
We are warned from all sides not to eat too much salt. Six grams per person per day is the maximum, says the Dutch Heart Foundation. On average, Dutch people eat twice as much salt every day. The main culprits: ready-made meals, cooking with packets and sachets, and, of course, snacks. The Dutch Consumers’ Association has a good idea for replacing those salty stock cubes: use dried herbs such as basil, parsley and bay leaf, along with a pinch of salt. But you can of course also get to work with bones, simmer for hours, clarify the stock and then freeze it in cubes.
Also read:
- What is the difference between stock and fond?
- This is the most delicious split pea soup from the supermarket
- What is the secret to Chinese chicken soup?
Source: 24 Kitchen
