During holidays, many families prepare small cakes and other desserts for casual enjoyment. Here are a few things to keep in mind when buying cakes.
1. Try to avoid cakes containing hydrogenated vegetable oil. Currently, the "fresh cream" on most cakes is hydrogenized vegetable oil, and the shortening crust also contains hydrogenated vegetable oil or margarine. The traditional choice is to use real whipped cream and butter.
2. Try to avoid shortening cakes. Shortening requires a large amount of fat and has very low nutritional value. In most cases, vegetable shortening is used, which contains trans fats. As another high-calorie food, cheesecake is a better option because cheese contains large amounts of calcium, vitamins A and D, B vitamins, and protein, whereas shortening offers nothing but some trans fats.
3. Try to avoid cakes with large amounts of artificial colors and flavorings. The color of the cake inside and out should be as close to the natural color as possible. Besides a small amount for decoration, it's best to use less intense colors. A mild, natural taste is best; that strong, overwhelming aroma usually means a large amount of cheap artificial flavorings has been added.
4. Don't be fooled by the supposed "health" benefits of fruit-added cakes. Most of the fruit in fruit cakes is canned fruit, which offers little nutritional value. The small amounts of kiwi slices or strawberries are not very fresh and are merely for decoration. It's better to buy fresh fruit directly.
5. There's no need to buy cakes with white or dark chocolate chips. The chocolate used by most cake shops is mostly cocoa butter substitute, which contains trans fats but almost none of the cocoa polyphenols, making its health value negative. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)