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Malic Acid (malate): Characteristics, Effects and Uses

Malic acid, also known as malate, is a food additive and also plays an important role in our cell metabolism. You can find out here whether it is poisonous, how it works and what it is used for.

Where is malic acid found?

Malic acid, also known as malate, is found naturally in many unripe fruits. This includes:
apples
quinces
grapes
gooseberries
But it is not only found in fruits, but also in our bodies. During digestion, our body gradually converts the sugar glucose into energy using chemical reactions. One of the intermediate products of this conversion is malate. Malic acid therefore plays an important role in our cell metabolism. Our body converts about one kilogram of it per day.

Malate in the food industry

You may also be familiar with malic acid as a food additive. It hides behind the number E 296. Similar to citric acid, malate is used as an acidifier to extend the shelf life of food. However, malic acid is rarely used in practice because it is significantly more expensive to produce than citric or phosphoric acid.

In addition to being used as an acidifier, malic acid can also be used as an antioxidant. For example, it prevents sliced ​​apples from turning brown. In industry, malic acid is often added to the cooking water during blanching. This is how deep-frozen vegetables keep their bright colour.

Why Apple Cider Vinegar Doesn’t Contain Large Amounts of Malic Acid

Malic acid tastes more intense than citric or tartaric acid and therefore goes well with tart foods. Many websites on the internet incorrectly claim that malic acid is the main ingredient in apple cider vinegar. Even if this sounds plausible at first glance, it is a misconception.

To make apple cider vinegar, cider is mixed with acetic acid bacteria. The acetic acid bacteria convert the alcohol in the cider to acetic acid. As with most other vinegars, the acid in apple cider vinegar is acetic acid. The acetic acid and its bacteria are responsible for the positive health effects of apple cider vinegar.

Products containing malic acid are harmless to health. There is no legally stipulated maximum value, so you can access it in the supermarket without hesitation. If you often cook at home, you will probably only rarely come into contact with malate, as it is mainly found in finished products.

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Food

Piperine: Properties, Effects and Where it is

Piperine makes the pepper hot. But it also has many positive health effects – we’ll tell you what they are.

What is piperine?

Piperine is the most important component of pepper and is responsible for its sharpness. Positive health effects are attributed to the alkaloid, which is why it is used as a remedy in traditional medicine in almost all cultures.

Pepper imported from India was one of the most important remedies in traditional Western naturopathy as early as the Middle Ages. Pepper was said to improve digestion and strengthen the liver. At that time, the principles of western naturopathy were similar to those of traditional Chinese medicine. In modern medicine, on the other hand, piperine is only rarely used, since drugs from the pharmaceutical industry have replaced many home remedies.

Nowadays, piperine is often added to dietary supplements such as curcumin capsules. Curcumin has only a low bioavailability, so it does not have a very strong effect in the organism because it does not fully enter the bloodstream. Piperine is added to the capsules so that our body can absorb more via the intestine.

How is piperine used?

In traditional naturopathy, piperine is most commonly used against:
rheumatism
Muscle aches
flu
Diarrhea
Fever
digestive problems
The scientifically proven health effects of piperine include:
Piperine has an antioxidant effect and therefore protects our body from free radicals from the environment that can damage our cells.
Piperine has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Piperine improves the bioavailability of other nutrients, which is why it is often found in supplements.

Where is piperine found?

The piperine content of pepper typically ranges from 2 to 7.4 percent. Black pepper often has a slightly higher piperine content than white pepper. This could be related to the fact that black pepper is not peeled. In addition to the two traditional types of pepper, piperine is also found in stick pepper, which tastes similar to black pepper.

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Food

Sesame: Nutrients, Effects and Tips For Preparation

Sesame often hides in baked goods. The small grains have no reason to hide: they are full of healthy ingredients. Here you can find more background on the ingredients of sesame.

Sesame originally comes from South Asia. Today, the oil plant is grown in many tropical and subtropical countries around the world. With us, the white sesame seeds are certainly the best known – but there are also brown and black sesame seeds. The different varieties taste different and the nutrient composition also varies slightly.

Sesame: nutritional values ​​and ingredients

The name oil plant already gives it away: sesame seeds contain a lot of fat. Here are the nutritional values ​​per 100 grams of sesame:
Calories: 567 kcal
Fat: 48g
Proteins: 17 g
Carbohydrates: 26 g
Fiber: 17 g
The fat in sesame seeds consists mostly of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. These in turn are composed primarily of oleic acid and linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid.

Sesame also contains many vitamins and minerals. Sesame seeds are particularly interesting for vegetarians and vegans because they contain a lot of iron and calcium. In addition, sesame provides us with various amino acids, the B vitamins B1, B2 and B6, vitamin E and magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Black sesame contains a little more of most of the nutrients than white sesame.

Sesame in nutrition: how it affects health

Sesame provides vegetarians and vegans with important iron and calcium, but also has other positive properties:
Sesame contains antioxidants, including vitamin E. These substances protect our cells and are said to prevent numerous diseases.
Linoleic acid is an essential fatty acid that your body cannot produce itself and must be obtained from food. Among other things, it is important for the skin and animal experiments have shown that it has an antioxidant and anti-cancer effect. However, it is important for the positive effect that omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid in your body are always in the right ratio to omega-3 fatty acids. So make sure you’re getting enough omega-3 fatty acids. They are found, for example, in linseed oil and linseed oil seeds and in walnut oil.
Because sesame is high in fiber and protein, it is very filling.
Caution: Sesame is a strong allergen. If you are allergic to sesame, you should definitely avoid it.

Cooking with sesame: use in the kitchen

In the kitchen, you can use either sesame seeds or sesame oil. You can get the latter cold-pressed or refined. Cold-pressed sesame oil tastes nutty and contains many healthy nutrients. Refined sesame oil, on the other hand, can be heated up and stored for a long time. Since it tastes neutral, you can combine it with many foods.

You can roast sesame seeds very well, which makes them taste stronger. Sesame oil also tastes particularly spicy when it is made from roasted seeds.

How to use sesame seeds or sesame oil in the kitchen:
Cold-pressed sesame oil tastes delicious in a salad dressing. It goes particularly well with Asian food.
You can use refined sesame oil for frying.
If you’re baking bread or rolls, you can add sesame seeds to the dough or sprinkle them over the dough pieces before baking. A mixture of light and dark sesame is particularly nice.
You can also garnish salads and Asian wok dishes with sesame seeds.
When you blend sesame seeds and oil together, you get a creamy paste called tahini. Tahini is a great ingredient for oriental creams like hummus.
You can make delicious, filling sweets from sesame seeds. In the Arab world, people like to eat halva or bars made from sesame and honey.

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