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The Cool Whip Experiment

October 15, 2013   49 Comments

Do you like to play with your food? I bet most of you like eating it versus playing with it.

Cool Whip Experiment

Kraft will LOVE that I have decided to play with their wonderful product, Cool Whip. (he he!)

Many of you are probably trying to avoid processed food because it has been deemed unhealthy. I would say that Cool Whip is a perfect example of the type of food you want to avoid. Some processing is good (like canning, freezing, cooking) but other processing is bad. Like science project bad.

The experiment is simple. Leave Cool Whip in a container on your counter top and observe what happens. If this was the real thing, whipped cream, we all know it would turn sour and maybe green within a day. I have left out milk on a hot summer day and I regretted it.

Here is day one:

Day two:

Day three:

Day five:

I got bored taking photos of the same thing. Why didn’t it rot? Here are the ingredients:

Water, hydrogenated vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skim milk, and less than 2% of light cream, sodium caseinate, natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums, polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, sodium polyphosphate, and beta carotene (as a coloring)

After about 10 days, it did start to look funky. That "less than 2% of light cream" did curdle and I saw some mold. I kept the container covered so it didn’t dry out. Other experimenters who left it out found that it hardened into a plastic-like substance. Scary.

My advice is to whip some cream when you want to add a dollop of loveliness to your dessert. It tastes good, it is easy to make, and the ingredients list (cream) is short.

If you love Cool Whip, eat it in moderation. This stuff isn't going to kill you, but it isn't going to help you either. Cream has protein, vitamins, etc. and microbes that help you digest.

What do you think of the Cool Whip Experiment?

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First 20 Comments: ( See all 49 )

Personally I don't really care for these types of experiments. I like cool whip and I will eat it. I like whipped cream I will eat it. I like the occasional Mcdonalds hamburger I will eat it. Back in the olden days there was a lot less processed crap if any at all yet we have much longer life spans....interesting

I think you can attribute the longer life spans to advanced pharmaceuticals and medical procedures. I liked this reminder to eat REAL foods and personally I try to stay away from foods that have long lists of unpronounceable or understandable ingredients. I find the more I eat wholesome real food the more I educate my palate to prefer them and the less I want the highly processed junk.

While the above commenter makes the anecdotal observation that we are living longer despite the processed, chemical-laden, genetically manipulated, faux food we consume, I find it worthwhile to point out that many people are suffer from maladies unheard of to most of us 40 years ago, but becoming increasingly common. Nut, wheat, and other food allergies, gluten sensitivity, lactose intolerance, and myriad gastro-intestinal disorders such as IBS and Crohn's Disease. These facts one may also consider "interesting."

I'm not a Cool Whip user, it's too sweet for me, and quite honestly there is nothing like fresh whipped cream on pumpkin pie, sundaes, etc. A few extra minutes in the kitchen is a good thing.

Actually, the life span number is misrepresented. Infant mortality was much higher years ago, so it brings the average life span down. If a family had 2 parents and 2 children but one child dies in infancy, it brings the average life span of the family down significantly. If all 4 live to be 70 then the average life span is 70 - but if one child dies in infancy, the average life span drops to 52.

Great post!

And very good points MamaLynn! The numbers of those auto-immune diseases is only on the rise!

Gross.. But the old saying "everything in moderation" rings true. As long as you don't live on Cool Whip alone you'll be fine. Homemade whipped cream is super yummy, but you can buy it as we'll as make it. Happy Happy!!

I LOVE your experiments Snack Girl. Most of the time I'm completely grossed out by the results (ex. McDonald's hamburger). Thankfully with your wisdom I have stepped away from eating Fast Food and other over processed "foods", so I'm not affected by the results. To the first commenter, processed foods have been around since the 1950's, we were just oblivious to how the processed foods affected our bodies. But I see nothing wrong with indulging every once in a while, we all do it one way or another. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Personally, I enjoy cool whip, especially frozen. With fresh strawberries, you have a great snack without the ice cream calories. It may not be "real" food, but it helps keep the pounds off!!

Atta girl!

I think Cool Whip tastes disgusting - it coats your mouth with a really weird taste - probably because of the oils.

There is a company that makes an all-natural Cool Whip alternative that is really good...but they quit selling it at my store. :(

I love your experiments and this one is so well-timed because I just got a lecture from a friend on "things in moderation". If you have the time to find a better product or make whipped cream, I think it's worth it rather than eating more junk. My husband recently discovered TruWhip (whole foods sells it), which is my new go-to in place of being able to make the whipped cream.

INGREDIENTS:

Water, organic tapioca syrup, expeller - pressed palm kernel oil, organic cane sugar, organic palm kernel oil, contains less than 2% of each of the following: organic soy protein concentrate, sodium caseinate (milk protein), organic tapioca starch, natural flavors, organic soy lecithin, xanthan gum, guar gum. contains milk and soy.

Best solution? Whip up a container of cream, add a dash of vanilla, and then plop dollops of cream on a cookie sheet covered with piece of wax paper. Freeze them until solid and then pop those dollops in a freezer bag. Attempt to eat one at a time or as needed!

Gross! I just read about a month ago Eat This Not That and they said there is not one natural or wholesome ingredient in Cool Whip. They said it is not real food and it is one of the top 10 worse foods or so call foods you can eat! I buy TruWhip. It's more calories but all natural!

Thank you! Have lost 23 lbs since June! Looking for 30 by Christmas!!

Lets not forget all the medical labels we are putting on our kids out there...... ADD ADHD OCD Depression, anxiety .......on and on.........Just check your local schools and ask how many kids are on meds....hummmmm and what are we doing wrong?! Processed food is Wrong!

GODs word does say "my children parish from lack of knowledge".................look at the lables people dont put your trust in our goverment and their standards. $$$$$ is all they care about not your health.

How about ReddiWhip? I admit I am too lazy to make my own whipped cream.

I certainly appreciate your point with this experiment, however, I also think that if we do everything in moderation, we are OK. In the 70's when I was pregnant, there was a big scare about mercury in tuna. I quit eating tuna but came to find out that one would have to eat something like 50 cans a day to get mercury poisoning! I like tuna but I only eat it maybe once or twice a month if that. I eat Cool Whip maybe 2-3 times a year!! That being said, fresh and real is preferable.

Trans fats = no thanks. However, if I really want to use something similar to CW, I buy TruWhip, which at least has "better" ingredients and no trans fats. (Trader Joe's has a house brand that is also nearly identical - possibly it IS identical...) On occasion I have a recipe that calls for it, so I buy it. But no no no no no to CW. No.

@jrdunn--What is your point, exactly?

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