COLORING FOODS BLACK IS GROWING TREND IN VIETNAM.

Hanoi, VIETNAM:

Coloring foods black, a growing trend in Vietnam.

Whether its bread, ice cream or moon cake, Vietnamese are increasingly preferring it to be black-colored.

Tuan, owner of a bakery in northern Ha Long Town city, sells 300-700 black banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) a day for VND25,000-45,000 ($1.08-1.94) each.

He makes the bread using flour and bamboo charcoal, which is believed to be a natural detoxifier though there has been no formal research into it.

He said many people come to buy the sandwiches for their unusual look and taste.

Similar black sandwiches are also sold in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai in the south.

Hieu in HCMC’s Phu Nhuan District sells over 1,000 of them a day. A friend had suggested the idea to him after returning from Japan, where bamboo charcoal is a popular ingredient in food and beauty products.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, on October 1, black charcoal moon cake was a sought-after item.

Hang in HCMC’s District 3 sold out all 3,000 of her black moon cakes a week before the festival though they cost more than regular cakes.

Bamboo charcoal is also used in ice cream. Mai Truong Giang, owner of fried chicken chain Otoke Chicken which sells this product, said bamboo charcoal has been used in food in many countries for long to create an unusual look.

But there are concerns about the use of imported bamboo charcoal without quality standards, he said.

Bamboo charcoal comes from pieces of bamboo plants, harvested after at least five years, and burned in ovens at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 °C. 

In China and Japan, many people use bamboo charcoal as cooking fuel, as well as to dry tea.

Activated Bamboo Charcoal has been also used as a food ingredient. It is  gives food an earthy, smoky taste and the black colouring gives the food an exotic, fashionable appearance.

Health benefits have been claimed for charcoal back to classical times, when Hippocrates and Pliny recommended it for conditions such as anthrax and vertigo. 

Bamboo activated charcoal allegedly adsorbs chemicals and so may bind to both toxins and vital nutrients such as vitamins. Its effects are therefore broad and indiscriminate.

World's Famous Chefs and food retailers that have pioneered the use of charcoal in food include Ferran Adrià, Burger King, René Redzepi, Simon Rogan and Waitrose.

Activated Bamboo Charcoal.
Image: Herbaverda.

"Didn't this fab also happen in the West around 2 years ago and die a horrible death because people realized too much active charcoal can be harmful?"

Wrote  one person on Vietnamese famous media, VN News website.

Another one commented:

"It not really more delicious. I think it just a fad"