Word of the Week: Bamboo Charcoal

This is NOT a black and white photo!

Have you seen and tasted black bread? I had my first encounter with this just yesterday and was told they're commonly found in Malaysia. Such a novelty bread. It drew curiosity and apprehension at the same time from me. I had to find out more about it.

Apparently, it's baked with bamboo charcoal, an ingredient that dates back to the Ming Dynasty in China! It is made from bamboo plants that are more than five years old and burnt in an oven of more than 1000 degrees. It has high absorptive capabilities, can be used to purify water and eliminate organic impurities and smells. 

In an episode of the famous Japanese anime show Yakitate Japan, bamboo charcoal is focused as an ingredient mixed into breads. Now, since "pan" means bread, have you considered that Ja-pan is a bread nation? 

Google the health benefits of bamboo charcoal and you can find loads, from clearing chemical impurities in the air to promoting metabolism and so on. 

Do they look like skin grafts from Gorilla?

By the way, the bread tasted yummy, no burnt taste or carcenogenic risk! I suppose one could get used to it, what with squid ink pasta. So now, how about a bamboo charcoal croissant?

Click here to see my virgin black bread attempt

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