Have you ever wondered if your favourite scrolls are Halal or Haram? As with almost anything in life, the answer is not that simple. Let’s dive a bit into the details to help you understand where our delicious scrolls stand.
What is Halal food?
In simple terms, Halal food is food that is permissible according to Islamic law. This means it must be free from any substances that are considered Haram, or forbidden. Key concerns often include the presence of pork, blood, and alcohol. You can find more details on this link. Although Halal or Haram seems a simple yes or no question, alcohol in particular, can lead to a complex topic for bakeries.
Fermentation and alcohol content
Any fermented food, like bread or even yoghurt, naturally contains small amounts of alcohol due to the fermentation process. Does it mean your breakfast toast or croissant can make you drunk? Not really.
During fermentation, yeast breaks down sugars, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide as byproducts. The carbon dioxide is desirable, once it creates the lovely bubbles that make bread fluffy. But alcohol is also there, although in very small quantities. Even yogurt has tiny amounts of alcohol content, once the fermentation agents are a mix of yeast and bacteria. You can find details about the alcohol content in bread on this link from Forbes, and about alcohol in yoghurt here from Oculyze.
Why isn't bread alcohol labelled?
The alcohol content in these foods is typically so low that is considered negligible. By law in New Zealand (and most countries) any food with less than 0.5% alcohol doesn’t need to mention alcohol content on their label. Beverages with less than 1.1% alcohol are not even considered alcoholic. Kombucha and Ginger beer are examples. This natural occurrence of alcohol is a common aspect of many foods and beverages consumed worldwide. Most people don’t even realise they are consuming alcohol when eating everyday products like bread, but they are!
What about Swirly Scrolls?
In our scrolls, we have two potential sources of alcohol. The first one is the alcohol due to the fermentation process. Good quality yeast is what makes our dough so fluffy, and as with any other bread-like product, there is some alcohol content left behind. The second source is the use of vanilla and lemon extracts in our signature Vanilla Frosting, which goes on top of our Classic Vanilla and Cheesecake scrolls. These extracts do contain a small amount of alcohol, which is used as a solvent to bring out the flavours. But how much alcohol are we really talking about here?
The alcohol due to fermentation is virtually impossible to calculate. It depends on temperature, fermentation duration, sugar content, among many other factors. The dough then is baked, which evaporates a major part of the alcohol, creating another challenge to run any calculations of alcohol content. However, it is safe to say that the alcohol content on our scrolls dough is comparable to any other bread you may find in supermarkets or bakeries.
The alcohol from the extracts in our frosting is easier to calculate: The extracts contain about 12% alcohol, and we use 85g of extract in a batch that covers about 88 classic scrolls, meaning each scroll has about 0.115 grams of alcohol. As a comparison, a standard beer contains about 18 grams of alcohol, which means you need to eat 154 classic scrolls to consume the same alcohol present in a standard 355ml beer can.
So, what does this mean from a Halal perspective?
The primary concern with alcohol is its potential for intoxication, which goes against the principles of Halal food. Given that, some interpretations are possible:
Many Islamic scholars and authorities consider the context and quantity of alcohol, instead of a simple yes or no perspective. The key principle behind Halal food is to ensure sobriety. By consuming bread or yoghurt, it is impossible to get intoxicated despite their alcohol content, and also there is no intention of doing that. If you use this practical approach, probably you can consider all our products Halal, once the alcohol content is negligible from an intoxication perspective.
However, some Muslims prefer a more rigid approach. Here are some scenarios and our recommendations:
If the presence of any alcohol content on the ingredient list is enough to consider it Haram, we recommend avoiding our Vanilla Frosting and Cheesecake flavours. We add small quantities of extracts on our frosting that contain alcohol, and there may be a residual amount of alcohol in the final product.
If the presence of any alcohol content in the food makes it Haram, probably all our products should be avoided. The fermentation naturally creates alcohol, and some residual content may be present in the final product. This amount is comparable to any other bread-like products in the market. Muslins who use this approach probably also avoid any bread made with yeast, yoghurt, kombucha, kimchi, soy sauce and many other fermented products (a comprehensive list can be found here).
Bottom line: whether our scrolls are Halal or Haram depends on individual interpretation. The alcohol content in our scrolls is extremely low and comes from food extracts and fermentation processes, both very common on baked goods anywhere. Our purpose is to provide transparent information so you can make the best choices for yourself. Whether you consider our scrolls Halal or not, we are committed to offering delicious, high-quality products that most people can enjoy and have a good time!
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