How foods are produced, processed, fermented, cured and manufactured, and what those processes change.
Active sourdough starter does contain living lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, but ordinary baked sourdough bread is not a probiotic food in the usual sense. Baking heat and dehydration inactivate most of those organisms. Fermentation metabolites and non-living cell components can remain, but that is different from delivering a known dose of live microorganisms with a demonstrated health benefit.
Sourdough fermentation can change several factors related to digestion: it reduces phytate, can lower some fructans/FODMAPs and partially breaks down proteins through grain and microbial enzymes. But “more digestible” is not a universal outcome. Reductions depend on the process, and human trials for digestive symptoms are inconsistent. Ordinary wheat sourdough still contains gluten and is not safe for celiac disease.
Green and black olives are not necessarily different species. Green olives are generally picked before full ripeness; black olives may be harvested ripe or darkened through processing, depending on style. In two USDA references, green olives provide 145 calories, 15.3 g fat and 1,556 mg sodium per 100 g, while ripe canned olives provide 116 calories, 10.9 g fat and 735 mg sodium. Those differences come from variety, ripeness, curing and brine—not color alone.
Tahini is a paste made by grinding sesame seeds. It is highly concentrated: the USDA reference used here provides 697 calories, 19.7 g protein, 62.4 g fat and 8.4 g fiber per 100 g. In a 30 g portion, that is about 209 calories, 5.9 g protein, 18.7 g fat and 2.5 g fiber. Mineral content, especially calcium, varies substantially with seed type and hull removal.
Decaf does not mean caffeine-free. The FDA says an 8 fl oz cup of decaf coffee typically contains about 2–15 mg caffeine, compared with roughly 80–100 mg in regular brewed coffee. The reduction is large, but the residual amount can still matter to someone who is very caffeine-sensitive.
Whole-bean coffee usually holds aroma longer because most of the bean remains protected from air. Grinding dramatically increases surface area and speeds volatile loss, which is why the National Coffee Association recommends grinding only what you need immediately before brewing when practical. Pre-ground coffee wins on convenience, not on a different nutrition profile.
Matcha is a type of green tea, not a different plant. Its leaves are shade-grown before harvest, processed into tencha and finely milled, and the powder is consumed rather than discarded after steeping. Reviews report roughly 18.9–44.4 mg caffeine per gram of matcha, so the amount of powder used strongly affects the dose.
Green and black tea come from the same species, Camellia sinensis. Green-tea processing quickly limits enzymatic oxidation; black tea is deliberately oxidized much further, converting many catechins into theaflavins and thearubigins. Caffeine does not cleanly separate the two: the FDA gives about 30–50 mg per 8 fl oz as a broad reference for either green or black tea.
Cacao nibs are broken pieces of the cocoa kernel and retain essentially all of the bean's cocoa butter. Cocoa powder is made after cocoa mass is pressed to remove part of that fat. Nibs are therefore fattier and crunchy, while powder is more concentrated in nonfat cocoa solids and mixes more easily into recipes.
Cocoa butter is essentially 100% fat. The USDA reference contains about 59.7% saturated fat, 32.9% monounsaturated fat, and 3% polyunsaturated fat. Stearic, oleic, and palmitic acids make up most of it.
Cacao percentage is the total share of cacao-derived ingredients in the bar: chocolate liquor/cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and sometimes cocoa powder. A 70% bar is not 70% cocoa powder or 70% nonfat solids; the remaining 30% is sugar and any other non-cacao ingredients.
Cocoa powder is made from cocoa solids after some cocoa butter is pressed out; chocolate recombines cocoa solids with fat and usually sugar. That is why unsweetened cocoa is typically more fiber-dense and less calorie-dense, while chocolate is richer and sweeter.