Lovers of York Peppermint Patties (us included) can cool off this summer with York Ice Cream bars, made by Good Humor, a Univlever brand. (The York Peppermint Pattie candy brand is owned by Hershey Company, and the ice cream is made under license.)

The three-ounce rounds of peppermint ice cream are dipped in a dark chocolate coating (coating = some vegetable oil is added so the chocolate will adhere to the ice cream). The ice cream is a lot less intense than the York Peppermint Pattie. This will please people who like just a bit o’ mint.

The ice cram bar doesn’t have the candy’s depth of chocolate coating flavor, either. But it certainly is refreshing, and we can’t complain: It’s tough to find any type of peppermint ice cream. Our favorite flavors, chocolate chip mint and cookie mint, seem to have disappeared from stores in our area.

York ice cream bars (partial view of box). Photo courtesy Unilever.

You can find the ice cream bars at retailers nationwide, including Walmart. The line is certified kosher by KOF-K.

CURIOSER & CURIOSER

Although the box declares that the bars are made from Peppermint Light Ice Cream (see photo above), the small print underneath it says, “This is not a light food.” It goes on to explain that the light ice cream has 75% less fat than “a range of full fat ice creams.”

Hmm. So the ice cream is lower in fat, but not the bar as a whole? The whole bar has 170 calories but the box explains that the light ice cream portion is 80 calories. So the thin chocolate coating has more calories than the much larger lump of ice cream?

If this information is meant to help consumers understand what they’re getting, we think that a second explanation is needed to clarify the first explanation.

PATTIE VS. PATTY

Second, the ice cream box never mentions the word “patty” or “pattie.” Wouldn’t calling them “York Peppermint Ice Cream Patties” better leverage the York Peppermint Pattie brand?

And what about “pattie?”

Whether it’s candy, meat or veggies, you may have noticed patty and pattie used in different places. The plural for both is patties.

Dictionary.com doesn’t recognize the word “pattie.” Merriam-Webster.com at least brings you to “patty.” The word, by the way, derives from the French pâté, for paste (i.e., a mix of finely-ground ingredients; pasta also means paste and in French, pâté refers to a meat loaf as well as the more rare ground goose or duck liver pâté). “Patty” seems to have entered the English language around 1710.

Patty, pattie or bar, the six pieces disappeared faster than we would like to admit.

YORK PEPPERMINT PATTIE HISTORY

According to a company history in Wikipedia, the York Peppermint Pattie was first produced by Henry C. Kessler, owner of the York Cone Company, in 1940. The company was named for its location: York, Pennsylvania.

In the annals of corporate acquisitions, in 1972 the York Cone Company was acquired by Peter Paul. In 1978, Peter Paul merged with Cadbury Schweppes. In 1988 the Hershey Foods Corporation acquired the U.S. operations of Cadbury Schweppes.

The York Peppermint Pattie we know is different from Henry Kessler’s: the mint centers are only semi hard. In February 2009, Hershey closed the Reading, Pennsylvania plant that made York Peppermint Patties, 5th Avenue and Zagnut candy bars, and Jolly Rancher hard candies. Production was moved to a new factory the company built in Monterey, Mexico.

If you like Girl Scout Lemonade cookies—shortbread cookies stamped in the shape of a sliced lemon with a tangy lemon icing—we’ve got something even better for you:

Sara Snacker Cookie Company, an artisan baker with nostalgic-themed cookies, makes its own, far more elegant and delicious, lemonade cookie.

A round of lemony shortbread—made with real lemonade—is topped with a tart lemon icing. The sweet-and-tart effect is delightful.

Attractive white bags of 12 cookies are $8.00. Here’s a store locator; the company will sell them to you online in three-bag quantities.

The cookies are all natural, certified kosher by Star-D, and yummy. Would Dad like a bag for Father’s Day?
 
 
Find more of our favorite cookies and cookie recipes in our Gourmet Cookies section.

Sweet-and-tart lemonade cookies. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

How many types of cookies are there? Check out our delicious Cookie Glossary.

As the weather warms up and we get thirstier and thirstier, we plan how to hydrate on-the-go.

That’s why we’re delighted that Lipton has launched its Tea & Honey To Go packets. This new line of iced tea mixes contains natural honey, real tea leaves and real fruit flavors.

Wherever you can find a glass of water—or fill your water bottle—you can have a refreshing glass of iced tea for just 5 calories per eight ounces. The packets themselves weigh nothing and can be carried in a pocket. So today’s tip is: Consider the convenience of to-go packets to make instant drinks from water.

These Lipton Tea & Honey iced green tea drink mixes include:

 
The mixes also come in pitcher-size packets.

Pour the packet contents into water to turn it to flavorful iced tea. Image courtesy Lipton.

And the except for sucralose, the mixes are all natural.* The ingredients include honey granules,† citric acid, green tea powder, maltodextrin,‡ natural flavor and color.

The products are hitting stores now nationwide. You can get a free samples when you like Lipton on Facebook, while supplies last.

*Although sucralose is made from sugar, the sugar molecule is chemically modified, which classifies it as an artificial sweetener.

†Honey granules are pure honey, dried and cut, with no additives, into pinhead-size pieces. You can buy them online.

‡Maltodextrin is a starch filler made from natural corn, rice or potato starch. It is a white powder used as a thickener or a filler without altering flavor. It’s in artificial sweetener packets, for example, because the very few grains of aspartame or sucralose required as a sweetener wouldn’t fill a packet.

A box of packets makes 10 bottles of tea. Photo courtesy Lipton.

Why We’re Big Fans Of Tea & Honey To Go Packets

1. 5 Calorie Fruit Flavor. The added honey neutralizes the sucralose flavor. The drinks are sweet and fruity, for just 5 calories per eight-ounce cup/10 calories per bottle.

2. Instant Drink. Open the packet, add to water and stir or shake. How easy is that?

3. Sustainability. Keep reusing the same water bottle, save the landfill from empties.

4. Price . At $3.29 for 10 packets (prices will vary), you can enjoy fruity ice tea for 32¢ a bottle instead of buying a ready-made drink for $1.79.

We see many products launched that aren’t really needed. We do need

Honey, Tea & Lady Antebellum

You can also enter the brand’s Drink Positive Sweepstakes with Lady Antebellum on Facebook, for the chance to win a visit with the band in Nashville and exclusive live music downloads. There’s also a series of Lady Antebellum’s behind-the-tour webisodes.

We were Lipton’s guest at the Lady Antebellum concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Great group, great evening and lots of great Lipton Tea & Honey.

You can blend your own smoothie or pour it
ready-to-drink from a bottle of flavored
kefir. Photo courtesy RevivalSoy.com.

Many people think that kefir is the same as drinkable yogurt. That’s close, but not exact. Kefir is even healthier than yogurt. In fact, kefir is often called a “super yogurt,” since it is up to 36 times more probiotic than yogurt.

While the recipes are similar, kefie has even more live and active cultures (naturally occurring bacteria and yeasts) and is loaded with vitamins and minerals. It contains easily digestible, complete proteins, and is recommended for those with digestive issues, including colitis, Crohn’s disease, IBS and lactose intolerance.

The once-exotic drink is now available in supermarkets nationwide. It’s available in luscious fruit flavors in addition to plain.

The addition of fruit creates what we think of as a kefir smoothie (to differentiate it from a conventional yogurt smoothie). It’s just as delicious and better for you. And it’s more drinkable—less thick—than smoothies made with non-drinkable yogurt.

Our favorite flavored kefir, from Green Valley Organics, is made with lactose-free milk that is Certified Humane® plus a probiotic-rich combination of 10 live and active cultures. A blend of strawberry, pomegranate and açaí, It has less added sugar than many flavored kefirs. Also available in plain, the kefir is kosher-certified, organic and gluten free.

It is so delicious, an eight-ounce serving (150 calories, 20 from fat) satisfies our craving for ice cream or frozen yogurt, which has more than twice the calories and typically, none of the healthy components.

Another brand, Lifeway Kefir, makes Blueberry, Cherry, Peach, Pomegranate/Açaí, Raspberry and Strawberry kefir flavors, in addition to plain.

You can make your own kefir smoothie by blending two cups of kefir with a cup of fruit (frozen fruit is just fine) and 2 tablespoons of sweetener (you can use noncaloric sweetener or lower-glycemic such as agave nectar, honey or maple syrup).

More Kefir Magic

Just remove cap and pour yourself a delicious strawberry-pomegranate-açaí “smoothie.” Photo courtesy GreenValleyOrganics.com.

Matzo “toffee”: white chocolate with pistachios and dark chocolate with almonds. Photo courtesy MysteryLoversKitchen.com.

Passover food and beverages (including wine) are a $2.5 billion to $3 billion industry. It sounds unbelievable, but according to KosherToday.com, some 30,000 different kosher-for-Passover products were produced specifically for Passover 2012. You may see shelves at the supermarket filled with a few dozen items—matzos, matzo meal, coconut macaroons, chocolate-coated jelly rings and other foods. But the ingredients for every kosher-for-Passover food recipe is also included among the 30,000.

There are approximately six million Jews in America, of whom an estimated 70% celebrate the holiday. Jewish law forbids the consumption of fermented grain products and related foods. For the eight days of Passover, there are no bread products except matzo and potato bread, no pasta, no beer, no year-round favorite treats.

Except that we do have a favorite Passover treat that can be enjoyed year-round. Variously called Matzo* Brittle, Matzo Buttercrunch and Matzo Toffee, it transforms bland boards of matzo, an unleavened flatbread, into a crunchy chocolate confection.
 
Here are two variations:

 
We recommend making more than one batch: one for the home, one for a seder gift, one to treat friends and co-workers who have never tasted this addictive confection—which of course, can be made year-round.

*Variously spelled matzo, matza, matzoh or matzah.

Millions of Jews will celebrate a week of Passover beginning Friday, April 6th. The holiday commemorates the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt, after God inflicted the ten plagues upon the Egyptians.

As the story goes, the Jews had to leave Egypt immediately. They gathered up possessions and livestock but could not wait for the bread dough to rise, resulting in matzo, an unleavened flatbread. Thus, during the week of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten; only matzo (also spelled matzoh, matza and other variations).

So what if you want to celebrate Passover with matzo, but have gluten sensitivities?

Two brands are at the ready:

Gluten-free matzo. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

 
Seder Idea

The Passover seder, the ritual feast celebrated on the first two nights of the holiday, is accompanied from beginning to end by a reading of the Haggadah (“telling”).

This year, participants at our seder are coming as witnesses of the Exodus. Each of us will provide a few minutes of insight into the desires, hopes, frustrations, fears and domestic lives of our characters. Participating will be will be Moses, Pharaoh, a nameless Jewish slave and an Egyptian, along with Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, a first century scholar who appears giving commentary in the Hagadah.

We are going as a baker, faced with feeding the exodus masses without the time to leaven the bread. The result: matzo.

Santé Pecans. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE
NIBBLE.

Santé Nuts sent us packages of snack nuts in nine varieties:

 
Even the savory flavors have a touch of sweetness. The nuts are gluten-free and certified kosher by Star-K.

The line was developed by necessity: Sara Tidhar was a single mom in need of an income. Her son urged her to sell the roasted, seasoned nuts she made for the family and she soon found herself with thousands of orders.

Santé, the French word for health, denotes a better-for-you snack. We really like the one-ounce, grab-and-go packages of nutritious nuts as a substitute for candy and cookie snacks. They’re all-natural, very crunchy and fresh-tasting, with just enough cane sugar to satisfy a sweet tooth.

Hand-roasted in small batches, the nuts are made with less oil (canola oil, a monounsaturated, healthy fat), as well. Try them with a fruity wine or beer.

Santé Nuts can be purchased on Amazon.com and on the company website, SanteNuts.com. One-ounce packages are $1.99, four-ounce packages are $5.99.

Toss Into Recipes

The nuts add interest to a salad—green salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, spinach-and-blue-cheese salad—sweet potato casserole, stuffing, whatever. Here are two lively salad recipes to try:

The gourmet version of Raisinets, from Lake
Champlain Chocolates (certified kosher).

Today is National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day. In the form of Raisinets, the dried-fruit-in-a-candy-shell is a movie theater staple and the third-largest selling candy in U.S. history.

To make the candy, raisins are coated with oil and spun in a hot drum with milk or dark chocolate. They’re then polished to a shine.

Raisinets are the earliest brand on record, introduced by the Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company of Philadelphia in 1927 (the brand was acquired by Nestlé in 1984).

We don’t know that the Blumenthals originated the concept. Hard chocolate was invented in 1847, enabling confectioners to develop all types of chocolate candies (the history of chocolate). No doubt, chocolate-dipped fruit was in the repertoire.

See all the food holidays.

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Sophie Yogurt, a new Greek yogurt brand,
offers delicious flavors that have no added
sugar. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

We love Greek yogurt, plain or flavored.

The problem with the flavors, however, is the sugar. We really like these brands, but not some 20 grams of sugar for a small portion:

 
Now, a team of nutritionists at EatStrong.com has come up with a product that the marketplace should embrace: thick, creamy 0% fat Greek-style yogurt with no sugar added. Sophie Yogurt has 5 g milk sugar per 5.3-ounce serving, plus 8 g sugar alcohol.

What is sugar alcohol?

Sugar alcohol is a natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables. The body absorbs it slowly and incompletely (it’s low glycemic). Erythritol, maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol are sugar alcohols you may have heard of. Here’s more information.

Sophie Yogurt: Delicious Flavors

While the company makes a plain Greek yogurt and Plain with Fiber, it is the fancy flavors that delight: Banana Cream Pie, Caramel, Chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, Vanilla Bean and White Chocolate Almond.

The ingredients are primo. Banana Cream Pie, for example, uses real banana purée instead of a flavor extract.

“Coming Soon” flavors include Lemon Chiffon, Passion Fruit, Pumpkin Pie and Sour Cherry Pie. Our only wish is that the company would make the line lactose-free, so the growing number of Americans diagnosed with lactose intolerance can also enjoy good yogurt.

The line is all-natural, gluten-free and made with non-GMO milk. It will soon be certified kosher by OU.

The company, which is based in New York, recently signed with a distributor. But the best way to find out if Sophie is coming to a store near you is to post an inquiry on the brand’s Facebook page.

You can also check out the company’s website.

Sugar Free Greek Yogurt Vs. No Sugar Added

Sugar-free means the product contains no sugar. No sugar added means that the manufacturer has added no sugar; although fruit, milk and other ingredients contain natural sugar. Note that lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar) are natural sugars, which metabolize more slowly (are better for you) than refined sweeteners such as table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

All milk and milk products contain lactose, also called milk sugar. Look at a carton of milk or plain yogurt and you’ll see how much sugar (lactose) is in a serving. In the case of milk, it’s 11 to 14 g of sugar per eight ounces. The same amount of plain Greek yogurt has about 9 g of sugar.

All flavors of Sophie Yogurt have 5g of milk sugar (lactose), although no sugar is added.

Why Milk And Yogurt Are Good For You

1. PROTEIN. Milk and yogurt are good sources of high-quality protein.

2. CALCIUM. Dairy products are rich in calcium, which is vital for healthy bones/skeleton. Most Americans do not get the recommended daily value of calcium.

3. VITAMIN D. Dairy products are a major source of vitamin D, which is added by government mandate to the milk supply. Vitamin D is crucial for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. It is also an immune system regulator, and helpful for everything from preventing rheumatoid arthritis to healthy brain function in later years.

Find more of our favorite yogurt brands, recipes, a yogurt glossary and other yogurt features.

Crunchy and good for you. Photo and recipes courtesy Nabisco.

Unlike many products we enjoyed as a kid,* Triscuits still taste as good to us as ever. The brand has just launched its first new Triscuit cracker flavor in five years: the Mediterranean-inspired Dill, Sea Salt & Olive Oil Triscuit. The classic, wheaty Triscuit flavor is amply dressed with the taste of fresh dill (we wish there were a pinch less sea salt, but we rarely salt our foods).

Triscuits are 100% whole grain and a good source of fiber. A “dill-licious” snack out of the box, Triscuit Dill, Sea Salt & Olive Oil is also perfectly complemented by freshly grown cracker toppings like tomato and cucumber slices. The line is certified kosher by OU.

Here are two sophisticated snacks/hors d’oeuvre, plus more recipes and wine pairings (including a free app).

*Why don’t you still like foods you loved in earlier years? Your palate evolves, seeking more sophisticated flavors; and companies cut back on quality ingredients, so products don’t taste as good as they used to.

TRISCUITS WITH TANGY GREEK TOPPERS

Ingredients Per Serving

Preparation

1. Lay cucumber slices on Triscuits, followed by feta cheese and red pepper.

2. Garnish with olive slices and lemon zest. Serve with Sauvignon Blanc or other white wine.

 
TRISCUITS WITH SALMON-DILL TOPPERS

Ingredients Per Serving

 
Preparation

1. Spread crackers with cream cheese. Layer with salmon.

2. Top with remaining ingredients.

3. Serve with Pinot Noir or other light-to-medium-bodied red wine.

The latest Triscuit flavor. Photo courtesy Nabisco.

TRISCUIT HISTORY

Triscuit is a biscuit (cracker) form of shredded wheat. Shredded wheat cereal, made of boiled wheat, was invented by Henry Perky in 1890, as a palliative for his digestive problems. In 1892, he took his idea to a machinist friend, William H. Ford, in Watertown, New York. Together they developed the machine for making what Perky called “little whole wheat mattresses.” He established the Shredded Wheat Company of Niagara Falls, New York (acquired by the National Biscuit Company—now Nabisco—in 1928). A patent was granted in 1902. Commercial production began in 1903.

In 1935, Nabisco began spraying the crackers with oil and adding salt, creating today’s delicious Original flavor profile. From 1984 through 2008, additional variations were created and the crackers were made crispier. Today the line includes Original; Reduced Fat; Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil; Dill, Sea Salt & Olive Oil; Fire Roasted Tomato; Garden Herb; Hint of Salt; Parmesan Garlic; Quattro Formaggio; Roasted Garlic; and Rosemary & Olive Oil.

Find more of our favorite crackers.