TIP OF THE DAY: Grow Your Own Stevia

Stevia is a sweet herb from South America, 20 to 30 times sweeter than sugar cane. Yet, it has no calories. It’s been a boon to many people who want a calorie-free sweetener but don’t want the chemically-derived aspartame (Equal), saccharine (Sweet ‘n Low) or sucralose (Splenda). (Check out the different sugar substitutes.) A wholesome…
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TIP OF THE DAY: How To Make Simple Syrup, An Easy Recipe

[1] This cocktail (recipe below) uses homemade lemon-vanilla simple syrup (photo © Nielsen-Massey). [2] Just mix equal parts of sugar and water, plus any flavorings (photo © Zulka Sugar). [3] Simple syrup is the ideal sweetener for iced drinks: It doesn’t need stirring to dissolve (photo © The Wayfarer | NYC). [4] Just as with…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Holiday Sugar

You can buy Christmas sugar cubes decorated with tiny candy canes, gingerbread men, reindeer and snowmen. Or, you can serve something more subtle in appearance and sophisticated in flavor: a bowl of spiced vanilla sugar. You can make it or buy it. To buy it, head over to Silk Road Spices, where handmade vanilla sugar*…
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FOOD 101: Real Maple Vs. Maple Flavor

Grade A Light maple syrup (left) and Grade A Medium maple syrup. Photo courtesy Federation des Producteurs Acéricoles du Quebec.   While maple flavor can be enjoyed year-round, traditionally it’s a fall and winter flavor: We’re in prime maple season. So here’s a lesson on the difference between real maple syrup (also called pure maple…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Honey & Food Pairings

Based on the plant from which the pollen is harvested, each varietal honey has a distinctive flavor and color. Photo courtesy National Honey Board.   Mass produced “supermarket honey” is blended specifically to have a generic flavor. As with table sugar, it delivers a uniform, sweet, simple taste to consumers time after time. But raw…
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