THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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RECIPE: Candy Corn Cones For Fall & Halloween

Candy corn is great as a garnish during the fall season in general, and Halloween in particular season.
 
 
EASY CANDY CORN GARNISHES

Cupcakes

Use candy corn as a cupcake topping. Create a circle of candy corn kernels around the rim of the cupcake. You can stand one kernel in the middle of the cupcake.
 
Or create your own patterns. It’s a fun party activity or after-dinner dessert activity for kids.
 
Jack-O-Lantern Cake

Make a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and filling, and cover the sides with a mixture of candy corn and chopped nuts (if it’s a loaf cake, cover the top). Use the nuts to cover most of the cake and press in candy corn at intervals.
 
You can also use candy corn to make the eyes, nose and mouth of the Jack-O-Lantern, on the top of the cake.

For a regular iced cake, add candy corn as a cake topper.
 
Halloween Sundae

We love a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with hot chocolate sauce and sprinkled with candy corn. (Butterscotch or caramel sauces don’t provide enough contrast to the candy corn.)
 
Here’s a fun idea that decorates ice cream cones with candy corn.

  • You can fill a cone with candy corn, the crunchy cones contrasting nicely with the soft corn “kernels.”
  • You can add a scoop of ice cream first, or fill with chocolate or vanilla pudding.
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    RECIPE: CANDY CORN CONES

    Ingredients

  • Ice cream cones, sugar cone style
  • Royal icing (recipe)
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    Preparation

    Use a piping bag to pipe royal ice cream around the perimeter of the cone, an inch at a time. Quickly press in the candy corn. Start at the bottom (pointed end) of the cone.

    Royal icing dries to the touch quickly, although a thin layer can take 4 to 6 hours to dry completely.

    The process goes faster with a group: Enlist the family. Otherwise, do it in front of the TV and the task will go more quickly.
     
     
    MORE CANDY CORN RECIPES

  • Candy Corn Cocktail
  • Candy Corn Cones
  • Candy Corn Fruit Salad
  • Candy Corn Fudge
  • Candy Corn Layer Cake
  • Candy Corn Popcorn Balls
  •   Candy Corn Ice Cream Cones
    [1] Attach candy corn pieces to ice cream cones. These cones are upside-down. Eat them right-side-up (photo courtesy Food Network).

    Candy Corn
    [2] Candy corn (photo Liz West | Wikipedia).


    [2] How about some candy corn fudge? Here’s the recipe from The Pampered Chef.

     
     

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    FOOD 101: The Difference Between Ascorbic Acid & Citric Acid

    Ascorbic acid prevents cut fruit from turning brown. Citric acid provides tart flavor. And dipping apple slices into honey is delicious. Photo by Tova Photography | IST.

      In the previous post, we discussed how to make your own lime juice cordial. The recipe contains citric acid.

    One of our colleagues wondered, “What’s the difference between citric acid and ascorbic acid? Aren’t they both in lemon juice?”

    Yes, but the two products are not interchangeable.

    Citric acid and ascorbic acid are both found in citrus juice, as well as in numerous other fruits and vegetables. But they have different properties.

  • Ascorbic acid is vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant. It is the more versatile of the two acids. Among its many uses, it keeps cut fruits and vegetables from turning brown. Another major use is in baking bread: It promotes the growth of yeast, which gives bread a finer texture and greater volume. In commercial food processing, it is used as a preservative. Its chemical formula is C6H8O6 (sorry, we can’t figure out how to turn the numbers into subscripts).
  • Citric acid is a less potent antioxidant. It has one more oxygen atom than ascorbic acid (chemical formula C6H8O7). But it has little nutritional value. Its value is its tartness. Citric acid is used commercially to enhance or provide tart flavor in products from tart candies to soft drinks. So much of it is added to cola that it can soften the teeth of heavy consumers. Some bakers use it in sourdough bread to produce an especially assertive tanginess.
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    Now that you know the difference, put it to work.

    Start by serving sliced apples with a honey dip or drizzle. Use ascorbic acid—dip the sliced fruit in a lemon juice-water mixture—to keep the flesh from turning brown.

    For citric acid: make some lime juice cordial!

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Make Your Own Lime Juice Cordial

    Back in June we wrote about grenadine: How most commercial brands are made of high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors and colors, and how you can make your own natural (and better tasting!) grenadine with pomegranate juice and sugar.

    The same is true with lime juice cordial (also called lime cordial, and essentially lime syrup).

    Rose’s is the lime juice cordial most of us are familiar with. It’s lime juice concentrate and water, sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. The yellow-green color comes from Blue 1, an artificial food color. Sodium metabisulphite is added as preservative.*

    In the U.K., this type of concentrated fruit syrup is called squash or cordial, and is made from fruit juice, water and a sweetener. (The more sophisticated flavors contain herbal extracts, such elderflower and ginger.)

    For a soft drink, the cordial is mixed with club soda or water, in 1:5 proportion. Try it in ginger ale and cola, too.

     

    For a gourmet touch, make your own lime cordial. Photo courtesy Rose’s.

     

    The most popular use for the syrup in the U.S. is mixing with alcohol in a cocktail recipe. You can’t have a Gimlet or a Vodka Lime without lime juice cordial.

    *When Rose’s product was patented in 1867, sugar was used as a food preservative. Rose’s enabled fresh lime juice to be preserved without the addition of alcohol. Today, the brand is owned by the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. In the U.S., the sugar has long been replaced with HFCS. In the U.K. and Canada, sugar is still used: The regulators in those countries are not keen on HFCS.

    RECIPE FOR LIME JUICE CORDIAL

    This recipe makes about 3 cups. It has a shelf life of one to three months in the fridge. If you won’t use all of it, bottle it and give it to a cocktail- or soda-loving friend.

    Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups water
  • 3/4 cup sugar or 1/2 cup agave nectar (a low-glycemic alternative)
  • 3/4 teaspoon citric acid (also called sour salt, available near the Rose’s in large supermarkets, some pharmacies and online)
  • 3/8 teaspoon tartaric acid
  • 3/4 cup lime juice (4-5 limes, depending on size)
  • Rind of 3 limes, cut into strips
  • Optional: 1 tablespoon of vodka as a preservative
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    †Cream of tartar, a derivative of tartaric acid, isn’t acidic enough for this recipe.

    Preparation

    1. Heat water to boil.
    2. While water is boiling, whisk together sugar, citric acid and tartaric acid in a small bowl.
    3. Add to boiling water and whisk until sugar mixture completely dissolves. Add lime juice and rind, and stir.
    4. Heat mixture for 2 minutes on high heat; cover and cool to room temperature, then mix in vodka.
    5. Refrigerate overnight in an airtight container. Strain out rind and return mixture to fridge.
    6. Extra step to extend the life of your cordial: Sterilize the bottle and lid by boiling for 10 minutes or heating in the oven at 180°F for 15 minutes.

    WHEN NOT TO USE LIME JUICE CORDIAL

    Sometimes you want the flavor of lime juice cordial, sometimes you don’t.

    Because it’s easier and cheaper, some bars substitute lime juice cordial when fresh lime juice is called for—in a Cosmopolitan, Margarita or Mojito, for example. If you order a drink and anticipate a refreshing lilt of lime, you may be disappointed if the bar uses lime juice cordial.

    Ask if fresh-squeezed lime juice is used, and if not, request that yours be made with it. Every bar has fresh limes. The fresh juice makes a big difference.

      

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    TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Spooktacular Halloween Gifts

    Halloween cake pops: a spooktacular treat. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

      For weeks we tasted treat after treat to come up with our Halloween favorites.

    It’s tough work!

    Hand-decorated to look spooky, these Halloween chocolates, cake pops, brownies and other sweets taste simply spooktacular.

    Take a look at this festive Halloween assortment, which includes—among other delights—cake pop eyeballs and ghosts, caramel-filled chocolate eyeballs and great-tasting white chocolate ghosts.

    Whether you’re looking for a gift or a well-deserved treat for yourself, we highly recommend each “boo-tiful” bite.

    Read our review.

    Go directly to the goodies.

     

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: The Different Types Of Paring Knives

    Every cook needs a paring knife. With its short blade and sharp point, a paring knife affords angles and control that larger knives can’t provide.

    This all-purpose kitchen knife, similar in shape to a small chef’s knife, is most often used with fruits and vegetables. It can carve, chop, core, de-stem, peel and slice easily. It also makes delicate cuts for garnishes.

    It’s the go-to tool when you need control for delicate work like removing the ribs and seeds from chiles. Yet it can also be used to devein shrimp and even bone pieces of chicken.

    The blades of paring knives typically range from two to four inches. They can be smooth or serrated.

    And the tips of the knives, straight or curved, are each designed for a different situation:

  • Spear Point Paring Knife. The most common and versatile design (and the one most frequently found in stores), the spear point can be used to perform any kind of paring work. Every kitchen needs one.
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    Peeling an apple is easier with a bird’s beak paring knife. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.
     

  • Bird’s Beak Paring Knife. The bird’s beak shape makes it easier to peel round fruits, such as oranges and tomatoes. It has the best angle to remove the peel, and is easy to maneuver.
  • Sheep’s Foot, French Point or Flat Paring Knife. This style is ideal to slice and chop small items: garlic, ginger, herbs and onions, for example.
  • Serrated Edge Paring Knife. This paring knife has a smooth, straight blade and a curved point. It is used to slice larger fruits and vegetables. The blade is often longer: five inches.
  •  
    If you’d like to work with the different shapes, chef Michelle Bernstein has licensed her name to a line from Fagor that includes a four-piece paring set: one of each style of paring knife. The knives have plastic handles and knife sheaths and are available in three colors: blue, lemon lime and red.

    You can find them on Amazon.com.
      

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