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


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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Halfpops Popcorn Snack

If you love those soft-and-crunchy half-popped kernels in the popcorn bowl, you’ll love Halfpops.

We are very fond of those special kernels, so it’s no surprise that Halfpops, new in the marketplace, has become one of our favorite snacks.

Not only are these crunchy kernels great with a beverage—beer and wine are our beverages of choice here—but they are terrific garnishes for salads, soups and other foods.

And Halfpops are a guilt-free snack: Popcorn is a whole grain.

Read the full review.

Find more of our favorite crunchy snacks.

 
Halfpops are our favorite new crunchy snack.
Photo by Jaclyn Nussbaum | THE NIBBLE.
 

  

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PRODUCT: Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal, A Whole Grain Powerhouse


Crunchy nuggets with a cinnamon blush.
Photo courtesy Kashi Company.

  Our grandfather loved Post Shredded Wheat, and we came to love it too—despite the fact that his daughter (Mom) didn’t like it and wouldn’t keep it in the house. So when we went to Grandpa’s, our treat was getting to eat as many bowls of it as we could.

When we left for college, Shredded Wheat became a go-to comfort food, standing in for many a dinner as well as breakfast.

Today we know that Shredded Wheat and similar boxed cereals are whole grain powerhouses. When we saw that Kashi Company’s Autumn Wheat contained 50g of whole grains—even more than the recommended daily value—we switched brands and started each day with a bowl of Kashi. (The flavor is better, too.)

Now the Kashi Company, known for its tasty organic cereals, has launched Cinnamon Harvest: crunchy, bite-size whole wheat biscuits splashed with ground cinnamon and organic evaporated cane juice crystals.

 
Just one serving contains 47g of the 48g recommended daily value (DV) of whole grains, and 20% of one’s daily fiber.

It’s a great snacking cereal, too, and is also available in Island Vanilla, made with finely-ground vanilla beans.

Why Is Whole Grain So Important?

Our article on whole grain cereals explains all.

  

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TIP OF THE DAY: New Ways To Enjoy Honey

Our last tip for National Honey Month is courtesy of Ford’s Honey Farm in Newport, New York. How many ways can you enjoy honey?

FAVORITE NEW USE

  • Poke a hole in the center of a warm biscuit. Fill the hole with honey and enjoy with meals or as a snack.

     
    TRIED & TRUE USES

    Breakfast

  • Drizzle over yogurt and granola
  • Mix with butter for a honey butter spread
  • On bread or toast, English muffins or bagels
  • On French toast, pancakes or waffles
  • Over cold or hot cereal
  • In hot drinks: coffee, hot chocolate, tea

     
    Lunch & Dinner

  • As a glaze
  • Drizzled over sweet potatoes or carrots
  • With the bread basket, in addition to, or instead of, butter
  •  
    Drizzle honey over fruit, such as roasted
    figs (above) or fresh-cut apple slices. Photo
    by Scott Karcich | IST.
     
    Dessert

  • Drizzle over ice cream and frozen yogurt
  • In cakes, pies and cookies, instead of sugar
  • In the center of a baked apple
  •  
    Snacks

  • As a dip for fruit (apples dipped in honey are a favorite)
  • In iced tea
  • In smoothies and shakes
  • Mixed with peanut butter as a spread
  • Right off the spoon, when you need a sweet treat
  •  
    Other favorite uses? Tell us!

    TYPES OF HONEY

  • Types of honey based on processing techniques
  • The different forms of honey
  • How many monofloral honeys have you tried? There are numerous different types.
  •   

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    RECIPE: Grilled Portabella Mushrooms With Goat Cheese & Herbed Salad


    Beautiful and delicious: grilled portabella
    photo and recipe courtesy
    PomWonderful.com.
      One popular mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, is known by quite a few names. But a portabella by any other name is still one of the tastiest mushrooms around (not to mention, the largest cultivated mushroom).

  • When young, the mushroom has a closed cap and is known as a crimini or brown mushroom, and can be used in the same way as a white button mushroom (but the crimini is much tastier).
  • When mature, with the gills exposed, the mushroom is called a portabella. (Additional names for the portabella include Italian mushroom and Roman mushroom, among others.)
  • The cap averages 4 to 5 inches in diameter, larger than a burger. The mushroom can grow up to 8 inches in diameter—an inch larger than a salad plate.
  •  
    One of the nicest features of the portabella is its thick cap, the thickest in the mushroom world. This feature provides a unique meatiness—both in texture and flavor—and grilled portabellas are often enjoyed as a stand-in for meat in vegetarian dishes.

     

    Due to the popularity of the species, smaller strains of Agaricus bisporus with darker flesh were bred and are sold as baby portobello, baby bella, crimini, mini bella and portabellini mushrooms.

    Now for the spelling:

    Is it portabella, portobella or portobello?

    All three spellings are correct, with portobello being the most common. Call them whatever you want: Just call them for dinner!

    This recipe, by chef and restaurateur James Boyce, makes a beautiful presentation as a first course or a light lunch entrée.

    The grilled portabella is filled with herbed salad and rests on a bed of baked goat cheese.

    How many types of mushrooms have you tried? See our Mushroom Glossary.

      

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    TIP OF THE DAY: How To Fix Crystallized Honey

    Like most foodstuffs, honey does best in a location that is cool and dry. Store honey at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.

    Never put honey in the fridge; it accelerates the crystallization.* When honey crystallizes, the texture becomes “crunchy”—not a pleasant state for most people, but still safe to eat.

    Crystallization is a natural process that occurs when glucose, one of three main sugars in honey (along with fructose and sucrose), spontaneously precipitates out of the supersaturated† honey solution and takes the form of crystals.

    All honey will ultimately turn to sugar crystals—some in months, some not for years.

    * Other terms for crystallization include sugared, granulated, solidified and crystallized. The crystals may be large or small, grainy/sandy or smooth.

    †The supersaturated state occurs because there is so much sugar in honey (more than 70%) relative to the water content (often less than 20%).

     
    It’s pouring freely now, but what can
    you do when it crystallizes? Photo by Vaskoni | IST.
     
    How To Fix Crystallized Honey

    Simply place the honey jar in a microwave-safe container with the lid off, and microwave it for 30 seconds. Plastic containers may not be microwaveable, so transfer the honey to a microwave-safe receptacle (we use a Pyrex measuring cup with an easy-pour lip) and then return the honey to the container. Another tip: spray the measuring cup or dish with cooking spray so the honey will flow back into its container more easily.

    If you don’t have a microwave, you can place the jar in hot water and stir occasionally until the crystals dissolve, about 10 to 15 minutes.

    How To Keep Honey From Crystallizing

  • Temperature. Honey resists crystallization best when kept at less than 70°F, according to the National Honey Board.
  • Variety. Each type of honey crystallizes at a slightly different rate. Look for varieties with lower-than-average rates of crystallization such as acacia, clover, cranberry, raspberry, sage, sourwood and tupelo.
  • Unprocessed. Raw and semi-processed (such as strained) honey will resist crystallization longer than processed‡ honey (supermarket honeys are pasteurized to reduce crystallization).
  • ‡ Processing removes grains of pollen and extraneous solids. The process typically heats honey to 150°F to 170°F.
    MORE HONEY TIPS here.
      

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