The new Lipton tea flavors, in 100% Natural
and Diet. Tray and place mat from PacificMerchants.com.

Today is National Iced Tea Day, an appropriate day to note the move to “100% natural” in bottled teas.

“Natural” in tea means no artificial colors, flavors, chemical preservatives* or fabricated products such as high fructose corn syrup (see details). Natural-ingredients foods have become increasingly popular with health-focused consumers.

There are natural food preservatives: alcohol, ascorbic acid, citric acid, salt, sugar and vinegar. Ascorbic acid is vitamin C, sourced primarily from lemons. It is found in varying amounts in citrus fruits and some vegetables. Citric acid is also found in citrus fruits and some vegetables, but it has less nutritional value than ascorbic acid. Citric acid, which does not contain vitamin C, is most famously used in sodas, in large enough quantities that it can erode the tooth structure of heavy soda drinkers (details). Ascorbic acid can do the same, but it is added to foods only in small amounts.

 
The teas retail for $.99 to $1.59 per bottle. The line is certified kosher by OU.

If so, you’re not enjoying the aroma, which needs to waft up to your nose from a glass.

Those who love their beer should emulate wine aficionados, and take the same steps to enhance the experience.

1. Look: Enjoy the color of the beer, and learn to recognize different styles of beer based on their color. Carbonation is also important. Beer is brewed for immediate consumption. Lack of sufficient bubbles can indicate flatness that comes with age.

2. Smell. Inhale the aromas from the glass. For example, are they floral, hoppy, malty, nutty, spicy, sweet?

3. Sip. Let the beer flow over your palate and focus on identifying the flavors: bitter (hoppy), fruity, malty, nutty, spicy, sweet, woody, yeasty (and a host of over terms)? What about the body (also called mouthfeel)? Is it full, medium or light?

Each beer drinker has his or her own preferences. Even if you think you know what you like, when you learn to properly taste beer, you’ll come to like even more styles and flavors. You can seek out beers that match them by reading reviews.

To get deeper into beer tasting, see this comprehensive page of beer tasting information from the Birmingham Beverage Company. Scroll towards the bottom to see the Beer Tasting Wheel: all of the flavors and aromas of beer, and where they come from. It’s a huge help in understanding the flavors and aromas of beer—both good and bad.

Don’t twist your neck trying to read the chart: The details are printed underneath it.

As you enjoy your beer, check out the different types of beer in our Beer Glossary.

Biramisu: tiramisu with a porter reduction.
Photo courtesy Portobello Restaurant |
Orlando.

It could be a big hit on your Father’s Day menu.

The beer-accented dessert was created by Chef Tony Mantuano (Chef/Partner at Spiaggia Chicago and a Top Chef Masters contestant) as a collaboration with Executive Chef Steven Richard of Portobello Restaurant in Orlando, where it is on the menu.

The recipe uses an organic porter from Orlando Brewing, but you can substitute another porter or a dark ale with coffee and chocolate notes.

Get the recipe.

For another beer dessert, check out our Chocolate Stout Float.

The small, round citrus fruit has become very popular with fine chefs, thanks to the availability of imported yuzu juice used by Japanese restaurants. (You can find it at Asian markets, online, and sometimes at specialty retailers.)

We’re certain that yuzu would become mainstream if only lovers of fine food knew about it—and picked up a bottle of its aromatic and flavorful juice.

Once tasted, yuzu—a refreshing combination of grapefruit and tangerine flavors and aromas—cannot be forgotten. We alternate yuzu vinaigrette with balsamic vinaigrette in our dinner salads, and substitute it anywhere we’d use lemon or lime juice.

Read the full review, which includes more things to do with yuzu juice.

Find more of our favorite fruits and salad dressings, including recipes.

Use fondant to make cupcakes that look
like Dad. Photo courtesy WhiptCream.com.

What is fondant? Sometimes referred to as edible Play-Doh, fondant is a sugar and water mixture cooked to the soft-ball stage, then stirred or beaten until it is a creamy, opaque white mass that can be rolled out like dough.

Sheets of fondant are used to cover ornate cakes. Fondant both keeps out air so the cake stays moist, and provides a solid “canvas” for decorations.

Fondant, which can be tinted with food coloring, can be cut with cookie cutters or other methods to create shapes (leaves, flowers, geometrics). It is also used to decorate cookies, often cut to match the shape of the cookies, and applied as an icing.

Start your fondant decorating on Father’s Day cupcakes. With two colors, you can approximate Dad (or buy only white fondant plus some colored food pastes).

Fondant is dense and heavy, so a two-pound tub isn’t a lot. In addition to cupcakes, cakes and cookies, you can use it as a fun dessert activity for kids and adults: Let them decorate their own cupcakes.

The Food Network’s Ace of Cakes, Duff Goldman, recently came out with his own fondant line in five colors (chocolate, green, orange, purple and white). The Fondarific brand has even more colors.