[1] Super Gold Medal winner: Queen Bee Porcini (all photos © Beehive Cheese).

[2] Gold medalist: Red Butte Hatch Chile.

[3] Silver medal: Promontory cheddar.

[4] Silver medal: Seahive, rubbed with Redmond Real Salt and local wildflower honey

[5] Another silver: Teahive, cheddar rubbed with Earl Grey tea.

[6] Bronze award: Pour Me A Slice, cheddar infused with Basil Hayden bourbon whiskey.

[7] For a cheese lover: A gift box of Beehive’s award-winning cheddars.

Last week we reported on the top 10 winners at the World Cheese Awards.

It is with American pride that we present the winner in the Best American Cheese category at the 2021 World Cheese Awards: Queen Bee Porcini from Beehive Cheese Company.
 
 
QUEEN BEE PORCINI, A CHEDDAR FIT FOR A QUEEN

Described by Beehive as a “savory cheddar fit for a queen,” the Super Gold-winning cheese is hand-rubbed with porcini mushroom dust to impart earthy, umami notes throughout the paste* of the cheese.

A new cheese, only released earlier this year, Queen Bee Porcini achieved the highest possible rating during the first round of judging.

Beehive Cheese Company is one of our favorite cheese producers. It’s located Uintah, Utah, a town at the mouth of Weber Canyon, in a valley between the forested Wasatch Mountains in Ogden, Utah.

It’s 5 miles south of Ogden and 25 miles north of Salt Lake City.

By the way, Utah is the Beehive State†.

While Queen Bee Porcini stood in the crowd of great American cheeses entered into the competition, it was just one of seven medals won this year by Beehive.

Beehive Cheese Company also landed one Gold, three Silver, and two Bronze awards for their other cheddar cheeses.

Cheddar, by the way, has been known as the “cheese of monarchs.” It dates to the 12th century when, in 1170, Henry II of England declared cheddar the best cheese in England and purchased more than five tons of it.

Beehive cheddars took home seven medals at the 2021-2022 World Cheese Awards: Super Gold, Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

 
Congratulations to the Beehive team!

American cheeses won a total of one Super Gold (Queen Bee Porcini), nine Gold, 18 Silver and 30 Bronze at the World Cheese Awards.

Among these include Golds for Crater Lake Blue Cheese from Rogue Creamery (a Nibble Top Pick), Griffin from Sweet Grass Dairy, and Queen Anne’s Lace from Tulip Tree Creamery.

We look forward to tasting all of the winners.
 
 
BEEHIVE CHEESE GIFTS

So what do you get a cheese lover who merits a selection of international award winners?

A gift box of Beehive Cheese!

All of Beehive’s cheeses can be purchased at BEEHIVECHEESE.COM, as well as Utah retailers.

Here’s where you can find Queen Bee Porcini. It’s also available at Sprouts Markets nationally.

Gift or not, a selection of these award winners should be on every cheese lover’s bucket list.
 
 
ABOUT THE WORLD CHEESE AWARDS

The 33rd edition of the World Cheese Awards in 2021 was bigger and more international than ever before. For the first time, entries exceeded 4,000.

The competing cheeses represented 45 different countries, including recent additions such as India, Japan, and Colombia, as well as established cheesemaking nations such as France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

All entries were judged in a single day, as 250 experts from 38 different countries considered their appearance, texture, aroma, and flavor.

Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Super Gold accolades were awarded during the morning session, and the Super Golds were reassessed to find this year’s Top 16.

The International Super Jury, featuring the great and good of the global cheese community, then debated the best cheeses on the planet in front of a live audience, before crowning this year’s World Champion Cheese.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEESE
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEDDAR CHEESE
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CHEESE
 
________________

*The paste is the portion of the cheese underneath the rind, the interior body. While the rinds on certain cheeses are edible, 100% of the paste is edible.

There are different types of pastes, described by their texture, density, and color (soft, hard, semihard, semisoft, dry, moist, crumbly, etc.).

When milk is too low in beta carotene, producing pale cheese, the vegetable dye annatto can be added to the curds to give the paste more color.

†Utah’s state nickname is The Beehive State. The beehive is a symbol of hard work and industry, and the hive is Utah’s official state emblem. It appears on Utah’s flag and state seal. The state insect of Utah is the honeybee.

The state motto is also simply one word: Industry. Here’s more about state nicknames and symbols.

Looking for a cranberry cocktail for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Eve?

The mixologists at Tommy Bahama restaurants created these tasty drinks that.

The cocktail, which they call Happy Huladays, is a refreshing combination of seasonal flavors that tickle the taste buds.

We call it “Happy Holidays,” because most of us won’t be celebrating in the tropics (so don’t rub it in, Tommy!).

The rum-based cocktail is finished with a dash of Prosecco for a sparkling touch.

The cranberry ginger syrup, easy to make, can also be used:

 
You can make it days in advance, and you may want to make a double batch.

(Note that is recipe is for one drink. Use this converter tool to multiply the portions).
 
 
RECIPE: TOMMY BAHAMA HAPPY HOLIDAYS COCKTAIL

Ingredients Per Drink

 
For The Cranberry Ginger Syrup

 
For The Garnish

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the cranberry-ginger syrup. Combine the ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Leave 1 piece of ginger in the mix and then cool.

2. BLEND in a food processor to integrate the cranberries, transfer them to a container, and store them in the fridge until needed. Do not strain.

3. MAKE the cocktail. Add all ingredients except the Prosecco in a mixing glass. Shake with ice. Add the Prosecco and gently strain into a glass.

4. GARNISH with a cranberry and mint sprig and enjoy!
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CRANBERRIES
 
 
MORE CRANBERRY COCKTAIL RECIPES

[1] Happy Holidays cranberry cocktail from Tommy Bahama (both photos © Tommy Bahama).

[2] Another view of Happy Huladays, with a mont sprig.

[3] Or, switch to vodka or gin for an easy Cranberry Martini, shown here with a rosemary sprig. Here’s the recipe.

[4] Cranberry Sangria (photo © McCormick).

5] Cranberry Mimosa (photo © Ocean Spray).

[1] Each flavor is heavenly: We set them up in a buffet line, just us and a spoon (all photos © Beckon Ice Cream).

[2] A coupe of Beckon’s Peanut Butter Cup, with swirls of PB and flecks of chocolate. We added a few mini peanut butter cups for garnish (slice them in half).

[3] Sea Salt Chocolate Chip is delicious on its own, or with chocolate chip cookies. We made chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches (pure comfort food!).

[4] A Saturday night at home with a pint of Cookies & Sweet Cream.

[5] A double affogato: espresso poured over Beckon’s espresso ice cream, instead of the standard vanilla ice cream.

[6] Beckon is available at Whole Foods stores nationwide.

[7] Limited edition Crushed Candy Cane Brownie will only be around for a couple of months. Stock up!

[8] Turn any flavor into a sundae or a banana split.

[9] Get one of every flavor!

When you write about food, it’s easy to fall in love with one product and another. Our latest heartthrob is Beckon lactose-free ice cream. But before you turn away, let us hasten to tell you that Beckon just happens to be lactose-free. It tastes like any other superpremium ice cream, with outstanding flavor and creaminess. The removal of lactose has no impact on the taste. All it does is neutralize the lactose that causes digestive problems for some people (more about that in a minute).

Plus, Beckon is the first-ever clean label, premium, lactose-free dairy ice cream on the market.

If you love ice cream, read on.
 
 
BECKON IS GREAT ICE CREAM FOR EVERYONE

Yes, Beckon ice cream is unbelievably delicious, and it’s surprisingly lactose-free.

We say “surprisingly,” because anyone tasting it would simply think that it was a superpremium ice cream.

That’s because some people don’t realize that lactose-free ice cream tastes like any other ice cream. Premium lactose-free ice cream tastes like regular premium ice cream, superpremium lactose-free tastes like regular superpremium brands.

The lactose is neutralized with the addition of the lactase enzyme. Our bodies naturally produce lactase, which breaks down the lactose sugar found in dairy. People who are lactose-intolerant don’t produce enough of the enzyme; hence, their digestive problems when they eat dairy.

A whopping 36% of Americans are lactose intolerant* to some degree (we are one of them).

We had previously survived on Lactaid ice cream, and were grateful for it (and took a lot of Lactaid pills before we ate conventional brands). But Lactaid can’t hold a candle to Beckon, a very creamy, drool-worthy, superpremium brand.

Eating lactose-free contributes to easier digestion for everyone. The brand is considered low FODMAP† diet-friendly.
 
 
SUPERPREMIUM ICE CREAM

The brand calls itself “premium” ice cream, but we call it “superpremium.”

What is superpremium ice cream?

Here are the FDA’s Standards of Identity‡ for ice cream:

 
The higher the milkfat, the creamier the ice cream. The creaminess is also what is called “mouthfeel.”

You couldn’t ask for creamier than Beckon ice cream.

Beckon is also wonderfully flavor forward. This means that there is a depth of the featured flavor (very vanilla, very chocolatey, very minty). Some superpremium brands feature creaminess at the expense of the flavor. Not Beckon!

Beckon ice cream does a faultless job, using all of the same ingredients as traditional ice cream (milk, cream, eggs, and sugar, plus vanilla extract, espresso, and mix-ins like chocolate chips and peanut butter swirls).

 
 
BECKON ICE CREAM FLAVORS

Beckon’s luscious lineup includes:

 
Flavors are available in 16-ounce pints (SRP $5.99) and 32-ounce quarts ($8.99), plus 3.5-ounce Snack Cups in Dark Chocolate Brownie, Mint Chip, and Vanilla (each cup has tasty toppings like cookie crumbs or sprinkles underneath the lid).

Beckon uses really simple ingredients with a clean label.

You won’t find any of the gums, artificial stabilizers, or corn syrup found in many other ice creams.
 
 
MORE ABOUT BECKON ICE CREAM

Beckon co-founders Katy Flannery, who is lactose-intolerant, and Gwen Gwen Burlingame, who is a “sympathetic sweet tooth,” have created the first-ever clean label premium lactose-free dairy ice cream on the market.

It is also an exceptionally delicious ice cream—for everyone!

Thank you, ladies and your team. We are grateful for the result of your labors.
 
 
GET YOUR BECKON ICE CREAM

Beckon is currently available nationwide at Whole Foods Market, as well as many other regional and independent retailers throughout the country.

Here’s a store locator.

Here’s where to buy it online, including Amazon Prime Now, Fresh Direct, GoPuff and Instacart.

Beckon is available nationwide at Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, and other select retailers, as well from the brand directly at BeckonIceCream.com.

For more information head to BeckonIceCream.com or follow @BeckonIceCream.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ICE CREAM & FROZEN DESSERTS
 
 
________________

*Lactose is the naturally-occurring sugar in milk. Our bodies produce an enzyme called lactase to break down that lactose so it can be easily absorbed during digestion. Millions of Americans don’t produce enough lactase, which breaks down the lactose to be easily digested. If you’re one of them, you have lactose intolerance.

Lactose intolerance is very common in adults, but rarely dangerous. About 30 million American adults have some degree of lactose intolerance by age 20 [source]. In the United States, about 36% of people have lactose malabsorption [source].

†FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, which are short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that the small intestine absorbs poorly. Some people experience digestive distress after eating them, such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas, and vomiting.

‡Standards of identity describe in detail what a food product must contain, how it must be proportioned and sometimes how it must be manufactured. Here’s more about it.
 

Pecan lovers, rejoice. As of Monday, November 22nd, American Pecans, the American Pecan Council, is launching a special Thanksgiving campaign to help travelers whose flights get delayed or canceled—“pecanceled,” as the pecan folks have described it.

Holiday travel this year is expected to be nuts, says the American Pecan Council. Anticipating record travel delays, the Council wanted to do something to support Thanksgiving travelers.

Welcome to the “Pecanceled” Flights Set Right campaign, created to give succor to delayed and canceled passengers this Thanksgiving holiday.
 
 
FIRST, PECAN SNACK BITES

Mmm, delicious pecan treats (photos #1 and #2)! Partnering with Farmer’s Fridge, a company that operates hundreds of automated smart fridges (photo #3), American Pecans will give away free, limited-edition pecan pie snack bites in select airports coast-to-coast, to anyone whose flight gets delayed or canceled. 

To receive a jar of pecan pie snack bites, passengers can simply DM @americanpecan on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with their canceled/delayed flight information. They’ll receive a code to get a jar from a Farmer’s Fridge vending machine at the airport (for a limited time while supplies last).

This holiday treat is made with pecans, rolled oats, maple syrup, and vanilla beans, and is packaged in a portable jar, ideal to help fuel weary travelers (and for the rest of us, too—they’re DEElicious [or should that be PEAcanlicious?], not to mention, packed with protein and energy).
 
 
NEXT, THE PECANCELED FLIGHTS SET RIGHT SWEEPSTAKES

If your flight is delayed or canceled, you’re eligible to enter the “Pecanceled” Flights Set Right Sweepstakes.

One unlucky traveler who misses his or her Thanksgiving as the result of a “pecanceled” flight, will be the lucky winner of the “Pie in the Sky” grand prize:

Round-trip, First Class air travel for the next five years to their Thanksgiving destination. Plus a year’s worth of American Pecans, and more treats.

Wow!

Pecanceled passengers can enter the sweepstakes by visiting PecanceledFlights.com and submitting their “pecanceled” flight stories.

The sweepstakes runs nationwide from November 22nd to November 30th, 2021.
 
 
Of course, we hope that none of our beloved readers are delayed or canceled.

For everyone who is traveling, we recommend taking a package of shelled pecans with you as an energy snack food.
And check out all the great pecan recipes at AmericanPecan.com.
 
 
PECANS: THE GREAT AMERICAN NUT

Did you know that the pecan is the only major tree nut indigenous to North America?

 
Pecan trees have been growing in North America for millions of years. Although they are now planted in orchards, wild pecan trees account for about 30% of the nation’s harvest.

Check out the history of pecans.
 
________________

*Although they grow on trees, cashews are actually seeds. They are the seeds of the drupe of the cashew tree. The shell is inedible due to the presence of toxins, which is why you never see cashews in their shells.

†Peanuts are legumes, but are classified as nuts due to their similar characteristics to other tree nuts.

[1] Pecan pie snack bites. Find them in Farmers Fridge vending machines in airport locations over the Thanksgiving Holiday (photos #1, #2 © American Pecan Council).

[2] These are so good, wish we could get the recipe (it’s secret!). But there are plenty of great pecan recipes on the American Pecan website.

[3] An example of Farmers Fridge vending machines in airport locations. Here’s more about them (photo © NBC News | Harriet Baskas).

[4] The shell doesn’t look intimidating, but “pecan” is an Algonquian word meaning “requiring a stone to crack” (photo © American Pecan Council).

[5] Pecan nuts inside their husk. As the pecans inside start to ripen, the husks will turn brown and eventually begin to crack. Soon, the pecans start falling to the ground (photo © American Pecan | Facebook).

[1] Pour yourself a glass of apple cider…or turn it into an apple cider cocktail with your favorite spirit (photo © Bonnie Kittle | Unsplash).

[2] Add club soda for an apple cider spritz. You can add just a splash, or use mostly club soda for a type of apple cider club soda (photo © Pesce Huang | Unsplash).

[3] For a touch of elegance, bring the cider or spritz to the table in a carafe (photo © Jennifer Schmidt| Unsplash).

[4] Apple cider donuts. Here’s the recipe (photo © Karo Syrup).

[5] Sweet and spicy pickled apples are a delicious condiment. Serve them wherever you’d serve cucumber pickles. Here’s the recipe (photo © US Apple).

[6] Apple cider caramels

[7] Fall duo: a scoop of apple cider sorbet with a scoop of pomegranate sorbet. Here’s the recipe (photo © US Apple).

November 18th is National Apple Cider Day. Why not set up an apple cider bar and invite friends and neighbors? You set out the cider, spirits, mixers, and garnishes, and guests make their own. Don’t forget the cookies: Gingersnaps and snickerdoodles are great with cider. There are also apple cider cookies with nuts and raisins, and of course, apple cider donuts. Check it out!

Or, go directly to the hard cider. Here’s how to plan the cider party, and a list of some hard ciders to try. Also, what to know about hard cider.

You can also plan a cider tasting party for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
 

So dig in…and if you don’t have time to cook or mix a cocktail, enjoy fresh or hard cider straight.

Another occasion to celebrate: World Cider Day is June 3rd.

> What Is Hard Cider?
 
 
APPLE CIDER RECIPES

Food

 
 
APPLE CIDER HISTORY

Wild apple trees originated in the mountains of Central Asia. The center of diversity of the genus became eastern [present-day] Turkey.

The apple tree may have been the earliest tree that humans cultivated (the history of apples). Over the millennia, through selective breeding, farmers improved the fruits [source].

When the Romans invaded England around 55 B.C.E., they found the local Celts cultivating apple orchards and drinking apple cider.

The original apple varieties weren’t for eating. They were bitter, so were pressed for their juice and left to ferment into alcohol.

The Romans immediately embraced the drink, and cider quickly spread through the Roman Empire and across Europe: from the Germanic tribes to the east, to the Normans in the south (northern France).

When the Normans invaded England in the 9th century, they returned to Normandy with the rootstock to grow their own apple orchards and left behind the word “cider” for the English language [source].

Everyone drank cider or beer: adults and children alike. Due to unhealthy water sources, it was the safer choice.

Fast forward: Colonists brought apples to North America in the 17th century—the bitter cider apples. Apples were being grown in Massachusetts as early as 1630. At the end of the 18th century, Johnny Appleseed traveled west to spread apple trees for cider.

As in Europe, cider or beer was drunk instead of water.

Mutations were continually creating new breeds of apples. The McIntosh mutation was discovered in 1796, by a farmer named John McIntosh. It was sweeter, and was best for eating rather than fermenting.

More sweet mutations followed, and today, we have as many varieties of sweet apples as cider apples.
 
 
Apple Cider In America

When English settlers arrived in the Americas, they planted apple trees with the hopes of making [alcoholic] cider. It was a necessity: All water sources potentially harbored waterborne diseases that could be deadly for the family or community.

Beer, the common alternative to harmful water in Europe (for adults and children alike), wasn’t an option. The climate wasn’t suited to growing the barley, wheat, and rye essential for brewing beer.

But apple trees adapted to the New England climate, and apple cider became the standard drink for everyone including children.

Children were often served a watered-down version of cider called ciderkin or applekin.

The average family at the time consumed 90 gallons of cider each year [source]!

The apples were also made into cider vinegar, which was essential in pickling and preserving food.

Cider spread beyond New England, of course. Cider was considered to be exceptionally valuable in early America and even became an acceptable payment for work. Virginia planter William Fitzhugh noted around the late 1670s that his 2,500-tree orchard and the cider it produced was as valuable as 15,000 pounds of tobacco—then Virginia’s top cash crop.

As most Americans know, in the early 19th century, John Chapman, better known as the “Johnny Appleseed,” made his fortune from growing apples. By planting temporary tree nurseries throughout unsettled areas in the Midwest, Chapman was able to sell families bound for the West, established apple trees ready to plant and yield crops.

During the latter 19th and early 20th centuries, the Temperance Movement and subsequent Prohibition lessened, then ended, the demand for hard cider. While non-alcoholic cider endured (it is pressed from sweet, not cider, apples), many cider apple orchards were cut down or burned during Prohibition (1920 to 1933).

After Prohibition’s end, apple cider orchards remained limited: The cost involved in planting new orchards wasn’t paid back by the limited demand for cider. Farmers who did stick to growing apples switched to the sweeter varieties that are used for baking and fresh apple juice [source].

Over the last 20 years, craft brewers have revived the art of cider brewing. Seeing the trend, the Angry Orchard hard cider brand was launched in 2012 by the Boston Beer Company, brewers of Samuel Adams beer.