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


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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: A New Maté Drink With Sencha

Many people rely on energy drinks to keep up with busy schedules.

Energy drinks generally contain caffeine plus other energy enhancers such as carnitine, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, glucuronolactone, guarana, and taurine—often made palatable by a large dose of sugar.

Energy and enhanced cognitive activity are benefits. But drinking too much of a typical energy drink can result in anxiety and irritability, stomach cramps, even cardiac arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat). Not to mention something resembling energy drink addiction (actually, it’s caffeine addiction).

Maté Sencha Shot, a fusion of yerba maté and sencha green tea, combines the energizing power of South American yerba maté with the antioxidants of Japanese green tea. There’s no sugar, it’s calorie-free and a healthy drink.

It’s our favorite new energy drink.

You won’t get the jitters from Maté Sencha
Shot. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

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FOOD FACTS: How Much Water Do You Need To Drink?

Are you thirsty? Hot? Using a low-calorie beverage instead of food to fill you up?

Jane E. Brody, health writer for the New York Times, provides a bucket full of facts in this week’s Personal Health column.

  • Dehydration can produce symptoms from fatigue and irritability to headache and muscle cramps.
  • How much water do you need each day? Multiply your weight (pounds) by .08; the result is your requirement in eight-ounce cups. But, before 200-pound folks panic about having to drink 16 cups of water per day, note that about half of one’s daily requirement can come from fruits, vegetables, soup and other high-water-content foods.
  • Dry air, whether air conditioning or heating, increases the body’s needs for water.
  • So does sugar. Aim for unsweetened thirst-quenchers or drinks with sugar substitutes. Many of today’s most popular bottled drinks are loaded with sugar and HFCS that increase the body’s need for water.
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    Hydrate with something satisfying, yet
    sugar-free. Photo by Naheed Choudhry | THE NIBBLE.

     

  • Sugar-sweetened sodas are the single largest source of calories in the American diet (7.1%). Yet, they provide no nutrition and, aside from the water content, no value to the body.
  • Flavored bottled waters sweetened with sugar may carry healthy-sounding labels like “antioxidant,” “green tea” and “vitamin.” But check the label: How many calories of sugar are there that counter the “healthy” claims?
  • While caffeine is a mild diuretic that causes the body to expel water (via trips to the bathroom), coffee, tea and other caffeinated beverages do count toward one’s daily liquid intake. However, they contribute to a lesser extent than water. We don’t have an exact formula, but assume 50%.
  • Alcohol increases the body’s need for water. Our trick: For every beer, cocktail or glass of wine, drink a glass of water.
  •  
    And take a look at David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding’s book, Drink This, Not That. You’ll be floored by the number of calories in popular brands of smoothies, lattes and other harmless-sounding beverages.

      

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    PRODUCT: Best BBQ Sauce

    There’s a big difference in BBQ sauce quality.
    Photo by E.Z. Foryu | IST.

    We receive a lot of barbecue sauce to taste. In fact, we receive more barbecue sauce than any other product. We joke that if aliens invaded THE NIBBLE offices, they’d think that earthlings lived on barbecue sauce.

    However, it’s no joke that most of the sauces we taste are indistinct and overly sweet—a mix of ketchup, molasses and brown sugar, often with high fructose corn syrup.

    But every year there are a few true standouts. Check out our favorites of 2010. In alphabetical order they are:

    Read the full review. You’ll also learn the difference between Kansas City-style, Memphis-style, North Carolina-style, Texas-style and other types of barbecue sauce.

     

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    TIP OF THE DAY: Patriotic Cheeseburger Recipe

    Millions of burgers will be grilled July 4th. But we eat burgers every day. How can you make them special for your July 4th celebration?

    Use a large star cookie cutter to create an Independence Day cheeseburger.

  • Using white Cheddar or other white cheese, cut out the stars. Place them on waxed paper for easier removal.
  • When assembling the cooked burger, place the red tomato slice immediately underneath the white cheese.
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    Now we’ve got red and white, but where does the blue come from?
     
    Tint pickle slices with blue food color! Add one drop of color at a time until you get the desired result. Place a pickle slice on the center of the cheese star or put a few slices between the tomato and the cheese.

    Everyone will be tickled red, white and blue with your presentation.

  • Need more inspiration? Here are more than 40 hamburger recipe ideas.
  • Take a look at these gorgeous gourmet cheeseburgers.
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    Photo courtesy Idaho Potato Commission.

     
    Now for the potato salad:

    As fond as people may be of potato salad with mayonnaise, there are many great potato salad recipes waiting to be made. One we like from the Idaho Potato Commission—people who know how to cook with potatoes—includes a red wine Dijon vinaigrette that means no cholesterol, a heart-healthy fat and a potato salad that stands up better in the heat.

    The recipe is enlivened with green beans, cherry tomatoes, corn kernels, black olives, celery and parsley. You can add optional chopped red onion. Get the recipe.
      

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    JULY 4th: Red, White & Blue Cupcakes

    Make red velvet cupcakes like these from
    Magnolia Bakery (photo © Magnolia Bakery).

     

    One special dessert for July 4th is red, white and blue cupcakes.

    These cupcakes from New York City’s Magnolia Bakery combine red velvet cake, white frosting and a blueberry garnish.

  • You can also create a tray of cupcakes, lined up in red, white and blue “stripes,” by tinting 1/3 of the frosting red, 1/3 blue, and leaving 1/3 of the tops white.
  • More options: Use blue decorating sugar (sanding sugar) to sprinkle the tops; cut out blue stars from fondant; or use stripes of red and white fondant over a thin layer of icing, topped with a blueberry.
  • If you prefer something other than red velvet cake, look for red cupcake liners.
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    TIP: Make mini cupcakes instead of full-size ones. With all the food that revelers will have consumed before dessert, smaller is better.
     
    Take a look at our easy cupcake decorating ideas, good for 365 days a year.

    See our Gourmet Cakes Section for more cupcake ideas and recipes.

      

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