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


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PRODUCT: Callebaut Belgian Chocolate For Baking

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For superior chocolate flavor, try Callebaut.

Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products and maker of some of the best Belgian chocolate, has made gourmet chocolate products previously available only to professional pastry chefs and chocolatiers.

Now, the company’s renowned milk, dark and marbled chocolate products are available at specialty food stores and fine grocers. The products are certified kosher by OK.

  • The milk, dark and marbled chocolate couvertures are perfect for adding superior chocolate taste to brownies, cakes, cookies, truffles and any chocolate dessert recipe.
  • The small, disc-shaped Callets make tempering chocolate in the microwave a breeze (and are very tempting to eat by the handful).
If you don’t know Callebaut, you’re in for a treat.

 

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TIP OF THE DAY: Celebrate Spring With Edible Flowers

Spring, our favorite season, begins today. We’re celebrating with a floral flourish.

Look for edible flowers at stores that carry specialty produce. Not all flowers are edible (or tasty), but there’s quite a variety to choose from. (If you want to use flowers from your own garden, it’s OK as long as they are pesticide-free.)

Flowers are used in many types of cooking: Asian, East Indian, European and Middle Eastern cuisines are flower-friendly. Flowers in food were popular in Victorian England. They were eaten by the early settlers in America—anything that could be eaten, was. The first recorded mention of edible flowers comes from 140 B.C.E.!

If edible flowers sounds like a strange concept, remember that lavender (used in everything from ice cream and syrup to scones and tea, not to mention liqueur) and candied violets are popular accents in our cuisine. Squash blossoms, stuffed and fried in light batter or cornmeal are a delicacy served in fine restaurants. In addition to eating sunflower seeds, try the petals!

  • Scatter them in salads or anywhere you’d like a peppery flavor accent.
  • Using them as plate décor.

 

Spring Salad

A colorful spring salad embellished with
edible flowers. Photo by Kelly Cline | IST.

  • Use both the color and flavor of nasturtiums to make a special mayonnaise.

 

  • Read all about edible flowers—types, history and the many different ways to use them in food.

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EASTER: Hand-Rolled Marzipan Eggs

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The Easter bunny was hard at work on
these marzipan eggs (with help from
Martine’s Chocolates).

Aren’t these lovely? Hand rolled to create a rainbow of colors, these marzipan eggs from Martine’s Chocolates will delight marzipan lovers. Martine also makes lovely hand-colored solid chocolate eggs with a similar sensibility (the colored design is “inlaid” into the chocolate) and many other Easter treats.

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TIP OF THE DAY: Roast Those Veggies

We love roasted vegetables—we could make an entire meal of them.

If your family won’t eat their share of boiled or steamed veggies, try roasting them—it’s easy. (Their daily “share,” by the way, is three to five half-cup servings.)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice up root vegetables (or seasonal favorites). Beets, bell peppers, carrots, eggplant, onions, parsnips, turnips, zucchini—anything you have a hankering for (or that’s on sale). You can add sliced sweet potatoes or white potatoes, too. The slices can be as large or as small a dice as you like.

Toss the veggies in olive oil and season with a bit of sea salt and fresh-ground pepper, and any fresh herbs—parsley, rosemary, oregano, etc. Then, spread them out on a baking pan in one layer and bake until golden brown and fork-tender.

 

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Roasted beets. Photo courtesy Zabars.com.

There are many variations to keep roast veggies interesting: Toss a bit of cinnamon, lemon zest, nutmeg or other favorite flavors with the olive oil.

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RECIPE: Thin Mint Cookies Recipe

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Bake chocolate-covered mint cookies.
Photo courtesy Chocolat Céleste.

We’re a week late in celebrating the 98th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, founded March 12, 1912. But there’s no reason to skip the celebration. And there’s no better way to celebrate than with homemade Thin Mint cookies.

We love the Girl Scouts—we won the top award in our troop for selling 100 boxes of cookies.

But, as the Girl Scout Law states that “I will do my best to be honest and fair,” this recipe for Thin Mint cookies, developed by Chocolat Céleste’s Mary Leonard, is so much better!

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