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


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TIP OF THE DAY: “Skinny” Cheese Course

Cheese courses have become very popular as the end to a good dinner. But cheese is high-caloric and high-fat: It has more fat than protein (except for reduced fat and fat-free varieties—see the ratios of fat to protein in your favorite cheeses).

So, serve a “skinny” cheese course. If you present self-serve selections—large wedges or wheels on a tray—the temptation exists for people to help themselves to 500 calories or more of cheese (not to mention the bread or crackers).

Instead, pre-plate the cheeses for everyone, with a one-ounce slice of one great cheese and a bit of gourmet salad greens lightly tossed with vinaigrette. Put one large crouton (a slice of toasted baguette) or specialty cracker on each plate to avoid the temptation of a bread basket.

  • Drizzle a chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano with aged fine balsamic vinegar and a small frisée salad.
  • Serve a fine blue cheese or a goat cheese with a drizzle of quality honey, some red grapes and dressed field greens.
  • How about a wedge of Brie or Camembert with a plump fig and a few walnut halves with a baby arugula salad; or your favorite Cheddar with a fan of apple slices and red-leaf lettuce?

 

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Serve large wedges of cheese and people will
help themselves to large portions. Instead,
pre-cut and serve just one or two slices to
everyone. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

You can have your cheese and eat it too: a small piece of a rich food is satisfying.

Have fun devising your own combinations and garnishes. Add a basket of fresh fruit to the table to finish your meal.

 

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FREE: New Chocolate “Pieces” From Hershey’s

Reese’s Pieces candy, the peanut butter candies in the crunchy shell that shot to stardom in the movie E.T.—The Extra-Terrestrial, now has three siblings. Yes, there’s a whole line of bite-sized, snackable Pieces Candies.

Now, lovers of the Hershey’s classics Almond Joy, Hershey’s Special Dark and York Peppermint Pattie can enjoy their favorites as hard-coated Pieces Candies. We love all the originals, so can’t wait to try the new versions.

For the next two weeks, you can mail in a full-size candy bar wrapper from Almond Joy, Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Bar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup or York Peppermint Pattie. If you are one of the first 25,000, you’ll get back a coupon to exchange for a free bag of the corresponding Pieces. Now if that’s not a reason to go out to buy a candy bar, what is?

E.T., come back. There are three more kinds of Pieces waiting for you to try!

Find more of our favorite candies in our Candy Section.

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Reese’s Pieces now has three crunchy, chocolaty siblings! Photo courtesy of Hershey’s.

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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Gourmet Valentine Chocolate

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Dazzle your Valentine with edible works
of art from Julie Hinton Chocolatier. Photo
by Evan Dempsey | THE NIBBLE.

Valentine’s Day is creeping up. That means search for the right chocolate gift. To NIBBLE readers, it may mean tracking down what’s new and exciting in American artisan chocolate.

Even in this cloudy economy, it seems that another fine chocolatier pops up each week. More than a few are leaving corporate America for second careers—and hopefully will be as successful as Joan Coukos of Chocolat Moderne, Mary Leonard of Chocolat Céleste and Kee Ling Tong of Kee’s Chocolates—other NIBBLE Top Picks.

In this edition, Part V of our search for America’s best artisan chocolate (find parts I-IV of the chocolate reviews), our travels take us to:

 

Click on the individual links above to go directly to a chocolatier, or start with the article overview.

Then, smack your lips, and consider buying something for any loved one who loves chocolate. Feel free to put yourself on that list.

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TIP OF THE DAY: Butter Bargains

Butter is expensive because it takes about 21 pounds (2.4 gallons) of milk to make a pound of it. But good butter is essential for the best-tasting sauces and baked goods.
 
MONEY-SAVING TIPS

Want to pay less for butter?

Here are tips to save money on butter, from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board:

1) Buy butter when it’s on sale and keep it in the freezer, especially in advance of holidays.

2) Butter can be frozen in its original container for up to four months at 20° to 30°F, or up to one year at -10°F if you have a commercial freezer. (Freezing for longer periods of time may affect the flavor and texture.)

3) To protect the butter, wrap the carton in aluminum foil or in an airtight plastic freezer bag prior to freezing. To thaw the butter, place unopened cartons or sticks in the refrigerator. Once butter is thawed, it should be used within 30 days.

 

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Photo courtesy Vermont Dairy.

MORE ABOUT BUTTER

  • Find more butter tips.
  • Tips for baking cookies with butter.
  • See our Butter Glossary—you won’t believe how many types of butter there are!
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    PRODUCT: Polaner Sugar-Free Preserves With Fiber

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    Apricot and Raspberry, two of the six flavors
    of Polaner’s Sugar-Free Preserves with Fiber.
    Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

    Why add fiber to sugar-free preserves?

    According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, most of us don’t get enough fiber in our diet. On average, American women get 12 grams per day; American men get 18.

    Experts say we should get from 25 to 40 grams of fiber daily to help support a healthy digestive system, reduce the risk of heart disease and manage our weight (fiber is more filling). That’s why when you have a choice of eating foods with more fiber or less, you’re better off choosing more (most fruits and vegetables are high on the fiber list).

    If you’re on a sugar-free or reduced-sugar diet, chances are that you’re already eating lots of good fruits and veggies. But now it’s sweeter to get an extra 3 grams of fiber (about 12% of your daily requirement), with every tablespoon of Polaner Sugar-Free Preserves with Fiber. They’re sweetened with Splenda.

    We’ve been enjoying these jams—yes, they’re actually jam, not preserves (more about that in a minute)—since their debut, around the beginning of November 2009 (sorry we’re late in sharing the news).

    We use the Raspberry and Strawberry to glam up our nonfat plain Greek yogurt (Chobani, FAGE Total and Oikos—we love ‘em all)—to delightful results. Similarly, we use it to top our Breyer’s Extra Creamy No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream.Polaner recommends it on toast and muffins, of course; as an addition to smoothies or cookie dough, or whisked into oil and a bit of vinegar for a marinade.

    The line is certified kosher. It’s just 10 calories per tablespoon, and for you carb counters:

    – Sugar Free Apricot Preserves with Fiber: 4g carbs – 3g fiber = 1g net carb
    – Sugar Free Blackberry with fiber: 5g carbs – 3g fiber = 2g net carbs
    – Sugar Free Grape with Fiber: 4g carbs – 3g fiber = 1g net carb
    – Sugar Free Orange Marmalade: 5 carbs – 3g fiber = 2g net carbs
    – Sugar Free Raspberry with Fiber: 5g carbs – 3g fiber = 2g net carbs
    – Sugar Free Strawberry with Fiber: 5g carbs – 3g fiber = 2g net carbs

    COUPON: You can get a $1.00 coupon here. If you don’t have the Java aplet for printing coupons, start at the Polaner home page.

    • Now about the difference between jam and preserves: Jam can be a purée of fruit or have a soft pulp, but it does not contain chunks of fruit. The two Polaner flavors we had were purées, without chunks of fruit. Preserves differs from jam in that large or whole pieces of fruit are suspended in a syrup base. The texture of preserves is not smooth like jelly or jam.
    • See the differences among all the spreads—jelly, curd, marmalade, etc.—in our Jam & Jelly Glossary.
    • Find more of our favorite sugar-free foods in our Diet Nibbles Section.

     

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