1. Cardamom. Intensely aromatic with a strong flavor, cardamom will find a home in more than just ethnic fare. Cosmic Chocolate recently launched a chocolate bar flavored with cardamom and oranges. (Hmm…not exactly news to chocolatiers. We’ve been enjoying Donnelly Chocolates’ Five Spice chocolate bar with cardamom—and other chocolatiers—for years. And, along with lots of people, we’ve been baking cookies with cardamom—not exactly “ethnic fare.”)

2. Sweet Potato. Candied, fried, baked or boiled, sweet potatoes are not just a delicious snack or side dish. Mintel predicts that they will become known as the new functional food: rich in dietary fiber, beta carotene and vitamins C and B6. (Is this news? Can we have another bag of North Fork Sweet Potato Chips, please?)

3. Hibiscus. The USDA has said that consuming hibiscus tea can lower blood pressure. In the future, expect to see it become a common ingredient in the beverage market. Premium Essence Water from Hint now offers Hibiscus-Vanilla flavored water. [A couple of beverages, including the OOBA line of hibiscus-flavored sodas, do not a galloping trend make. The real hibiscus is very tart; bottled beverages use a bit of hibiscus and round it out with other red fruit flavors. With the small amount of real hibiscus in any popular drink, it’s best to stick with the teas as a remedy.]

Honeydew-hibiscus unsweetened water
from Hint. Will hibiscus be the next pomegranate?

5. Rose Water. Rose water is no longer just a fragrance. You can look forward to finding it as a common flavor in ethnic foods or, like Ghalia Organic Desserts in Los Angeles discovered, you can add it to your brownie recipe for a subtle rose water flavor. [Not news: rose water is a very popular ingredient in Middle Eastern and Indian foods, and has been adopted by fine pastry chefs and chocolatiers for quite some time.]

6. Latin Flavors. Latin spices will be heating up our palates next year, and you won’t have to dine out to get these exciting flavors. Whole Foods Market now offers a Mayan Ceviche; meanwhile, Icelandic Salsa Shrimp Cocktail features a spice packet loaded with the popular Latin flavor of cilantro. [Hasn’t Latin food been the biggest trend of the decade? Peruvian food—predicted by Mintel a few years back, hasn’t quite made it to the forefront, though.]

We wish you many gustatory adventures in the new year.

Bot Enhanced Water is a great-tasting sweetened water without artificial sweeteners. Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

Bot water makes it easy for adults and kids who prefer a sweet drink to drink more water. It’s made in family-friendly flavors—grape, berry, orange and lemon—with cartoon mascots to bring out the kid in all of us.

• THE PRIZE: One winner will receive a case of Bot Enhanced Water that includes all four flavors: grape, berry, orange and lemon. Stick ’em in your bag or briefcase and never be without a great-tasting beverage.
• To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Natural Soda & Energy Drinks Section and enter your email address for the prize drawing. Approximate retail value: $18.00. This contest closes on Monday, January 11th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!

• Learn more about Bot Water. 

Even the heat of cracked red pepper fizzles
as the spice sits on the shelf.
Photo colurtesy SXC.

After jars are opened, ground spices and dried herbs lose their potency—that’s why those jumbo jars are rarely a bargain.

• Buy only what you use regularly. If you rarely use mace, e.g., wait to buy it until you need it for a recipe. Even unopened jars of spices and herbs will degrade on the shelf after a couple of years.
• If exposed to heat or light, they deteriorate even faster. Store your herbs and spices away from the stove and oven, and avoid countertop spice carousels. The spices may look pretty, but the light destroys their potency.
• Whenever you can, buy whole spices and grind them in a spice mill as needed. We use a peppermill, a nutmeg grinder and a multipurpose spice and herb grinder.

Here’s what you need to know about checking the freshness of your spices, courtesy of McCormick.

We’re certain that neither of our grandmothers thought about “protein snacks” or “energy snacks,” and never heard the words ALA, antioxidant, Omega-3. Yet, who knew: All along they were giving us a healthier snack than, let’s say, a dish of Hershey’s Kisses (which we would have preferred back then) or a candy bar.

Three generations later, Planters has recaptured the grandmothers’ snack concept with NUT-rition, a line of different fruit and nut mixes:

• Digestive Health Mix, a higher-fiber mix of pistachios, almonds, cranberries, granola, and cherries
• Energy Mix, a blend of almonds, honey roasted sesame sticks, peanuts, dark chocolate covered soynuts, walnuts, and pecans
• Heart-Healthy Mix, with peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts and walnuts

Nut-rition for a healthier New Year.
Photo by Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

• South Beach Diet Recommended Mix, with almonds, cashews and macadamias
• Almonds and Smoked Almonds, both with 50% less sodium than the regular Planters productsTwo new additions this month include:
• Omega-3 Mix, with ALA-rich walnuts, chocolate-covered soynuts, and dried cranberries
• Antioxidant Mix, perhaps our favorite, with almonds, banana chips, cashews and dried blueberries, cranberries and peachesAre these better for you than a candy bar or a cupcake? Sure. Are they less caloric? Not necessarily. The 1/4-cup servings range from 160 to 190 calories, so are lower than most candy bars and cupcakes. But for us, it’s hard to stick to a smaller portion once the can is opened. There’s no psychological portion control. (Some varieties come in 1.5-ounce portion-controlled tubes.) There are also NUT-rition bars, but in our opinion, the great taste is in the mixes.

  But if you want healthier sweet snacks in the New Year, these mixes are a good start. There’s a $1.00 coupon in today’s newspaper.

  The only lingering question: Why is the name NUT-rition instead of NUT-trition?

If you aren’t going to eat it, regift it!
Photo courtesy SXC.

Food products should be used within 12 months, or they begin to deteriorate—some items like cookies and candy, much sooner.

Many products have expiration dates, but if you don’t like the food to begin with, the dates don’t really matter. It’s better to share the item now, with people who will enjoy it.

Bring the food to your favorite cook, to your co-workers, be a friendly neighbor or donate it to a volunteer enterprise.

Or, call a Christmas White Elephant Party. Invite friends to bring a gift they’d like to trade. Let everyone draw a number from a hat for “picking order,” and choose their new gifts in from other people’s “white elephants.”

• Then, find reviews in our more than 70 categories of specialty foods, and pick something you’d rather have, and treat yourself.

• Take an hour this weekend to go through your pantry and fridge and throw out expired items. Look at dates that are at or near expiration, and put them on the counter to decide to eat them or give them away while they’re still good.