March 10th is National Ranch Dressing Day, which rose out of nowhere (it used to be old-fashioned buttermilk dressing) to become America’s favorite salad dressing and dip. On an earlier National Ranch Dressing Day, we published a yummy article on the history of ranch, a recipe to make it from scratch, and different ways to use it.

One of those ways was a sauce for baked potatoes, and thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission, today we celebrate with Buffalo-Ranch Loaded Idaho Baked Potatoes.

In this recipe, the potato is a full meal: all of the components of Buffalo wings, but with shredded chicken breasts instead of wings.

The classic Buffalo wings recipe serves fried wings (or a baked option) with hot sauce, ranch dressing, carrots, and celery. While the Idaho Potato Commission recipe left out the sticks of raw carrots and celery, we added them back in.

And while they added Cheddar cheese, we preferred Gruyère with ours.

> There are more loaded potato recipes below.
 
 
DIG IN: IT’S FUN FOOD

This recipe gives chicken wings a run for their money, says the Commission. Shredded chicken is smothered in a creamy combination of buffalo hot sauce, Cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing, then stuffed into a hearty baked potato.

More cheddar cheese is sprinkled on top of each potato, and the spuds are put back into the oven for an additional ten minutes, creating an ooey-gooey tater.

The finished potatoes are topped with sliced scallions and crumbled bacon for extra pizzazz.

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes.

> The history of ranch dressing.

> Homemade ranch dressing recipe.
 
 
RECIPE: BUFFALO-RANCH LOADED IDAHO POTATOES

 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Crudités

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and set a wire rack into the baking sheet.

2. WASH the potatoes and dry them completely. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and coat them in olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Space the potatoes evenly on the wire rack and bake the potatoes for 50 to 60 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile…

3. SEASON the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place them in a baking dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes alongside the potatoes, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Remove from the oven, let the chicken cool slightly, then shred it with two forks.

4. TRANSFER the chicken to a mixing bowl. Pour the Buffalo hot sauce and ranch dressing over the chicken and toss to combine. Add more hot sauce, to taste.

5. ADD 1 cup of Cheddar cheese and stir to combine.

6. REMOVE the potatoes from the oven and carefully cut a slice down the middle of each, keeping the bottoms attached. Carefully split the potatoes partially open and use forks to fluff the interior.

7. TOP the potatoes with the chicken mixture and the remaining cheese. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until cheese is melted.

8. TOP the potatoes with additional ranch dressing and garnish with bacon and scallions. Serve.
 
 
MORE LOADED POTATO RECIPES

[1] This Buffalo-Ranch Loaded Baked Potato recipe is a meal in itself (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[2] Here are 4 techniques to shred chicken (photo © Ambitious Kitchen).

[3] You might want to cook extra bacon. There’s always a “taker” for more (photo © iGourmet).

[4] The recipe uses Cheddar (in photo), but we substituted Gruyère, in the photo below (photo © Dairy Farmers Of Wisconsin).

[5] We do like Cheddar cheese, but we like Gruyère and Emmental (the original “Swiss cheese” with holes) even more (photo of Gruyere © Murray’s Cheese).

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Spicy crab linguine with crab and Calabrian chiles (photos #1, #3, and #4 © DeLallo).

[2] Jumbo lump crabmeat is the best-looking crab type, but also the most expensive. You can save money with other types (photo © Phillips Foods).

[3] Calabrian chiles in oil. The oil is also a delicious ingredientYou can buy them online from DeLallo.

[4] Calabrian chiles are also great on pizza .

March 9th is National Crab Meat Day, whether you spell crabmeat as two words or one. If you ask most people to name a favorite crab recipe, crab cakes might top the list, followed by crab salad, crab sushi, she-crab soup (a Southern specialty), and maybe the ignominious* Crab Rangoon. Only your grandmother might remember Crab Louie†.

Today, we have something much more contemporary: spicy linguine with crab and Calabrian chiles. (You can use any shape of pasta that you like.)

Inspired by the bold and spicy flavors of Southern Italian cuisine, this garlicky chile and crab pasta is easy to make. Thanks to DeLallo for the recipe.

> The different types of pasta.

> The different types of crab.

> The different types of chiles.

> Pasta history.

> Crab history.

> Chile history.
 
 
RECIPE: SPICY LINGUINE WITH CRAB & CHILES

If you can’t find Calabrian chiles, substitute red pepper flakes.

While jumbo lump crabmeat is the best looking, it is also the most expensive.

If you’re making this recipe for a family dinner, you can save money by purchasing a less expensive grade of crabmeat—lump/backfin, white, or claw crabmeat.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING 5 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water. Meanwhile…

2. HEAT the extra light olive oil and Calabrian pepper oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chiles and garlic and cook until soft and the garlic is a pale golden color, about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard.

3. ADD the wine and lemon juice and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the crab and cook until just heated through, about 1 minute.

4. ADD the pasta and some of the reserved pasta water to the pan and cook for another minute. Stir in the parsley, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

5. DIVIDE onto plates or serve family style.

*Crab rangoon is on our “ignominious list” because it’s a faux Polynesian dish invented at a bar in San Francisco. It consists of dumplings stuffed with crabmeat, garlic, scallions, and cream cheese. Then, the dumplings are deep-fried! It’s often served with sweet chili sauce. It was on the menu at Trader Vic’s in California since 1956 [source]. In our opinion, this dish should have gone out with the 1960s.

The goal of XO Marshmallow is to give nostalgic marshmallows a modern twist, creating handmade, gourmet marshmallows in great flavors. One of them is a limited-edition specialty, Irish Coffee Marshmallows for St. Patrick’s Day. Treat for yourself, give them as a gift, or plan for an upcoming Easter basket.

XO Marshmallow’s Irish Coffee Marshmallows (photo #1) are flavored with a delightful trio of coffee, cocoa, and Irish cream liqueur (rest assured, there’s no alcohol in the final creation, only the Irish cream flavor).

We loved the subtle Irish cream flavor, and after gobbling up the box of 12, we realized we needed more for the uses below, including tossing them into cups of regular and Irish coffee.

> Get your Irish Coffee Marshmallows here.

> The history of marshmallows.
 
 
MARSHMALLOW FLAVORS & SPECIALTIES

XO Marshmallows are all egg-free and gluten-free. No high fructose corn syrup or preservatives are used. All of the marshmallows are made with premium ingredients.

Some flavors are standard, others rotate in limited editions. The team is always creating new flavors. In addition to limited-edition Irish Coffee, currently available flavors include:

 
We’re also excited about:

 
And how about a Cocoa Dusted MarsHalo (photo #3)?

These are donut- (halo)-shaped marshmallows that sit on the rim of a cup of hot chocolate, coffee, or tea, and the heat of the drink lets them melt perfectly into the cup.

They make a great gift with a tin of gourmet hot cocoa.

There’s even a special thank-you gift package (photo #2), and a Happy Birthday set.

And there’s more to discover on the website.
 
 
USES FOR MARSHMALLOWS

 
Ready to create with marshmallows?

Head to XOMaarshmallow.com.
 
 
________________

*As a pie topper, you can melt the marshmallow to create a semblance of meringue. Bake the pie or slices at 400°F for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the marshmallows are toasted and melty.

[1] Irish Coffee marshmallows with an iced latte (photos #1, #2, #3, and #4 © XO Marshmallow).

[2] There are gift packages for birthdays and thank-you’s (above).

[3] These MarsHalo donut-shaped marshmallows sit on the rim of hot chocolate or coffee, and melt right in.

[5] Ooh la-la: pink marshmallows with gold glitter. These are the Rose Gold Rosé marshmallows.

[5] Add a fun factor to a milkshake with a marshmallow on top (photo © Honey And Birch).

[1] It may look formidable with 5 colored layers and fondant icing, but here’s the recipe if you’re up for the challenge (photos #1 and #3 © Wilton).

[2] Making just three layers with stabilized whipped cream frosting is much easier. Here’s the recipe (photo © McCormick) .

[3] Easier still: a simple layer cake (two layers or more) with green buttercream frosting.

[4] Green buttercream frosting plus themed sprinkles make any cake or cupcake holiday-ready. We found these sprinkles on Amazon (photo © Man Vs. Cakes).

[5] Chocolate ganache icing offset by a shamrock for a St. Patrick’s Day cupcake (photo © Georgetown Cupcake).

[6] Royal icing hardens to a shine, and is popularly used to decorate cookies (photo © Eleni’s Cookies).

[7] A lemon bundt cake with lemon icing. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[8] A chocolate glaze on a pistachio chocolate chip pound cake. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[9] A lemon cake made with a box mix, with a thin lemon glaze. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home) .

Do you have the energy to take on a five-layer ombre cake for St. Patrick’s Day? If so, here’s the recipe (photo #1). But there are other ways to make a cake…or a cupcake…or a cookie, to celebrate the occasion.

As we looked at our collection of recipes, we realized this was a good occasion to discuss frosting versus icing. So many online articles and recipes just get it wrong.
 
The words icing and frosting are used interchangeably, which is not correct, typically by calling frosting by the name of icing.

But check this out, and you’ll know better. Also, see the footnote* below.

> Here’s a source of recipes for many of these cake toppings.

But the big challenge is deciding exactly which frosting, icing, or glaze you want on your cake.

The history of confectioners or powdered sugar, which enabled the first icings, is below.
 
 
FROSTING VS. ICING VS. GLAZE: THE DIFFERENCES

1.WHAT IS FROSTING?

 
Different types of frosting include:

 
 
2. WHAT IS ICING?

 
Icing types include:

 
 
3. WHAT IS GLAZE?

 
Some different types of glaze:

 
________________

*Note that some bakers will substitute confectioners sugar in a frosting recipe and call it icing. Is it or isn’t it? If it comes out fluffy and spreadable, then it’s frosting, not icing. Some recipes, like this brown sugar frosting, use brown sugar and confectioners sugar.
 

Sugar cane has been around for millennia; the cane juice was widely used in India and China from the 4th century B.C.E. Refined sugar appears around 500 B.C.E., when residents of what is now India determined how to crystallize the juice into granulated sugar by boiling it down. Here’s more of the history of sugar cane and granulated sugar.

Confectioners sugar, also known as powdered sugar and 10x sugar (because it is milled 10 times smaller than granulated sugar), came later.

In the colonial period, both refined white sugar and brown sugar were commercially available in the shape of cones or loaves. The cane juice was boiled down into a thick, crystalline syrup, and poured into cone- or loaf-shaped molds to harden (here’s an illustration).

The cones or loaves had to be broken down with a hammer and chisel. For the dining room and tea table, you needed to nip the sugar into neat lumps with sugar nippers (like tongs—here’s a photo) to reduce to usable pieces [source 5].

The cone-shaped sugar loaf was common until the later 19th century. Today, piloncillo and other types of unrefined sugar are still sold in cones.

When powdered sugar was called for in a recipe, the cook had to use a mortar and pestle or a spice mill, to grind it from pieces of the loaf.

The earliest form of powdered sugar, used from the 16th century to the 18th century, was sugar that was grated from the loaves or cones—the way that sugar was sold in that period—and sifted.

Sugar was grated for use in recipes (sugar bowls contained lumps, as in “one lump or two?”), but the grated sugar could then be sifted. The finest grains that fell through the sieve were the first form of powdered sugar [source 1].

The earliest known appearance of the verb “to ice,” referring to cakes, dates from around 1600; the noun “icing” dates from 1683 [source 2].

In all likelihood, the term derived from the blanket of white grains of powdered sugar topping a cake, looking like wintery ice.

Covering cakes with powdered sugar or other decoration seems to have been introduced in the 17th century. According to one source, the first documented record of frosting or icing appears around 1655, made with eggs, sugar, and rosewater. The icing was applied to the cake then hardened in the oven. The frosted wedding cake appeared about 100 years later [source 3].

One source claims that the word “frosting” comes later, in 1750 [source 2]—doubtlessly, the vision of winter frost led to the name.

Yet a third reference [source 3] says that the first published recipe for frosting is found in The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald, published in 1769. However, this source further notes, frosting is thought to have been around a least 200 years before the publication.

Tired of using that mallet and tongs to break down the sugar cone? In the 1800s, grocery stores had portable mills to grind lumps of sugar into granules [source 4].

With the advent of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840) came machine-milled granulated sugar. Powdered sugar, similar to what is available today, was available to the confectionery industry by the end of the 18th century.

As the technology for processing sugar advanced, powdered sugar became affordable to home cooks in the 19th century. It became easy to create icings for cakes [source 1].

Buttercream came later. The first buttercream frosting was made in Germany in 1915 [source 3].
 
 

We first learned about Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar‡‡‡ when Wyke Farms, the U.K.’s largest independent cheese producer and producer of renewable energy, wrote to tell us that its prize-winning Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar has been certified as the world’s first carbon-neutral Cheddar. The certification shows consumers that a company has measured and offset its entire carbon footprint, and that it’s working to reduce future emissions*.

First, hats off to Wyke Farms. Producing carbon-neutral food is one thing that manufacturers can do to fight climate change, and you’ll be seeing more brands jumping on the rather-essential bandwagon.

For sheer deliciousness, Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar is also our Top Pick Of The Week.

Since 1861, Wyke Farms has been making cheese and butter with milk from grass-fed cows grazing the lush pastures of the Mendip Hills† in the center of the Cheddar making region in Somerset, England.

The milk used to produce their Cheddar is cultured with vegetarian rennet and is hormone- and rBST-free.

Their cheeses have won more national awards in the U.K. than any other farmhouse Cheddar.

What’s the difference between farmhouse Cheddar and simply, Cheddar?

What distinguishes farmhouse Cheddar from the mass-produced Cheddar (a.k.a. “factory Cheddar”) starts with the raw ingredients. The best producers use milk from grass-fed cows that produce good levels of fat and protein.

Such producers stop using the cows’ milk for their farmhouse cheese once cows are brought indoors for wintering on silage.

The company chose its flagship Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar as the first product to be certified carbon neutral. It also is shipped in vacuum-packed containers that do not require refrigeration.

> The history of Cheddar cheese.

> The history of cheese.

> The different types of cheese.
 
 
ABOUT IVY’S RESERVE VINTAGE CHEDDAR

Do you like your Cheddar strong and full-flavored, with crunchy calcium lactate** crystals?

Then you’ll want to get your hands on some Ivy’s Reserve Vintage Cheddar as soon as possible.

Made in the prime Cheddar-making region of Somerset, England, this beautiful Cheddar is aged up to 18 months. The result is creaminess, tiny bits of crunchiness (tyrosine crystals†), complexity of flavor, and a nutty, rounded finish.

The award-winning Cheddar is named after Grandmother Ivy, who founded the dairy with her husband in 1861. Beyond the care taken to produce the company’s other Cheddars, Ivy’s Reserve is made with a secret recipe.

Grandma Ivy wrote it down—and thank goodness, since for most of human history, and even into the last century, recipes were only memorized. That’s because most people could not read and write. Ivy’s recipe is now kept locked in a safe on the farm.

For many years, this special cheese was only made as Christmas gifts for family and friends. But demand grew, and ultimately, it was made commercially.

Not surprisingly, demand continues to grow—which you’ll understand as soon as you taste it.

Ivy’s Reserve is matured for 18 months under wood†† to bring out an unmatched “rounded” flavor profile.

Slightly sweet, nutty, and complex, the rich flavor and sharp tang are followed by a lasting mellowness. This award-winning Cheddar cheese is everything that a Cheddar from Somerset, the home of Cheddar, should be.

We love the tiny white crunchy bits in the paste of the cheese. They’re calcium lactate crystals, which can form as the cheese ages and can also appear as a white film or white deposits on the outside of the cheese**. Less experienced cheese eaters often mistakenly identify it/them as mold. They are completely harmless when eaten and are considered a sign of a quality, well-aged cheese with good flavor.
 
 
WHERE TO FIND IVY’S RESERVE VINTAGE CHEDDAR

Distribution is expanding as we write. Ivy’s Reserve is available in packs of 1.1lb (500g) in some branches of Costco and Sam’s Club. But you can purchase it online at iGourmet. Check with other cheese purveyors.

Grandmother Ivy used to say, “if you look after nature then nature will look after you.” She had the deepest respect for nature and a love for the countryside. Ivy’s Reserve is produced respectfully adhering to her century-old principles.

She would undoubtedly be very pleased with the carbon-neutral (PAS 2060) certification. And you will undoubtedly be very pleased with Ivy’s Vintage Reserve Cheddar.
 
 
ABOUT WYKE FARMS

Wyke Farms Ltd is a family run company set in the heart of England’s Somerset County in South West England, long known for its fine Cheddar cheeses. It contains the village of Cheddar, which gave its name to the cheese.

The mild Somerset climate, with long summer days and rain showers, creates lush grass. That grass, in turn, helps to make the local milk particularly rich and creamy.

In Somerset, the art of traditional cheese making has been practiced by the Clothier family since 1861, started by Ivy and Tom Clothier and a family recipe for Cheddar.

Three generations later, grandsons Richard and Tom run the cheese-making operations with their father John, while grandsons David and Roger run the family dairy farming operations.

Today, Wyke Farms is one of the largest independent cheese makers and milk processors in the U.K., producing more than 16,000 tons of Cheddar per year. Wyke Farms Cheddar is sold throughout the U.K. and in 160 countries worldwide.

Different types of Cheddar—Mature, Extra Mature, Vintage, and Ivy’s Vintage Secret Recipe—have been made using the same award-winning 160-year-old recipe. (Wyke Vintage Reserve is matured for 15 months, not to be confused with the 18-month-matured, carbon-neutral Ivy’s Vintage Reserve Cheddar).

The cheese is aged in wooden maturing boxes†† and is constantly monitored by a master cheese grader until it is ready for release.

Wyke Farms has worked closely with Carbon Trust, the world’s leading independent certification body for carbon footprints, to meet the British PAS 2060‡ requirements to qualify for carbon neutral status.

For more information visit WykeFarms.com.

________________

*Companies purchase carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality. Here’s more about it.

[1] Look for this beautiful cheese, Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar, at some Costco and Sam’s Club stores, online at iGourmet, and fine cheese purveyors (photos #1 through #4 © Wyke Farms).

[2] Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar with apples, pickled onions, and great crackers.

[3] Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar with tomato chutney, walnuts, and raisin crisps. Yum!

[4] Another pairing: tomato chutney and rosemary water biscuits.

[5] Or, serve fresh figs, walnuts, and caperberries. Look closely and you can see the white coating on the rind: calcium lactate crystals**, a sign of a well-agedd cheese.

[6] One of the logos for carbon neutral certification (image © SCS Global Services).

[7] Look closely at this American-made Cavemaster Reserve Stockinhall Cheddar and you’ll see the calcium lactate and tyrosine crystals**. The cheese was named Best Of Show over thousands of cheeses at the 2019 American Cheese Society Awards. We’ve appended a larger photo to the end of this article (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

**Calcium lactate crystals cause the powdery white “film” or “smear” on the surface of fully aged, mature cheeses including Cheddar. Tyrosine crystals are the tiny white crunchy bits in the paste of the cheese. They form when proteins in the cheese break down and begin to unravel during the aging process. Amino acids called tyrosines are released and cluster together into hard crystals. Here’s more about them.

‡The PAS 2060 is an internationally recognized specification for carbon neutrality and sets requirements for quantification, reduction and offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions for organizations, products and events.

††For centuries or longer, artisan cheeses have been placed onto wooden boards in an aging room. Many kinds of cheese—including Beaufort, Cheddar, and Parmigiano Reggiano—are aged this way. Sometimes, wooden molds or boxes are used as well. During the aging process, distinctive flavors and textures develop; and for most cheeses, a rind forms. These developments are abetted by benign bacteria that grow and contribute to the cheese’s flavor.

‡‡‡Why is Cheddar capitalized? Because it’s the name of a village in England. Those geographic locales that give their name to products are capitalized—Asiago, Brie, Edam, Gouda, Gorgonzola, Munster, Stilton, etc. American cheese is, naturally, capitalized. If the cheese is generic, e.g. blue cheese, feta, goat cheese, mozzarella.
 
 

[8] A close look at the calcium lactate and tyrosine crystals in this Cavemaster Reserve Stockinhall Cheddar. This American-made Cheddar, created at Cornell University’s College Of Agriculture and Life Sciences for Murray’s Cheese, uses milk from Old Chatham Creamery in New York State (photo © Murray’s Cheese).