THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods
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October 12, 2009 at 7:00 am
· Filed under Beer & Hard Cider, Travel, Trends
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Buckbean Beer, a Nevada craft brewer, uses
cans for its Black Noddy Logger and Orange
Blossom Ale. Photo courtesy of Buckbean
Beer. |
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Is canned beer making a comeback among those who enjoy the finest? More craft brewers are turning to canning their brews. In the past, canning lines weren’t made small enough to handle small craft beer lines, so brewers had to use glass; glass became associated with quality beer.
While canned beer comprises a fraction of craft brews, some companies have started canning their beer exclusively, for environmental reasons as well as for consumer convenience:
- Cans are more easily recyclable than glass.
- Cans don’t have to be washed when they arrive at the brewery, thereby saving water.
- A delivery truck can only be stacked 2/3 full with bottles but can be filled 100% with cans, thereby saving on fuel expended.
- Cans are lighter and don’t break: They’re safer and easier to transport.
- Cans are better for storage: Light and air affect the quality of the beer (and all food products—including wine, olive oil, and spices). Clear beer bottles expose the beer to light; it’s possible for air to seep through caps and for carbonation to get out.
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(Although note that beer should be drunk fresh and not stored longer than six months, so this should be a theoretical argument. Resist the temptation to buy more beer than you need in any given month.)
On October 23rd a competition of canned craft beers, CANFEST, will be held in Reno, Nevada. Beer seminars, beer and food pairings, tastings of the competing beers and a forum of brewers are planned; celebrities from the beer world will judge the beers. A sample of the entrants includes Big Sky Brewing Company, Buckbean Brewing Company, Maui Brewing Company, New Belgium Brewing Company, Oskar Blues, Rochester Mills Brewing Company, Surly Brewing Company, Ukiah Brewing Company and Uncommon Brewers. Ticket prices are $35 and room packages will be available. For more information, email Constance Aguilar, constance@abbipr.com or call 1.775.323.2977.
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October 11, 2009 at 7:15 am
· Filed under Cheese-Yogurt-Dairy, Food Holidays, Tip Of The Day
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World Egg Day is the second Friday of October. Sorry that we’re two days late on this one, but egg lovers can celebrate any day of the year. Try some organic eggs and savor their flavor. They taste so much better than regular eggs, that one NIBBLE editor calls them “a different species entirely.” Use any eggs quickly: Regardless of the expiration date on the carton, the fresher the eggs, the better they taste (just buy fresh eggs from the farmers market to see the difference—in eating, cooking and baking). We celebrated World Egg Day with fresh organic eggs cooked in Plugrá European Style Butter, sprinkled with a touch of sea salt and fresh-ground pepper. We had a side of Wolferman’s English Muffins with strawberry preserves (choices from our article on The Best Strawberry Jam And Preserves). With food this good, it’s like being at a country inn!
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October 11, 2009 at 7:00 am
· Filed under Candy & Confections, Giftable, Soups
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| Dried fruit and nut mixes have probably been popular since the dawn of man. It wouldn’t have taken much for a hunter-gatherer to combine some raisins from wild grapevines with crunchy nuts and deem the combination better than either food alone.
But it’s taken until recent times for fruit and nut mixes to be seasoned so deftly that the snack is better than ever. One practitioner of the art is Lambie Stout, a mom and cancer survivor from Toledo who gives 5% of the proceeds of Comfort Crunch to cancer research.
Comfort Crunch is available in four varieties including one vegan recipe (the Original). The mixes of fresh, crunchy nuts and moist dried fruits are enhanced with crystallized ginger and pepitas, chocolate-covered ginger or chocolate-covered toffee.
A healthy, indulgent snack, the chic minimalist packaging makes a yummy stocking stuffer. There’s also lovely holiday packaging that hold two bags (see the website, ComfortCrunch.com, for gift options). If you’re looking for corporate gifts, you can’t go wrong with this feel-good option.
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Comfort Crunch brings tidings of comfort and joy.
Stock up for the holidays! Photo by Hannah
Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE. |
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October 10, 2009 at 7:45 am
· Filed under Cocktails & Spirits, Recipes, Tip Of The Day
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Here’s a beautiful, fun and delicious cocktail snack that’s simple to make. We think of it as a deconstructed Bloody Mary; others call it “drunken tomatoes.” It helps if you have a jumbo martini glass, but a small pedestal bowl works nicely, too. Fill the glass with red and yellow cherry or grape tomatoes; add a quality vodka to just cover the tomatoes. You can snip in some fresh (not dried!) oregano or rosemary as a pretty herbal accent. Provide attractive toothpicks in a shot glass or other holder, so guests can spear the tomatoes, and a small bowl for discarded picks. This one is always a cocktail party hit!
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October 10, 2009 at 7:36 am
· Filed under Food Holidays, Recipes
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Award-winning dessert lasagna by Chef Michael Stambaugh. Photo and recipe courtesy of the National Pasta Association. |
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November is National Pasta Month—a holiday we’d like to celebrate with a different delicious pasta dish every day. While most of us have tried the many different types of pasta, from long cuts (fettuccine) and short cuts (penne) to stuffed pasta (ravioli) and casseroles (lasagne), who has had dessert pasta? But we’re about to change that!
- Treat your friends and family to the dessert lasagne in the photo plus 12 other dessert pasta recipes. (Lasagne is the correct Italian spelling—lasagna is the Americanized word.)
- See our Pasta Glossary for all the different types of pasta.
- Visit our Pasta Section for recipes, how to pair pastas and sauces, the history of pasta and much more.
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