Corn and rice, among other grains, are naturally gluten free. Chex cereals is the first mainstream, gluten-free cereal line, with Rice Chex, Corn Chex and new gluten-free Honey Nut Chex, Chocolate Chex and Cinnamon Chex.

We recently sat down with a box of “Simply Nutritious Honey Nut Chex With A Touch Of Honey.” WIth 8g or more of whole grain per serving, it is a healthier sweet treat than almost any other processed sweet treat (doughnut, breakfast pastry, raisin bagel), and nicely crunchy, eaten on the go from a plastic snack-size bag. We enjoy it.

But as we spend out days scrutinizing words and labels, we have two questions:

The new version of Honey Nut Chex is gluten-free and made of corn.

• “Honey Nut Chex With A Touch Of Honey?” (Italics ours.) Let’s send that one to the Department of Redundancy Department.
• Honey Nut?Where are the nuts? (Competitors, note: This could become the next “Where’s the beef?”) There are no nuts in this cereal. So we looked at the package ingredients. Last on the list: natural almond flavor. You can’t taste any almond flavor.

This recalled our favorite Abraham Lincoln quote: “You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” We don’t know if there were ever nuts in Honey Nut Chex, but has anyone else noticed they’re missing?

• Learn about whole grain cereals.

Ten winners will be “inducted” into the Cheese & Burger Society as winners of these handsome shirts. Photo courtesy of the Cheese & Burger Society.

Take a look at some of the Society’s fabulous cheeseburger recipes to get some great ideas for serving an American classic in a more sizzling way. Read the bullet below to find out how to enter to win this week’s prize. There will be 10 winners; the T-shirts come in two sizes: men’s large and women’s large.

• To enter this week’s Gourmet Giveaway: Visit THE NIBBLE’S Gourmet Beef Section and click on the link at the bottom of the page. Enter your email address for the Gourmet Giveaway prize drawing by noon Eastern Time on Monday, October 12. Good luck!
• Check out some of our favorite Wisconsin cheeses.

• Learn more about fruit pastes and other cheese condiments.
• Look up cheese terms in our Cheese Glossary.

Donsuemor, known for its madeleines, has introduced a wonderful new little treat, the financier, or French almond cake. Fragrant, soft and moist with crisp fluted edges, these wonderful bites are just right with coffee, tea, milk or hot chocolate. Serve them instead of cookies or as part of a mixed cookie plate.

Financiers were created by a baker named Lasne in the financial district of Paris in the 1890s. Named for the rich financiers who frequented his bakery, Lasne created the little unglazed cake as finger food, to be enjoyed without utensils, and to be non-crumbly—no risk to the suit, shirt or tie of the nibbler. They were traditionally baked in the shape of gold bars.

Financiers or French almond cakes are a delicious treat for cake lovers. Photo courtesy of
Donsuemor.

• Order the financiers/French almond cakes at Donsuemor.com.
• Read about financiers and many other types of cake in our Cake Glossary.

Is it “real” brewed or is it VIA Ready Brew instant coffee? Photo courtesy of Starbucks.

Where are those instant coffee drinkers? We’ve done our share of world traveling and we’ve seen instant coffee in foreign grocery stores. But we’ve also been impressed by how strong most other nations like their brewed coffee. Are these same folks who demand Italian roast-strength coffee and even more fortissimo strengths actually closet instant coffee drinkers?

At about $1.00 a packet, VIA Ready Brew is likely the most expensive instant coffee in the world. We tried it when we announced it here last February when the instant was first available from Starbucks’ website. It has now rolled out at Starbucks stores nationwide. Head to your nearest Starbucks: They’re sampling through Monday.

• Read the Business Week article.
• What exactly is “instant coffee?” Read the proper definition and many others in our Coffee Glossary.