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


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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK: Caffe Acapella Coffee Candy Bars

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Each candy bar delivers the caffeine content
of two cups of coffee! Photography by Corey
Lugg | THE NIBBLE. Styling by Lauren LaPenna.

Many people love a good cup of coffee. And they love a good chocolate bar. So now, how about a coffee bar—not an eating establishment where you get a cup of coffee, but a coffee candy bar that’s cousin to the chocolate bar? After much experimentation, the founders of Caffe Acapella have created coffee candy bars that have the creamy texture of milk chocolate, without any chocolate ingredients. They’re made from roasted coffee beans instead of roasted cacao bean (the basis of chocolate). Coffee lovers are going to love them.

But a creamy candy bar that melts on the tongue isn’t the only focus. The star of the show is the genuine coffee flavor of the Arabica coffee beans used to make the bars. With each new batch of beans, sample bars are produced for experts to taste test; with approval, the beans move ahead to production. The resulting bars not only encapsulate the coffee flavor of fine beans, but also the caffeine content. Each 2.25-ounce bar contains the caffeine equivalent of about two cups of coffee! (And boy, does it ever taste better than Red Bull.)

Read the full review to see why these coffee candy bars had us singing with happiness after the first bite.

Read more reviews of our favorite candy & confections.

Learn more about the history of coffee.

How do you describe the kind of coffee you like? See THE NIBBLE’S glossary of coffee descriptors.

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TIP OF THE DAY: Red Pepper Sour Cream

Enjoy your baked potato with something special. Take 1 cup of roasted red peppers (pimentos), well drained; combine in a food processor with 1 cup of sour cream (or substitute reduced-fat sour cream or fat-free yogurt). Blend until smooth and add 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice. Top with minced green onions. Also try this delicious topping on nachos, as a dip and a general garnish.

Click here for more garnish ideas.

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NEWS: Cheese Unites Lovers—But No Cheesecake Wedding Cake!

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You can see more of Sarah Kaufmann’s work at SarahCheeseLady.com.

They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In some cases, specifically, it’s cheese. Sarah “The Cheese Lady” Kaufmann, a nationally-recognized cheese sculptor, has carved hundreds of commissions from cheese, including several dozen wedding requests. But she was always the sculptor and never the bride, until she met Bill Parry, a retired U.S. Naval officer, while traveling to San Diego to present a 600 pound, six-foot-long cheese carving of the USS Ronald Reagan at the home-porting ceremony.

On July 4, Sarah and Bill will host a pirate-themed wedding, in Manitowoc, Wisconsin near the banks of Lake Michigan. There will be a 32-foot long ship (wood, not cheese) christened the MV (Matrimonial Vessel). Guests received their invitations, illustrated with a special cheese carving done by the bride-to-be, inside glass bottles and have been instructed to attend in full pirate costume. On the wedding day, yellow flags with blue anchors announcing “Love Anchored in Cheese” will fly from the ship’s yardarm and decorate the tents. Even the wedding rings are designed to look like cheese—bands of gold with cheese dimples and holes.

Will there be cheese at the wedding dinner? You don’t have to ask! Sarah will create a Jolly Roger cheese carving for the appetizer table; Bill will cut out cheese hearts of Pepper Jack (his favorite) and gold “dubloon coin” circles of yellow cheddar. There will also be a Wisconsin artisan cheese tray, made by Sara Hill of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

In what might be the first cheese-meets-pirates culinary evening, the “Supper for the Crew” menu will consist of whole turkey legs roasted pirate style, roast pork with sauerkraut, corn on the cob, summertime garden fresh salad, chunky fruit salad, carrot cake with Jolly Roger flag art and Cedar Crest ice cream with Wisconsin summer berries and chocolate fudge sauce. Beverages will include lemonade (with or without grog), Wisconsin microbrews, Wisconsin old-fashioneds, Captain Morgan spiced rum and other assorted spirits. And plenty of limes to ward off scurvy…but no cheesecake! (Could it be that the bride and groom don’t flip for cheesecake like the rest of us?)

When the photographer tells everyone to “Say cheese!” he may get peals of laughter instead of mere smiles.

  • O.K., no cheesecake at the Kaufmann-Parry wedding, but you can bake your own with terrific cheesecake recipes in THE NIBBLE’s Cakes Section.
  • Our favorite Wisconsin artisan cheeses—like they’re serving at the wedding.
  • Munch through the entire Cheese Section on TheNibble.com—glossary, wine and cheese pairings, beer and cheese pairings, cheese condiments and reviews of lots and lots of fabulous cheeses.

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PRODUCT: Daddy Cakes Pancake & Waffle Mix

Daddy Cakes makes pancake and waffle mix in popular flavors that proved popular with us. They are a line of “JAW” (just add water) and cook products that make it a breeze to whip up breakfast favorites. Some of the specialty flavors are special, indeed, and are available in a charming, limited edition, reusable gift tin or a glossy airtight sack (a great wee giftie or stocking stuffer).

As you might suspect from the name, the mixes were dreamed up by a dad—in fact, two dads, who happen to be brothers. Often, when the men were put in charge of feeding the kids, they found themselves making pancakes. They put their heads together to determine how to make the best pancakes for their broods, and knew they had found the right recipe when the kids kept demanding “Daddy cakes.” (Hopefully, the kids won’t be demanding a royalty on the name.)

Now a line with a broad variety of flavors, Daddy Cakes is a gourmet convenience food that’s worth the extra shekels. There’s no need to add eggs, milk, oil or anything but water to the mix; in five to ten minutes you’ll have a smokin’ stack of flapjacks (we mean that figuratively, of course—keep your eye on the temperature of that frying pan). You can add a couple of eggs and vegetable oil for a fluffier pancake; but we found that they were just as delicious either way, so save the ingredients and the calories.

Read the full review and check out all of the flavors of these easy-to-make mixes.


Daddy Cakes Whole Wheat mix, in a limited edition, reusable gift tin.

  • See more of our favorite breakfast foods in THE NIBBLE’S Cereals, Pancakes and Waffles section.
  • Learn more about pancakes and waffles in our Pancake & Waffle Glossary
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    TIP OF THE DAY: Best Onion Tip

    June 22 is Onion Rings Day (yes, there’s an official holiday for every food). If you’re ready to start cutting onions today or any day, try this tip: Put onions in the freezer for 15 minutes before you chop them. This helps reduce the spray of culprit onion oils that vaporize and sting your eyes when you cut into the onion.

  • Click here to read more about veggies.
  • Learn about the different types of onions.
  • Check out our recipe for Beer-Battered Onion Rings.
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