Lemon-infused olive oil is one of six spectacular flavors.
Gertrude Stein may have espoused that a rose is a rose, but to us, an infused olive oil certainly is not an infused olive oil. All of them suffice, but Sonoma Farm Olive Oil is one of a handful of brands that we’ve tried where the flavors leap out of the bottle and transport you to a garden of wonderful aroma and flavor. (See our >Oils & Vinegars Section for other favorites.)
When we first looked at our task—tasting six different flavors of the Sonoma Farm brand of extra virgin olive oil, plus unflavored EVOO and a dipping oil—it seemed like work. By the end of the tasting, we were drunk with happiness on olive oil, drinking tablespoon after tablespoon. (The FDA recommends two tablespoons a day for heart health; we had a month’s worth.)
What did we experience? Lemon, lime and blood orange wafting out of the EVOO bottle, as if fresh juice were pent-up and waiting to escape. The fresh garlic, hot pepper (cayenne) and rosemary/basil olive oils jockeyed for position as well. Honestly, we couldn’t even pick a champion—they’re all winners. And that’s before we got to the regular EVOO, the dipping oil and the regular and strawberry balsamic vinegars.
Read the full review and see how we used these lovely oils. And note that delicious, heart-healthy olive oil makes a mighty fine Father’s Day gift. Read the full review.
What’s an artisan oil? An estate oil? The difference between virgin, extra virgin and just plain “olive oil?” Should you care if your olive oil is cold pressed? Read our Olive Oil Glossary.
How can you talk the talk and truly know what you’ve bought? Learn enough that you can start hosting olive oil tasting parties! Read the article and taste like a pro.
What does it mean when an olive oil is earthy… peppery… fruity… herbal? Each oil is different. If you prefer herbal to earthy, get to know how to ask for olive oil like you ask for wine. Read the scoop.
When it comes to chocolate, is your type tall, dark and handsome? Then Hershey’s extra dark chocolate might just have you swooning. O.K., it may not be tall, but it’s definitely dark (if you’ve checked out our Chocolate Glossary, you know that “dark chocolate” contains 50% or more cacao content). And its glossy packaging is certainly handsome. Each 4.4-ounce pouch contains approximately 12 squares of regular dark chocolate and raspberry-infused dark chocolate. Other varieties have pomegranate-flavored chocolate (an even bigger hit here at THE NIBBLE). We say, try them all!
The individually-wrapped portions, 1-3/4 inches square and 66.6 calories, are ideal anytime you need a small sweet fix; they are a perfect complement to a cup of coffee. While a USDA study concluded that 37 grams of dark chocolate (about 3 of these squares) offer the same amount of flavonol antioxidants as three cups of tea, two glasses of red wine or 1-1/3 cups of blueberries, benefits, dark chocolate is still a calorie dense food, and should be consumed in moderation. Thankfully, Hershey’s Extra Dark individual portions make moderation easy. Certified kosher (dairy) by OU.
It’s easy to enjoy a little bite whenever the mood strikes. Photo by Corey Lugg | THE NIBBLE.
Half the fat doesn’t mean you can eat twice
as much! Be sure to check the calories, too—
some brands of “light” ice creams have more
calories and sugar than other brands of “regular.”
Our friends at Consumer Reports have been dipping into the light ice cream to give you the scoop on light ice cream (in the July 2009 issue). By law, a “light” ice cream must have one-third the calories or half the fat of a brand’s regular ice cream.
The taste test compared three light ice creams with their regular counterparts, and also tried Häagen-Dazs Five, which isn’t marketed as a light ice cream but has a third less fat than regular Häagen-Dazs. The comments:
All of the lighter versions are quite tasty.
The lower-fat Häagen-Dazs Five was actually a bit better than the regular HD.
Breyers regular and light ice creams were very close in quality.
The light ice cream versions can also be less costly. Per half-cup serving, the lighter brands from Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s were less expensive as well as having far fewer calories. However (and there’s always a “however”), the term “light” is relative. The lighter Häagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry tried actually have more calories and sugars than the regular Edy’s/Dreyer’s and Breyers varieties.
Learn more about the different types of ice cream in our Ice Cream Glossary.
See reviews of our favorite ice cream brands and check out ice cream recipes in our Ice Cream Section.
June 16, 2009 at 3:58 am
· Filed under Beverages, Kids
It’s time to toast graduation for the elementary through high school set. You can have the Champagne; they can toast it with a glass of grapy bubbly in a Champagne-like bottle. Bottles of Welch’s Sparkling Juice Cocktail (in white or red grape juice) have been all dressed up with a tasseled mortarboard key ring as a memento (for those who haven’t graduated recently, a mortarboard is the “cap” in “cap and gown”).
Tasting exactly like fizzy versions of the regular juice, these sweet, fruity, non-alcoholic beverages are an alternative to the Shirley Temple, and a soda alternative to adults wistful for that Welch’s grape juice taste. The grown-up, wine-style bottles add to the festivities. The cost: $3.49 per bottle. Be sure to serve in wine glasses! Long past graduation that we are, we enjoyed our trip down memory lane with a glass of each.
June 15th is National Lobster Day, so buy a few crustaceans and get creative! How about dressing one of America’s favorite salads with lobster instead of chicken? Here’s a Lobster Cobb Salad recipe from Chef Wolfgang Puck.
RECIPE #1: WOLFGANG PUCK’S LOBSTER COBB SALAD
Ingredients
2 heads romaine lettuce cut into thin strips
2 heads watercress
1 pound diced cooked lobster meat
1/2 pound cooked chopped bacon
1/2 pound. cut green beans
2 medium diced tomatoes
6 hard-boiled eggs (separated into yolks and whites and then chopped)
2. ASSEMBLE the salad ingredients in stripes across a dinner plate and serve with the balsamic vinaigrette on the side.
3. TOAST with a glass of Champagne or other sparkling wine, to the lobsters of the world for tasting so darned good.
COBB SALAD HISTORY
Late one evening in 1937, Bob Cobb, owner of The Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, was scrounging in the kitchen’s refrigerator for a snack. He grabbed a mixed bag of ingredients: a head of iceberg lettuce, an avocado, some romaine, watercress, tomatoes, a cold breast of chicken, a hard-boiled egg, chives, cheese and some old-fashioned French dressing.
He then took some crisp bacon from a chef’s station and started chopping. He shared the snack with his friend Sid Grauman of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, who came back and asked for a “Cobb Salad” the next day. It was put on the menu and became an overnight sensation. Movie mogul Jack Warner regularly dispatched his chauffeur to pick one up.
