A truly fine, fresh croissant is buttery enough (photo © La Rose Noir).

Is there a person reading this who does not enjoy a buttery croissant? (Alas, not all are made with butter…so avoid buying croissants at inexpensive delis, and eagerly seek out new bakeries to see what they have to offer.)

Our only complaint is that the flaky puff pastry that is so delightful in the mouth invariably ends up all over our place setting and our clothing. We admire people who can eat one neatly.

A good croissant already contains so much butter that it needs no more embellishment. If you get one from a top baker who uses the best butter, enjoying each bite without the interference of additional butter or jam is, in our opinion, the way to go. But if you love your jam or honey, we wouldn’t deny you.

Making croissants by hand is very labor-intensive. Much of what is available today is factory-made, pre-formed and frozen, delivered to the bakery, food store, or restaurant, and “baked on our premises.”

In the 1970s, the croissant evolved into trendy fast food, filled with everything from broccoli to ham and cheese (and in many cases, lowering the quality of the puff pastry itself with margarine or other butter substitute).

> The history of croissants and croissant recipes.

– See 25 ways to spruce up your hot chocolate. You’ll also learn the difference between cocoa and hot chocolate—they aren’t synonymous.

– You can also read the difference between natural and dutched chocolate.

– See reviews of more than 70 brands in the Cocoas & Hot Chocolates Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.

Fritos, America’s first corn chip (photo © Mx. Granger | Wikipedia).

January 29th is National Tortilla Chip Day.

What’s the difference between a corn chip and a tortilla chip?

Both are made from corn or masa,* vegetable oil, salt and water.

But tortilla chips are made from cut-up wedges of actual tortillas. That’s why they’re triangular.

Corn chips, on the other hand, are processed into a particular shape—curls or scoops, like Fritos.

Fritos, the first commercial corn chip, were invented in 1941, in San Antonio.

Tortilla chips were created some 10 years later, in Los Angeles.
 
 
>The History Of Corn Chips

>The History Of Tortilla Chips

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**You’ll often see masa listed in the ingredients, instead of corn. Masa is corn that has been dried, treated with a lime water solution (i.e., nixtamalized), then ground.

– The amazing Blender Bottle, perfect for mixing pancake batter without a whisk, egg beater or electric mixer (campers take note).