[1] Elda’s cooking and grilling sauces can be used on just about everything (all photos © Elda’s Kitchen).

[2] The “Best Sellers” box.

[3] Honey Ginger Soy sauce goes with everything from egg rolls to sweet potato fries.

[4] The Wok & Roll Box. There are six gift boxes, and individual flavor trios are also available.

Elda’s Kitchen produces sauces that are very gift-worthy, as well as a treat at your own table. The line of cooking and grilling sauces hits the categories of vegan-friendly, verified Non-GMO, gluten-free, no MSG or preservatives, and no high fructose corn syrup. And they are delicious and worth your attention.

 
There’s even a Peach Habanero sauce that works on pancakes.

We even mixed it into plain yogurt: yum!

Essentially, whatever savory food you make, there’s an Elda’s sauce to mix into it, top it, or mix it into.

People who love condiments should definitely sample the line.

People who need food gifts have six boxed set options (below)that are sure to please.

For stocking stuffers and party favors, individual bottles are sold in three-packs.
 
 

 
 
Head to Elda’s Kitchen and get yours!
 
 
THE HISTORY OF SAUCES

Mankind doubtlessly taught themselves to mix up sauces before our first recorded evidence. The oldest recorded sauce in European cuisine is garum, the fish sauce used by the Ancient Romans. It was ubiquitous, used, as some have described, like modern Americans use ketchup.

We know that by 200 C.E., Romans were using a variety of sauces beyond garum. Sauces not only added flavor; they covered up the flavor of less-fresh foods.

Apicius, author of the first-known cookbook in the first century B.C.E., wrote at the end of one of his recipes for a particularly flavorsome sauce: “No one at table will know what he is eating” [source]. Roman sauces were usually thickened with wheat flour or crumbled pastry. Honey was used to make a sweet-sour sauce.

Each world cuisine evolved to make sauces to complement their foods. They added flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to dishes both savory and sweet.

The classic French mother sauces* were created in the 17th century by La Varenne, and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries by Carême and Escoffier.

Sauce is a French word, taken from the Latin salsa, meaning salted.

 
There is a world of sauces to discover: beyond American, beyond European. Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East all have wonderful sauces that you can use with your American fare to make “fusion” dishes.

Seek them out, and enjoy them.
 
 
________________

*The mother sauces are tomato, hollandaise, béchamel, velouté, and espagnole. They are further used as a base to create the secondary sauces: mornay, sauce suprême, creole, béarnaise and demi-glace. Here’s more about them here, here and here.

†The cookbook, De Re Coquinaria, authored by “Apicius,” is thought to have been compiled in the late 4th or early 5th century C.E. and given that title (“On the Subject of Cooking”). The name Apicius had long been associated with an excessively refined love of food, exemplified by Marcus Gavius Apicius, a Roman gourmet who lived sometime in the 1st century C.E. The author of the book is one Caelius Apicius; however, no person by this name otherwise exists in the historical record. The book was no doubt compiled by a person or persons who wished to remain anonymous [source].

We’ve begun to sample treats as potential holiday gifts, and received some that shouldn’t wait for the holidays. Two of these are featured here today, both in the ever-popular chocolate category. Both need not wait for the holidays. Their apple pie themes are a perfect fit right now! Both are imited editions for the season.
 
 
1. SUGAR PLUM CHOCOLATE APPLE PIE BARK

We started with the Apple Pie Bark from Sugar Plum Chocolates (photo #1). The confectioner has married milk chocolate with organically-sourced apple pieces and finely crushed graham crackers. It’s yummy!

The apple pieces are dried for a nice bit of chewiness amind the supple, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.

It’s not unlike eating a chocolate-covered apple pie – a perfect combination.

The Apple Pie Bark is packaged in a 1-pound, seasonal gift box that looks (to us) like a cute little barn.

It’s available exclusively on GoldBelly for $55.
 
 
The Bark As A Chocolate Bar

Sugar Plum also makes an apple pie chocolate bar: milk chocolate with dried apple chunks, a hint of cinnamon and a dash of sea salt (photo #2).

It’s available on the Sugar Plum Chocolates website.

A two-pack is $9.99.
 
 
2. COMPARTES ARTISAN WHITE CHOCOLATE BAR

For something in gourmet white chocolate (photo #3), head to Compartés.

It’s packed full of ingredients that emulate homemade apple pie: chunks of apples, cinnamon baked apples, caramelized cinnamon streusel pieces, and swirls of cinnamon inside.

It’s an apple pie in chocolate bar form!

If you give out gourmet treats for Halloween, pick up some–including some for yourself.

Each bar is $11.99.
 
 
Enjoy the season with delicious treats like these.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE BARK
 
 
> CHOCOLATE GLOSSARY: TYPES & TERMS

[1] Apple pie chocolate bark with chunks of apples and crust. Get it at Goldbelly (photo © Goldbelly).

[2] The bark in chocolate bar form. Get it from Sugar Plum Chocolates (photo © Sugar Plum).

[2] An apple pie in a bar. Get it here (photo © Compartés Chocolatier).

[1] The “Jewel” cocktail in a coupe glass (all photos © CÎROC),

[2] The “Passion” cocktail in a highball glass.

[3] A great holiday gift!

National Vodka Day, October 4th, is a food holiday that many of us gladly celebrate. We spent the day trying new vodka cocktails, and tried a new vodka as well: CÎROC Pomegranate, the brand’s latest limited-time offering. That means that if you want it, get it while it’s still on the shelves. While pomegranate is a year-round flavor, it’s popular during the holidays. The beautiful burgundy-colored bottle with gold lettering, showcasing a jewel tone of the season, makes it an impressive gift.

It will also look great on your bar or table. And the pomegranate vodka: delicious.

Sip it straight and you’ll find notes of juicy red berries with hints of strawberry, along with sweet and fruity pomegranate flavors.

The vodka also adds a special lift to cocktails. Two recipes follow, but first…

Another bonus: CÎROC is made from grapes, not grain, making it gluten-free.

There are two cocktail recipes below to get you started.

By the way, the circumflex over the second letter means that the name is pronounced “she-ROCK.”

Trivia:

 
Ready for a sip?
 
 
RECIPE #1: CÎROC POMEGRANATE JEWEL

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the vodka and grenadine in a mixing glass. Add ice and gently stir.

2. STRAIN into a glass (without ice). Top off with sparkling wine and garnish.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients in a highball filled with ice. Gently stir and garnish.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF VODKA

October is National Pizza Day, and it’s just one of 11 pizza holidays celebrated in the U.S. Here’s the entire list. And check out these 50+ pizza recipes.

Detroit pizza? Grandma slice? Scottish pizza crunch?? How many types of pizza have you had? Check ‘em out!

How about the history of pizza?

Take a look at pizza trends: America’s favorite toppings and creative toppings. Steak tartare pizza, anyone?

And now…
 
 
50+ PIZZA RECIPES

 
 
PIZZA “RELATIVES”

 
 
DESSERT PIZZA RECIPES

 
 
While some of us may think that every day is a pizza holiday, you’ve got the whole month of October to celebrate.

Not to mention all of these pizza holidays.

So go forth, try something different (check out the photos), and experience pizza in a new way.

If your local pizzeria has the same old, same old toppings, consider picking up some pizza dough and alternative toppings and create something new and delicious.

[1] Cherry tomatoes, arugula and a great homemade crust (photo © Jar Goods).

[2] Detroit-style pizza: rectangular, topped with tomato sauce and Wisconsin brick cheese atop a thick, chewy crust (photo © DeLallo).

[3] A taste of the Mediterranean: anchovies and picholine olives (photo © Gordon Ramsay Restaurants).

[4] Instead of bacon and eggs, how about pancetta and eggs…on pizza! (photo © DeLallo).

[5] Eat your veggies…on your pizza! Here, Brussels sprouts and broccolini (photo © DeLallo).

[1] The dish is made more festive when made in fluted molds (photo: The Nibble).

Updated June 2026

October 3rd is National Caramel Custard Day (National Chocolate Custard Day is May 5th). Also called crème caramel in France, and flan in Spain, caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of clear caramel sauce (photos #3 and #4).

Note that in France, flan Parisien refers to a classic custard pie or tart. Buttery shortcrust pastry is filled with pastry cream and baked until the top blisters. Here’s a recipe.

A layer of caramel is added to the bottom of the mold, creating a dark caramel top and sauce when the custard is unmolded.

Caramel custard can be made in individual ramekins, in a cake pan, loaf pan, in a fluted flan pan or tall fluted mold, or other shape.

In the U.S., caramel custard isn’t the same as creme caramel. Instead of the caramel topping, caramelized sugar is mixed into the custard prior to baking. It gets confusing.

Below:

> Introduction to custard.

> Julia Child’s crème caramel (caramel custard) recipe.

> Garnishes for crème caramel.

> More custard recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The different types of custard, a photo glossary.

> The difference between pudding and custard.

> The year’s 24 pudding and custard holidays.
 
 
INTRODUCTION TO CUSTARD

Custard is one of our favorite dishes: a symphony of cream, eggs and flavorings, baked to a velvety texture.

Most people consider custard to be sweet—a dessert that ranges from crème caramel, crème brûlée, flan and others. But there’s more:

 
Take the same mixture of cream and eggs that forms the base of sweet custard and replace the sugar with savory inclusions:

You’ve got a delicious savory custard that can be eaten at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In brief, custard has eggs, pudding doesn’t. Similarly, panna cotta isn’t a custard; it doesn’t contain eggs. It is an American-style pudding*, thickened with gelatin.

What about custard-style yogurt?

It’s a marketing name for yogurt in which the fruit is already mixed in and distributed evenly throughout.

A successor style to fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, it was created as a convenience for people who didn’t like to stir up the fruit. It has nothing to do with custard—but it does give the yogurt a creamy, pudding-like consistency.

(Editor’s note: We guess that “custard” yogurt sounded more elgant than “pudding” yogurt.)
 
 
JULIA CHILD’S CARAMEL CUSTARD (CRÈME CARAMEL) RECIPE

This recipe uses a four-cup mold to make a family-size caramel custard, which can be cut into 6 servings.

If you want to use individual ramekins, bake for half the time—20 minutes at 350°F.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup sugar with ¼ cup water. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Increase the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until the syrup turns a light caramel color.

2. REMOVE the saucepan from the heat and dip the bottom into cold water to stop the cooking. Pour the caramel into a 4-cup charlotte mold, and tilt so that it covers the bottoms and sides. Let cool.

3. BRING the milk and vanilla to a boil in a small saucepan. In a heatproof bowl, beat the eggs, egg yolks and ⅔ cup sugar until blended.

Whisking constantly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture; if you don’t whisk constantly, the eggs will curdle. Let rest for a few minutes, then strain.

5. TRANSFER the pan to the oven. Bake until a knife inserted into the center of the custard comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Keep the custard in the baking pan until the water cools. Remove from the pan to finish cooling.

6. SERVE: Run the tip of a knife around the top of the custard to loosen it. Invert a serving platter over the mold and quickly turn it over again. Carefully remove the mold.
 
 
MORE CUSTARD RECIPES

 
________________

*In Britain, puddings began as boiled or steamed, savory foods of minced meat. The earliest puddings were sausages, such as black pudding, a type of sausage made with pig’s blood. Sweet versions evolved, which were steamed cake-like desserts. Now, pudding refers to any sweet, final course of a meal, which Americans call dessert.
 
†Garnishes For Crème Caramel: Julia didn’t garnish her recipe. Crème caramel is already a visually striking dessert in its own right, topped with a glossy caramel sauce that flows over the custard when it’s unmolded. Garnishes should enhance without overwhelming. Avoid chocolate or anything too heavy, too sweet, or too strongly flavored. Options:

Berries: raspberries in particular, whose tartness cuts the richness perfectly and bright color is appealing scattered around the base.

Citrus: finely grated orange or lemon zest over the top adds brightness and aroma. Or, candied citrus peel alongside.

Caramel: a few shards of hard caramel or toffee or a delicate spun sugar nest on top add drama and reinforce the flavor.

Cream: a dollop crème fraîche adds a bit of tang, or a quenelle of whipped cream. The latter should be unsweetened or barely sweetened.

Fleur de sel: lightly sprinkle a few coarse flakes over the caramel sauce as it pools. It’s a sophisticated touch: the salt amplifies the flavor.

Herbs and flowers: a single small sprig of fresh mint is classic; edible flowers are another option, but most people don’t eat them.

Nuts: a few toasted slivered almonds or a small cluster of caramelized pecans or hazelnuts.
 

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