[1] Just peel and eat. The packaging lets you consume the whole stick without needing a napkin (all photos © 4505 Meats).

[2] A trio of flavors: Cheddar, Red Hot and Original. Each two-ounce stick delivers 24g protein.

[3] Which would you rather have?

[4] Treat yourself to a box; above, Cheddar & Uncured Bacon.

[5] Prefer something hotter? Here it is!

Earlier this year, we were delighted to try the limited edition “Cheesse-Charones,” cheese flavored chicharrones from 4505 meats in San Francisco. They elevated conventional chicharrones so much, that we should have made them a Top Pick Of The Week. We’re remedying that error with this week’s Top Pick: 4505 Butcher’s Snack Sticks.

In 2009, chef and butcher Ryan Farr began to make chicharrones from leftover pork fat, selling them to local bars for extra cash.

They sold so well that Farr started 4505 Meats: an artisan, whole-animal butchery company devoted to sustainable practices and a desire to bring people simple-ingredient, low-or-no-carbohydrate, high protein foods.

The pork comes from humanely-raised, vegetarian-fed pigs, which are raised without antibiotics, on family farms, in stress-free environments.

We’re don’t usually eat meat snacks. Most of them are too tough or fatty for us and many are made with lesser-quality meat that requires too much spice.

But we’re pretty thrilled with 4505 Butcher’s Snack Sticks. They’re tender, meaty and beautifully seasoned.

Beyond snacks, we’ve served them:

 
The flavor and texture are delightful.
 
 
4505 BUTCHER’S SNACK STICKS: PROTEIN-PACKED

The new Paleo-friendly Snack Sticks are so delicious that we, don’t like to think of them as sausage links, a name that connotes a cheap snack for us.

No, these are artisan meat sticks, crafted by artisan butchers from premium meat and nicely seasoned with the finest spices.

The sticks are 98% pork and 2% seasonings, stuffed into a beef collagen casing.

They’re an irresistible snack, packed with protein: 24g per stick, more protein than any meat stick currently in the market. They deliver great, meaty flavor; and nicely filling.

Each stick is two ounces, is Keto-certified, Paleo-friendly and gluten-free. They’re made in three delicious flavors:

 
These are not just another sausage or meat stick.

You’ll immediately taste the higher-quality meat, from pigs raised with no antibiotics or added hormones. No nitrites or nitrates are used in the sticks.
 
 
GET YOUR SNACK STICKS
 
 
4505 BUTCHER’S SNACK STICKS: PROTEIN-PACKED

The products are available in grocery stores nationwide, and in the company’s Amazon store.

While you’re at it, pick up some pork rinds (chicharonnes) and cracklings (the difference).

Thinking ahead: a single stick makes a party favor or stocking stuffer. A box of 12 is a yummy gift for any meat lover (or beer lover!).

For more information on visit 4505meats.com.
 
 
> THE DIFFERENT CUTS OF PORK

September 2nd is World Coconut Day (June 26th is National Coconut Day), a holiday observed big-time in the Asian and Pacific countries, which are home to most of the world’s coconut-producing countries. National Coconut Day in the U.S. is June 26th.

World Coconut Day was established to increase public awareness of the health and commercial benefits of coconut, a fruit that has been on earth for millions of years, much to the benefit of humanity (we’ll talk further about that in a bit).

While some Americans might think that our coconuts come from Hawaii, the top three coconut producers, representing 75% of the world output, are Indonesia (17+ metric tons), the Philippines, and India (both around 15 metric tons).

Smaller quantities from 2.5 to .5 metric tons are produced in Sri Lanka, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, and Malaysia [source].

> The history of coconuts is below.

> So are our 10 favorite coconut recipes.

> The year’s 11 coconut holidays.
 
 
DO COCONUTS GROW ON PALM TREES?

Yes, but only on the coconut palm tree (Cocos nucifera), a member of the palm family (Arecaceae). The family includes a variety of plants: climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants. All are commonly known as palms.

Yet with all the Arecaceae members, the coconut palm is the only extant species of the genus Cocos, i.e., the only tree that bears coconuts.

Coconut palm trees grow up to 100 feet tall. Each tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, though fewer than 30 are more typical.

The trees are intolerant of cold weather and prefer copious precipitation, as well as full sunlight; i.e., the tropics.

The term “coconut” (the archaic spelling was cocoanut) can refer to the whole coconut palm tree, the seed, or the fruit.

Yes, the coconut is botanically a fruit, not a nut. The “nut” portion of its name was given because of its similarity to hard-shell nuts.

The part of the coconut that we eat is the inner flesh (called coconut meat) of the mature seed of the coconut palm. Here’s another bit of botany: Coconuts are drupes.

Drupes (here’s more about them) include stone fruits (apricot, cherry, nectarine, peach, plum, etc.; and tropical fruits like coconut and mango. Nuts—almonds, hickory nuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts—are also drupes; as are peppercorns.

And there’s yet another group of drupes typically not eaten raw, which includes coffee and olives†.

The coconut is different from these drupes, A coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe, also known as a dry drupe.

 
The name coconut comes from the old Portuguese word coco, meaning head or skull. Why?

There are three indentations on the coconut shell that were thought to resemble facial features.
 
 
THE “TREE OF LIFE”

The coconut palm is one of the most useful trees in the world. It provides food (flesh, coconut milk, and coconut water*, cooking oil), fuel, and building materials, and is used in cosmetics and homeopathic medicine, among many other uses (hence, the tree of life).

 
The Tree of Life, indeed!
 
 
COCONUT HISTORY

No one knows exactly when the first coconut palm tree appeared, but the oldest coconut fossils found date to some 55 million years ago [source].

Coconuts were domesticated in prehistoric times by the Austronesian peoples, indigenous to Taiwan.

Coconuts likely were first cultivated on islands in Southeast Asia: the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and perhaps on the continent as well. In the Indian Ocean, the likely center of cultivation was the southern periphery of India, including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Laccadives [source].

They subsequently expanded to Madagascar, Maritime Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Coconuts were spread during the Neolithic era (from 10,000 B.C.E. to 4,500 B.C.E.) via seaborne migrations of people…and the fruit, which can float, may well have made its way across oceans.

Coconuts played a crucial role in the long sea voyages of early people. They provided a portable source of food and water, as well as building materials for outrigger boats.

Coconuts were later spread along the coasts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans by Arab, European, and South Asian sailors. Arab sailors carried coconuts from India to East Africa as long as 2,000 years ago [source].

Arab traders also introduced coconuts to Europeans, first along the trans-Asian Silk Roads. Among the traders was the Venetian adventurer Marco Polo, who encountered the tree in Egypt in the 13th century, calling its fruit “the Pharaoh’s nut” [ibid].

> Here’s more about how coconuts reached Europe.

Coconuts Reach The Americas

Coconuts were introduced by Europeans to the Americas during the colonial era of the Columbian Exchange, following the voyage to the Americas by Christopher Columbus in 1492.

However, to dig into the ancient past, there is evidence of a possible pre-Columbian introduction of coconuts to Panama by Austronesian sailors [source].

For the present, think of what coconut recipes you’d like to try, to celebrate World Coconut Day.
 
 
OUR 10 FAVORITE COCONUT FOODS & MORE COCONUT RECIPES

[1] Looking up to the top of a coconut palm tree (photo © Gerson Repreza | Unsplash).

[2] Clusters of coconuts growing on a tree. When the coconuts are green, they contain more water than meat. These are cut down before they develop their hard, brown shell (photo © Tome 213 | RGB Stock).

[3] The mature coconut, with a hard brown shell, yields white coconut meat. The shells are turned into charcoal or dissolved into printer’s ink and pesticides (photo © Tijana Drndarski | Unsplash).

[4] Piña Colada, one of our favorite drinks. Here’s the original recipe (photo © Tommy Bahama).

[5] Coconut fried shrimp, also called coconut battered shrimp. Here’s a recipe (photo © Dons Bogam | NYC).

[6] German chocolate cake uses coconut in the filling and frosting. Here’s a recipe (photo © Betty Crocker).

[7] Coconut macaroons. Here’s a recipe (photo © Djwtwo | CC-BY-NC-SA-2.0-License).

*Coconut water occurs naturally within the fruit; coconut milk is a processed beverage.

†Olives cannot be eaten from the tree. They contain oleuropein and phenolic compounds, which, while not poisonous, must be removed or at least, reduced, to make the olive palatable.

‡Macadamia nuts or coarsely-chopped almonds are a nice addition.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Take advantage of fresh figs to serve with breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert (photo © Heather Barnes Wesual | Unsplash).

[2] Deep Ellum Blue Cheese (photos #2 and #3 © Mozzarella Company).

[3] The blue in Deep Ellum Blue is on the top (rind) of the cheese, not in the paste. Yes, do eat the rind!

[4] Prosciutto di Parma. You can substitute its Spanish cousin, serrano ham (photo © DiBruno Bros.).

[5] Frisée salad topped with figs (photo © SXC).

[6] Add them to crostini or bruschetta. Here’s the recipe with blue cheese (photo © The Daily Deelight).

Ah, fresh figs: a seasonal delight. Dried figs are available year-round, but there’s a certain joy of biting into the pliant flesh of a fresh fig.

Figs may be one of the first foods cultivated by man. Fig cultivation precedes the domestication of barley, legumes and wheat, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture.

In the millennia before Europe and the Middle East had access to cane sugar or beet sugar, figs were used, in addition to honey, as sweet snacks and to sweeten cakes, puddings and other desserts.

Here’s more on the history of figs.
 
 
WAYS TO ENJOY FIGS

In addition to the eating figs out of hand, with the cheese course, and in the featured appetizer recipe below—serve figs:

 
RECIPE: FIGS IN A BLANKET

This recipe is from the Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide by American cheese-making royalty Paula Lambert of The Mozzarella Company.Recipe copyright © 2000 by Paula Lambert.

The figs are wrapped in prosciutto along with Paula’s Deep Ellum Blue cheese.

Since the “blanket” is prosciutto, not pastry, it’s also a low carb, gluten-free appetizer.

About Deep Ellum Blue Cheese

Unlike other blue cheeses, Deep Ellum Blue has no blue veins. The “blue” is the diamond-scored, blue-mold-mottled, edible rind (photos #2 and #3).

Deep Ellum Blue is soft, creamy and spreadable. Its flavor is robust and earthy, but not too strong or salty. Serve it on a cheese plate, as a slice atop a green salad, or atop chicken, beef and veal dishes.

It’s is especially good with Port and dessert wines. You can order Blue Ellum here.

Deep Ellum Blue is named for the location in Dallas where The Mozzarella Company’s cheese factory is located. The name also recalls the neighborhood’s legendary blues singers of years past.

If you can’t get your hands on it, look for another creamy blue: Cambozola Blue (Germany) or Double Crème Blue from Castello Cheese (Denmark), for example.

How To Serve Figs In A Blanket

Figs In A Blanket recipe are delicious as an appetizer, with a glass of wine, and as:

 
Ingredients For 8 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. Brush a non-stick baking sheet with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Separate the slices of prosciutto and cut each in half so that there are 16 pieces of sliced prosciutto. Set aside.

2. DIVIDE the Deep Ellum Blue into 16 pieces and roll them into small balls. Cut the figs in half. Press your thumb into the cut side of each fig to make an indentation.

3. PLACE a ball of cheese into the indentation of each fig. Wrap each fig tightly with a piece of prosciutto, taking care to completely enclose the Deep Ellum Blue so that it won’t run out while baking. Gently squeeze the prosciutto-wrapped figs to seal the packets and place the figs on the prepared baking sheet with the prosciutto seam down.

4. POUR the balsamic vinegar, the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and honey into a small dish and stir to combine. Transfer the figs to the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese begins to melt and the prosciutto begins to brown.

5. REMOVE from the oven and, using a spoon or a silicone basting brush, drizzle the balsamic vinegar dressing over the figs.

6. SERVE. Place the Figs In A Blanket, while still warm, on a platter and sprinkle with the mint; or use in any of the other recipes mentioned above.

 
MORE FIG RECIPES

Popovers have been a family delight, although our mother and grandmother, both excellent bakers, didn’t make them. Instead, the family went for frequent brunches at a restaurant known for its popovers. Alas, the restaurant is gone and our option is to bake our own. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy.

You can always make regular popovers and serve them with cherry preserves, and that will be absolutely delicious. But the cherries bursting out of these popovers are much more special. (The cherry mixture is made separately and spooned over the baked popovers.)

The year’s 3 popover holidays:

 
Below:

> Cherry popover recipe.

> More popover recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> Classic popover recipe.

> The difference between popovers and Yorkshire Pudding and other uses for a popover pan.

> The history of popovers.

> The year’s 20+ bread holidays.

> The history of cherries.

> The year’s 15+ cherry holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: CHERRY POPOVERS

This recipe for Cherry Popovers is adapted from Elephantine Blog, which, alas, is now closed to outside readers. Thanks to Rachel Ball for the recipe. And additional thanks for the introduction to dark chocolate balsamic vinegar. We’d never come across it before.

If you don’t have a popover pan, use a muffin pan with cups approximately 2 1/2″ wide x 1-1/2″ deep. If you’re hesitant to buy a popover pan, here are more uses for it.

In a regular muffin pan, the batter should fill close to 10 muffin cups. You’ll end up with a flatter popover, more muffin-like in appearance although still as flavorful.

> Check out these popover baking tips from King Arthur Baking.

Regarding the garnish: We’re not keen on powdered sugar. It always gets on our clothing. We used a dab of mascarpone instead. You can pass a dish of it.

You can also turn fruit popovers into a dessert with lemon curd, ice cream, or whipped cream.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. CRACK the eggs into a mixing bowl; add the milk and whisk together. Slowly add the flour and salt, and continue whisking until the ingredients are well combined.

2. ADD the melted butter, mixing until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

[1] Hot popovers are split open and topped with the cherry mixture (photos #1 abd #5 © Elephantine Blog).

[2] Fresh bing cherries. You can substitute frozen cherries (photo © Gaelle Marcel | Weusual | Unsplash).

[3] Powdered sugar/confectioners’ sugar is the suggested garnish…(photo © Katharine Pollak | The Nibble).

[4] …But we preferred passing a bowl of mascarpone (photo © Vermont Creamery).

4. PIT the cherries and cut them in half. Place them in a medium mixing bowl and sprinkle with sugar, gently tossing until the cherries are well-sugared. Pour the balsamic vinegar over the fruit mixture and stir. While the popovers are baking, keep stirring the fruit mixture occasionally. By the time the popovers are ready, the sugar will be dissolved in the balsamic and the cherries will be coated in syrup. (For extra credit, mash the coated cherries, just a little bit, to make a juicier fruit mixture).

After the batter has rested for 30 minutes…

5. REMOVE the hot popover pan from the oven. Quickly pour the batter into each popover cup, distributing the batter evenly. Fill each cup about 3/4 full.

6. PLACE the pan back into the oven. Bake the popovers for 20 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the popovers are golden brown on top.

Word to the wise: Don’t open the oven door until you’re getting close to the end of the baking process. A quick temperature change with undercooked popovers can make them collapse.

7. GENTLY OPEN a warm popover. Spoon the sugared balsamic cherries inside, and dust with powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Leftovers (as if!) will last a couple of days in an airtight plastic bag. Microwave them briefly before serving.
  
MORE POPOVER RECIPES

 

[5] You can add lemon curd, ice cream, mascarpone, or whipped cream to fruit popovers and serve them for dessert.
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] The ice cream sensation of the summer: Van Leeuwen’s Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Ice Cream (photos #1 and #2 © Kraft).

[2] The sweet ice cream is flavored with Kraft Mac & Cheese powder.

[3] Charlie Trotter’s goat cheese ice cream with roasted figs and tuiles*. Here’s the recipe (photo © Charlie Trotter).

[4] Cheddar ice cream on an apple crisp. Here’s the recipe (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[5] Goat cheese ice cream with optional roasted figs. Here’s the recipe (photo © Bonjon Gourmet).

We’re celebrating unusual ice cream flavors today, starting with a food gift for that special person who wants to snack out on a limb.

This year, we were invited to try “Everything Bagel” ice cream and then, in July, Kraft Mac & Cheese ice cream. We didn’t try either, but we followed the comments of those who did.

The Mac & Cheese ice cream from Van Leeuwven was made with the same cheese powder as Kraft’s blue box wonder.

There are no bits of macaroni, likely because even when cooked, the frozen elbows would have become as hard as in their uncooked state.

The flavor sold out within an hour of going on sale online—the equivalent of 6,000 scoops in pints.

Fans commented on how the cheesy powder paired nicely with Van Leeuwen’s standard ice cream base of milk, cream, and sugar.

That’s no surprise to us: We’ve been making cheese ice cream for years (recipes below).

Disappointed you didn’t get to try it? Well, it’s b-a-a-a-a-c-k.

As of 7 o’clock this morning, it was on sale at VanLeeuwenIceCream.com, $12/pint “while supplies last.”

Or, make your own using fine aged Cheddar, with our Cheddar ice cream recipe.

But wait, there’s more! Check out the cheese-flavored ice cream recipes below. We promise, they’re delicious.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The year’s 50+ ice cream holidays

> The different types of frozen desserts: a photo glossary.

> The history of ice cream.

> The different types of cheese: a photo glossary.

> The history of macaroni and cheese.
 

[6] Cream cheese ice cream accompanies honey-baked apples (photo © Elena Leya | Unsplash).
 
 
CHEESE ICE CREAM RECIPES

Here are six of our go-to cheese ice cream recipes—using cheeses more elegant than powdered cheddar.

While Van Leeuwen’s version is sweet, as our most of our lineup.

We have two savory recipes, both made with Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan). The one from the brilliant chef Ferran Adrià is such a favorite of ours, that a friend makes it for us every year on our birthday.

Savory cheese ice cream is not a cutting-edge culinary concept. You can find Formaggio Gelato or Formaggio di Parmigiano in older Italian cookbooks.

The cheese ice cream replaced the cheese course at the end of summer lunches. It was also made in a loaf pan, cut in slices and served as a starter with ham and hard-boiled eggs.

We love Ferran Adria’s recipe for savory Parmigiano Reggiano Ice Cream Sandwiches.

You can update the recipe without the tuiles, to a first parfait with prosciutto and melon.

Or, go for a savory cheese course trio of Parmesan, Cheddar and Stilton gelati!

Take your pick: savory and sweet recipes:

 
Enjoy them!

Here’s a concept for a memorable cheese “ice cream social”:

Get together a group of people who own ice cream machines, and have each one make a different flavor.

*A tuile (TWEEL) is a thin, crisp French wafer, often baked in the shape of an arc. It can be savory or sweet. Tuile is the French word for tile, after the shape of arc-shaped roof tiles that the wafer most often resembles. Almond tuiles are a popular dessert cookie, can be made in dough; You can see a flat tuile in photo #3.