We can always rely on DiBruno Bros. in Philadelphia for the best specialty foods—and creative ways to use them.

For Easter, they’ve used Easter egg cookie cutters (photo #2) to create an Easter cheese plate (photo #1).

The semi-hard cheese group includes young Asiago, Cheddar, Colby, Edam, Fontinella, Gouda, Manchego, Provolone (photo #1) and Queso Blanco, among others.

Semi-hard cheese is a classification of cheese based upon body. The terms semi-hard and hard refer mainly to moisture content, not to texture.

Because these cheeses contain less moisture than the soft and soft-ripened types, they hold their shape much better—good to cut with cookie cutters.

A cheese can start as semi-soft, then move to semi-hard via aging, which evaporates the moisture.
 
 
HOW TO MAKE CHEESE EASTER EGGS

1. PICK your cheeses. While DiBruno Bros. used only provolone, try at least two different colors: provolone and cheddar, for example.

2. PICK your toppings. You can use anything you have around, but here are some ideas. Use as much color as you can; e.g., green pimento olives instead of black olives, and sultanas (golden raisins) instead of dark purple raisins.

 
Plus:

 
You can also add colorful fruit to the plate: berries, dried apricots, orange/mandarin segments, red grapes, etc.

3. CUT and decorate the cheese shapes.

4. SERVE as a first course, with a salad course, or after the main course, before dessert.

[1] Easter egg cheese plate, created by DiBruno Bros from provolone (photo © DiBruno Bros).

[2] Easter egg cookie cutter set on Amazon (photo © Ann Clark Cookie Cutters).

[3] The easy cheese platter: Surround rounds and wedges of cheese with Easter candy (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

Put your favorite cheeses on a board and surround them with Easter candy (photo #3). This works best when cheese is served after the main course.

Bite-size, foil-wrapped Easter eggs are best because chocolate is a good pairing with cheese.
 
 
> CHECK OUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHEESE IN OUR CHEESE GLOSSARY <

[1] Blueberries and lemon curd are a delicious combination Here’s the recipe from Baking A Moment. Substitute ice cream, pudding or mousse for the yogurt (photo © Baking A Moment).

[2] It looks like the Easter Bunny made this parfait. Here’s the recipe from Sugar Spice And Family Life. Substitute ice cream, pudding or mousse for the yogurt (photo © Sugar Spice And Family Life).

[3] Use any glass vessel you have. We use our champagne flutes (photo © Davio’s | Boston).

[4] These Cookies & Cream Parfaits With Chocolate Cream And Bailey’s Irish, for any occasion, are irresistable. Here’s the recipe (photo © Homemade Hooplah).

If you’re sheltering in place for Easter—and most of us certainly are—here’s a dessert that is both festive and easy: a no-bake parfait.

Originally (and still) made with ice cream, yogurt* parfaits were adapted as yogurt† became a popular food in 1977†.

For dessert, there are chocolate parfaits, butterscotch and caramel parfaits, parfaits with most kinds of fruit and fruit sauces. But for Easter, bright colors complement the season.

June 25th is National Strawberry Parfait Day.

The History Of The Parfait.
 
 
HOW TO CONSTRUCT YOUR DESSERT PARFAIT

WANT A LAYER OF CAKE?

The yogurt parfaits don’t use crumbled cookies or cake as a bottom layer, but it’s a good addition to a dessert parfait. If you want to add a cake or cookie layer(s) but don’t have any cake or brownies at home, substitute:

 
DESSERT PARFAIT LAYERS & GARNISHES

Start with ice cream and/or sorbet layers of choice. You can also use mousse or pudding.

For the other layers, see what you have on hand—especially in bright Easter colors:

 
Some non-colorful options for another occasion:

 
Any combination is delicious.
 
FOR ADULTS: LIQUEUR

Add a hint of liqueur to:

 
BREAKFAST & BRUNCH GARNISHES

Any combination of fresh fruit, sliced or diced, works. Use two different flavors of yogurt for added flavors and colors.

For additional layers and garnishes, try:

 
Bon appetit!
 
 
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*Yogurt, a staple in Greek, Turkish and other Mediterranean cuisines, was made in those local communities and had low awareness among the general population.

†While yogurt is an ancient food and had been available in the U.S. since the early 1900s, it was seen as a health food, available in health food stores, a century before healthy eating was adapted by consumers nationwide.

Yogurt became a popular food as a result of Dannon’s famous “Georgians Over 100” advertising campaign (source).

Hops are one of the four components of beer, along with malted barley, yeast and water.

They are used primarily as bittering, flavoring, and stability agents. In addition to bitterness, they impart floral, fruity, or citrus flavors and aromas, based on the particular strain and the terroir*.

Without hops, beer would be a sticky-sweet fermented barley drink—unattractive, says a source.

Hops (Humulus lupulus) are climbing plants, much like grape vines (photo #2). Without hop flowers (photo #1), there would be no beer as we know it.

 
There are hundreds of varieties and strains of yeast, which also contribute to the aroma and flavor of beer. Here’s more about them.

THE HISTORY OF HOPS

The first documentation of hop cultivation of hops is from 736, in Bavaria. But they are are not mentioned as a bittering agent for beer for three more centuries, until 1079.

Prior to then, brewers used a variety of bitter herbs and other plants to impart bitterness: bog myrtle, borage, heather, spruce tips.

Hops were then used medicinally and to impart bitterness to other beverages.

In the Middle Ages, brewers flavored their beer with a mixture called gruit, that combined bitter herbs, spices and flowers: burdock root, dandelion, heather, horehound, ivy and marigold.

Early documents mention a hop garden in his will; although at that time, hops were used to flavor other beverages, and for medicinal purposes (source).

In the 11th century some creative brewer, to whom all beer drinkers are indebted, decided to use hops in the brew. But not until the 13th century did hops begin to edge out the use of gruit in brewing.

Hops Beyond Germany

Hop cultivation spread to other parts of Europe, and experimentation began to improve the quality of hop flavor.

Beer was an essential part of the daily diet for both adults and children (water supplies were unreliable and often tainted).

Hops came to America in 1629, and were grown by English and Dutch farmers.

After then, there was not much of note to consumers in hops, which were used by what had become large breweries.

But with the growth of microbreweries in the U.S., beginning on the West Coast in the 1980s, small-batch brewers discovered how different hops created different flavors and aromas in their beers.

Hops began to move “from their position as the supporting actor in the beer ensemble to the starring role” (source).

[1] Close-up on a hop flower (photo © USA Hops).

[2] Trellises of hop bines. That’s not a typo: vines that don’t produce tendrils are called bines (photo © Rogue Ales).

[3] The end result of great hops: great beer (photo courtesy American Homebrewers Association).

Rogue Ales in Oregon, for example, one of America’s first microbreweries, grows 10 varieties of our proprietary hops. Some breweries grow their own hops, but most work with hop farmers to grow what they need.

It’s no surprise that the global production of hops has risen, and more land is devoted to growing them (source).

Here are some of the different types of hops grown in the U.S.

You’ve been a good student, learning the history of hops and the part they play in brewing.

You are now entitled to enjoy a cold one.
 
 
< CHECK OUT OUR BEER GLOSSARY FOR THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEER >
 
 
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*Terroir, pronounced tur-WAH, is the French word for soil, land or terrain. It can be loosely translated as “a sense of place,”the sum of the effects that the environment has on the creation of what is grown there. It has long been used in wine and coffee analysis to denote the special characteristics of soil, climate, weather, geology, aspect (how many hours it gets direct sunlight, e.g.) and altitude that give the grape or bean its individuality. The term is now being used, appropriately, to describe other agricultural products.

[1] Serve croissants or any bread products with lemon curd—including a raisin bagel (all photos © Bonne Maman).

[2] A yogurt parfait with layers of lemon curd.

[3] Mini cheesecakes topped with lemon curd.

[4] Cake-in-a-jar: Layer strawberry preserves, cake, lemon curd, cake, and lemon curd.

[5] Lemon curd is a great cake filling.

[6] Lemon curd is an easy “fancy” dessert: Just buy mini tart shells and fill with curd.

This tip is about lemon curd, but you can make fruit curds from any fruit that can be juiced (berries*, lime, grapefruit, orange, passionfruit, pineapple, mango, etc.)

Lemon is the most common, but the others are just as delicious.

There are some good store-bought lemon curds, but they are nowhere as good as homemade. Commercial lemon curds may also include thickeners (such as cornstarch; these dilute the flavor and quality of lemon curd), preservatives, colors, and flavorings.

And it’s so easy to make: four basic kitchen ingredients and 10 minutes on the stove. (It’s five ingredients if you count lemon juice and zest separately.)

Lemon curd is one of those foods that are so seductive, you can eat them by the spoonful from the jar.

Curd is a bread spread and filling for baked goods, but it’s slightly different from jelly, jam and preserves.

 
Here are the differences between jam, jelly, marmalade, preserves and all the different bread spreads.
 
 
USES FOR LEMON CURD

Lemon curd is a probably best known for serving with scones at afternoon tea. But that’s just one of the numerous ways to enjoy lemon curd.

 
 
RECIPE: LEMON CURD

Some of the best lemon curds are made with the zest and sweeter juice of Meyer lemons. However, they are seasonal; November through May.

Don’t let that stop you from making them from supermarket Eureka or Lisbon lemon varieties (the different types of lemons).

This recipe is courtesy of Taste Of Home.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. WHISK together in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, the eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Stir until blended.

2. ADD the butter and lemon zest. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon.

3. TRANSFER to a bowl; or to store, place in a clean container with a lid. Cool for 10 minutes. Refrigerate, covered, until cold.
 

THE HISTORY OF LEMON CURD

The first written mention of lemon curd appears in England in 1844, in The Lady’s Own Cookery Book by Lady Charlotte Campbell Bury.

This early recipe is different from today’s lemon curd. It is literally curds: lemon juice added to cream to form curds.

The curds were then be separated from the whey through cheesecloth.

Although still called curd, today’s recipe evolved to a velvety custard spread, made with by the combination of lemon, sugar, eggs and butter.

If you read U.K. articles, you may come across mentions of lemon cheese instead of lemon curd.

There is no technical or legal difference between the two. They contain the same ingredients and are cooked the same way.

Otamot. Otamot. We said it several times before we realized that Otamot is tomato spelled backwards.

Otamot was created by the parent of a picky eater, who set out to create a more nutritious tomato sauce, a food his daughter would eat.

Starting with the concept of tomato sauce, he found a way to add a nutrient boost to meals, including vitamins, minerals and fiber.

The solution: a tomato-based sauce combined with ten other vegetables.

It’s full of flavor, and a great way to sneak in vegetables that the vegetable-averse will never suspect.

But you don’t have to be vegetable-averse to love this sauce: It’s delicious for everyone.

There are three varieties:

 
 
WHAT’S IN OTAMOT ESSENTIAL SAUCE

The sauces include 9 to 12 different vegetables, depending on flavor.

In order of percentage, Organic Essential Sauce contains: vine ripened tomato, carrot, red bell pepper, sweet potato, butternut squash, spinach, red beet, leek, sweet onion, garlic, grapeseed oil and portobello mushroom.

This combination adds 15 vitamins and nutrients, including lycopene and vitamins A, B3, B6, C, E and K, among others.

The sauces are gluten free, no sugar added, Non GMO, USDA Organic, high in fiber, and have 3 grams of protein per serving.

For sure, Otamot is a new way of looking at a favorite family food, tomato sauce.

We’ve been giving jars to friends, and plan to use them as party favors and stocking stuffers.
 
 
THINGS TO MAKE WITH OTAMOT ESSENTIAL SAUCE

Otamot is surprisingly versatile beyond pasta and pizza. Use the sauces in:

 
The creator, Andrew Suzuka, says his favorite use of the Spicy version is in a Bloody Mary.

We used it as a dip for shrimp in a raw bar. We also admit to eating it from the jar.

We’ll be ordering it by the case!
 
 
TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME OTAMOT NOW!

Otamot is currently available at retailers in the Northeast (store locator), but you can buy assortments on the company website, OtamotFoods.com/Shop.
 
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* Debuting at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide in June 2020.

[1] The logical choice: Otamot Essential Sauce with pasta and pizza (all photos © Otamot Foods).

[2] Tacos with Otamot Essential Sauce.

[3] Farro topped with roasted carrots and Otamot Essential Sauce.

[4] This fancy version of ratatouille is called a tian. Here’s the recipe.

[5] Otamot Essential Sauce ingredients.