If only there had been a Keurig K-Mini Mate when we had our last corporate job, when the powers-that-were discontinued the free coffee in a cost-cutting move. (Seriously, a Fortune 500 company couldn’t provide a pot of coffee)?

Instead of walking down the hall to the kitchen for a cup, we had to take company time—and the elevator down and up however many floors—to buy a pricey cup of coffee at a newly-installed lobby coffee stand.

In our subsequent career—this one—we received a K-Mini to test, and are very pleased with the results.

The Plus has slightly different choices, including white and red options. There’s a chart comparing the Mini and the Mini Plus below.
 
 
GOING SMALL: THE KEURIG K-MINI MATE

 
 
GOING SMALL ALTERNATIVE: THE K-MINI MATE PLUS

The Plus version adds three features:

 
 
GET YOUR MINI MATE

Head to Amazon, Keurig.com, or your retailer of choice.
 
> The year’s 25 coffee holidays

> The different types of coffee.

> The different types of espresso drinks.

> The history of coffee

> The history of espresso.

> The history of Keurig is below.

[1] Even if you have room on your counter for a larger machine, if you only make one or two cups a day, the Keuring K-Mini Mate is all you need (all photo © Keurig).

[2] Oasis is one of six colors available.

[3] The Keurig K-Mini Plus has a few extra capabilities, and some different colors like Cardinal Red.

The Keurig pod machine was invented by John Sylvan and Peter Dragone, who founded Keurig Inc. in Massachusetts in 1992 to bring convenient, single-serve coffee to offices.

The first brewers, targeting offices, debuted in 1998. The success of the office brewer led to home versions, appearing in 2004.

Sylvan, the inventor, was motivated by the poor quality of office drip coffee and the need to brew a full pot when only one or two cups was wanted. He envisioned a single-cup coffee machine that brewed quickly (in fact, it takes less than a minute).

He and Dragone created a machine that used pre-packaged coffee pods (K-Cups, K for Keurig) for fresh coffee in quick order.

Sylvan has since expressed regrets over the environmental impact of the non-recyclable K-Cups*

In 2006, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters acquired Keurig for $160 million, sparking rapid growth for both companies. By 2010, Keurig and K-Cup sales exceeded $1.2 billion, and the product line expanded to cocoa and tea.

In 2012, a crucial turning point occurred: Keurig’s main patent on K-Cup pods expired, leading to an explosion of competing (and less expensive) pods. Keurig responded by launching the Keurig 2.0 brewer with technology that would only brew officially licensed pods. However, based on consumer backlash, the lock-out was halted†.

In July 2018, Keurig Green Mountain merged with Dr Pepper Snapple Group in a deal worth $18.7 billion, creating Keurig Dr Pepper.

In 2024, the company shipped 10.4 million brewers, a 7.3% increase year-over-year. As of 2023-2024, the company has approximately 28,000 employees and annual revenue exceeding $14 billion.

Approximately 40 million U.S. households have Keurig brewers.

 
 
What Does “Keurig” Mean?

Founder John Sylvan said that the name came from his having “looked up the word excellence‡ in Dutch.”

According to an interview with The Atlantic, Sylvan said he chose Dutch because “everyone likes the Dutch.”

There does not appear to be any personal Dutch ancestry or deep connection to Dutch culture on his part. The rationale was simply that the Dutch were perceived positively.

There’s also the appeal of using a foreign word that sounds sophisticated.

However, regarding “excellence,” a more accurate translation† from the Dutch is neat or tidy, along with choice, dainty, delicate, elegant, exquisite, natty, and trim.

In our opinion, “neat” and “tidy,” which define single-cup brewing whether with K-Cups and other pods, is the perfect name for the technology.

Thanks to the founders for making it happen!
 
________________

*Keurig K-Cups are made from recyclable #5 plastic (polypropylene) and are technically recyclable if you separate the parts (peel the lid, empty the grounds, rinse the cup). However, local recycling facilities often don’t accept them due to their small size and mixed materials. Check your local rules or use Keurig’s mail-in K-Cycle program. And, keep looking for recyclable options, produced by smaller companies, as well as the stainless steel and other refillable versions that let you fill with your own ground coffee.

**Re strong brew capability: We, who always use the strong brew option on our Keurig Classic, can report that the regular brew was just fine. However, we use milk in our coffee, so if you drink yours black and like it strong, that may be a consideration.

†The lockout of unlicensed pods sparked consumer backlash and multiple lawsuits. In October 2020, Keurig agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit alleging they cornered the single-serve brewer market by making their machines only accept K-Cup coffee pods.

‡The Dutch word for excellence is uitmuntendheid, pronounced roughly like out-MOON-tend-hate. Other related Dutch words that convey excellence or being excellent include excellentie, voortreffelijkheid, and uitstekend. We can understand why the easy-to-pronounce-and-spell keurig won out.

So John Sylvan either misremembered looking up “excellence” in a Dutch dictionary, or looked up a related concept like “neat” or “refined.” Regardless of whether it holds up under scrutiny, it’s a fun piece of business naming lore.
 
 

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[5] The K-Mini vs. the K-Mini Plus.
 
 
  

December 17th is National Maple Syrup Day, one of the year’s two maple syrup holidays—not to overlook the dozens of holidays for pancakes, waffles, and other foods that wouldn’t be the same without maple syrup.

To celebrate, we made maple-glazed popcorn, with this delicious recipe from Runamok, one of the finest maple syrups (and great for gift-giving to a foodie who will appreciate the difference.

You can also make caramel corn with maple syrup instead of the honey in this caramel corn recipe.

> The history of popcorn.

> The year’s 13 popcorn holidays.

> The year’s 2+ maple holidays are below.

> The year’s 10+ pecan holidays are also below.
 
 
RECIPE #1: MAPLE-PECAN GLAZED POPCORN

While this is as sweet snack, it’s somewhat better for you because popcorn is a whole grain/fiber food, pecans have protein, and maple syrup is not refined sugar!

Prep time is 10 minutes and cook time is 5-10 minutes.

You can save time by purchasing already-popped popcorn, but the flavor and texture won’t be as fresh and crisp.
 
Ingredients For 6 Servings/6 Cups

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 300°F.

2. USE an air popper to pop the kernels, or follow the instructions on the packaging. Place the popped corn in a bowl and set aside while you make the topping. If you are using plain pecans, add them to the bowl.

3. MELT the maple syrup and butter in a small pan. Pour over the popcorn and toss. Sprinkle salt to taste.

4. SPREAD the popcorn on a tray lined with parchment paper, avoiding overlap. Bake until the maple is glazed onto the popcorn, about 5-10 minutes.

5. LET the popcorn cool.
 
 
RECIPE 2: MAPLE GLAZED PECANS

The easiest method is to toss the pecans with maple syrup (about 2 tablespoons per cup of pecans) and optional spices, and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

 
Here’s the stove top method.

See the tips below before proceeding.

Ingredients For 2 Cups Of Pecans

 
 
POPCORN SPICE OPTIONS

Here are some excellent spice options for maple-glazed pecans:

Start with sweet spices: apple pie spice, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla powder.

For a sweet-and-savory combination, pair any of the sweet spices with black pepper, cayenne, chipotle powder, or smoked paprika.

For an herbal touch, add dried rosemary or thyme.

For a salty touch, add crunchy sea salt (coarse grind).

Some popular combinations to accent the maple:

 
 
THE YEAR’S MAPLE HOLIDAYS

 
Plus:

 
 
THE YEAR’S 10+ PECAN HOLIDAYS

 
Plus:

[1] Maple and pecan popcorn: a fiber-filled snack for fall and winter (Gemini Photo).

[2] Freshly popped corn always tastes better than store-bought (photo © The Nibble).

[3] We used one of our favorite maple syrups (photo © Runamok Maple).

[4] For glazed, spiced pecans, start with raw pecan halves (photo © Smarter Pix).

[5] Spice up the pecans with your favorite flavors (Freepik Photo).

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[1] Celebrating eight years of CAKED’s cake cookies and other goodies (all photos © CAKED).

[2] While flavors rotate, here are some of the delicious options.

[3] You’ll want to taste every flavor, so you need a strategy. Ours was to take a forkful of each and freeze the rest. As Scarlett O’Hara said, “Tomorrow is another day!”

[4] Send boxes to every cookie lover on your gift list.

We’re always looking for the best baked goods: cakes, cookies, bars, everything! We’re thrilled when we find something terrific, and we have been thrilled by CAKED’s cake-like cookies.

They’re our Top Pick Of The Week, our Gift Of The Day for the holidays, and beyond. We can already see them as a reprise Top Pick for Valentine’s Day.

Founded in San Diego by Kathy Phan in 2017, CAKED makes wonderful artisanal treats: brownies, cake cookies, and traditional cookies.

We intend to try them all, but we started with a box of their cake cookies—exceptionally tender delights that look like artisan cookies.

Just take a bite, and you’ll find that what looks like a cookie has a cake-like softness.

How does Kathy do it? After lots and lots of recipe development came the breakthrough: cookies with an irresistibly soft texture that sets them apart from traditional crispy or chewy varieties.

The soft, cake-like texture comes from a secret ratio of fat, moisture content, and other kitchen wizardry.

The cookies are thick and pillowy, unique*, and irresistible. We have fallen under their magic spell.

The Red Velvet cake cookie may be the most heavenly cookie we’ve had all year—and there are only three weeks to go.

With more than 30 flavors in rotation, there’s always something to look forward to at CAKED.
 
 
GET YOUR CAKED COOKIES

They’re sold at five San Diego farmers markets, a storefront in the Miralani Makers District, and thankfully, via e-commerce.

Head to Caked.love.

> The history of cookies.

> The 10 different categories of cookies.

> The different types of cookies: a photo glossary.

> The different types of sugar: a photo glossary.

> The year’s 44 cookie holidays.
 

[6] Red Velvet was our favorite from our recent batch, but the rest tie for second place.

ROTATING FLAVORS

CAKED cookie flavors range from the classic to the modern. Many flavors have dark or white chocolate chips, adding additional flavor and texture.

This season, you’ll find Pumpkin Spice, Snickerdoodle, and White Chocolate Gingerbread, plus:

 
There are also gluten-free and vegan varieties.

The flavor list follows.

However, language evolves, and “unique” has developed a colloquial meaning closer to “unusual,” “distinctive,” or “remarkable.” When people say “that’s a very unique flavor combination,” they usually mean it’s highly unusual or particularly distinctive, not that it’s literally the only one in existence. In this looser sense, the gradable usage feels more natural.

Style guides and grammar purists generally advocate for the strict interpretation. If you mean “unusual” or “rare,” they’d argue you should use those words instead. Reserve “unique” for things that are genuinely singular. When you do modify “unique,” traditionalists accept qualifiers that address the manner or degree of uniqueness itself, such as “almost unique,” “nearly unique,” or “truly unique” (emphasizing its absolute uniqueness).

In practice, the “very unique” construction is so common in everyday speech that most listeners understand the intended meaning without confusion. Whether to avoid it depends on your audience and context—in formal or academic writing, stick to the strict usage, while in casual conversation, the broader interpretation is widely accepted even if not technically correct.
 
 

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December 9th is National Pastry Day. We consumers might conjure up images of our favorite pastries—apple turnover, cream puff, Danish. And in fact, in a pâtisserie or other professional culinary setting, the term “pastry” can refer to a wide range of elegant and often ornate desserts, confections, and sweet baked goods—which is how most consumers think of “pastry.”

> The history of pastry and the different types of pastry.

However, at its fundamental, the term “pastry” refers to the type of dough.

Pastry is a stiff dough made from flour, fat (butter or shortening), salt, and a small amount of liquid. It often has a high fat content, which gives it a characteristically flaky or crumbly and tender texture once baked.

The pastries made from the dough can be sweet or savory, and have evolved over the centuries to enable the creation of pastries with specific characteristics.

In alphabetical order, here are fundamental pastry types in Western baking traditions.
 
 
THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASTRY

Brioche dough. While technically an enriched bread dough, brioche is used extensively in pastry. Examples: buns, tarts, and the bases for elaborate desserts.

Choux pastry (pâte à choux). A cooked dough that puffs up dramatically. Examples: cream puffs, éclairs, gougères, profiteroles (photo #1). See the chart below.

Cream cheese pastry. A tender, flaky dough popular in America (where cream cheese was invented). Examples: kolache (kiffles), rugelach (photo #2), and thumbprint cookies. The pliability of cream cheese dough makes it perfect for shaping into balls with a depression for jam or preserves.

Croissant dough. A laminated* yeast dough similar to Danish but lighter, airier due to different ratios of fat and sugar. It bakes up with a distinct open honeycomb (alveoli) interior structure. Examples: croissants, pain au chocolat. Kouign-amann uses a variation of croissant dough that also has caramelized sugar layers (photo #3).

Danish pastry. A laminated* yeast dough, flaky and slightly sweet. It’s richer, denser, softer, and more tender than croissant dough because it contains eggs and more sugar. Examples: bear claws, Danish pastries.

Hot water crust pastry. A sturdy pastry made with hot water and lard. Examples: British pork pies and raised pies.

Pasta frolla. Italian sweetcrust dough, it’s similar to pâte sucrée (French sweet dough). Both are used as a base for tarts, pies, and cookies. See the ‡footnote for their differences. Examples: crostata (pie or tart), filled pastries (pastiera Napoletana, pasticciotti) and a variety of cookies (photo #4). If you’re wondering about the term pasta, in Italian it means paste, referring to dough, as does pâte in French.

Pâte à foncer. Very similar to shortcrust pastry, foncer is a basic lining pastry that sits between pâte brisée and pâte sucrée. The name translates roughly to “lining dough.” It’s very common in French pastry, known for being sturdy and smooth, and thus ideal for lining tart, quiche, and pie pans. See the chart below. For those who wonder why pâte doesn’t have an accent over the é, it’s because la pâte means paste (batter, dough) and refers to a base substance**. Le pâté refers to a finished dish (pâté de foie gras, pâté en croûte).

Pâte sablée. Meaning “sandy dough” in French, it’s more delicate than pâte sucrée. Its crumbly texture results from incorporating a high ratio of fat (butter) into the flour, using a method that deliberately minimizes gluten development. Examples: Sablée cookies, French tarts (photo #5). See the chart below.

Phyllo/filo pastry. Paper-thin sheets of dough brushed with butter and layered. Examples: baklava, spanakopita (photo #6).

Puff pastry (pâte feuilletée). An extremely light and flaky laminated dough with hundreds of buttery layers. It differs from croissant and Danish dough in that there is no yeast; it rises from steam only. Examples: Beef Wellington, cream horns, mille-feuille/napoleons* (photo #8), palmiers, vol-au-vents.

Rough puff pastry. Also known as blitz puff, quick puff, or flaky pastry, rough pastry is a simplified, faster version of classic French puff pastry (pâte feuilletée). It still creates flaky layers, and is the most common pastry used in American pies. The main difference between rough puff and full puff pastry lies in how the butter is incorporated. While the full lamination of pâte feuilletée generates maximum rise and most delicate, airy, and uniform layers, rough puff pastry is an easier option for home bakers, and is used to make the same pastries.

Shortcrust pastry (pâte brisée). Translating to “broken dough,” this is a tender, crumbly, savory pastry made without sugar. It is used for savory pies, quiches, and tarts. See the chart below.

Strudel dough. Strudel dough is hand-stretched paper-thin, actually quite different from phyllo. The biggest difference is in the ingredients and the preparation to achieve elasticity. Strudel dough is specifically formulated and heavily kneaded for maximum elasticity, allowing a single piece to be stretched into one giant, transparent sheet that is then filled and rolled (photo #7). Phyllo dough is made and used as many separate, tissue-thin sheets that are layered and buttered to build the final pastry (photo #6).

Suet pastry. A traditional British pastry that uses suet instead of butter. Suet is the firm, saturated fat found around the kidneys and loin of cattle or sheep. It’s less commonly used now but historically significant. Examples: Christmas pudding, dumplings, spotted dick, steak and kidney pie, steamed puddings.

Sweet shortcrust (pâte sucrée). A sweetened version of shortcrust pastry, used for cookies and dessert tarts.
 

[6] Spanakopita, Greek spinach and feta pie (or individual pastry) wraps the filling in flaky phyllo dough. Here’s the recipe (photo © Taste Of Home).
 

[1] Cream puffs and eclairs are made with choux pastry. Here’s the recipe for these spiced peach cream puffs (photo © Taste Of Home).

[2] Rugelach are made with cream cheese dough. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[3] Croissants and Danish are made with laminated* yeast dough. Here’s the recipe (Gemini Photo).

[4] Pasta frolla, an Italian sweetcrust pastry, is used to make pies and tarts Here’s the recipe for this pear and leek crostata (photo © Colavita).

[5] Pâte sablée is the base of French tarts (photo © Froste Ilze | Unsplash).

[7] The different types of French pastry dough (chart by Gemini).
 
 
_______________

*Laminated dough is a special baking preparation that consists of many thin, alternating layers of dough and butter (or other solid fat). The technique is all about creating structure and layers. Pastries made from it are famously light, flaky, and airy because of steam leavening, a process where the water content in the butter turns instantly into steam. The steam is trapped between the thin, impermeable layers of butter and pushes the dough layers apart, causing the pastry to puff up dramatically (i.e., “laminate”). The result is a buttery pastry with a crisp exterior and a delicate, airy crumb.

**In the plural form, les pâtes almost always means refers to the Italian noodles, e.g. penne or spaghetti.

†The terms mille-feuille and Napoleon refer to the same basic pastry. Mille-feuille is French for “a thousand leaves/sheets.” The two can have slight differences: The mille-feuille is filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with fondant icing with a chocolate pattern (photo #8). The Napoleon can have a layer of almond paste (frangipane) or almond pastry cream, and is sometimes topped only with powdered sugar.

The Napoleon is not named for Napoleon Bonaparte, but for the city of Napoli (Naples), Italy. Over time, it became mispronounced as Napoleon. The one exception is the Russian Napoleon Cake, a variation of the French mille-feuille, which was supposedly created in 1912 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Russian victory over Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812.
 

[8] The Napoleon, made with puff pastry (pâte feuilletée), is iced with fondant and decorated with chocolate icing. is. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).
 
‡Pasta frolla often includes lemon zest or orange zest, and sometimes vanilla. It’s traditionally made with a sanding method (rubbing cold butter into flour/sugar) or by rapidly mixing all ingredients. It’s generally considered a bit more pliable and easier to roll out, making it ideal for latticework.

Pâte sucrée often includes vanilla or almond flour (which changes the texture). It typically uses the creaming method, beating softened butter and sugar together first, which gives it a more cookie-like, crisp texture. It can be more brittle and delicate to work with.
 

[9] Rolling an apple strudel, ready to bake. You can see how thin the dough is. Here’s the recipe (photo © King Arthur Baking).
 
 

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[1] Gingerbread Popcorn Snack Mix (photo © The Popcorn Board).

[2] These charming jars are inexpensive on Amazon (photo © Amzcku).

[3] The candied pecan recipe is below (Abacus Photo).

[4] Buy a package of gingersnaps (photo © Nathan Dumlao | Unsplash).

[5] There’s no substitute for freshly-grated nutmeg (photo © SCYM | Pixabay).

For home snacking or for gift giving, this seasonal popcorn snack mix is fun.

For gifts, we purchased a set of these 32-ounce vintage-style Mason jars on Amazon for a bit more than $6 per jar.

We then adapted this recipe from The Popcorn Board to turn it into a snack mix.

The taste of a ginger cookie with the whole grain goodness of popcorn and crunchy nuts: What’s not to love?

You can also use the mix to top ice cream or as a garnish on iced ginger cake or cupcakes.

The recipe follows. Elsewhere on The Nibble, you’ll find:

> The history of cookies.

> The 10 basic types of cookies.

> Cookie favorites: a photo glossary of hundreds of cookie varieties.

> The year’s 44 cookie holidays.

> The history of popcorn.

> The year’s 12 popcorn holidays.
 
 
RECIPE #1: GINGERBREAD POPCORN SNACK MIX

You can substitute as you like:
Low carb: use granulated sugar substitute and plain pecan halves, eliminate the gingersnaps.
Less spicy: Substitute the chili powder in recipe #2 with 1 teasoiin ground ginger.
 
Ingredients For 3 Quarts

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F.

2. SPREAD the popcorn on a baking sheet and spray lightly with the cooking spray.

3. COMBINE the remaining ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the popcorn. Spray again with cooking spray and toss to coat evenly.

4. BAKE for 7 minutes. Cool and toss with gingersnaps and pecans.
 
 
 
RECIPE #2: SPICED PECANS

You can eliminate the heat of the chili powder and substitute 2 teaspoons of ground ginger if you prefer.
 
Ingredients For 4 Cups

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 300°F. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.

2. WHISK together the sugar with the salt, chile powder, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the egg white until frothy.

3. ADD the nuts and spiced sugar to the egg whites and toss. Spread the nuts on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, stirring once, until browned.

4. LET the nuts cool on the baking sheet, stirring occasionally.
 
 
 

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