Last December, Amyris, a biotech company and a leader in the development and production of sustainable ingredients for health and wellness and other categories, launched PURECANE™ Brand Sweetener, a zero-calorie alternative to established brands.

Launched on Purecane.com, and on Amazon.

Our brother is one of the millions of people who struggle to reduce the amount of added sugar that they consume, particularly on cereal and in coffee and tea.

He tried all the supermarket with the same complaint: aftertaste.

We use Splenda, but would welcome something better.

Our recommendation to everyone who uses noncaloric sugar substitutes: Try Purecane.
 
 
WHAT IS PURECANE NONCALORIC SWEETENER?

Purecane Brand Sweetener is made from fermented sugarcane known as Rebaudioside M, a glycoside compound.

Glycosides that are more than 100 times sweeter than sugar. It is found in sugarcane juice, the source of Purecane*.

A glycoside is a compound formed from a simple sugar and another compound by replacement of a hydroxyl group in the sugar molecule (think back to high school chemistry).

In Purecane, the compound is enhanced through a patented fermentation process, that starts with sugarcane and then converts it to a pure, no-calorie sweetener without any artificial chemicals.

The result is a brand new sweetener that has an excellent taste and is free from health concerns that are associated with some other noncaloric sweeteners.

It’s available in:

 
 
WHERE CAN YOU FIND PURECANE?

Why haven’t you heard of Purecane?

The company is not a large one with big marketing budgets purchase supermarket shelf space or advertising. They decided get the word out through consumer food writers and sell the product direct to consumers.

It’s currently available on Purecane.com and on Amazon, and will be expanding to other e-commerce sites.
 
 
THERE’S ALSO A VERSION FOR BAKING

The version for baking combines Purecane with erythritol, a sugar alcohol frequently used as a food additive and sugar substitute.

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol† that naturally occurs in some fruits (grapes, peaches, pears, watermelon) and in mushrooms; and is created when foods like cheese, beer, wine, sake and soy sauce ferment.

It was combined into the baking version of Purecane to best carry the sweet flavor during prolonged heating.

Purecane sent us a “taste test” of a glazed donut made with sugar, and a second donut made with the Purecane Baking Sweetener.

We could detect a very slight difference—not an aftertaste, just a difference.

But if we had tasted only the Purecane donut, we’d never have known it used a sugar substitute.

There are recipes on the website. Be sure to check out the Contest Gallery for more recipes.
 
 
> Check Out The Different Types Of Sweeteners & Noncaloric Sweeteners
In Our Sugar Glossary
 
 
> The Different Types Of Sugar & Syrup
 
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*Glycosides are also found in stevia, but Purecane tastes nothing like stevia.

†“Alcohol” is a chemistry designation and has nothing to do with grain alcohols, spirits, or anything alcoholic.

[1] We use the familiar packets for coffee, and the spoonable canister for cereal and fruit (all photos © Amyris).

[2] Purecane looks like sugar granules.

[3] It’s a small thing, but we enjoy the bright-colored packets in a multicolor mix.

[4] Sprinkle Purecane on fruit, use it to sweeten plain yogurt.

[1] Removing pin bones with a kitchen tweezer (photo © Chef’s Pencil).

[2] When filleting fish, some professionals use a device like the Jarvis Pin Bone Remover. However, it can still leave a few bones (photo © Jarvis Products).

Pin bones are those tiny bones that end up in some fish fillets, and provide a not-too-pleasant surprise when one is trying to chew a tender mouthful of salmon.

Like mammals, fish have a flexible backbone (spine): a series of interlocked disks (vertebrae).

When a fish is cut into fillets, the backbone is removed, as are any larger bones running along the vertebrae.

The fillet is then considered to be “boneless.”

However, some fish have smaller intramuscular bones that can go unnoticed.

Fish in the salmon family have what are called pin bones.

They are actually calcified nerve endings that extend along the lateral line of the salmon.

Pin bones are impossible to remove through filleting, says Sitka Salmon Shares, from whom we get a monthly delivery of filleted Alaskan fish.

They tell us that large Alaskan processors remove them with a pin-bone machine (photo #2). However, to sell the freshest fish, Sitka Salmon Shares doesn’t do so*.

In order to use the tool, the salmon have to “rest” for a few days to soften the flesh.

However, this means the fish is not sold at its freshest; so the finest salmon (and some other varieties) may have a few bones.

They’re easy enough to remove with a kitchen tweezers*.

Soft enough to eat, pin bones are actually considered a delicacy in Japan, according Leite’s Culinaria.

But we wager that most people prefer to remove them. So follow these instructions:

*While some chefs use specially-designed tweezers, you can use any pointed-end tweezers that are dedicated to kitchen use.

This bit of food fun comes to us from Stemilt, one of the largest apple growers and packers in America.

It’s headquartered in Wenatchee, Washington, the “Apple Capital of the World.”

The family-owned and operated company has been farming apples for more than 100 years.

Check out the 20 different types of apples they sell, and how to best use each variety.

For this recipe, Stemilt chose their Jonagold apple (photo #2), a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Jonathan, with honey notes.

The apple pie ice cream is made by mixing cooked apples and pie crust bits into store-bought vanilla ice cream.

We took the recipe and ran with it, in a slightly different direction.

 
 
RECIPE: APPLE PIE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Ingredients For The Ice Cream

[1] Mini apple pie ice cream sandwiches (photo © Stemilt Growers).

[2] A Jonagold apple (photo © Apples From New York).

[3] Stir the cooked apples into your favorite vanilla ice cream (photo © Breyers).

1. PEEL, core and dice the apples into approximate ¾” to ½” pieces. You should have approximately 2 cups diced. Add the lemon juice and toss to coat.

2. MELT the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. Add the brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and optional raisins, and stir until melted. Add the apples and continue to sauté, stirring intermittently, until the apples have softened a bit, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. PLACE the ice cream in a large bowl and let it soften enough to mix in the apples. Fold in the cooled apples gently, to thoroughly combine.

4. TRANSFER the ice cream mixture to a freezer-safe container with a lid (or the original carton), and return to freezer to firm (1 to 2 hours). If you would like your sandwiches to have frozen cookies as well (as opposed to room temperature cookies), remove the ice cream after 30 minutes, assemble the sandwiches and freeze them individually (you can put each in a sandwich bag). Otherwise…

5. ASSEMBLE: We served them DIY, setting the ice cream and cookies on the table and passing them around. Some people put ice cream between two cookies, others enjoyed them open-face.
 
 
> The History Of Ice Cream

> The History Of Ice Cream Sandwiches

> The Different Types Of Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts

[1] Watermelon sticks are easier to eat than wedges (photo © The Girl Who Ate Everything).

[2] Viva Signature Cloth Paper Towels are the best-absorbing paper towels (photo © Viva Paper Towels).

Watermelon slices are typically served in large triangle that require two hands—or a knife and fork.

Such a juicy fruit may be delicious, but it’s messy. We use Viva Signature Cloth Paper Towels to hold with the wedge, instead of a napkin.

But we discovered this trick from The Girl Who Ate Everything: Cut sticks instead of wedges.

The smaller sticks, 1-inch square, can be held with one hand, and the smaller size diminishes the amount of juice rolling down.

Just eat several sticks instead of one wedge!

Click the link above to see how The Girl does it, or watch this video from The Watermelon Board.
 
 
VIVA SIGNATURE CLOTH PAPER TOWELS

For years we’d been brand-loyal to Bounty Paper Towels as the best-absorbing.

But move over, bounty: Viva Signature Cloth Paper Towels are absolutely the best-absorbing (thanks to reader Laurel for introducing us to them).

Viva makes three types of paper towels. Make sure to buy the Signature Cloth.
 
 
> Watermelon History

> Watermelon Tips

> Watermelon Recipes: Desserts, Drinks, Salads & More

[1] Just add tea leaves to sparkling water. It couldn’t be easier (photo © In Pursuit Of Tea).

[2] A wonderful book for a tea lover. Find it on Amazon.

Our last recipe was for summer cocktails, but if you prefer a mocktail, try this sparkling tea recipe.

The cold-brew tea recipe came to us from the artisan tea purveyors at In Pursuit Of Tea.

They got the idea from Timothy d’Offay of Postcard Teas, London’s finest tea store and a must-visit for tea lovers.

Tim published the recipe in his book, Easy Leaf Tea: Tea House Recipes to Make at Home (photo #2).

If you like this sparkling tea, get the book to check out Tim’s other drink recipes.

In Pursuit Of Tea says, “With good tea and good bubbles, you get a surprisingly complex, almost beer- or champagne-like drink.

“It tastes refreshing and sophisticated, like something you’d pay [a lot] for at a nice restaurant—except you made it at home for the price of a Pellegrino (or a Gerolsteiner, if you want to get crazy).

“Choose a bright, aromatic tea. [We used] a spring Darjeeling 1st Flush harvest from the Jungpana Estate, one of our favorites, though a snappy green or silky white [tea] would also be delightful.”

Bonus: zero calories!
 
 
RECIPE: SPARKLING ICED TEA MOCKTAIL

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. OPEN the bottle of mineral water, pour out a bit (or drink it from the bottle) to free up some space for blending in the tea.

2. USE a funnel to add the tea leaves to the bottle. Reseal tightly and gently turn upside down oncey, to mix.

3. CHILL in the fridge for 4 hours. Strain and serve in wine glasses.
 
 
> Tea Glossary: Tea Terminology & The Different Types Of Tea

> The History Of Tea