Not all organic eggs are created equal (photo courtesy The Egg Farm). By the way, the color of the shell has no bearing on flavor. Different hen subspecies lay different color shells. Mega-producers choose hybrid hens that lay the most eggs, for the longest period of time…and have white shells.

That’s not necessarily so. So here are some tips for June 3rd, National Egg Day.

“Organic” means only that the chickens have organic feed and organic bedding (straw). It has nothing to do with how they’re treated.

In fact, hens kept “cage free” on a barn floor so crowded that they can’t move, can be labeled organic, and cage-free as well!

They may not be confined to a cage, but if over-crowded they still can’t move freely, and are vulnerable to be pecked and even killed by other birds in the body-to-body crush.

The next time you buy organic eggs, avoid those from megafarms and look instead for eggs from smaller local farmers.

You may pay more, but you’ll have made the better choice.

Check that your local farmer has free range chickens with yard access, so they can peck for their dinner and eat what hens like to eat: worms, bugs, grass, flowers, fruits, vegetables, and feed provided by the farmer, containing grains and seeds.

Eggs from stress free, free range hens taste better, too. As one of our colleagues says, “They taste like a different species!”

Here’s a list of top-rated egg farms nationwide, from The Cornucopia Institute, a nonprofit agricultural watchdog group that reveals industrial practices within the “flexible” organic standards.

Some quality farmers are so small with limited resources, that they elect not to do all the paperwork and conform to exact specifications and audits to be certified organic.

In our opinion, it’s better to buy free range (not cage-free) eggs, rather than organic eggs that are not free range. Don’t be encouraged by “cage free”: The conditions can be crowded and miserable.
 
MORE TO DISCOVER

June is National Candy Month. How much does mankind like candy and its chief ingredient, sugar or honey?

Well: Our species evolved with a built-in sweet tooth.
 
 
IT STARTED WITH CAVEMEN

The history of candy dates back to cavemen. A cave picture from Spain, dated to about 6000 B.C.E., shows a man scooping honey from a beehive.

In addition to eating the honey, they took the next step to make candy from it, by drying it into a taffy-like substance.

Sweet substances (sugar, honey, agave, etc.) don’t become candy until they are transformed into something more. The basic definition of candy is a flavored sugar, honey or syrup. Flavored sugar water and other ingredients (cream of tartar, citric acid, food color, etc.) is heated and cooled in different ways to produce different types of candy.

 
 
KHANDA: A PIECE OF SUGAR

The word “candy” derives from the Sanskrit khanda, “a piece of sugar,” and later, the Arabic qandi, candied.

 
 
SUGAR SPREADS WORLDWIDE

As sugar spread around the world, it was used to make sweets (and of course, to sweeten foods).

[1] The first candies were fruits and nuts coated in honey, and later in sugar, like these Jordan almonds (photo courtesy Williams-Sonoma).

[2] Honey hard candy. Here’s the recipe from Manu’s Menu (photo © Manuela Zangara).

[3] Lemon drops. Here’s the recipe from Flavorite.

[4] The first licorice candy was made as honey-sweetened disks. Licorice had been used for thousands of years medicinally, and the honey was initially used to make it more palatable (photo courtesy Dutch Sweets).

 
 
MODERN CANDY: THE 19TH CENTURY

While boiled hard candy and lollipops first appeared in 17th century England, many of the candies familiar to us were invented a century later.

Many new types of candy were created in the 1800s. Rock candy was a happy accident from a Scottish hard candy maker. A Dutch man invented the first hard chocolate candy in 1844.

According to CandyStore.com, “Candy factories began popping up everywhere and new flavors and textures of candy were being invented almost daily.”

The chocolate bar was born in 1847, and milk chocolate was invented in 1875 by Daniel Peter of Vevey, Switzerland. He used condensed milk, a product that had been perfected by his neighbor Henri Nestlé, a food scientist.

Here’s a timeline of modern favorites, thanks to Candy History:

 
MODERN CANDY: THE 20TH CENTURY

The innovation continues.

Read more at: https://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/chocolate/the-history-of-chocolate.asp

 
And then…to infinity and beyond!

Thanks to CandyStore.com for some of this information.

Here’s how to turn your iced coffee into an after-work drink or a weekend tipple.

The inspiration comes from from The Skylark, a cocktail lounge in Midtown Manhattan with panoramic views of the city.
 
RECIPE: SPIKED ICED COFFEE

Ingredients

For a tall drink, combine:

 
PREPARTION

Combine the first four ingredients, stir, and garnish as desired.
 
 
DON’T HAVE RUM OR COCONUT LIQUEUR?

While spiced rum is a natural with iced coffee, you can use plain rum; or experiment with other spirits.

If you don’t want to invest in a bottle of coconut liqueur, substitute:

 
Bottoms up!

Energy, potassium and protein combine in this snack: No melting necessary.

Katrina Markoff, founder of Wild Ophelia Chocolate made it snack using the brand’s Peanut Butter & Banana Milk Chocolate Bar.

She topped a square of chocolate with a slice of fresh banana and some peanut butter.

“Best after-school snack ever,” she said.

We say: You don’t have to be in school to enjoy this one.

Make it with any chocolate bar you have on hand, and enjoy it with a coffee (hot or iced) or a glass of milk.

Want a layer of crunch? Place a graham cracker under the chocolate.

The result is neater and faster than making s’mores.

What additional layers would you add?

The new snack combo: chocolate, banana and peanut butter. Photo courtesy Wild Ophelia.

[2] We regularly mix other ingredients into hummus (here, butternut squash. So why not tzatziki (photo Good Eggs)?

[3] Tzatziki: yogurt, chopped cucumbers and seasonings (photo courtesy Cava Grill).

[4] One of our favorite starters: a mezze plate (photo courtesy Good Eggs).

Leave it to our creative colleague, Hannah Kaminsky, to come up with this one: combining two great Mediterranean spreads, hummus and tzatziki (tsat-ZEE-kee).

Both of us love Mediterranean spreads, and we’ve included our dozen favorites below.

But who would have thought to mix two of them together: hummus and tzatziki, chickpea paste and yogurt dip? She named the blend hummiki.

“It exceeded even my own expectations from the very first batch. Lighter and fresher than the typical dip, crisp cucumbers added textural contrast so often missing from hummus.

“Zesty lemon and dill brightened the flavor profile considerably, imparting an unmistakably summery flavor, even if made in the heart of winter.”

The recipe follows, and today’s tip is: Don’t hesitate to mix and match. Our foray includes blending sour cream or yogurt into sauces to make creamy sauces or dips; but we’re going to put on our thinking cap to do more.
 
 
RECIPE: HUMMUS + TZATZIKI = HUMMIKI

Note that Hannah did not include tahini, the oily ground sesame paste that is the second ingredient in hummus. So, if you want a hack of mixing store-bought hummus and tzatziki, it will be different from this recipe.

Ingredients For 3-1/2 To 4 Cups

 
Preparation

1. TOSS all of the ingredients except for the cucumber, into a food processor or blender. Purée thoroughly, until silky-smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, and give the machine ample time to blend. For the best consistency, it may take as long as 5 – 10 minutes. When thoroughly blended, add salt and pepper to taste.

2. STIR in the chopped cucumber by hand, and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. It will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week…if you can resist finishing it long before then.
 
 
 
MEDITERRANEAN SPREADS

Depending on country—Greece versus any of the countries in what was formerly called the Levant*—there may be different names for the same or similar dishes. For example, Greek tzatziki is Turkish cacik.

Here are a dozen favorites. Note that spellings may differ because the names are transliterated into the Latin alphabet from the Arabic or Greek alphabets.

Baba ghanoush: Smoky roasted eggplant and tahini combine in a dip that can be smooth or chunky. Baba ghannouj is another spelling. Here’s a recipe.

Cacik: The Turkish name for tzatiki, a yogurt and cucumber dip. It is pronounced kah-SEEK.

Ezme: Similar to Israeli salad, ezme is a Turkish salad of finely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, mild peppers, parsley and olive oil.

Hummus: A paste of chickpeas, olive oil, garlic and spices. There surge in popularity has resulted in dozens of blend-ins, from the traditional Mediterranean flavors (olive, red pepper) to the trendy (chipotle, edamame hummus, everything bagel topping). Here’s a recipe to make your own.

Labneh: Labneh is thick, strained yogurt with a consistency similar to spreadable cheese like cream cheese. It is spread onto pita. Here’d more about it, and a recipe.

Htipiti: Htipiti (tee-PEE-tee) is a spicy spread of roasted red pepper and feta, mixed with olive oil, thyme, shallots and garlic. It can be smooth or chunky, and is closely related to kopanisti and tirokafteri (see below).

Melitzanosalata: This traditional Greek Eggplant dip is difference from baba ghanoush in that the latter is Levantine* and uses tahini. Melitzanosalata is Greek and doesn’t have tahini. Common ingredients are eggplant, olive oil, garlic, lemon, salt, pepper. Some melitzanosalata recipes add onion. Chopped parsley is a traditional garnish.

Muhammara: A Syrian dish of roasted red peppers, walnuts and pomegranate molasses.

Skordalia: A Greek potato and garlic dip.

Tabbouleh: A salad of bulgur, chopped parsley, mint, onion and tomatoes, seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Taramosalata: A spread made from tarama, cured carp (or other fish) roe, whipped with lemon juice and olive oil.

Tirokafteri: Feta cheese dip, similar to htipiti. It includes feta, olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped chilies or red pepper flakes, oregano, and often roasted red peppers (not hot) and yogurt. Kopanisti, another spicy feta dip, includes olive oil, lemon juice, mint, pepperoncini, garlic and red pepper flakes.

Tzatziki: A yogurt and cucumber dip. It is very similar to Indian raita, and like the latter, it is also served with grilled meats. Here are recipes for both.

________________

*The Levant was a large area in southwest Asia: south of the Taurus Mountains, with the Mediterranean Sea as the western boundary, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia in the east. “Levant” is an English term that first appeared in 1497. It originally referred to the “Mediterranean lands east of Italy.” The historical area comprises modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. Among other popular foods, Levantine cuisine gave birth to baklava, balafel, kebabs, mezze (including tabbouleh, hummus and baba ghanoush), pita and za’atar, among other dishes that are enjoyed in the U.S. and around the world.