The fledgling company didn’t make it; and since then, the hummus category has exploded even more. You can find hummus in dozens of flavors, mixed with other Middle Eastern specialties like babaganoush, tabouleh and yogurt.

The only thing missing: shelf-stable hummus. Hummus that you can keep in your locker or desk drawer, in your glove compartment, in your gym bag, for a protein-packed, better-for-you snack or light lunch.

Pacific Foods has risen to meet the need, with three flavorful varieties of shelf stable—Classic, Roasted Garlic and Roasted Red Pepper. They are made from the highest quality organic ingredients, including chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini, a touch of garlic and a pinch of sea salt.

How does shelf stable hummus compare to refrigerated or freshly made hummus?

Two of the three flavors of shelf-stable hummus (no refrigeration required). Photo courtesy Pacific Foods.

In our own office test, our favorite refrigerated varieties (including Tribe) won out, but Pacific was deemed more than worthy, with bonus points for convenience.

And according to the manufacturer, Pacific’s Classic Hummus has “one-third fewer calories and 40% less fat than the refrigerated hummus category leader.”

Look for them where you’d find the shelf stable salsas, in the chip aisle. They’re rolling out at Whole Foods Markets, and at other stores that carry the Pacific brand of organic products.

Priced at $3.39 to $4.29 (based on the individual retailer)per 12.75-ounce container, these convenient little boxes are begging to accompany you wherever you go.

Don’t forget a plastic spoon plus optional chips and veggies.

The recipe appeared in 1954, two years after the Lipton soup mix hit the market. The recipe “spread through Los Angeles faster than a canyon fire.” (Source: American Century Cook Book, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997,p. 24.)

Newspapers printed the recipe and onion soup mix sales soared. Beginning in 1958, Lipton printed the recipe on every box of the soup mix.

As with the creator of German Chocolate Cake, a recipe that spread like wildfire throughout Texas, the identity of the original recipe developer has never been established. So if your grandmother or great-grandmother lived in L.A. in 1954 and claimed to have invented Lipton California Dip, it could be so.

Over the years, from-scratch onion dip recipes have taken turns with chives, leeks and scallions. Caramelized onions also have their fans.

Chips and caramelized onion dip. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

Heluva Good is a specialty producer of sour cream and sour cream-based dips. Find out more, and see the other dip flavors, at HeluvaGood.com.

You also can make your own caramelized onion dip. The recipe below takes just 10 minutes, plus chilling time.

Caramelized onions are delicious with any
savory foods. Photo courtesy Pompeian | FB.

Ingredients For 2 Cups

Preparation

1. HEAT oil in medium saucepan or frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the onions and sage. Cover and cook until onions are deep golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. WHISK together mayonnaise and sour cream in a medium bowl to blend. Stir in the cooled caramelized onions, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until flavors blend, about 2 hours.

MORE WAYS TO USE CARAMELIZED ONIONS

We consume them as quickly as we make them!

Often, we eat them right from the pan or as they’re cooling. But check out these uses for caramelized onions.

We launch this year’s series of red, white and blue July 4th foods with a crudité flag.

 
The flag was made by Heluva Good, which served the flag with its own sour cream-based dips.

But we think a blue cheese dip does the best job of Here’s a recipe.

Check out this bacon pizza American flag.

[2] A slab of uncooked pork belly (phoco © The Country Victualler).

[3] Hearts of palm, a.k.a. palmito (photo © Trikaya).

[4] Butterhead lettuce, a category that includes Bibb and Boston. Here are the different types of Butterhead lettuce (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] You can purchase kuromitsu at Asian markets or online (photo © Locca | Amazon).

In honor of the World Cup Games in Brazil, Brazilian-Japanese fusion restaurant Sushisamba will be serving a signature dish from Chef Pedro Duarte: Kuromitsu Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps.

Kuromitsu is a Japanese sugar syrup, similar to but milder than molasses. We could eat an entire tray of these sweetly glazed pork belly treats. Consider them as a first course for Father’s Day dinner…or make all four and keep them for yourself.

> November 10th is National Pork Belly Day.

> The different cuts of pork.
 
 
RECIPE #1: KUROMITSU GLAZED PORK BELLY LETTUCE WRAPS

Ingredients For The Pork Belly Confit (Yields 4 Five-Ounce Portions)

 
Preparation

1. RUB the pork belly with the sugar/salt mixture and allow to marinate for 6 hours.

2. RINSE, pat dry, and submerge in a hotel pan (also called a steam table pan—a deep roasting pan will do) with the canola oil and bouquet garnish. Cover with tin foil and cook in the oven for 4 hours at 325°F.

3. REMOVE from the oil when the pork belly is soft and allow it to cool in the refrigerator with some weight on top. You can reuse the oil for another cooking process.
 
 
RECIPE #2: LETTUCE WRAPS

Ingredients Per Serving

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the pork belly a day in advance in advance (6 hours marinating plus 4 hours cooking). To assemble:

2. MIX lemon zest, palmito, and frisée to create garnish. To plate, place 1 piece of pork belly on 1 piece of bibb lettuce. Brush pork belly with kuromitsu glaze. Top with the fresh palmito-frisée salad. It’s delicious!
 
 
WHAT IS KUROMITSU?

Kuromitsu is a Japanese sugar syrup, typically made from unrefined Okinawan kurozato (black sugar). The term means “black honey”; it is similar to molasses but thinner and milder.

It is also called brown sugar syrup.

It is used to add sweetness to sweet Japanese dishes. It is one of the ingredients used in making wagashi, and it serves well with kuzumochi, fruits, ice cream, and cakes. Drizzle it on your choice of Japanese sweets, such as anmitsu, shiratama dango, kudzu mochi, warabi mochi, or kinako on toast. Or on western-style pancakes.

The syrup is also used in bubble tea recipes.

You can find premade kuromitsu in Asian products stores, but here’s a recipe courtesy of Taste Of Zen.
 
 
RECIPE #3: HOMEMADE KUROMITSU

Ingredients For 1 Cup

 
 
_______________

*It’s better to stir boiled water, not cool water, as it won’t spatter and burn you.

1. PLACE sugars and water in a nonstick pot and heat over medium heat. Once the sugars start to melt, shake the pot extensively while gently stirring with a wooden spoon. Do not over-stir or lumps can form. While stirring, add hot water a little at a time. The syrup may bubble and spurt; wear protective clothing to avoid burns. When the sugar is completely melted…

2. REDUCE the heat and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The syrup will thicken and a caramel-like aroma will emanate. If the syrup starts to lump or stick to the bottom of the pot, lower the heat.

3. REMOVE from heat and let cool. Store any extra syrup in an airtight glass jar at room temperature or in the fridge. It should keep for 2 to 3 months. Bring refrigerated syrup to room temperature before using (you can heat it for 10 seconds in the microwave).
 
 

Coconut chips are a delicious snack, but so
much more. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE
NIBBLE.

And now, there’s a snack that goes back to the basics: BARE Coconut Chips. BARE scoops the fruit from fresh coconuts, slices and bakes it into better-for-you snack chips. And they’re delicious, in:

 
Coming soon are:

COCONUT: NOT A NUT!

Let us digress for a moment in the name of food education. The coconut is not a nut!

It’s a fruit—a drupe, like stone fruits and almonds—and not a true nut like pecans, pistachios, walnuts and others. As the immature coconut develops, the drinkable coconut water in the shell converts to edible flesh; when dried, the coconut flesh is called copra.

The coconut tree got its name from 16th-century Portuguese and Spanish seafarers; the term “isoco,” meaning head or skull, the three indentations on the coconut shell that resemble facial features.

Coconut products are part of the daily diets of many people. Coconut oil and milk derived are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of items for furnishing and decorating.

BACK TO COCONUT CHIPS

BARE Crunchy Coconut Chips are a sister line to BARE’s outstanding line of Crunchy Apple Chips, a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week and one of our favorite better-for-you snacks at home and work.

Both product lines are minimally-processed, good-for-you snacks made from only real, whole-food ingredients. They are gluten free, Non-GMO Project Verified, vegan (except for the Show me the Honey Coconut Chips), a good source of dietary fiber, and are free of refined sugar, preservatives, cholesterol and trans fats.

Discover more at BareSnacks.com.
 
USES FOR COCONUT CHIPS

Simply delicious, plain or flavored. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

 
They don’t melt, provide an energy boost, and are a great tote-along and leave-in-the-car snack. Get them from the company website or at retailers nationwide (store locator).

Get some of the terrific apple chips while you’re at it.