Category Archives: New Products

Valrhona Grands Crus Chocolate Bars

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Deep, dark, and irresistible.

Professional and home-cooks covet Valrhona chocolate for baking.

This year, the French chocolate company expanded its chocolate bar and home-baking range. I’ve baked many a time with the deep, complex tasting dark chocolate with unparalleled results.

When samples of its 3.5-ounce chocolate bars arrived in the mail, it was the perfect time to see if they stacked up to their baking counterparts.

I’ll use my patented scale of 1 to 10 lip-smackers, with 1 being the “Bleh, save your money” far end of the spectrum; 5 being the “I’m not sure I’d buy it, but if it was just there, I might nibble some” middle-of-the-road response; and 10 being the “My gawd, I could die now and never be happier, because this is the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth” supreme ranking.

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Bruce Aidells On the Finer Points of Cured Pork

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Meaty Duroc ham.

Less is more when it comes to curing pork and bacon.

Indeed, it’s what you don’t put into them that matters most, says Bay Area meat guru, Bruce Aidells.

It’s been years since Aidells has been associated with Aidells Sausage Company, which he founded and which still bears his name. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy with all things meaty. In fall 2010, the veteran cookbook author will publish a new comprehensive meat book that will include information on grass-fed beef, buffalo, goat, venison, sustainability, pasture-raised, and the importance of buying local.

Moreover, for the past three years, he’s been working with Vande Rose Farms in Iowa, helping its pig farmers cure bacon and ham, and find distributors for these artisan products. You’ll now find Vande Rose featured at restaurants such as BarBersQ in Napa, and sold at stores such as Andronico’s and  Mollie Stone’s in the Bay Area, Central Market in Texas, and Balducci’s nationwide. The products also are available on the Vande Rose Farms Web site.

Aidells’ ham and bacon cure is essentially just salt, pepper, brown sugar, and nitrates. No water is added, which is key.

The term, “ham,” means no water added, he explains. In contrast, “ham with natural juices,” means that water has been added. So much so that after cooking, the latter will weigh 10 percent less than it did when you bought it.

“True ‘hams’ are very hard to find,” he says. “Not many people sell them, and not many people can tell the difference between them. But ‘hams’ are more expensive.”

It’s not hard to guess which type Aidells prefers.

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Thirsty?

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A new way to enjoy sparkling water.

Then R.W. Knudsen has a new product that will definitely leave you feeling quenched.

Its new Sparkling Essence is fizzy, carbonated water that comes flavored with either organic lemon, organic mint, organic cucumber, or organic blueberry.

Moreover, the flavored waters have no calories, no fat, no carbs, no sugar, and no sugar substitutes. They’re also made with all natural ingredients.

I’ll drink to that!

They beverages are made by brewing the organic ingredients in fresh spring water. The fruit or herb is then extracted, leaving only the flavor behind, without the sugar or calories.

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Coffee That Aims to Brew World Change

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Coffee that could help better the lives of women in Zimbabwe.

Who knew a cup of Joe could hold the promise of bettering the lives of women in one of the most impoverished countries in the world?

But that’s what San Rafael-based Equator Coffees’ new “Chido’s Blend” aims to do.

The coffee, a blend of three African beans, is named for Chido Govero, a 23-year-old woman from Zimbabwe, who was relegated to an orphanage after her mother died of AIDS. At age 12, this bright, young girl was discovered by a scientist with the ZERI Foundation, an organization dedicated to using science to come up with sustainable solutions to world problems. The scientist helped mentor Govero, teaching her how to analyze tissue cultures of local, wild mushrooms.

Govero and her colleagues at the university discovered that these incredibly nutritious mushrooms might hold the key to helping stricken communities better feed themselves. Zimbabwe, a landlocked African nation the size of Montana, has been plundered by a controversial land redistribution campaign that has crippled domestic food production. A quarter of the population suffers from AIDS. The country also has more orphans per capita than any nation in the world. Girls, especially, face significant dangers in this climate of scarcity.

Who knew a bag of coffee could hold such promise?

Now, Govero is teaching girls to find native mushrooms in their local areas, and to cultivate them for food and income. In this way, she hopes to give them jobs and a brighter future.

The mushrooms are cultivated using mulch composed of discarded organic materials, including husks from coffee beans. The mushrooms also provide more than food for humans. Their spores transform mulch into fiber-rich feed, which can be fed to goats and other livestock. In turn, the animal manure is composted for raising additional crops. Additionally, the mulch prevents emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, by utilizing the agriculture waste from coffee production. The end result is a remarkable ecosystem.

You may be familiar with Equator Coffees because they are served at the French Laundry, Bouchon Bistro, and Bouchon Bakery. What you might not know is that it’s also a woman-owned company known for its commitment to social responsibility.

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Sweet Passions Cupcakes New to Valley Fair Mall

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Chocolate cupcake with mocha cream from Sweet Passions cupcake kiosk.

I have loyal FoodGal reader, Ann, to thank for this.

Seems she got wind of a new cupcake stand, Sweet Passions, that opened at Westfield Valley Fair Shopping Center in San Jose three weeks ago.  Of course, she wanted me to try it first before she made the trek.

So, Ann, your wish is my sweet command.

Sweet Passions Bakery actually is a full-fledged bakery that’s existed in San Jose’s Alum Rock neighborhood for about 22 years. It makes only cakes — for weddings, quinceaneras, birthdays, or everyday occasions. It was started by Dilanthi Perera, who used to impress her friends with her homemade cakes, before she started her bakery.

At Valley Fair mall, you’ll find the Sweet Passions kiosk in the middle of the mall between J. Crew and the Body Shop. No baking is done on site. Instead the cupcakes are trucked in directly each day from the Alum Rock bakery.

Unlike cupcakes at other shops, the ones here are refrigerated. That’s because the cupcakes are not only cream-filled, but heavy cream also figures prominently in the frostings.

There are 44 flavors (take that, Baskin-Robbins), but only about six are available each day.

The cupcakes come in two sizes: mini ones for $1 each; and huge, jumbo muffin-tin-sized ones for $3.50 each that come already packed in individual, plastic clam-shell containers.

Carrot cake cupcake.

I decided to buy a Chocolate with Mocha Cream, a Carrot Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese, and a Banana with Vanilla Cream. I had high hopes for the cupcakes since they were from a bakery that specializes in nothing but cakes.

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