Hottest Pepper on Earth - The Bhut Jolokia

The bhut jolokia (English: king cobra chile) – also known as naga jolokia, Dorset naga, naga morich, or ghost chili – is a chili pepper. In 2007, it was confirmed by Guinness World Records to be the hottest chili in the world, replacing the Red Savina. It is a naturally occurring inter-specific hybrid originating in the Assam region of northeastern India.It also grows in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur( manipuri name 'oo-morok' 'oo' = tree, 'morok' = chilli. Disagreement has arisen on whether it is a Capsicum frutescens or a Capsicum chinense. Some claim it is a C. frutescens,but recent DNA tests have found that it is an interspecies hybrid, mostly C. chinense with some C. frutescens genes.

(source: wikipedia.org)

CrackleRice

Now here was a unique, healthful snack product line that had it's day and has since entered the "dead zone". CrackleRice was an extruded rice snack that was puffed and seasoned with some interesting snack and popular flavors.

I helped pioneer and further develop this line which had it's heyday from 1990-1994 or so.

Fancy a Pannekoeken?

A pannekoek (plural pannekoeken) or pannenkoek (new Dutch spelling) is a Dutch pancake.[1] Pannekoeken are usually larger and thinner than American or Scottish pancakes and are baked rather than fried. They may incorporate slices of smoked bacon, apples or other fruits, or raisins. Plain ones are often eaten with white or brown sugar. The ingredients are flour, milk, and eggs. Beer may also be added to the mixture in order to give it a better flavour, but most of all it helps the batter rise. In Dutch pancake restaurants many more toppings can be ordered with them, including eggs, pear, or even pineapple, and they are often topped with the Dutch stroop, a dark, thick syrup common in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, a 'pannenkoek naturel' in a 'pannenkoekenhuis' is a plain pancake which one can top with as much powdered sugar or stroop as one desires from the condiments standing on the table.

(source: wikipedia.org)

Another one Bites the Dust

Goodbye and R.I.P. Gourmet Magazine...you were a great one during the 80's and 90's for sure! We ran many ads with you over the years for our classic imported specialty food product lines. Too bad, "the magazine of good living" is gone forever...

Remember Finast?

Finast was a great supermarket chain in the NY and NE area. They had pretty clean stores, but they weren't the newest in town. Here's an old photo of one of their private label products.

Donut Lovers - Did You Know?

• The origins of the beloved round cake with a hole in the middle is heavily debated with some sources giving sweet credit to Dutch settlers who are thought to have brought donut making techniques from Holland

• Louisville is the Donut "capital" of the US. Louisvillians eat more donuts per capita than people in any other U.S. city.* Louisville's favorite flavor donut is chocolate.

• • Rounding out the top five "donut" loving cities are:
    • Cincinnati, OH
    • Roanoke, VA
    • Knoxville, TN
    • Indianapolis, IN

• The creation of the donut's "hole" is thought to have been the solution to the dilemma that appeared to plague early donut makers - having an undercooked center when the cakes were removed from the fryer.

• America's favorite donut flavor is glazed, followed by chocolate, powdered sugar and plain.

SOURCE: Interstate Bakeries Corporation

Let's Go have some Haggis...heart, liver & more

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion,oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal'sstomach for approximately three hours.

Haggis somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known aschitterlings or the kokoretsi of traditional Balkan cuisine), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types. As the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique puts it, "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour."^[1]

Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach. There are also meat-free recipes for vegetarians including vegans.

Source: wikipedia.org

Sriracha - the really hot Thai sauce?

Seems that the NY Times has given a big plug today for this really hotsie, totsie Sriracha sauce. I like it and it's pretty hard to find even around the NY area. Here's what theWikipedia has to say about it:

"Sriracha (Thai: ศรีราชา, pronounced /siːrətʃə/ or SEE-rah-chah) ^[1] is the generic name for Thai-style hot sauce named after the seaside city of Si Racha, Thailand, where it was first produced for the local seafood restaurants. Typically made from sun-ripened chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt, it is a common condiment in many of America's Asian restaurants and increasingly in American and European homes.

The flavor of both Thai and popular non-Thai versions is dominated by its central ingredient, hot chilies. To achieve a blend of hot, sweet, and spicy, other items such as sugar, salt, garlic, and vinegar are typically added. Traditional Thai Sriracha tends to be more tangy, sweet, complex, and thinner than non-Thai, which is often thicker in texture. Versions featuring lemon grass, ginger, galanga and other exotic flavors have been introduced in Thailand for the export market.

Originally exclusively a fresh sauce domestically consumed, Sriracha sold as a prepared product typically contains preservatives such as potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite, and citric acid to maintain its shelf life before and after opening."

Source: wikipedia.org

Ever hear of Nduja (spicy pig) sausage?

The name sounds delicious doesn't it? NOT!

"Nduja is a creamy, and extremely spicy pig sausage mainly produced in Calabria. The name derives from the French andouille. Nduja is made using meat from the head, minus the cheeks which are used for guanciale, trimmings from various parts of the pig, some clean skin, fatbackand roasted hot red peppers which give the Nduja its characteristic fiery taste. Nduja originates from the southern part of Calabria, namely from the small town of Spilinga and its neighborhood. Nduja is mainly served over bread slices or coupled with ripe cheese. Its particular taste is best exploited in a variety of dishes, e.g. it is added to tomato sauce when preparing pasta."

Source: fr. Wikipedia.org

Ramps Anybody? What are these things?

They're from the South here in the Good old USA. A very strongly flavored member of the onion family. The first fresh green vegetable to appear after the winter in Appalachia, it is gathered and ceremonially eaten. This can leave such a powerful flavor on the breath that kids do it in order to be sent home from school.

Stinky Fruit - Durian

Many people claim durian is quite good. The smell however, is one of the worst things on Earth. It is said that you can smell the durian fruit stands from all the way down the street. Some hotels and airports refuse to let people bring the fruit inside for fear that it will chase away their customers. 

"You say Potato, I'll say Chitato?"

Now really folks......is this anyway to name a snack foods brand?

Actually, this is a major snack food brand in Indonesia and they have some really interesting and unique flavors.

Tired of BBQ potato chips? try a little Rasa Sapi Bumbu Bakar 

Cajun Squirrel Potato Chips - Can You Believe the Brits?

Did You Know? Nachos

Nachos originated in the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, just over the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, at a restaurant called the Victory Club, owned by Rudolfo DeLos Santos. One day in 1943, the wives of 10–12 U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Duncan in nearby Eagle Pass, were in Piedras Negras on a shopping trip, and arrived at the restaurant after it had closed for the day. The maître d', Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, invented a new dish for them with what little he had available in the kitchen: tortillas and cheese. Anaya cut the tortillas into triangles, added longhorn cheddar cheese, quickly heated them, and added sliced jalapeño peppers. He served the dish, calling it nachos especiales, or "special nachos".

Anaya went on to work at the Moderno Restaurant in Piedras Negras, which still uses the original recipe. He also opened his own restaurant, "Nacho's Restaurant", in Piedras Negras. Anaya's original recipe was printed in the 1954 St. Anne's Cookbook. The popularity of the snack qiuckly spread throughout Texas. The first known appearance of the word "nachos" in English dates to 1949, from the book A Taste of Texas. Waitress Carmen Rocha is credited with introducing the dish to Los Angeles at El Cholo Mexican restaurant in 1959.

A modified version of the dish, with permanently soft cheese and pre-made tortilla chips, was marketed by a man named Frank Liberto beginning in 1977, during sporting events at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas. During a Monday Night Baseball game, sportscaster Howard Cosell enjoyed the name "nachos", and made a point of mentioning the dish in his broadcasts over the following weeks, further popularizing it and introducing it to a whole new audience - From Wikipedia.org

Did You Know? The KFC Secret Recipe

The recipe lays out a mix of 11 herbs and spices that coat the chain’s Original Recipe chicken, including exact amounts for each ingredient. It is written in pencil and signed by Harland Sanders.

The iconic recipe is now protected by an array of high-tech security gadgets, including motion detectors and cameras that allow guards to monitor the vault around the clock.

“It’s like an onion of security — many layers,” said security expert Bo Dietl, who brought the recipe back to the building.

Thick concrete blocks encapsulate the vault, situated near office cubicles, that is connected to a backup generator to keep the security system operating in times of power outages.

“I can guarantee you, once it’s in there, it will be safe,” Dietl assured Eaton.

The recipe is such a tightly held secret that not even Eaton knows its full contents. Only two company executives at any time have access to the recipe. KFC won’t release their names or titles, and it uses multiple suppliers who produce and blend the ingredients but know only a part of the entire contents.

“We’ve very comfortable with the security,” [KFC President Roger] Eaton said. “I don’t think anyone can break into it.”

What we’re talking about here is a yellowed piece of paper, originally written by Harland Sanders, aka The Colonel.  It has the exact amounts for each of the 11 ingredients on it.  But still, doesn’t this seem a bit overkill?

Do You Remember - Horn & Hardart's Automats?

A coin-operated glass-and-chrome wonder, Horn & Hardart’s Automats revolutionized the way Americans ate when they opened up in Philadelphia and New York in the early twentieth century. In a country where the industrial revolution had just taken hold, eating at a restaurant with selfserving vending machines rather than waitresses and Art Deco architecture instead of stuffy dining rooms was an unforgettable experience. The Automat served freshly made food for the price of a few coins, and no one made a better cup of coffee. By the peak of its popularity—from the Great Depression to the post-war years—the Automat was more than an inexpensive place to buy a good meal; it was a culinary treasure, a technical marvel, and an emblem of the times.

Do You Remember?

- Aluminum ice trays with the lever you pulled to loosen the cubes. 
- Aluminum drinking glasses that we would get at Woolworth's 
- roller skates with keys 
- s&h green stamps 
- goodies in detergent boxes. My mom had about 5 or 6 measuring cups, all that came with different brand she bought. 
- Salvo detergent which was a tablet. 
- Egg shampoo. 
- When conditioner was called "cream rinse." 
- Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific 
- Protein 21 
- Lemon Up 
- Chinese checkers 
- Soda in tin cans and you needed a can opener for them 
- Coffee that came in 1 lb cans and they had the little scoop inside for each one