in-shell-pecans

The Pecan Harvest and the Weather

This article was written exclusively for Eat Like No One Else by Pearson Farm, a fifth-generation family-owned business dedicated to growing Georgia Peaches and Georgia Pecans. In this post you will learn when pecans are harvested, how they are harvested, and how the weather affects the crop. Typically harvested between October and December, pecans are …

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Pomegranates

Uses for Fresh Pomegranates

One of the strangest looking fruits you will find in your local supermarket has to be the pomegranate. The only thing more strange is the inside of the fruit, containing a membrane packed full of tiny juice sacs called arils. These are arils can have a number of different culinary uses. They can be used …

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Satsuma Mandarin

Satsuma Mandarin Oranges

One of my favorite things about winter is all the great citrus that is available. This week I was able to get my hands on a bag of Satsuma Mandarins. As the Asian name would seem to suggest these oranges orginated in Japan. Like other mandarins they are smaller than a typical orange. They look …

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altonbrown

The “Alton Brown Diet” – How Alton Lost the Weight

If anyone has seen Alton Brown lately, you may have noticed that he has dropped a significant amount of weight. In fact, some people were concerned he had some type of sickness or disease. But he actually just changed what he ate. In a recent episode of Good Eats entitled “Live and Let Diet”, Alton …

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Pinata Apple

Pinata Apples

2010 began with a nationwide release by Stemilt fruit (they also produce the seckel pears I wrote about in a previous post) of a new apple, the Pinata. In case your wondering where they are harvesting apples in January in the United States, these apples were actually harvested in October and held in a controlled …

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The Pecan Harvest and the Weather Uses for Fresh Pomegranates Satsuma Mandarin Oranges The “Alton Brown Diet” – How Alton Lost the Weight Pinata Apples

Jan
20

Alton Brown’s Lemon Curd (with Meyer Lemons)

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A lot of people like to associate lemons with summertime. A nice, cold glass of lemonade is the official drink of the summer. Yet when I think of lemons, I think winter. It is in the winter when lemons are in season. And it’s the only time of year when you can find my favorite type of lemon – the Meyer Lemon. These lemons are kind of a cross between a lemon and a tangerine. They still pack that lemon punch but with a sweeter and improved flavor. To me, they are the suprerior lemon. I love using them in recipes that just called for regular lemons. One of those recipes I tried out this week was a lemon curd one by Alton Brown (bet you never saw that coming!). In case you haven’t tried a lemon curd before it’s a custard that uses eggs (in this case just the yolks), sugar, and the juice and zest of lemons (or you can use other citrus family members. It’s velvety smooth and can be used for anything you would use jam or jelly for. Below you will find my notes from this recipe. For the full recipe, visit Food Network’s website.

1. Like I said in the beginning I used Meyer Lemons instead of the traditional ones. Even thought they are sweeter, I didn’t change the amount of sugar in the recipe. I found the end result to have the perfect balance of sweet and tart.

2. To zest your lemons, I really recommend this Microplane Zester. It works so well and comes with a plastic case that is perfect for collecting the zest.

3. Making lemon curd is all about technique. You need to stir, stir and stir so more. I would do this when someone else is in the house that can help you stir if your arm starts feeling like it’s going to fall off.

4. Knowing when to stop stirring takes experience. I have made custard based ice cream, tons of times, so I have an idea what thick enough looks like. It should easily coat the back of a spoon.

It’s how a few simple ingredients can make a delicious, sweet, tart, smooth, velvety treat. It’s all through the power of sugar and eggs working together along with some flavors. Now it’s time for me to come up with some good uses for the curd. The first thing I tried it with was some popovers, another simple ingredients, delicious treat. I am looking forward to experimenting using it in other ways.

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Jan
20

Where to Buy Different Colored Carrot Seeds?

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Everyone seems to associated carrots with the color orange. The orange carrot is the most common colored carrot. However it’s not the only colored carrot. You can find carrots that are white, yellow, red, gold, and purple. Sometimes you find them in specality grocery stores or the farmer’s market, but they aren’t always easy to find. Why would you bother? First, I think it’s fun to grow different colors of vegetables. If you have kids, even the more fun. Second, the flavor varies in each colored variety. It may not be so much on their own, but when you cook up a mix of a variety of colors, the flavor differences shine and just make for a more complex side dish (I looked cooked carrots!). Also the color is so visually appealing!

Last season, I grew some different colored carrots in my garden and I am planning the same this year. I have looked at different seed catalogs and I find that Johnny’s Selected Seeds seem to have the best selection, I plan on buying my carrot seeds from them. Here is a list of what they have to offer.

White Satin
These carrots are pure white in color.

Yellow Sun
These carrots are a bright yellow color. They grow a little bit shorter (6-7 in) than the other varieties listed here. They also have a rather blunt end, meaning the carrot is mostly the same thickness throughout, which is a plus for even cooking.

YellowPak
Another yellow that is more of a solid yellow, not quite as bright, but still beautiful. Said to have a good flavor.

Rainbow
This is a variety that produces different colored carrots, ranging from almost white to a darker yellow. I grew these last year and they were alright, but I want to do a little more variety in color this year. But they are a good choice if you only plan to grow one variety. You can still get different colors.

Atomic Red
This is variety is at the top of my list to grow this season. They are a beautiful red color. They are said to have a strong flavor. Typically the more orange a carrot the stronger the flavor and when you reach red, then it’s really strong. They recommend cooking these carrots to deepen color and improve the flavor.

Purple Haze
These carrots are purple on the outside but orange on the inside. The purple color will fade when cooked. For raw eating they get an “A” for presentation.

Deep Purple
These carrots are as purple as purple can get. Their color will fade some when cooked, but not completely.

Have fun this year. Give a try at growing some different colored carrots. Great for the eyes and for the tongue.

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Jan
19

Alton Brown’s Broiled, Butterflied Chicken

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I have been cooking a lot of whole chickens as of late. A local grocery store had a sale on several Saturdays in a row on whole chickens for $.69/lb. That was a deal I do not want to pass up, so I would always head off there and get my max allowed 2 chickens. I would usually freeze one and cook the other one soon after. Eventually started tiring of the same old roast chicken, so I searched out some other methods. One I came upon was Alton Brown’s Broiled, Butterflied Chicken. I have never done either of these things with chicken before, so it was the perfect idea.

I have tried this recipe twice now and both times ran into some issues, but I think my third attempt will be the charm. Read below my experiences from this recipe. You can find the entire recipe at Food Network’s website.

1) Butterflying the chicken was easier than I thought. A good pair of kitchen shears will easier help you remove the backbone. The harder part is removing the bone, so that the breast can lay flat. Alton makes it look easy in the show, but it I had to mess with it a bit to get the bone off. Hopefully with practice I will get better.

2) The first time I broiled the chicken, I did so with the rack at the lowest level. But it was still raw in the middle after the 30 minutes it says in the recipe outline. I would use my probe thermometer to get the exact temperature but in this case the broiler is too harsh of any environment for that. What I discovered when reading the first volume of Good Eats, is that the book tells you to broil it for 25 minutes, then flip and another 25, much longer than the online instructions say. This would probably solve the problems I had.

3) The second time I broiled the chicken, I read the book halfway through after being frustrated the chicken still wasn’t done even when I moved it to a higher position in the oven. Some of the skin was pretty black. I ended up having to finish it by turning the broiler off and just roasting it at 425.

4) The next time I try this I am going to follow the book and do it 25 minutes each side as well as keep the chicken on the lower rack, so I don’t blacken it.

5) Alton makes a sauce out of the chicken drippings. I haven’t tried this yet, because both times dinner was later than I wanted and I didn’t want to take the time to try it.

Sometimes with recipes, you have to work with them a bit, figure out what works for you. Don’t just give up with the first “failure”. Both times my chicken still turned out moist and juicy (especially the 2nd time as I brined it). It just took longer because I keep taking it out of the oven. But I am confident when I get it right, I will be happy with the results.

If you are a fan of a crispy skin on your chicken, then it’s worth the effort to master this recipe. You can get that crispy skin without drying out the meat underneath. So it’s a way to have your cake and eat it too.

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Jan
18

Final Episode of Good Eats to Air February 10th (Turn on the Dark)

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It what is truly a bittersweet announcement, the final episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats will be airing on Food Network on February 10th @ 8pm. The episode entitled “Turn on the Dark” will be an hour long show on the subject of dark chocolate. This will be the 4th chocolate themed episode in the history of the series. I am disappointed that the show is coming to an end. Good Eats is what really started my passion for food and what led to this blog existing. Make sure to check out this farewell to the great food show in television history. Here are the complete list of airtimes for the episode.

February 10th @ 8pm ET/PT
February 11th @ 3am ET/PT
February 12th @ 7pm ET/PT

Check out some past reviews I have done on Good Eats episodes:
Alton’s Countdown to T-Day
The Caul of the Flower
Roll Call
The Proof is in the Bread Pudding
Devil Of A Cake

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Jan
17

What is Muscovado Sugar & How to Use It?

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I think we often don’t think about the things we buy. When was the last time you had a second thought about sugar. It’s something we just go to the store and buy, whether it be regular white granulated or brown sugar. We typically scan the shelves for the cheapest option and go with that. But there is more out there than just the regular white and brown sugar. And some of the options may be better for you. Today, I want to take some time to talk about another type of sugar out there, they you might be missing out on – Muscovado sugar. I first discovered this sugar during my time working for Zingerman’s Bakehouse. They use it in some of their recipes.

What is Muscovado Sugar?
Muscovado sugar is a unrefined sugar. It is sometimes called Barbados sugar. It is a dark colored sugar that at first may look like traditional brown sugar, but once you get a taste, oh man your taste buds will come alive. It has a kind of caramelly fudgy like taste. You see when they make muscovado sugar, the molasses remains in the sugar crystals. This differs from traditional brown sugar, which is just white sugar with some molasses added back in. Muscovado is brown sugar in a more natural form. Since it’s not refined, there are some nutrients in the sugar, that you won’t find in brown sugar. Now this doesn’t mean you can get a ton of it, sugar is ok in moderation. But you can fell a little bit better about enjoying muscovado.

How to Use Muscovado Sugar
It can be used as a replacement for brown sugar, in 1 to 1 ratio. Use it the next time you make cookies. Ginger cookies and sugar cookies would be wonderful choices. I like to use it with a bowl of Cheerios. Sprinkle a little bit on top, and that’s what I call breakfast. The Muscovado adds character than brown sugar never could.

What to Do If Your Muscovado Sugar Gets Hard?
Just like brown sugar does, Muscovado can harden up on you (problem might be even worse). The easiest solution is to place a damp (not soaking wet) wash cloth over top the sugar overnight. This should soften it up for you.

Where is Muscovado Sugar Made?
This sugar is most often produced in places like Philippines and Barbados. The Muscovado sugar I purchased is from the island of Mauritius.

Where to Buy Muscovado Sugar
This sugar can be difficult to find. I don’t seem to be able to find it in most large chain supermarkets. But if you head to a more specialty market, you should be able to find it there. Of course you can always purchase it from a vendor online.

So I encourage you to give it Muscovado a try. It does come with a higher price tag, so you may not be able to completely switch to it, but it’s a nice substitute to use whenever you can (I am definitely not settling for brown sugar on my Cheerios again)

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Jan
13

Sprecher Puma Kola

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When you think about cola, you are use to it being spelled with a “C”. However the “K” is really the appropriate later as the tree the extract used to make colas comes from begins with a “K”. Sprecher spells their cola with a K. They make their Puma Kola in a gas-fried kettle, which they say imparts a distinctive flavor. The drink is flavored using kola extract, real vanilla, a little bit of cinnamon, and raw Wisconsin honey. The drink comes in a 16 oz glass bottle than can be purchased individually or in a 4 pack.

I got a 4-pack of this stuff for Christmas. I have had most of the Sprecher family, just somehow keep missing out on the Puma Kola.

The best Kola (or Cola) I have had. This is everything that a Kola should be. It tastes better than Coke, it’s carbonated better than Coke, it’s just better than the most popular soft drink on earth. The cola flavor is just outstanding. It’s complex. And the best part is you don’t feel like bubbles are burning your tongue like with Coke. I am sure some avid Coke or Pepsi fans would either love this or hate it. It’s different enough to produce one of those two emotions.

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Jan
12

What Orange Juice Brands Contains 100% Florida (or U.S.) Juice?

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In the wake of the announcement that fungicides have been discovered in orange juice imported from Brazil, I thought this would be a good time to make a list of those orange juices that use strictly Florida or U.S. sources for their oranges.

1) Florida’s Natural
Florida’s Natural Growers have been around for over 75 years. Their website has information about their growers, so you can learn a little bit about who is growing the oranges in your juice. Florida’s Natural can be found in most supermarkets across the country.

2) Uncle Matt’s Orangic
Uncle Matt’s is a 4th generation family of citrus growers. All of their juice meets the standard of the USDA for organic juice. Fungicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are not allowed, so no worries here. Their orange juice contains a mix of Hamlin and Valencia oranges. It’s available at Kroger stores as well as Whole Foods Market. I bought some once from Whole Foods, it’s delicious stuff!

3) 365 Brand Orange Juice
The store brand of Whole Foods Market uses 100% Florida orange juice in their products.

4) Indian River Orange Juice
This 100% Florida orange juice is never from concentrate and doesn’t use flavor packs. It is available in the south at these stores: Publix, Sweet Bay, Albertsons, Ingles, Walmart, the Fresh Market, Winn-Dixie, and Kroger.

As I do more search I hope to add more brands to this list. If you have a brand that you know of, please tell us in the comment section below.

Another way to assure you are drinking juice from only American grown oranges is to buy the orange yourself and make your own juice. You can purchase an electric juicer for that, or if you have a KitchenAid mixer, they have a juicer attachment that works well and is inexpensive. But be careful to confirm the oranges you are juicing are indeed from this country.

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Jan
12

Coke Finds Fungicide in Orange Juice; U.S. Halts Imports

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If you needed another reason to buy American, here is one for you. Coca Cola who owns the Minute Maid brand is reporting that trace amounts of a fungicide is showing up in their orange juice supply. The orange juice is coming from Brazil. Minute Maid uses a combination of Florida and Brazil grown oranges, and so does a lot of companies. The fungicide is used in Brazil to treat trees that have black spot, a type of mold. This fungicide has not been approved for us in the United States. Yet it still has ended up in our orange juice. As a result of this situation, the U.S. has put a temporary halt to importing orange juice from any country, until more testing can be done.

Here is another reason why I highly recommend buying only U.S. grown fruit and juice made from U.S. grown fruit. I talk about the same thing when Dr. Oz made the big fuss over arsenic in apple juice. You need to be reading everything that is written on a carton of juice. If it’s not made from just U.S. oranges than you might want to think twice before you buy it. It may turn out that the fungicides that ended up in the juice are nothing serious and that seems to be what the FDA is saying so far. But I am pretty sure they are doing you any good either, so why not error on the side of caution and buy American (good for our economy too).

What Orange Juice Brands Use Oranges from Brazil?
The two big name orange juice brands both use oranges from Brazil. That would be Minute Maid and Tropicana. However, Tropicana is in the process of switching to only using Florida grown oranges in their juice. But stores shelves will probably still have Brazilian OJ in them. The Simply Orange is also owned by Coke, so there juice could too contain Brazilian orange juice. If you are at all concerned, I would avoid these brands for the time being, and just buy ones that say they contain 100% Florida (or U.S.) orange juice.

Here is a list of the orange juices that may contain juices from other countries. I also have another list that contains juices that use only 100% Florida oranges.

1) Minute Maid
2) Tropicana
3) Simply Orange
4) Old Orchard (100% Frozen Orange Juice says contains juice from USA, Brazil, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica)
5) Prairie Farms
6) Full Circle Organic
7) Nantucket Nectars
8) Meijer Brand

If you carefully read the carton or container you should be able to find the source of their oranges either near the bar code or nutrition facts. Also a lot of companies print the countries the juice came from on the neck of their container.

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Jan
11

Flowering Brussels Sprouts (from Johnny’s)

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I love looking at the new seed catalogs and see what kinds of neat things they have come up with now. Yesterday, I spoke about the white strawberries you could buy from Burpee. Today’s unique discovery is Flowering Brussels Sprouts. They are a combination of kale and Brussels sprouts. They grow on a stalk just like any other Brussels sprout, except the sprouts open up like flowers to resemble like mini kale.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds are the offering these for the first time this year. You get the seeds as part of their Kaleidoscope Mix, which includes 3 different colors. The drawback to these flowering sprouts is that they aren’t as cold tolerant as their kale and Brussels sprouts counterparts.

I am not planning to try these myself this year. I am going to try growing Brussels sprouts for the first time this year, but I want to stick with some a little more traditional. I would love to give them a try sometime.

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Jan
11

Best Caffeine Free Sodas List

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One of the reasons people drink so much soda pop is for the caffeine, they are addicted to it. They “need” that caffeine to get through their day. So they drink too much of it or the resort to drinking versions containing artificial sweeteners which may not be so good for you either. I enjoy my soft drinks, that’s for sure, but something that you won’t see me drinking is soda with caffeine in it. I also try to choose the best tasting options available to me. I find if I had one good bottle of a carbonated treat a day that it satisfies me. So my advice for people who want to cut their soda intake is to find chooses that are good as well as being caffeine free. I am here to guide you to some of the best choices out there. You will often find that these options will run you more money than the traditional Coke and Pepsi offerings, however if you find yourself drinking less as a result, then it’s not gong to hurt your pocketbook. If you like this list, feel free to check out the beverage reviews on my site. Nearly everything is a caffeine free option.

The Best Non Caffeinated Sodas (in my opinion)

1. Sprecher Puma Kola
This caffeine free cola option was created by Sprecher Brewery out of Wisconsin. They call their soft drinks fire brewed. They use rawe Wisconsin honey in each drink. Their Puma Kola is right the top of the list of the best colas money can by. The flavor and level of carbonation is way better than Coke or Pepsi.

2. Americana Honey Lime Ginger Ale
Americana is a brand of classic American bottle sodas. I first discovered them at my local Cost Plus World Market. All of their options are caffeine free. The best of the bunch is their Honey Lime Ginger Ale. The honey, lime, and ginger flavors all perfect compliment one another. It’s an amazing drink.

3. HOTLIPS Cherry Soda
Straight out of Portland, Oregon comes HOTLIPS Cherry Soda. It uses real cherry grown in Northwest Oregon. No fake cherry taste here. They add a touch of vanilla for that little something extra.

4. Gale’s Root Beer
One of the most unique root beers out there. It’s only root beer I know containing cinnamon and ginger, both I think really work to give this caffeine free option a complex, tasty flavor.

5. Saranac Shirley Temple
You might not except to see a kiddie cocktail on this list, but this was definitely deserves to be. It has a strong cherry/lemon-lime flavor. I still can’t believe how much I liked some. I found it just across the border in Ohio, I need to get back to get some more!

6. Boylan’s Creamy Red Birch Beer
Birch beer offers a more wintergreen type taste than root beer. Boylan’s Creamy Red one is the best that I have found. Creamy is definitely the way to describe it. I had a local grocery store that unfortunately decided to stop carrying it. However I was able to get a ton of them on clearance. That was a fun time.

7. Boom Chugga Lugga Cherry Root Bear
Cherry cola is a popular combo, but you don’t see adding cherry to root beer. After drinking this, I think cherry has a new best friend in root beer. The cherry used here is real Michigan cherries!

8. Jackson Hole Soda Co. Snake River Sarsaparilla
Sarsparilla is the cousin of root beer, and while there isn’t a clear definition of the difference (read what I wrote in my review of Kutztown soda), this is my fav sarsparilla out there. Sadly I have only had it the one time, but if I see it again, I will be busting out my wallet.

9. Fitz’s Strawberry Pop
For a long time I had trouble locating a good strawberry soda pop. It took a trip to St. Louis, Missouri for me to find the best strawberry pop out there, created by Fitz’s. I visited their restaurant where you can drink fresh out of the tap soft drinks and watch the bottling process go on as you eat.

10. Frostop Vanilla Caramel Creme Soda
Last on the list is certainly not least. This cream soda made by Frostop has a wonderful caramel flavor that brings a whole new life to cream sodas. It can be hard to find sometimes, appearing it some store for a while, than disappearing. I need to search some out again.

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