There used to be this ridiculously cheap outdoor produce market nestled against a bubble tea shop that I would frequent. I would always come out of the place with bags of produce and fruit, and I would never have to spend more than $15. Sadly, the place is gone now, but I never forget it because I once picked up the most delicious box of blackberries there. They were juicy, sweet, and pretty much perfect. I have been thinking about that place a lot this summer, as I've been craving those tasty buggers for weeks.
And now I have the perfect excuse to buy them. Over at Steamy Kitchen, there's a so-very-delicious-sounding recipe for salmon with blackberry brandy sauce. Fish + blackberries + brandy = heaven! This is one of the greatest selection of favorite ingredients that I've seen in a while. Along with the above, there's dijon mustard, chili powder, and a nice helping of balsamic vinegar. How can you resist?
Now I just have to figure out when I'm going to make it, and what to pair it with.
It's been 16 days since I suggested we declare August "Fruit Beer Month" and it finally looks like the print press is catching up with me. I recently saw on the wire that "Light, refreshing fruit-based beers are way hot for summer." Duh! That's what I've been trying to tell you.
But in her article, Lauren Chapin points out some interesting facts:
1) "In 2007, fruit beer sales grew a stunning 37 percent, making it the fastest-growing segment of the beer industry, according to Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association." This figure is in comparison to a 16% growth in craft beers sales overall for '07 (as also determined by the Brewers Association). Thus, it comes as no surprise why '08 has felt like the summer of fruit beers. If you don't like 'em, don't blame me, blame capitalism!
Find two more interesting aspects after the jump...
As the ongoing recession/inflation/credit crunch drives the cost of food higher and higher, British chain Sainsbury's has begun working to minimize food wastage. Meanwhile, ever-increasing numbers of consumers are cooking from scratch in an attempt to stretch their food budgets. Clearly, thrift is back!
As you rush around in your search for cheap things to eat, it's worth remembering that, in the kitchen at least, poverty can definitely be the mother of invention. Although cheap gas, greenhouse gardening, and factory farming drove down the price of food for most of the last century, the vast majority of human history has been characterized by the desperate search for sustenance. Keeping that in mind, here's a reminder about a few of the techniques that long-gone chefs once developed to preserve the harvest, get their vitamins, and avoid throwing anything away:
Organ meats: In the days before easy canning and greenhouse gardening, it was incredibly difficult to get the necessary daily allowance of vitamins. Lacking access to fresh fruits and vegetables, medieval farmers turned to organ meats. For example, rich in iron and Vitamin A, the liver was a dietary staple for generations. Similarly, kidneys, sweetbreads, and brains are also great sources of necessary vitamins. Much later, immigrants and the lower classes continued to eat these organs, as they were healthy and relatively inexpensive.
By this time of the year, markets and grocery stores are overflowing with a gorgeous array of melons. There are a few ways to know when your melon is ripe. They involve understanding that there are two classes of melon: the muskmelons and the watermelons.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of Vlada, a New York bar that specializes in infused vodkas. As I mentioned in my post, my experiences at Vlada had made me nostalgic for the moonshine that I had once enjoyed in Southwest Virginia. Back in the day, I used to buy 'shine by the gallon and infuse it with fruits, herbs, honey, and other ingredients, producing a wide range of aperitifs. While I'm a huge fan of store-bought liqueurs, I have yet to meet the mass-produced tipple that can rival the blueberry-infused moonshine, moonshine-based absinthe, or moonshine krupnikas that I once made.
The more I thought about it, the more I decided that the time had come to restart my experiments in fruit infusion. I had a half bottle of Everclear in the liquor cabinet, which I quickly determined was still relatively fresh and potent. A trip down to the farmer's market gave me a couple of pints of fresh blueberries, which I washed, dried, picked over, and packed in mason jars. I covered the fruit in grain alcohol, closed the lids, and set them in the back of one of my kitchen cabinets. Apart from giving them a daily shake, I was content to let time and the 190-proof alcohol do their work.
A week later, the alcohol was stained a deep purple and the berries were gray. A quick taste assured me that the grain was still mighty strong, but was now infused with a nice blueberry flavor. Wanting something a little more intense, I let a second batch of berries steep for a week in the alcohol. Afterward, I had a very alcoholic, very intensely flavored blueberry liquor. I also had a second batch of slightly sour-tasting blueberry alcohol that I got from running the leftover blueberries through my fruit juicer.
Until today, I was completely unaware that there were rules governing how produce had to look at the supermarket. I just thought that it was the retailers who were only accepting the "pretty" stuff.
However, in Europe there are all kinds of rules that dictate what produce has to look like. It covers the diameter of bananas all the way to what percentage of asparagus has to be green. The produce that doesn't fit those regulations gets tossed out. Recently, the European Commission decided that throwing away perfectly good produce just because it doesn't look perfect is just plain wasteful. Additionally the practice may also be contributing to the global food crisis.
As a result, the old rules are being abandoned on about 26 fruits and vegetables. Due to some opposition, though, not every variety of produce is having the rules changed. The compromise is that strawberries, pears, tomatoes, apples, kiwi, and lettuce must still meet the old guidelines.
What do you think about rules regarding produce appearance?
I've grilled all varieties of peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots. I've also exposed slabs of pineapple to the dying heat of a barbecue. But never, in all my grilling life, have I stuffed bananas with chocolate and put them over the coals. And now, having been shown that it's a possibility, I am kicking myself that this ingenious idea never occurred to me.
This recipe comes from Andreea of Glorious Food and Wine. She got the idea during a recent trip to Champagne, when she was served a similar dessert and now she's played with it and made it her own. The instructions are simple. Just slice open a fairly firm banana length-wise, making sure not to open it at either end. Then stuff it with chocolate (Andreea alternates between dark and milk, but you can do whatever you like). Place it on the grill as the coals die down. You'll know they're ready to be eaten when the peel is black, the banana is soft and the chocolate is all melty. I imagine that you could do this in the oven, at a low temperature, if you don't have a grill.
Andreea, thanks for sharing such a wonderful idea!
Ok, so I haven't tried every blueberry-flavored beer in the world (though trust me, that is my goal). That said, I can tell you what my favorite of the ones I have tried is: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.
Last week you may remember I gave a few deductions (too much Olympics!) to Blue Point Brewing Company's Blueberry Ale for balance -- pointing out that many times it can be hard to organically match malt and hops to fresh fruit flavoring, especially with extremely light ales. In my opinion, the best fruit beers tend to be unfiltered wheat beers.
Enter Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. Right out the bottle, the nose is of fresh (wild Maine, they say) blueberries, but the brewers at Atlantic Brewing Company (makers of Bar Harbor) aren't afraid to let the beer itself do some of the talking. The nose is full of malts with a touch of hoppy spice. Hold your glass up to the light though for this ale to reveal its true secret: It's got the color of a darker beer but as the official press states it's "combined with wheat to give this ale its lighter body." Basically, you can tell you're in for a mouthful.
By August, I usually find myself exhausted by the constant oppressive summer heat. The sweltering heat drains all the energy out of my body and leaves me walking to work sluggishly. To combat this end-of-summer lethargy, I hydrate myself throughout the day by drinking water.
Drinking water is not the only way you can refuel your body during the summer. Many fruits and vegetables can help you meet 20 percent of your daily fluid needs. Also, doctors have proven that a diet rich in H20-loaded foods can prevent dehydration and foster a feeling of fullness without adding too many extra calories. Below are 8 fruits and vegetables that can help recharge your body:
We are now at the point in the summer when I traditionally start to feel a little anxious. You see, while the bounty of the summer growing season is still going strong and the piles of heirloom tomatoes at the farmers markets make it hard for anyone to image a time when such abundance isn't be available, I can feel the end approaching. We've already said good-bye to the asparagus, strawberries, cherries, raspberries and tender greens for the year (although some greens will re-appear in September, when the weather cools down again). I can tell that the apricots are waning and the plums, peaches and nectarines won't be far behind.
I shopped for produce yesterday and today, filling my fridge with vibrant bunches of swiss chard and large bags of local string beans. I've been buying cucumbers, bags of the round lemon cukes, quarts of kirbys and handfuls the prickly gherkins with the intention to make pickles. Instead I just slice them them for snacks or make a quick salad with halved cherry tomatoes and slivered red onion.
Today, when I arrived home from the market, I unloaded my bursting shopping bags and gazed as the stacks of produce in my kitchen. As I put everything away, I mentally mapped out how I'd use it over the coming week. Braised greens with provolone and some leftover brisket for dinner sandwiches. Lightly blanched green beans tossed with goat cheese and a lemon vinaigrette. Chilled canteloupe for breakfast.
How are the rest of you feeling about the summer produce? What have you loved this summer and what foods have already passed out of season? Most importantly, does anyone share this end of season anxiety with me?
"Our distributor asked us to do something like that," says Alan Brady, Head Brewer for Long Island, New York's Blue Point Brewing Company. "Now it's one of our top sellers."
Ah, what inspiration: I've heard more passion in bank transactions. But who can blame him: Blue Point's flagship beer Toasted Lager is a World Beer Cup winner. Now he has silly bloggers wasting his time asking questions about this fruity brew. Even the official description is somewhat backhanded: "Blue Point fresh Blueberry Ale offers an unusual twist on brewing that turns out to be just perfect" -- as if to say: "Don't worry, guys! It came out okay!"
There's a discrepancy as to how many blueberries actually go into a Blueberry Ale. The box boasts an impressive 735 pounds, whereas the website speaks to a more conservative 132. Maybe they halved the recipe? Either way, these numbers are meaningless to the average drinker -- It's all about what ends up in your nose and mouth -- and Blueberry Ale is appealing in both regards. The scent is a bounty of fresh, authentic blueberries, but surprisingly, the flavor itself is not overpowering., which is perfect. Beginner's mistake numero uno in fruit flavoring is putting too much on the palette.
Was it a merger over a decade in the making? A case of admiration run to its financial endgame? Maybe it's just a coincidence or purely about numbers. Regardless, it's a fitting tale of intrigue for "Fruit Beer Month" none-the-less as we dig in to discover how an oft forgotten cousin of the plum -- the apricot -- has shaped the modern beer market...
As reported by both companies, it's now official: Independent Brewers United, parent company of Vermont-based brewery Magic Hat, is acquiring west coaster Pyramid Breweries, thus merging not only two of America's largest craft brewers, but also the two breweries best known for beers with apricot flavored products.
Certainly, the merger creates a powerhouse combination of East and West Coast craft breweries, but scratch the surface of these new suds-buds and it begins to paint an interesting picture...
If you purchase beer on a regular basis, you've probably noticed an uptick in the number of fruity beers (and I'm not talking about Schmitts Gay). Fruit flavors such as lime, blueberry and strawberry have been invading the suds on our shelves at an alarming rate, and even the big boys are getting in on the action: this summer America's #1 selling beer, Bud Light, introduced Bud Light Lime and Warsteinner (who takes great pride in brewing according to the German Purity of Law of 1516) introduced "Premium Mixes" consisting of 60% beer and a 40% mixture flavored as Orange, Lemon or... achem... Cola.
However, the most interesting and inspired fruit infusion experiments are still happening on the craft beer level. Smaller breweries originally jump started the trend during the formative years of American craft brewing in the early '90s. While macro-breweries were trying to juggle members of the mass market, microbreweries were carefully carving out niches. Fruit flavors originally appeared in domestic craft beers as a novelty but the trend not only stuck, it's growing. Why? Well, yes, they can be more quaffable (which is probably why Anheuser Busch and Warsteiner jumped on the boat), but so is a wine cooler or a Midori Sour. The true secret behind the trend: Fruit is the great equalizer, a flavor for the proletariat!
We all know that we're supposed to wear sun screen to protect us from harmful radiation from the sun, right? Well did you know that fruit or vegetables grown in the sun need it too?
I know that thought has never occurred to me before, but I can see the reasoning. If human skin can get sunburned, why not apple skin? Apparently about 20 to 40 percent of some crops are destroyed every year from solar radiation, according to an article in the Mercury News. That's bad for farmers, who can only use the damaged fruit for juice, as well as the environment, as crops that are more susceptible to sun damage need more water.
The article features a company that makes sunscreen for produce, Purfresh which makes the veggie sunscreen Purshade among other things. I just thought that this perspective on sunburn was very interesting and worth sharing. How do you feel about sun screen for produce?
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As the ongoing recession/inflation/credit crunch drives the cost of food higher and higher, British chain Sainsbury's has begun 
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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a 
Ok, so I haven't tried every blueberry-flavored beer in the world (though trust me, that is my goal). That said, I can tell you what my favorite of the ones I have tried is: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.
"Our distributor asked us to do something like that," says Alan Brady, Head Brewer for Long Island, New York's Blue Point Brewing Company. "Now it's one of our top sellers."
Was it a merger over a decade in the making? A case of admiration run to its financial endgame? Maybe it's just a coincidence or purely about numbers. Regardless, it's a fitting tale of intrigue for "Fruit Beer Month" none-the-less as we dig in to discover how an oft forgotten cousin of the plum -- the apricot -- has shaped the modern beer market...
If you purchase beer on a regular basis, you've probably noticed an uptick in the number of fruity beers (and I'm not talking about Schmitts Gay). Fruit flavors such as lime, blueberry and strawberry have been invading the suds on our shelves at an alarming rate, and even the big boys are getting in on the action: this summer America's #1 selling beer, Bud Light, introduced Bud Light Lime and Warsteinner (who takes great pride in brewing according to the German Purity of Law of 1516) introduced "Premium Mixes" consisting of 60% beer and a 40% mixture flavored as Orange, Lemon or... achem... Cola.
Chocolate-stuffed bananas on the grill
Tyler Florence welcomes new daughter
Beware kids' menus!
