Thursday, July 29, 2010

Durian Candy


At first glance, one would think that this durian candy came from Thailand, the Thai script is quite prominent. I suppose perhaps the Durian came from Thailand, if anything, this is a candy made in China. I liked that the first ingredient is durian, followed by sugar and flavour. It does taste like they used durian, I’m glad of that, and they’re not so sweet.

President's Choice Organic Sea Salt Potato Chips


I can’t really recommend these potato chips, though if you are a fan of plain potato chips, and I mean plain, then these are the ones for you! Made from Organic potatoes using Organic sunflower oil, and sea salt, it should at least be reasonably good for you (compared to the more commercial less expensive ones).



Pacari Manabi


This is the second of the four chocolate bars from the Ecuadorian chocolatier Pacari; each features single source organic Arriba Nacional cacao varietal beans from a different region of Ecuador. These cacao beans come from the region of Manabi region in southwest Ecuador. The cacao content is at 65%. The ingredient listing looks good, cacao beans, evaporated cane juice and sunflower lecithin.



How does it taste? Like the Esmeraldas chocolate bar, this bar snaps well, is very dark in colour, and smells fruity. The chocolate melts well in the mouth, has a good aftertaste, and tastes fairly good, though it suffers, like the Esmeraldas bar, from the taste of the cane sugar coming through the chocolate, though not as much. The bar cost me $3 (for a 50 g or half-size bar) at a health food store, and I enjoyed eating it (as I do most Ecuadoran chocolate).

Lindt Excellence Crunchy Caramel


Normally I wouldn't even consider buying this chocolate bar, as it is Milk chocolate, but it came as part of a four bar package; Lindt makes some good bars, but I don't like their Milk chocolate ones. The ingredient listing is typical for a Milk chocolate one, sugar, cocoa butter, caramel pieces (sugar, milk ingredients, lactose, canola lecithin), milk ingredients, cocoa mass, lactose, soya lecithin, barley malt extract and artificial flavour. The cacao content is at 30%.



How does it taste. The chocolate itself is smooth, and the Crunchy Caramel portion of it was, in 2 words, very crunchy (and stuck to my teeth). I would not buy this bar again.

Kombucha Wonder Drink Essence of Juniper Berry, Spearmint and Lemon Myrtle


I would say this has been my least favourite of the kombuchas from Wonder Drink. Juniper berries are the main flavouring for gin, which I don’t care for. The spearmint is not a strong flavour, less than the juniper berries; the lemon myrtle I missed its taste completely. The kombucha didn’t come across as being very strong in flavour either. I am disappointed in this one, and miss my Himalayan

.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Fresh Chickpeas


My beautiful Bride found this for sale at the Square One Farmer’s Market, it is fresh chickpeas, which I’ve never seen before. Really, never even though of it, having seen them only canned or dried. They have a pod like peas, and do have a “pea” taste to them when eaten raw. Quite interesting.



Sarotti No. 1 Mexico Dark Chocolate Chili


This is the second of two from Sarotti’s No. 1 line of chocolate bars, this one features cacao beans from Mexico, with chili as flavouring, and has a cacao content of 66%. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, chili soya lecithin and natural vanilla.



How does it taste? The few I’ve eaten from Sarotti have been hit and miss, this one was not so good. The chili was not very strong (okay, only a little spicy aftertaste), and the dark chocolate could be more dark. I’ve never eaten chocolate made from cacao beans from Mexico, but they seem pretty okay. The chocolate itself is smooth but not so flavourful; it's definitely not the sugared chocolate I've seen labelled as Mexican chocolate. I doubt that I would eat this bar again.

Mississauga Rotary Ribfest


The Mississauga Rotary Ribfest was on this past weekend. Pretty much the same, though we went in the middle of the recent heat wave (feels like high 30's!) we were experiencing, so we didn't have much time to linger. This year, too, they blocked off Duke of York Boulevard next to the Living Arts Centre, which, along with the construction, caused major traffic grief getting in to Square One. All I got this year was a pulled pork sandwich, with beans and rice and corn bread.

Sarotti No. 1 Brazil Dark Chocolate Mint


I found a couple more of Sarotti's No. 1 line of chocolate bars, this one features cacao beans from Brazil, with mint oil as flavouring, and has a cacao content of 60%. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin and mint oil.



How does it taste? The few I've eaten from Sarotti have been hit and miss, this one was fairly good. The mint was not too strong, though the dark chocolate could be more dark. I've never eaten chocolate made from cacao beans from Brazil, but they seem pretty good. The chocolate itself is smooth and flavourful. I would eat this bar again.

Red Fife Wheat

I recently read about Red Fife wheat, which was at one time the best wheat in Canada (a good crop yield at an early date); it has been recently, in the last 10 years, rediscovered and reintroduced to the market. Red Fife wheat was developed by David A. Fife near Peterborough, Ontario, from some seeds sent to him from a friend in Glasgow Scotland; he had got it from Danzig or Gdansk in Poland. It is red in colour, thus was called Red Fife, as was the naming convention of the day.



In looking for Red Fife, I noticed the other day, that you can buy the flour at Bulk Barn. I picked some up, and want to try it making bread, which it is best for.



The other Red Fife I found, was in Loblaws, they were selling artisanal bread made from Red Fife by Weston's (makers of many breads). We picked up a loaf, which tasted pretty good to me, with a dense loaf (this was a whole wheat loaf) and a chewy crust.