Editor's Pick: Seely Mint

Have you ever been so acclimated to something that when a newer, fresher, tastier option came around, you didn’t know what to think. “This is what I’ve been missing all along?” you’d say to yourself as you consider the artificial concoctions you used to eat.

I’m not just blowing smoke here; that’s how I felt when I bit into a Seely Mint Patty. For years I’ve settled with the sometimes chalky texture of mint patty fillings. I’ve unwrapped plenty of mint chocolates in my life just to be disappointed with the factory-made quality that would just barely satisfy my after-dinner sweet tooth.

This is not the case here, folks.

Every year, Seely Mint Farm in western Oregon transforms into a candy factory as its kitchen team busily handcrafts a range of all-natural mint confections, including hand-rolled candy canes, chocolate mint patties, white and dark chocolate mint melts and peppermint bark.

The chocolate is melt-in-your-mouth amazing, and the mint is something like I’ve never tasted. It’s fresh and real and screams “this is the quality you’ve been missing.”

Mike and Candy Seely, third-generation Oregon mint farmers, never dreamed of being in the candy business; In 2007, however, the demand for their all-natural essential mint oil used for toothpaste, chewing gum, mouthwash and perfume was shrinking because global manufacturers took to less expensive synthetic flavoring options.

"We needed to create new uses for the mint oil before we lost everything," says Mike, whose family began growing heirloom Black Mitcham variety peppermint and spearmint in the early 1940s.

In 2008, Mike and his wife, Candy, made chocolate mint patties to show customers at the farmers market new ways to use the fresh mint oil. They became a hit, but customers didn't want to take the time at home to make them from scratch; they wanted the quality delights the Seely’s were making themselves.

As word of the mint patties spread, local stores in the Pacific Northwest added the confections to their shelves. It’s transparent sourcing that’s winning over the customers who continually tell Mike and Candy they care about what's in their food.

“Our mint confections are all natural in an industry that is saturated with artificial flavor variations of mint in toothpaste, chewing gum and candy," says Mike.

If this is the real deal mint, I’m sold. 

The Perfect Purée

We're all looking for shortcuts in the kitchen, but hesitance to use prepared foods in your favorite recipe creeps in when you think about the ingredients - or the source of those ingredients - from an unknown product.
Step in The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley, whose ingredients are so simple and natural that the company feels completely comfortable displaying them front and center on the top label of the eight single-serve samples that were sent to my office.
Ingredients for Passion Fruit Concentrate, for example: passion fruit juice concentrate and filtered water. That's it. You can't get more simple than that, I suspect. Other refreshing flavors like Prickly Pear Puree and White Peach Puree might throw in additional elements like cane sugar and citric acid, but there's nothing - for once - that I can't pronounce.
Flavors range from pantry staples like raspberry, strawberry and banana to the exotic lychee, passion fruit and pink guava. All products contain no artificial additives, preservatives or sweeteners, and the fruits are harvested at the peak of season. Finally, they're puréed and packed frozen to maintain optimal freshness, flavor and color.
Now satisfied with its makings, I was eager to use the White Peach Puree in a cocktail. Once at home, I added some to my Champagne, producing an instant fizzy kick of natural fruit. It was different, fun and pretty to look at, a perfect fit for my next holiday party, I thought.
The company features 30 premium flavors and nine blends for mixology made easy. A visit to the website, www.perfectpuree.com, reveals many more recipes waiting for experimentation: White Peach Sangria, Green Apple Martini and Blood Orange Margarita, to name a few. Of course, the options don't stop at the bar, as the company suggests many ways in which these natural fruit purees can help jams, sauces, soups, cocktails and desserts.
Just to get your mind thinking, here are a few recipes that stuck out to me: Pear Poundcake with Pear Liqueur Sauce, Seedless Red Raspberry Jam, Chilled Pomegranate Champagne Sauce, Banana Mini Muffins and even Decadent Raspberry Soup. Of course, chefs can mix and match purees with different recipes, leaving the cook with endless options of new and creative dishes and drinks.
All flavors can be frozen for up to 24 months. When thawed, the purées, concentrates and specialties last 7-10 days in the refrigerator, and blends for 21 days..
The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley started in 1988, and today it caters to restaurants, hotels, bakeries, catering kitchens and, yes, bars. According to its press release, it has "indulged the culinary passions of chefs, mixologists and food enthusiasts with effortless products that provide the ultimate in fresh fruit flavor without the peeling, dicing and simmering required to make purées from scratch."
For order information, visit www.perfectpuree.com. For daily recipe ideas and inspiration, visit facebook.com/perfectpuree, twitter.com/theperfectpuree or instagram.com/theperfectpuree.

Editor's Pick: Choctál

I visited Peru in August, and I found a great little shop that featured a myriad of edible products derived from the cocoa bean. There were liquors, candies, chocolates, jams, jellies, teas and even pure roasted cocoa beans, and we learned how the nuances of the flavors changed depending on where the bean was grown.

While I’m back in Chicago hard at work for Fancy Food & Culinary Products magazine, I was instantly taken back to the souvenir shops of Machu Picchu when a lovely sampling of Choctal ice cream arrived at our office.

Choctál’s eight unique flavors don’t feature fun and flirty names like Dare Devil Chocolate but rather a worldly, straight-forward account of the exotic lands from which these flavors derive.

Names like Dominican Chocolate, Ghana Chocolate and Kalimantan Chocolate as well as Papa New Guinea Vanilla, Mexican Vanilla and Indonesian Vanilla instantly intrigued my appetite for travel as well as sugar.

Picking out which single-serve pack to try first was like closing my eyes and pointing my finger to a spinning globe. Following my taste buds, I settled on Madagascar Vanilla to start. Picking up the 4-ounce carton was a luxurious experience, for the design doesn’t play to my lustful love affair with dessert but rather exudes an air of sophistication and eco-consciousness, designed with a burlap-type background and muted colors of blue and brown. The logo itself elicits a near Aztec feel, furthering my sense of adventure.

Choctál's unique name serves as an homage to the ancient cultures that revered cacao as “food from the gods," using the sacred ingredient in a drink called “Xocolatl,” “Cachuatl” or “Chocotal.”

My favorite part: The ingredient description right on top of the peel-back lid: “Pure bourbon vanilla and flakes of vanilla beans; utterly seductive rich, complex and classic flavor.” Indeed, a classic flavor, and my favorite. But this vanilla bean ice cream delivered an unusually pure flavor of vanilla amidst a truly creamy, complex and indulgent texture of ice cream.

I was drawn to the Costa Rican Chocolate description as well: “Lively, well-balanced coffee and caramel flavors; a hint of butterscotch adds a subtle back note.” That’s two points for Choctal, as this deep, velvety and oh-so-rich chocolate flavor matched its product description to the T.

As with fine wines and whole-bean coffees, Choctál believes the area of the world in which a particular cacao or vanilla is grown makes all the difference in the character of the product. Each region produces unique flavor profiles, according to its press release, yielding complex, nuanced flavors. Choctál also sources high-quality ingredients with no artificial additives, eggs or gluten and partners with companies that focus on sustainable practices in both harvesting and production.

After my sampling of both, I felt like I just returned from a trip around the world, and I thought how fun it would be to share a single-serve pack with everyone at my next dinner party. The countries that they decide to “try” would make for a great conversation start; but then again, with ice cream this rich and creamy, who has time for talking?

Choctál is available for purchase at over 200 stores nationwide including Bristol Farms, Whole Foods and an ever-expanding list of independent gourmet grocers. The indulgent frozen treats are also available for order online at www.choctal.com.

Editor's Pick: noosa yoghurt

Noosa yoghurt is a unique combination of sweet and tart taste wrapped in a  thick, velvety texture—it’s truly one of a kind. It’s made in small batches on a family farm in Colorado with wholesome ingredients: all-natural whole milk from happy cows, fresh fruit purees and infused with a touch of clover alfalfa honey. Its irresistible and savory taste will make you fall in love after just one bite and keep you coming back for more!

Perfect for fall, the company offers two seasonally-focused flavors— Pumpkin and Cranberry Apple—that make the perfect addition to any fall meal and are a guilt-free treat perfect those watching their waistlines.

·         Pumpkin, originally released as a limited-time offering, proved so popular that it is now available all year round. Now, consumers can enjoy real pumpkin puree in a velvety yoghurt, as an exceptional dessert; in pumpkin-inspired recipes; or as the star ingredient in a parfait by just adding crumbled ginger snaps and whipped cream.

·         The all-new Cranberry Apple, inspired by festive holiday flavors, is the perfect combination of sweet and tart and brings to mind cozy family recipes. Sit around the dining room table and enjoy the yoghurt as a snack, or as a main ingredient in a seasonal coffee cake or muffins to warm up on a brisk fall day.

All noosa yoghurt is available in the traditional 8 ounce container and 4 ounce 4-packs mini-containers.

Editor's Pick: Simpson and Vail Literary Teas

Simpson and Vail is unveiling a new line of tea tins—each blend was created with a specific author in mind. The ten different teas vary from a black tea blend to a flavored herbal blend. The authors included in the line are William Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Emily Dickinson, James Joyce, Beatrix Potter, Lewis Carroll, and Charles Dickens.


Simpson and Vail is known for creating delicious traditional and dessert tea blends with a quirky sense of humor and love of history. There is a literary tea for everyone in this collection. The delicate prose of Jane Austen’s novels is evoked in a tea blend that combines peppermint with a gentle touch of vanilla. The adventures of Pip and Oliver go wonderfully with a hearty, well-rounded variation on the typical British tea of Dickens’ time. Each of these ten teas comes in their own specially designed tins branded to each author, their lives and works.

Editor's Pick: JulieAnn Caramels

Remember the joy of the campfire experience? Memories of burning embers and aromas of just-burnt marshmallows exist in the back of your mind just enough to yearn for the S'More on crisp nights.

No one knows just who invented the gooey marshmallow and chocolate goodness trapped in pieces of graham crackers, though some credit it to a Girl Scout troop leader—image that! I’d assume this was no Troop Beverly Hills.

Chocolate melts while just the right pressure is added to the mallow-graham cracker combination for a bite-sized treat that’s become so etched in Americana nostalgia that chocolatiers and sweets companies have been replicating the S’More for years trying to find that shelf-stable version.

I think I found it by the way. On a stick at that!

JulieAnn Caramels’ Su’Mores bring so much joy into one bite, it’s an incredible and very savored moment that’s amplified with the addition of caramel. It’s not too messy, avoids all smoke and flames and takes us on a campfire journey.

The simple graham cracker is topped with what JulieAnn calls the finest of marshmallows that’s as white as your teeth. It’s later wrapped in the company’s famous caramel—which is not too stick-to-your-teeth sticky; just enough—and wrapped with a mixture of light and dark Guittard chocolate and trickled with a drizzle of white.

Order yours here and you’ll have customers begging for more. Girl Scout’s Honor. 

Editor’s Pick: Torie & Howard

Torie & Howard’s newly introduced organic Chewie Fruities candy has been named a finalist in the Martha Stewart American Made Awards.

The 4-ounce package of assorted Chewie Fruities candy, introduced in May, was selected as a finalist and now is eligible for the Martha Stewart American Made Audience Choice Award. Public voting for the finalists ended on Oct. 19, Winners are to be announced this week.   Torie & Howard produces all natural, organic, Non-GMO candy designed to satisfy consumers with discriminating palates who crave healthy, yet indulgent, snacks.  The candy is USDA Organic and kosher certified.  The company was launched by color consultant Torie Burke and interior designer Howard Slatkin in early 2012 with headquarters in New Milford, Conn.  In keeping with its pledge to produce snacks in ways that are as health-friendly, eco-friendly and socially conscious as possible, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Autism Speaks.

Editor’s Pick: Talenti Gelato

Fall brings colorful, crunchy leaves, football games and decadent seasonal flavors of gelato. Just because the weather starts getting colder, doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to enjoy frozen treats. Talenti Gelato is bringing back three seasonal flavors this month.

·         For the pumpkin flavor fanatic, Pumpkin Pie blends brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin and then adds real pie crust pieces for a delicious take on a holiday treat.

·         Want a beverage and dessert in one? Meet Old World Eggnog, which is a rich and creamy interpretation of the traditional holiday drink, with fresh egg yolks, pure vanilla extract and fragrant nutmeg.

·         And last but certainly not least is Peppermint Bark, an indulgent gelato that combines semisweet Belgian Callebaut chocolate with a smooth and refreshing peppermint base.

Editor's Pick: Bertolli Riserva

Full of artisanal ingredients like extra-virgin olive oil, imported Parmigiano-Reggiano and more, the Bertolli Riserva Italian Sauces are inspired by Bertolli’s founder, Francesco Bertolli, and pretty much transport you back to Francesco’s home of the sunburnt rolling Tuscan hills and aromas of Italian cuisine sneaking from the kitchen windows. The Bertolli Riserva Sauce that caught my eye: Porcini Mushroom with White Truffle Oil.

The shade-grown porcini mushrooms are enhanced by the decadence of the white truffle oil to create a seriously indulgent and rich taste and aroma that quite literally spilled out of my kitchen. If I were Italian, and I’m not, I’d imagine the simmering sauce to be something of a staple in my Italian grandmother’s kitchen. It beckons to be dished out to friends and family at the dinner table, so that’s what I intended to do—fettuccine with spinach and turkey meatballs in a porcini mushroom sauce.

Because the sauce is practically fool proof—simply add to a sauce pan and simmer—I decided to go with another old stand by: turkey meatballs. Using a trusted ‘ol recipe from Bon Appetit that I’ve had a bit of previous experience with, I mixed my egg, onion, minced garlic, frozen chopped spinach that was thawed and squeezed to remove all moisture, some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, about ½ cup of plain breadcrumbs, some parsley and finally, the ground turkey, in a bowl.  I formed the mixture into balls and placed them on a baking sheet to eventually broil until browned—about 15 minutes in the oven.

After they looked golden brown and delicious, I placed them into the simmering Porcini Mushroom Sauce compliments of Bertolli. In a separate boiling pan I cooked the fettuccine, added that to the sauce and meatballs and served delicately with extra Parmigiano Reggiano. 

Editor’s Pick: thinkThin

ThinkThin is introducing thinkThin Protein Bites and thinkThin Protein Nut Bites.  Building on the success of thinkThin protein bars, the new bites mark the first time a leading energy bar brand has launched unwrapped protein and fiber bars in bite-sized pieces.  The new product innovation is a delicious combination of an energizing snack and crave-worthy treat, with the added benefit of protein and fiber and supports the growing trend of consumers seeking perfectly-balanced snack options that are both nutritious and convenient. 

Available in a range of five flavors, the new gluten free and non-GMO protein bites are an innovative extension of thinkThin’s popular bar flavors. Each serving of thinkThin Protein Bites is packed with 10g protein, 5g of fiber and less than 200 calories. Available in Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter, and Chocolate Almond Brownie.

The thinkThin Protein Nut Bites are chock full of nutritious almonds, peanuts and pumpkin seeds offering 9g of protein, 3g of fiber and less than 200 calories.  thinkThin Protein Nut Bites are available in two flavors, White Chocolate, with a drizzle of creamy white chocolate, or Dark Chocolate, with a drizzle of real dark chocolate.