August 5, 2007
Happy New Year! August marks the start of Zingerman's new fiscal year — and with the New Year comes resolutions. One of my resolutions is to grow our confectionery department at the Deli. Now don't get nervous! I'll still be on the lookout for great new chocolates to add to our stock. But I'll also be sourcing caramels, taffy, hard-candies, candied-chestnuts, mints, nougat and other yummy non-chocolate treats! So if you've worried over the dearth of confections at the Deli, not to fear: I'm on a mission to treat your sweet tooth to the best candies in the biz.

Starting a little later this month, you'll notice a few new sweets on the shelves. I'm very excited for you to try the Herbal Candies from Sweet Botanicals (the sage is my favorite!), Organic Lollipops and Candy Drops from Yummy Earth, and All-Natural Candies from Hammond's of Denver. And if you haven't had the chance to try Claudio Corallo's Cacao Beans or the new Pralus Equator and Ghana bars, you are missing out on some darned good chocolate. Ask for samples the next time you are at the Deli or the Next Door!

As for chocolate tastings — I'm book ending the month of August with the Milk Chocolate Rendez-Vous on August 8th and the Cluizel Rendez-Vous on August 29th. Please come to both!

New stuff Duff is really excited about:
(1) Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops and Candy Drops
Yummy Earth is an organic candy company started about a year ago by two dads — Sergio and Rob. They started the company because didn't want their little kiddies eating candy that was full of artificial colors, synthetic sugars and fake flavors. Fair enough! After consultations with food scientists, chefs, and their own kids (Rose and Jonah), they came up with a winning recipe for five yummy flavors: Pomegranate Pucker, Mango Tango, Wet-Face Watermelon, Cheeky Lemon and Wild Peppermint.

No fake colors, flavors or processed sugars here. Sergio and Rob use evaporated organic cane juice and organic tapioca syrup to sweeten the candies and natural fruit extracts to flavor them. They also use natural colorants, like red cabbage and purple carrots, instead of chemical dyes. Their candies are certified organic, wheat-free, dairy-free and kosher, among other things.

This is all well and good — but how do they taste? Well, I'm generally not a candy person. As a kid, I always opted for Snickers over Laffy Taffy at the roller rink concession stand. Why spend minutes sucking on candy when you could enjoy chocolate in two bites? Maybe I am just inpatient. Anyway, I am beginning to think that my preferences might be changing because on the flight home from the NYC Fancy Food Show, I found myself frantically digging through my carry-on bag hoping to find one more Yummy Earth Candy Drop or Lollipop sample at the bottom. Actually, I think there might still be a lollipop in my suitcase. I'll be right back...

(2) Sweet Botanicals: Apothecary's Garden Herbal Candies
When you think of candy, words like "sage" and "fennel" probably don't spring to mind by association. However, after tasting some of the herbal candies from the UK company Sweet Botanicals, I am beginning to think that herbs and sugar are meant for each other!

Sweet Botanicals started in 1998, led by the husband-wife team of Ken and Jane Stanbridge. Ken is a candy freak (with over 30 years experience in the industry) and Jane is an herbalist. Both believing in the healing and medicinal qualities of herbs, they decided to merge their expertise and create a line of herbal candies. Sweet Botanical's candies are made with natural oils and colorants — and they taste amazing. The sage absolutely blows me away. The flavor is so full — like biting into a fried sage leaf! And the taste of the sage doesn't get boring as you suck on the candy — it actually deepens and becomes more and more mouth-watering.

In addition to the Sage, you'll find Lavender, Chamomile and Fennel candies available soon in the Next Door. I am so excited for you to try them!

(3) Hammonds All-Natural Candies
Hammond's Candy of Denver, CO, has been making candy since 1920! In keeping with the industry trend of "going natural," Hammond's now offers a fine selection of all-natural candies — made with flavors and colorants found in nature, not engineered in a lab! At the Deli, you'll find bags of Hammond's All-Natural Crystal Cut Candies in five flavors: grape, orange, cherry, lemon and mint. And if you like a little sweet with your sour, we have Hammond's All-Natural Sour Balls — little gum-drop sized candies in orange, cherry and lemon flavors.

(4) Cacao Beans from Claudio Corallo
This is the ultimate treat for a chocolate connoisseur: a little box of roasted, whole cacao beans from Claudio Corallo's plantation on Principe. Not only will these beans provide you with endless activity (you get to peel them and remove the stem by hand!) but they will also awaken your taste buds to the flavor of unadulterated cacao. They are astonishingly good — very nutty, with aromas of hot chocolate and coffee! You can sprinkle them over your cereal in the morning, pop them in your mouth as a snack, or try your hand at making homemade chocolate!

(5) Equator and Ghana Single-Origin Bars from Pralus
These two bars add a lot to our growing line-up of Pralus chocolates. The Equator bar has hints of walnuts and dried figs — it is not as earthy as some other Ecuadorian chocolates I've tried. The Ghana bar is the mildest of all the 75% from Pralus, with big hits of vanilla and other spices (maybe cinnamon?) lightening the taste of the chocolate.

Best,

Chocolate Lady Duff