Publication of the Union For Traditional Judaism

Copyright 1999 Union for Traditional Judaism

 1999   Vol. 7  No. 1   Autumn, 5760

            We are amazed when we look at the mast head and see the words Volume Seven.  Has it really been seven years? So much has changed in the world of Kashruth during these last many years. The proliferation of Kosher products on-line has been   most incredible.  The vast increase of Kosher stores within larger stores,especially in places like Texas, for example, has been stunning.    Kosher marketing is hot.   The market continues to grow, and we intend,IYH, to go right on charting the changes, listing the products, taking mail, and,in general, making Kashruth fun and easier. 

            Welcometo year seven.  We pledge to go on doingjust what we do best.   We promise tokeep you educated, informed, and amused in the months ahead.  May we be blessed with an abundance ofblessings in the New Year, and may we all merit a Gmar Hatimah Tovah.  Last ofall, to my Baalei Batim at the Jewish Center of Bayside Oaks:   thank you for participating in my dream, andfor allowing me to give the KN the time it deserves.        

            THE FANCY FOOD SHOW

                      (CONTINUED):   Too big to be hemmed in by one issue ofthe Kosher Nexus, the Fancy Food Show report continues.  When last we met, boys and girls, we wererelaxing, taking a brief respite from the miles of aisles of foodproducts.   So, had enough of arest?  Ready to go then, are we?  Here we go…………

                       CONDIMENTS

            FromIsrael comes a really great line of some of the funnest food on earth.  TOPAZ and PANDA makespreads.  Sure they make the usualchocolate spread that we all love so much, but that ain’t all.  They make some mighty fine flavors:  Chocolate spread with Puffed Rice, Chocolateand Halvah spread ,   Chocolate andHazelnut spread, and just Halvah spread.  In addition, they also make syrups:  Chocolate, Strawberry, Cherry, and Maple.   All products carry a double hashagacha:   Badatz Jerusalem and the O-U.  Hey kids, pay attention:  this isprimo stuff.  We loved the Chocolate andHalvah spread.  Those are our twofavorite food groups.   When next you aresufing the Net, visit the Topaz web site for info:  www.intergata.co.il   

            Everyoneknows that DUTCH GOLD HONEY makessome fine honey, but did you know that they now market a full line of O-Ucertified honeys in just about every honey flavor you could want?   Look at this list of flavors:   Alfalfa, Avocado, Blueberry, Buckwheat,Clover, Eucalyptus, Golden, Orange Blossom, Premium, Safflower, Sage, Tupelo,and Wild Flower.   If you have nevertried Buckwheat honey, you are really missing a treat.  Similarly Tupelo and Sage.  These are all natural products.  Why settle for the boring jar of generichoney that everyone uses for the holidays?  This year, be bold!  Dutch GoldHoney is located at: 2220 Dutch Gold Drive, Lancaster, PA, 17601.   The phone there is: 717 393 1716.   They also have a web site:  www.dutchgoldhoney.com

            Back inthe Kosher Food Show issue, we reported about the great sauces made by MICELI’s.   They make some really great and upscale sauces.   They have added some new products, and theyrate a KN rave.   Under the SAM & JAKE’S label, they nowoffer:  Fat Free Raspberry BBQ Sauce,Chipotle BBQ Sauce, Southern BBQ Sauce, and Healthy Honey Orange BBQSauce.  They also make some interestingsalsas: Raspberry Salsa, Pineapple Salsa, Chipotle Salsa, and Black Bean andCorn Salsa. (We tried the Raspberry and it was really good.)  Finally, they offer two mustards: Sam’ssweet, and Jake’s Mesquite.  Certification is by the O-U and the products are all pareve.   You can write to the company at: PO Box1261, Danbury, CT, 06813.   You can phonethem at: 203 797 9714.  

            AND FINALLY……..  

            Here isa product that pretty much is unique.  “In 1937, Fred Carbon developed the recipe for the World’s FirstImproved Flour, … GOLDEN MALTED PANCAKE& WAFFLE FLOUR.”   (Quote takenfrom the company’s publicity book.)  Whatever ol’ Fred did, he went on to patent his secret ingredients, andhe gave the world an incredible pancake flour.  This stuff makes the best Belgian waffles ever.   And we really mean it- the best!Fred’ssecond smartest move after inventing the formula was to get O-U (pareve)certification.   After all, why shouldn’twe get to eat the best Belgian waffles, too? F. S. Carbon Company is located at 324 East Dewey St, Buchanan, MI,49107.   You can phone them at: 800 2530590.  

            AND FINALLY, FINALLY FOR REAL:

Talk about unique products, here is one that we could never categorize.  And, no, we don’tmake this stuff up.  How about some KRELISH?  What, you may ask, is KRELISH?   Well now, I am glad you asked, cause I’m gonna tell ya.  Neither a nation nor a language, Krelish isa sweet and tangy Sauerkraut with onions, corn starch, vinegar, spices, and redbell peppers in it.    It is kind ofhard to describe.  The company suggestsa lot of different ways to use their product, including as an “awesome coldpizza topping!” (I don’t know about you, but I would never even think ofputting sauer kraut on my pizza!)  Certification is by the O-U.  Mrs. Kleine’s Ltd is located at: 586 Skalkaho Hwy, Hamilton, MT,59840.  The phone number is: 406 3631206.  The company donates the first 5%of profits to the Hospice movement all over the country.  

            Andthat, gentle readers, is the end of the Fancy Food Show.   It was a great show as shows go, butnow   on to other things.

            DEPARTMENT OF CAN’T TELL THE PLAYERSWITHOUT A SCORECARD:

            More andmore, the big players are buying up the smaller players.   Today it is hard to know just who ownswhat.   Here is a quick look at whoactually owns which deli companies.

            Bessin (Sara Lee) owns Shofar, Best Kosher,Sinai, and Oscherwitz.   Alle Processsing owns Meal Mart and NewYork Kosher Deli.  Rubashkins owns Agri-Processors,  Aaron’s Best, Shor Habor, and European Glatt.    Empire produces undertheir own name only.  And there you haveit- no more wondering.

A FINE SNACKIN’ FOOD

            Duringone the interminable heat waves we had this summer, we were wandering up anddown the aisles at our local Target store.  When lo and behold, what should jump off the shelf and into our arms?  A really neat snack, that’s what.  From GARDETTO’SFAMILY BAKERY comes a really neat snack. It is kind of hard todesribe.  Without wanting to insultanyone, the best way we can think of to describe the stuff is to say that it issort of like Chex Mix, only a lot better! We had the Light ‘n Crispy Texture  SourCream and Onion Snack Mix.   It waswonderful!  Had to fight off theExperteen (We were shopping for stuff for college so she thought she had “dibs”on anything we bought that day.) so we could get some ourself!  Certification is O-U Dairy. The Gardettosbake at: 4625 South Sixth Street, Milwaukee, WI, 53221-8013.   You can visit them at www.gardettos.com

            LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS….

LBR of Hollis, Queens, writes :  “I know from black and whitepepper.  What’s with the pink andgreen?”    Well, LBR, relax; we didthe research and found out for you.        Green peppercorns are the unripe and dried fruit of the black pepperplant.   They tend to be milder and morefruity than the black ones.    Whitepeppercorns are the ripe berries of the black pepper plant.  After harvesting, the berries are soaked andthe red skin is  removed.  The white corn on the inside is thendried.  The result is a milder pepperthat many cooks prefer as it doesn’t overwhelm the food with which it iscooked.     Pink peppercorns are notreally peppercorns at all.   In very hugequantities, they are rumored to be mildly toxic, in fact.  These pink beauties come from a SouthAmerican relative of the poison ivy plant.  They have little flavor, and the reason some people use them is thatthey look nice mixed in with the other colors.     If you want to be tres chi chi, you can mix black and whitepeppercorns in your mill, and call it MIGNONETTE, as do the French.   Very finely ground black and white pepper iscalled grey pepper here.  Finally, thereis yet another peppercorn that is not really a pepper either.   Called Szechwan pepper, this berry comes fromChina and is also called fagara. Thisso called pepper has a woodsy kind of  smell.     And that, LBR, as they say, is the lowdownon colored peppers.  Add a little spiceto your life!

EXPERTEEN

                            And now, it is time onceagain, boys and girls, for a few words from our Experteen:   ace cub reporter, bon vivant, notedgourmand, and teenager about the campus, Ms. Jessica Rubin.

             Wassup yo?  Cornell University is amazing.  I am having agreat time here; my classes are all good, my friends are great, and, yes, you knowwhat I like the best: the food!

            Here at Cornell U., I have a meal planin a place called the Kosher Dining Hall. Let me tell you, they make the BEST food.  It's almost better than mom's! (just kidding, mom)  Every day,they serve up a great menu of courses for lunch:  from omelets to burritos to salads.   For dinner, they cook up something that always smells so good, Ican smell it from my room, and they offer about fifteen different side dishes, so I don't have to eat boring, old vegetables.

            One recent Friday night, the KDH,with the help of Rachel (the steward), the kitchen staff, and everyone else whovolunteered, served up an amazing Shabbat meal for about two hundred people,while the Chai Notes, Cornell's ownJewish a cappella group, providedwonderful choral entertainment.  (They're really good!!)  If youcome to Cornell any time soon, don't forget to stop in, and "see what'scookin' !!"  By the way, visitorscan always buy meals at the KDH.   Inparticular, when the crew from New Zealand comes, I fully expect them to eat atmy table!

            Otherwise,my dorm room is fully stocked with all types of goodies.   I mean, you shouldn't want I should gohungry between meals, would you? Tradition soups are always good for a quick and filling lunch (Kof-K).   Tropicana (O-K) has bottled orange juice forbreakfast "on the run" (to the bus stop). Then there's alwaysCheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Clusters Cereal, Quaker OatMeal, some Parmalatmilk (you know, the one in the box), cases of Nestea iced tea, and 50 bags ofSuper Snacks.   Of course, no dorm roomwould be complete without one’s very own Jelly Belly Jellybean machine, alwaysfully stocked with Old Number 1, Jelly Belly jellybeans (Ko).  (Everyone loves them...my room is prettypopular.)

            Well, everyone, that's a wrap.  Good night to you all, and oh, yeah, mom,could you send up some more Bone Suckin’ Sauce???  Richard (the monkey- see K. N., V.6, # 5) ate it all!!!  

            DEPARTMENTOF WE GET MORE LETTERS:

            TRR of Queens writes:  So, Mr. Kosher Nexus, expert in all things, what is this Lecithin that Isee in so many products?   Theanswer oh, curious reader, is that lecithin is used to make foods moremixable.  Lecithin allows disparate,individual food ingredients to work together as one.   It makes it easier to make certain foods.   Lecithin may also be used as a replacementfor fat, or a substitute for eggs.  Iteven can prevent foods from sticking to the pan.  Got it, TRR?

            INFORMATIONPLEASE!

            If youwould like to receive a list of those Kellogg products which are under the KVH,write to the Rabbinical Council of New England at:   177 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, 02111.  

            CHECK OUT THIS WEB SITE:  

            No more whining!  No more pouting!    Here is the web site to get info and to order Bone Suckin Sauce.  Pay a visit to www.bonesuckin.com .  Or, as reader MHK of Atlanta said, “Thanksfor making our shabbes.   Bone SuckinSauce has made our shabbes meals even more fantastic.”  

-                      ANNOUNCING A KOSHERNEXUS CONTEST!

Be the first in your neighborhood to identify these threepairs, and we will mention you in a future issue of the KN.   No prizes, but everlasting fame and fortunewill come your way.   We are indebted toDr. Saul Shapiro for this.   Identifythese three pairs:  Long and Short,Black and White, and Man and Woman.  Hint: Think calendar.  All decisionsare final.  The wise counsel of ourjudges will not be tainted with suspicious posturing and other nefariousobjections from the peanut gallery.   Inplain words- we decide who wins.   Goodluck.  

DEPARTMENT OFSTILL MORE LETTERS!

            MSP ofVirginia writes:  I am tired of the same old kosher meats.   Can the KN suggest some other kinds of animals that could be kosher?  There are many more kindsof meat that could be kosher were they shechtedproperly and found to be acceptable.  Examples would include:  the 157species of ruminants that have split hooves!  Some specific examples would be:  Cow, sheep, goat, deer (all 38 species), pronghorn (looks like anantelope with a prong horn on it!), moose, eland (elk), giraffe (ah, but wherewould they shecht it?!), antelope, zebu (ox), Bongo (no, not the drum, theAfrican antelope), and, finally, all the animals known as buffalo.   We hope that helps.  Seriously? All of the above could be kosher. Could be.   That is a bigcaveat.  Hock your butcher in chinekhe should find these meats for you!  Good luck, and keep us posted!

            Wellfolks, another issue comes to a close.  As always, be on the lookout for future issues of this finenewsletter.   We will keep you posted onall the newest things to come along.  Our next issue, IYH, will be the KosherFest issue.   Stay tuned. In the meantime, take an umbrella- it’s rainy season.