Kosher Blog

French’s Worcestershire no longer kosher

So, as long as we’re talking about sauces… I just spied the label of my fresh, as yet unopened bottle of French’s Worcestershire Sauce. The label proclaims proudly, “NOW EVEN RICHER!” Apparently, “even richer” also means “less kosher.” No more OU heksher to be found.

No big deal, right? Well, to my knowledge, French’s Worcestershire was the sole pareve sauce of its kind [update: luckily not true, see comments]. Lea & Perrins, the brand synonymous with W-shire, contains enough anchovy to be designed “OU-Fish” and thus unacceptable for use with meat. French’s, however, with markedly less anchovy puree, worked well in kosher burgers and marinades.

I’ve sent a brief note to French’s hoping to find an explanation for the change. Will post a response when it arrives.

BBQ Sauce Roundup

The latest issue of the Jewish Advocate featured a recipe crafted by yours truly as part of their “Nine Days” coverage — BBQ “Chicken” Pizza (recipe forthcoming). Since barbecue sauce completely replaced my pizza’s typical tomato sauce, I figured choosing the right sauce would be critical. The recipe was geared toward the average home cook, so I didn’t want to recommend making sauce from scratch (though simple recipes abound and would likely be worthwhile). Plus, supermarket shelves are rife with sauce upon sauce — certainly one of them would fit the bill.

So I trekked out to my local Super Stop & Shop and filled my cart with sauces, ranging from the very cheap to the quite pricey, and only one that’s something of a local variety. I tasted the sauces plain and on pizzas. The results were somewhat surprising, and yielded a couple strong favorites.

On the cheap end were two Hunt’s varieties at $1.29 each, both certified by the OK. Hunt’s Original was simply sour ketchup, but the Hickory & Brown Sugar sauce shows a bit more character: moderately thick, dark, and with a definite (but slightly synthetic) hickory flavor. Nothing special when used on pizza.

For fifty cents more, KC Masterpiece Original (OU-certified) had a nice, lingering heat and slight smokiness, but seemed a bit too sweet. On pizza, though, it was quite imperceptible — flavor almost completely lost between the dough and the toppings.

Emeril’s Sweet Original, at $3.59 with a cRc heksher, was very sweet with a bit of maple flavor, but exhibited absolutely no heat or sourness — very one-dimensional. It was the least favorite as a pizza sauce.

The priciest variety, Bone Suckin’ Sauce, was a whopping $6.49 (OK-certified). This stuff was clearly not meant for pizza. It’s thin and very vinegary, though the apple cider vinegar was a unique twist. On the plus side, it had no unnatural or “industrial” ingredients. Save it for ribs.

Texas Best ($3.19 / OU) had a complex, almost elusive flavor — slightly more sour than it was sweet or spicy, but, on the whole, a well-balanced flavor and good thickness. On pizza, it stood up nicely.

The overwhelming favorite was a brand I had never tried before, but I picked it up because it was labeled “award winning” and “preferred by a majority of US restaurant chefs.” I figured that made it worth a try, but I remained skeptical; the vast majority of “US restaurant chefs” are drones who work at places like TGI Fridays and Applebee’s and are only expected to reheat mass-produced, over-marketed entrees with names like “pizza shooters,” “shrimp poppers,” and “extreme fajitas.”

Of course, I was put in my place when “Cattlemen’s” ($2.49 / OU) turned out to have a distinctive, tangy flavor, with just enough heat. Plus, it was dark, thick, and satisfying. On pizza, it was best equipped to match the bite of red onion and cheddar cheese and didn’t diffuse into the dough like lesser sauces.

So, if you have time and the inclination, make your own sauce and play with the different flavor components until you find the perfect combination. Or, save yourself the trouble, and give Cattlemen’s or Texas Best a try.

Tnuva Hard Grating Cheese

Since Tnuva products landed on these shores, I’ve been wholly unimpressed. All of their cheeses I’ve tried have been bland, over-commercialized, and uninspired. And Tnuva’s “Hard Grating Cheese” (their take on Parmesan) isn’t much different.

I first tried it in small chunks at room temperature, and I could hardly taste anything except the flavor of stale bread. Only for a brief moment after lots of chewing and determined tasting could I detect a slight bit of Italian cheesiness.

Not to be discouraged, I tried grating the cheese over a plate of pasta, and, when hot, detected a bit more flavor.

The price (on sale at the Butcherie for $2.50, normally $2.99) made it less than half that of Miller’s genuine Parmigianno-Reggiano, but Miller’s superior taste and texture is worth every penny.

Since Tnuva is Israel’s largest producer of kosher food, I figure I must be missing something. So I cast aside their English-language website and went for the straight dope… the Hebrew. In Israel, it seems, they sell a wider line of cheeses, including cheddar, provolone, and roquefort — varieties I’d be excited to try. Instead, they stick us with umpteen mediocre kinds of “feta-style” cheese. Go figure.

Kosher Pop Tarts, almost

KBlog reader David writes in to share this news:

Nature’s Path has a new line of toaster pastries that taste just like Pop Tarts — as I remember them, anyway. Got ‘em in my local (Los Angeles) Trader Joe’s.

The Nature’s Path website lists three flavors — strawberry, blueberry, and apple-cinnamon — all available frosted or unfrosted, and all OU-Dairy, USDA Organic, and free of trans-fats.

Search for retailers, or buy online.

Rubashkin Salami falls short

A good salami should have a little zest to its flavor and some spring to its texture. Rubashkin’s 12-ounce all-beef salami has neither. The texture is mushy and the flavor is mediocre. Choose Abeles & Heymann’s salami or cervelat instead for a much better experience.

Kosher at the Fancy Food Show

Alyssa Kaplan, Kosher Blog reader and proprietor of KosherGourmetMart.com, has sent in the following dispatch about the kosher products she encountered at the latest NASFT Fancy Food Show, which was held July 10-12 at the Javits Center in New York.

There are over 5,000 vendors displaying products here from all over the world. Before I went to the show, I narrowed the list down to 200 vendors that had kosher products and found even more products at the show. All items are currently available or will be rolled out in the coming months. Here are many of the new exciting products that I found and enjoyed.

My favorite vendor/product line was from Beyond Classics. They have a complete line of pasta sauces with flavors like…

Continue reading Kosher at the Fancy Food Show »

Empire Turkey Thigh Chops

I just chanced upon Empire’s new turkey thigh chops at the supermarket last week, and bought a couple packs figuring that $2.99/lb. was a bargain for something chop-like. Four “chops” come in a pack, and two are a decent serving.

It’s turkey, so it’s gamier than chicken, and can stand to take a lot of seasoning. I used a dry rub of grated orange peel, dried rosemary, onion powder, and pepper before tossing them on the grill. Unlike beef, these guys need to be cooked through, so I used a lower temperature to ensure they didn’t get overcharred on the outside before being done inside.

The extra-lean thigh chops were moist and tasty, and we even enjoyed them cold the next day.

This week, I plan to try them again, prepared in the oven with Shake & Bake, like a pork chop. I’ll amend this post appropriately with the results.

Update: Shake & Baked them last night. Texture was nice, but the turkey’s taste was quite unplesant. I likened it to reheated turkey, which I can’t stand. (I’m sure Harold McGee has something to say about the chemical compounds created by reheating turkey meat) With enough ketchup and barbecue sauce, I managed to eat it. I guess I’ll stick to grilling.

Biblical Nutrition

Would you eat something called “Noah’s Nuggets”? How about “Abraham’s Bossom”? House of David, an online retailer billing itself as the “the world’s premier distributor of biblically based health products“, offers these products and more, in their “Foods of the Bible” line. The products appear to be kosher - or at least the product photos on the website show kosher symbols. Caveat emptor.

My favorite is the Bible Bar:

…a highly effective appetite regulator based on the seven foods from the Book of Deuteronomy 8:8 - “A land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey”.

Wouldn’t that be a great treat on Tu B’Shvat? The closest local retailer is a place called Gospel Den - maybe I’ll stick to ordering my bible-foods online.

Diet Coke with Splenda

You probably think you’re drinking new Diet Coke with Splenda, but if you’re a devoted TAB drinker like me, you know the truth… it’s TAB’s robust flavor without traditional sweeteners aspartame and saccharin. Of course, I love that it’s now, once again, hip to drink TAB, albeit in a surreptious modern “Diet Coke” container.

Only question is: will this go the way of other fad flavors, or will Coke do the smart thing and abandon aspartame/Nutrasweet altogether in favor of sucralose/Splenda?

American Kosher Products Passover Beef Knishes

At delis and markets in this area, the knish labeled as the “Boston” variety is rectangular with rounded edges, filled with beef or potato, and covered on all sides with a thick golden dough. “New York” varieties are often larger and open on the ends; the dough is a bit flakier, and may have a reddish hue. Understandably, I’m partial to the hometown pastry, so it was with great excitment that I noticed in our local Super Stop & Shop that American Kosher Products (of West Bridgewater, formerly of Mattapan) has produced kosher-for-Passover glatt beef knishes (certified by the Orthodox Union).

The flavor is right on, though the texture is quite a bit gummier due to the use of seasonal ingredients like cake meal, matzo meal, potato starch, and potato flakes. Plus, the dough is a little thinner than usual and thus gets dried out more easily; notice the cracks developing in the photos. Despite the Passover backflips, this is a quality product which should prove a tasty and convenient snack or hors d’oeuvre during the holiday.