We Bake
The Bread • • • Kosher Bites
Hot cocoa mixes burn the tongues and warm
You Add the hearts of taste testers.
The Spice. W
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
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ien I was a little girl, I
could always count on
two things during the
winter.
The first was that I would en-
joy hour after hour of fairly dar-
ing sledding on a local
snow-covered hill. The second -----
was that my mom would in
stinctively have hot cocoa and
peanut butter toast ready for me
when I returned home, happy but
freezing from an afternoon of ad-
venture.
The cocoa she made was rich
and creamy, made from sugar, hot
milk and powdered cocoa, not
some cheap imitation in a foil
packet but the real thing. It was
a magical concoction, whipped up
to ward off any illness that could
come from having played in wet
socks in sub-zero temperatures for
long stretches of time.
I know the cheap imitation I
keep in foil packages in my desk
drawer could never measure up
to her drink; but, hey, in a pinch,
it works. And I find that if you
make it hot enough, you can ac-
tually burn your tongue severely
enough so that nothing can be
tasted.
This being February and this
being Michigan, we found that
taste- testing instant hot choco-
late mixes was a well-received
idea, right up there with the now-
legendary kosher cocktail weenie
war.
So popular was the idea, in fact,
that my Jewish News co-workers
absconded with the leftovers, stuff-
ing them into their drawers like
squirrels packing acorns away for
a long winter.
For our taste test, we sampled
packets of Ovaltine's new hot co-
coa, Ko-Sure hot cocoa and
Mehadrin hot cocoa.
The Ratings:
One reason we selected the hot
cocoa was because it was all of 10
degrees outside, with a windchill
of 20 below; the other had more
to do with the ease of preparation
and little amount of clean up.
For all of these mixes, all that
was required was hot water; even
I, about the furthest thing from
the goddess of domesticity, can
boil water. Stirring in the cocoa
mix was only slightly more dif-
ficult, but once you have the wrist
action down, it's a snap.
One note of caution: Unless
you really don't want to taste the
mix, be careful with the temper-
ature of the water. Too many
tongues have burned in the name
of hot cocoa.
KS DOWN"'
Mehadrin Hot Cocoa
"Medicinal tasting. No choco-
late taste discernible."
— Jill Davidson Sklar
"After the burning sensation
went away, I tasted this one and
it was not that great. I liked the
Ko-Sure better."
— Jennifer McCarthy
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Ko-Sure Hot Cocoa
"Tastes like a mud coating on
your tongue. Yuck!"
— Lynne Konstantin
"Gr-oss!"
— Kari Horenstein
Ovaltine Hot Cocoa
"As a hot chocolate enthusiast,
I feel that this brand has that ski
lodge flavor — creamy and choco-
latey. Two spoons up."
— Kari Horenstein
`This is hot, hot, hot. Mmmm."
— Elizabeth Applebaum
"Good chocolate flavor, but it
tastes a little like a diet drink."
— Nancy Cameron
Kosher Bites is a non-sci-
entific, consumer-oriented
taste test. Since consumers
generally do not engage in
heavy market research prior
to picking products to pur-
chase, we don't either. We test
what grabs us and what is
readily available on grocery
market shelves. We offer our
honest, maven-driven opin-
ions, as best we can.
Please let us know if you
have any suggestions for this
column. We are willing to try
almost any kosher product for
the sake of our. readers. D
L.\
Muffins And Breads
Cure Winter Blues
ETHEL HOFMAN
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
As the temperature changes dur-
ing the winter months, it's hard-
er than usual to stay motivated
and eat healthfully. Your day
may go like this: At work, you
grab a couple of candy bars to re-
place breakfast or lunch. Then
it's a fast-food dinner or an all-
evening food binge.
What to do when you think
you can't leave your desk, or stop
to eat? The latest recommenda-
tion from nutritionists is "snack
three to five times a day."
But that doesn't mean the can-
dy machine. "Good for you"
snacks such as lowfat yogurts,
cut-up veggies and fruit can help
alleviate hunger pangs and main-
tain energy levels.
Need more ideas? Packages of
crackers, air-popped popcorn,
pretzels, no-sugar-added cereals
and dried fruits can be stored in
desk drawers indefinitely.
Even better, comfort food like
homemade muffins or a slice of
fruited bread along with a mug
of cocoa (from a package) will hit
the spot and energize immedi-
ately.
Breads and muffins are ideal
snack foods. They are filling, fla-
vorful and cheap (in comparison
to $1 or more for each store-
bought item). Best of all, you can
easily adapt favorite recipes to
reduce the fat and even improve
the flavor. Citrus fruits such as
limes, lemons and oranges add a
burst of summer; for a taste of the
tropics, stir in ripe mango or
pineapple.
With the exception of scones,
which should be eaten the same
day, these quick breads freeze
well, and you can whip up a few
loaves plus a dozen or so muffins
in less than an hour.
Muffins will thaw at room tem-
perature in half an hour, or wrap
them in paper towels and zap in
the microwave on high, 20 sec-
onds for each muffin. Loaves may
be sliced with a serrated knife to
thaw quickly. To thaw in the mi-
crowave, wrap a whole loaf in pa-
per towels and zap on high for 1
to 1 114 minutes.
To trim the fat in your own
recipes, try the following tips,
making just one change at a time.
* Always use nonstick veg-
etable cooking spray to grease
baking pans.
* Choose skim and lowfat
dairy products when buying milk,
yogurt and cheeses.
* 1 whole egg equals 2 egg
whites or 114 cup egg substitute.
* Substitute skim milk or . 1
percent lowfat milk for whole
milk or 2 percent lowfat milk.
MUFFINS & BREADS page 124
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