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Food Prep - Page 33

Everything you need to know about flour
Healthy Foods March 20, 2018

Everything you need to know about flour

All-purpose flour is called "all-purpose" for a reason — because it can be used to make everything from muffins to pizza, cakes to cookies, and quick breads to pie crust. Just because it’s all-purpose, though, doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for your baking. With lots of different varieties of flours out there, it’s no surprise that certain flours are best for certain types of baking projects. If you’re looking to fine-tune your baking skills, learning about other flours and which ones are best for certain types of baked goods can make your baking even better. When considering different types of flours, there is one very important factor that will greatly affect the outcome of your baking: the protein levels. Lower protein percentages give baked goods a more tender texture, and higher protein flours result in thicker, doughier consistencies. Most commercially available flour is made from hard winter wheat, which has a higher protein level, or soft winter wheat, which has lower levels of proteins. Understanding the wheat and protein levels of the flours you’re using to bake with will help you understand your baking better, too, and will help you get the results you desire. If you want to improve your baking, or just want to know why you should use something other than all-purpose, it’s time that you learn everything you need to know about flours. This guide will walk you through some of the most essential flours out there, and will help you to be more informed about your baking.

10 steps to making gelato like a pro
Gourmet March 20, 2018

10 steps to making gelato like a pro

There’s a question that all ice cream lovers must face sometime during their on-again, off-again relationship with the frozen confection. The question is one we are ashamed to ask, but eventually have to wonder, "What the heck is gelato?" Sure, we know it’s different. But what makes it that thick, creamy Italian delicacy we yearn for? For help solving the mystery, FoxNews.com went to one of New York City’s resident gelato experts. Michelle Catarata is a professional pastry chef, trained at the Institute of Culinary Education in the heart of New York City. Now her main focus is gelato. When Catarata shifted to making ice-based desserts, she took her background in baking with her.  At Sorella and sister gelato shop, Stellina, the former pastry chef uses everything in her arsenal for inspiration. Some of her gelato flavor highlights include Brown Sugar Strawberry, S'mores and A Bee Named Elvis, which is honey gelato, banana, caramel and peanut nougats. Catarata says she grew up watching her grandmother cook for her family in Queens, N.Y. Eventually, Catarata was allowed to help with the baking and from that moment on, she was hooked. "I have such a high sugar tolerance," Catarata said, laughing as she explained what she liked to bake. "I’m surprised I’m not dead yet." For now, Catarata has focused her sights on gelato. In the kitchen of a quaint, East Village restaurant, she concocts all kinds of drool-inducing creations. And even her grandmother has come to try Catarata’s inventions. "It was one of the proudest moments of my life," she said, recounting the day her grandmother visited the gelateria. "That sounds so corny, but it’s true." To help us crack the case behind what makes gelato, well, gelato, Catarata has chosen her signature mocha flavor. So pull out that magnifying glass, Watson, you’re about to solve one of greatest dessert mysteries ever.

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The coolest Frappuccino flavors you’ve never heard of
Food Trends March 20, 2018

The coolest Frappuccino flavors you’ve never heard of

Ah, the Frappuccino. A Starbucks commodity. A word that wasn’t even on our tongues just 20 years ago. The Starbucks Frappuccino essentially ushered in the second wave of coffee in America, with sugary sweet, frothy concoctions that consumers flocked to. And to look back on the story of Frappuccinos — and the crazy flavors made across the globe — is pretty fun. It’s hard to believe there was a time when Starbucks wasn’t ruled by Frappuccinos, but as CEO Howard Schultz explains in his book Pour Your Heart Into It, he wasn’t always a believer. Schultz writes that he resisted Southern California’s granitas trend in the 1990s because he believed the sugary, frozen drinks diluted the integrity of Starbucks’ coffee. Still, three store managers in Southern California experimented with making Frappuccinos beginning in 1994, using a powdered base (that everyone hated), and eventually using freshly brewed coffee. Eventually, the beverage director handed over the new Frappuccino recipe to a team of food consultants, who came up with a Frap made with low-fat milk. Eventually, everyone, customers and Schultz alike, saw the light — or should we say, saw the drink. The name Frappuccino actually comes from the former coffee chain The Coffee Connection, which Starbucks acquired back in 1994. (In fact, the founder of The Coffee Connection made his own cold, slushy coffee for sale, but Schultz noted that Starbucks didn’t like the drink.) Despite the hurdle of introducing Frappuccinos (and blenders) to the 550 existing Starbucks stores, the Frappuccino was immediately a hit with customers. In 1996, Schultz notes in his book, the first full fiscal year the Frappuccino was sold, Starbucks sold more than $52 million worth of the drinks. It was even named one of the best products of the year by Businessweek. What’s crazy to think is just how Schultz and the Starbucks team brought the Frappuccino to existence (Schultz writes in the book, "I was wrong, and I was delighted about it"). He writes: "Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this story is that we didn’t do any heavy-duty financial analysis on Frappuccino beforehand… No corporate bureaucracy stood in the way of the Frappuccino. It was a totally entrepreneurial project, and it flourished with a Starbucks that was no longer a small company. Even when I doubted it, it went ahead." We now know who to thank for such a drink (even if they’re, well, making it harder to fit into our summer swimsuits). Today, there are 17 Frappuccino flavors on the menu — but that’s just in the U.S. While Americans love their Caramel Frappuccinos (the number one selling Frappuccino in America), Starbucks customers across the globe have very different flavors to choose from. Most use local flavors and ingredients combined with the traditional Frappuccino coffee base that’s a staple in the Starbucks drink — and we sort of wish we could get our hands on them in the U.S. Click ahead to find the world’s most popular Frappuccino flavors, the flavors you’ve never heard of.