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Special Feature X X GOURMET NEWS JULY 2014 www.gourmetnews.com SPECIAL FEATURE 3 3 B R E A K F A S T F O O D S Have a hankering for some hempseed waffles? In the mood for marionberry pancakes? How about gluten-free granola or mayhaw marmalade? When it comes to breakfast, the sky is the limit. Today's consumer wants to start his or her day with something hearty and satisfying but still full of wholesome natural ingredients. And if it has a hint of gourmet – all the better! Here are 10 companies working to satisfy contemporary start-of-day cravings. 1. Bob's Red Mill Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods, a leading provider of whole grain and gluten-free foods, recently released new Gluten Free Scottish Oatmeal, the latest offering in the company's long line of safe, gluten-free products. The new Gluten Free Scottish Oatmeal is made from the highest quality oats grown in fields dedicated to gluten-free crops. www.bobsredmill.com 2. BOLA Granola Called "the gold standard" by The Boston Globe and "the best granola in the country," BOLA granola is a handmade granola from the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. Launched in 2008, BOLA is made entirely by hand in small batches. The company's product line includes BOLA Granola, BOLA Granola Gluten-Free, BOLA Granola Barely Sweet and the BOLA Bar. www.bolagranola.com 3. Enjoy Life Natural Brands Breakfast foods offered by celebrated allergen-friendly and gluten-free foods brand Enjoy Life include crunchy flax and rice cereals and three granolas in Cinnamon Raisin Crunch, Very Berry Crunch and Double Chocolate Crunch varieties. All products are free of the eight most common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. www.enjoylifefoods.com 4. Grandma Hoerner's Foods Grandma Hoerner's big chunky slices of apples slowly cooked in their own naturally sweet sauce are available in on-the-go pouches, bringing the rich natural goodness of the product to consumers in the most convenient way possible. The pouches are available in 16 flavors, including orange-ginger, apricot, blueberry-pomegranate, lemon-berry, chai, cherry-vanilla and more. www.grandmahoerners.com 5. Ozery Bakery Ozery Bakery's Morning Rounds are new fruit and grain buns that will make you want to ditch those unhealthy doughnuts, muffins and pastries. Morning Rounds are heart healthy, low in fat and sodium, and completely free of artificial preservatives and GMOs. Made with delicious ingredients like pieces of real fruit, whole oats and seeds, they are both tasty and natural. www.ozerybakery.com 6. Rabbit Creek Products Rabbit Creek Products offers seven distinct gourmet pancake mixes, as well as a wealth of mixes for muffins, scones and more. Start off your day with Uncle Petey's Tiramisu Scones or Tangy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. And wash it down with a cup of Rabbit Creek's Double Chocolate Truffle Cocoa. The company also offers a gluten-free mix for pancakes or waffles. www.rabbitcreekgourmet.com 7. Stonewall Kitchen Hosting a brunch? Wow your guests with homemade chocolate, cinnamon sugar, red velvet, gingerbread or buttermilk doughnuts made from a mix by Stonewall Kitchen. The company offers a wealth of breakfast baking mixes that are sure to make any breakfast or brunch occasion special, including mixes for scones, crepes, pancakes, waffles, muffins and more. www.stonewallkitchen.com 8. Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods Straw Propeller Gourmet Foods, a family-owned company, serves up all-natural, gourmet oatmeal and muesli in a cup. The oatmeal is available in 12 flavor varieties, and the muesli is available in three. Straw Propeller uses real food ingredients, without additives or preservatives, and offers vegan and gluten-free options. SRP ranges from $2.75 to $3.99 for a cup. www.strawpropellergourmetfoods.com 9. Urban Accents The creative flapjack mixes from Urban Accents make everyday breakfast an event. Flavors include deep chocolate, ginger carrot cake, potato cheddar and chive, and blueberry lemon lavender. The company also offers frittata mixes, featuring beautiful, aromatic dried herbs and vegetables. Completing the perfect breakfast foods display for your store are Urban Accents' french toast drizzles and coffee toppers. www.urbanaccents.com 10. Zemas Madhouse Foods Zemas baking mixes take healthy breakfast baking to the next level. The company's Cocoa Teff Pancake and Waffle Mix and Peruvian Sweet Potato Pancake and Waffle Mix make a superbly unique addition to any breakfast spread. And the mixes are non-GMO, gluten-free and free of the top eight most common food allergens. www.zemasfoods.com Wake Up to Something Gourmet with Products from These 10 Companies BY LUCAS WITMAN The history of maple sugar and syrup production in North America is a pro- found one. Written record of maple sug- aring goes back to at least the mid-16th century, although it is likely that Native Americans were collecting maple sap even before that. By the 1700s, European settlers to the continent were boiling down maple sap to make syrup and sugar, likely making maple products some of the oldest natural foods pro- duced in the Western Hemisphere. Still, despite its historic pedigree, maple production today is far removed from its early American roots. This is be- cause whereas maple products once strictly fell into four categories – syrup, sugar, candy and cream – specialty food companies today are working maple into an immense array of products. At Maple Run Emporium, a veritable maple superstore in Potsdam, N.Y., owner Mary Hilton stocks the store's shelves with nearly every type of food imaginable – all infused with the sweet- ness and flavor of maple. There are maple cheeses, specialty meats, teas, cof- fees, confections, jams, nut butters, bar- becue sauces, mixes, seasonings and much more. According to Hilton, it is the immense versatility of maple that en- ables chefs and gourmet companies to incorporate the product into so many different foods. rich sweetness of maple syrup with the fla- vors of Tuthilltown bourbon, Tahitian vanilla and Egyptian chamomile blossoms. "As far as the syrups go, we really just wanted to do something fun with maple syrup. Every time I walked into a store and checked out the maple syrups, it was de- pressing. Every- thing was old and dated," said Tyler Gray, the creator of Noble Hand- crafted. "There are some new brands out there that are offering things that the brands that have been around for a million years aren't – [that is,] a refined aes- thetic appeal." Today's food-conscious consumers are often driven by the desire to know where their edibles come from, and thus con- sumer interest in maple products is being aroused in part by the fact that maple is so deeply tied to the terroir from which it is gathered. Tonewood Maple, for ex- ample, markets itself in part by pointing consumers to the small Vermont farmers that supply the syrup used in the com- pany's products. Meanwhile, Noble Handcrafted is so com- mitted to sourcing its maple from a particular New Hampshire farmer, that it is reluc- tant to share this pro- prietary information with potential competi- tors. "There is a terroir that exists for maple, and it has to do with the very same elements that impact wine," said Ross. Because the soil, the weather, the groundwater and even the terrain can impact the taste and quality of maple, small batch maple producers are gaining new followers by sharing the precise details of a particular syrup's provenance. Another factor driving consumer interest in maple is the fact that as it is a natural, unrefined product, maple is often consid- ered a healthier sweetener alternative to "It's one of those flavors that you can mix with anything and make it taste bet- ter," said Hilton. "You can mix it with tomato sauce and make a great barbecue sauce. You can mix it with mustard and make maple mustard. You can use it to make chutneys." One company that has been at the forefront of the maple revolution has been Vermont-based Tonewood Maple. Tonewood was recently honored as a sofi Award dual nominee in the prestigious Best New Product and Best Product Line categories. The company has managed to transform maple sap into everything from flakes to wafers to a grateable maple cube. "People are starting to realize the ver- satility of maple and that it isn't just for pouring on pancakes and waffles. There are so many applications," said Dori Ross, owner of Tonewood. "I think peo- ple are experimenting more, so the awareness is building. People are gravi- tating to maple because it's such a versa- tile product. It has solid forms and liquid forms without adding anything to it." When it comes to maple innovation, spe- cialty food companies are not only experi- menting with the forms that the product can take; they are also breaking new ground in creating unique maple flavor combinations. The acclaimed maple syrups from New Hampshire-based Noble Hand- crafted, for example, combine the natural Maple Sticks Around for a New Millenium in Innovative Products, Flavor Pairings Continued on PAGE 34

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