Oser Communications Group

NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n MARCH 2018 n GOURMET NEWS N H 1 4 4 Just Jan's has maintained its core product mix and expanded its range with new flavors as it searched for new and innovative ways to reach its audience. Tangerine Sriracha, a 2016 sofi Award finalist is an example of one of those new creations. But even as Just Jan's expands its range in new directions, those original flavors con- tinue to inspire, and although some didn't gain the widespread following that would have kept them in the core mix, they still had their fans. This was particularly true of the Just Jan's Apricot Pepper Spread, which has been one of the company's most requested original flavors. In messages to the com- pany's website or in person at shows, the company's customers frequently asked about Apricot Pepper, and for years, the company's response has been that it was unavailable but that it might be returned to the lineup at some point. Jan Hogrewe herself has always been one of those Apricot Pepper cultists, and she'd promised herself that someday she'd re-release it. That promise is being kept today. This time around, Hogrewe has revisited her original recipe. While the original ver- sion was made from dried apricots, the cur- rent iteration is made from fresh fruit. In ad- dition, the bell pepper of the original version has been kicked up a notch with the addition of jalapenos for a sweet and spicy spread that will pair perfectly with cheese or many other dishes. For more information, contact Just Jan's at 818.282.6236 or go to www.justjans.com. Just Jan's (Cont'd. from p. 1) be fueled with the good stuff. The good stuff can be found right in its ingredient lists where the luscious texture of sun-ripened figs meets the softness of stone ground whole wheat baked to perfection. Using only real, natural ingredients like organic oats that are Non- GMO Project Verified, the company provides families with healthier snack options that are dairy-free, soy-free and never use artificial flavors or colors. Many of its varieties are or- ganic, gluten-free, allergy-friendly and safe to share. It's no wonder that the company's bars are popular with kids and adults alike, making it a go-to snack for busy lives on-the-go. Nature's Bakery is committed to making healthier snacking an option for all, and as a result it has partnered with Feeding America ® to make this a reality. In 2017, Nature's Bak- ery donated close to 200K pounds of snack bars to the hurricane relief efforts. As one of the fastest growing brands in the snack bar category, Nature's Bakery is working with Feeding America to help make nutritious meals and foods more accessible to the 48 million Americans, 15 million of them chil- dren, who do not know where their next meal is going to come from. We all need nutritious foods to lead active, healthy lives, especially children. This September during Hunger Ac- tion Month, it will donate one meal with every purchase of a Nature's Bakery item, for a minimum of 1 million meals donated. Also coming this Fall is the new seasonal Pumpkin Spice Whole Wheat Fig Bar. The new Pumpkin Spice Fig Bars are made with real pumpkin puree, cinnamon and other spices for a snack bar that will truly delight your senses. Stop by the Nature's Bakery booth for more information and product samples to enjoy. Available in a carton of six, 2-ounce twin-packs. Visit Nature's Bakery at Booth #339. For more information, go to www.natures bakery.com or follow the company on Face- book, Instagram or Twitter. Nature's Bakery (Cont'd. from p. 1) ML: Unglazed clay-pot cooking has been enhancing the flavors of food and sup- porting the health of ancient civilizations for centuries. When I discovered rich, in- tense flavors and amplified nutrient pro- files by preparing fresh food in unglazed clay cookware, I created the VitaClay pot. I wanted to bring the superior results of clay cooking into my kitchen for fast and easy family meals. Unglazed clay is a top green choice because it's fast and easy to prepare elegant meals for one or many. GN: Why should consumers use VitaClay instead of a stainless steel pot, pressure cooker or glazed pot? ML: High-fire unglazed VitaClay uses its low thermal conductivity and micro-porous properties to heat evenly and to slow simmer foods after quickly bringing to a boil. Be- cause of clay's steady low heat conductivity, it allows you to extract more nutrients, min- erals and collagens from bones recipes. Bone broth is slightly acidic because vinegar's added to help draw out nutrients into the broth. This contributes to leaching of heavy metals, most notably carcinogenic nickel and excessive amounts of chromium, from cook- ware made with stainless steel. Heated clay creates a delicate flavor. GN: What is a new nourishing tradition for VitaClay? ML: I am very excited about making large- batch bone broth in our newly released Smart Organic Stock Pot and Multi-Crocks. The new stock pot features Steam, Fast, Slow Cooking, Porridge with Delay option and low-temperature Yogurt settings. Unlike a conventional crock pot, the beauty of this clay stock pot is that you get an option to cook fast or slow. You've got dinner options! Because of technological breakthroughs, Vi- taClay Multi-stock pot is fully programmed for steam/fast cooking for quick meals in 30 minutes to steam or stew and even slow cooking for stock, bone broth or soups up to 10 hours! Most cooking takes less than two hours. We further developed a cooking chart and updated recipe book and manual on the web. Any healthy cook really does become a culinary genius, because all it takes is good quality ingredients and pushing a button. For more information, go to www.vitaclay- chef.com. VitaClay (Cont'd. from p. 1) Get Crazy About Walnuts with Crazy Go Nuts By Lorrie Baumann Crazy Go Nuts offers a line of walnuts coated with other natural flavors. There are currently nine flavors of the nuts: Banana, Orange, Coconut, Chocolate Espresso, Oat- meal Cookie, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo, Rosemary Pink Salt and a plain salted flavor that's slightly mis-labeled "Boring." All the same flavors are offered in jarred butters, except that there, the Rosemary Pink Salt becomes Sage and Rosemary. All of the butters are low sugar. "Our goal is always to have the cleanest ingredients and the sim- plest flavors," says co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer David Wolfe. These are packaged in 9-ounce jars that retail for $6.99. Both the butters and the packaged nuts will work as an accompaniment for a cheese platter, and most of the butters will work as a smoothie ingredient as well as a spread. In addition to the interesting flavor pro- files, the Crazy Go Nuts products also offer nutritional benefits sought by the health-con- scious. Walnuts are a particularly rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids, and Crazy Go Nuts promotes this benefit with front-of-package labeling that describes the product inside as "loaded with Omega 3s." "Flaxseed has more, but nobody eats an ounce of flaxseed," Wolfe says. "Our main thing is clean labels and simple ingredients. More and more con- sumers are demanding that, and because wal- nuts are so healthy, we try not to weigh them down with nonsense." "We try not to ride solely on health bene- fits," adds Courtney Carini, the company's Chief Marketing Officer. "Walnuts are so de- licious, and we want people to enjoy them." Nuts are packaged in three sizes: 1.5- ounce grab and go, 4.5-ounce and an 8- ounce resealable bag for the pantry. They retail for $6.99 for the 8-ounce bag, $4.49 for the 4.5-ounce bag and $1.99 for the 1.5-ounce bag. They're cur- rently sold in specialty retailers around the country. The company started as "a whim" in Los Angeles, with two people managing it out of an apartment, and has grown from there. "We started going to Walnut Board meetings," Wolfe says, and "We met with several different companies that were interested in investing in us and helping us grow." For more information, email sales@cgn walnuts.com or info@cgnwalnuts.com. Barry Callebaut Unveils Ruby Chocolate First there was milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Then white chocolate came along. Now Barry Callebaut is offering the fourth type in chocolate, ruby, which is made from the ruby cocoa bean. Ruby chocolate has an intense taste and characteristic reddish color. The bean from which it is produced has a specific set of at- tributes, including a fresh berry fruitiness and the capacity to reveal the reddish color in processing, which Barry Callebaut man- aged to unlock through an innovative process that took many years to develop. The beans themselves are grown in many areas of the world. According to quantitative research per- formed by independent international market and consumer agency Haystack, ruby choco- late meets a consumer need no chocolate ever did before. The invention of ruby chocolate is the work of global research and development centers of Barry Callebaut, based in France and Belgium – part of a global network of 28 research and develop- ment centers – the Jacobs University, and over 175 years of expertise in sourcing and manufacturing. This fourth type in chocolate offers a to- tally new taste experience, which is not bit- ter, milky or sweet, but a tension between berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness. No berries, berry flavoring or color is added. Ruby chocolate has been tested and validated through extensive consumer research run by in- dependent global research agencies Haystack and Ipsos in the UK, US, China and Japan. As part of these studies, ruby's consumer appeal and pur- chase intent have been tested, indicating con- sumers would buy ruby chocolate at different price points. Peter Boone, Barry Callebaut's Chief In- novation and Quality Officer, said: "Barry Callebaut has established itself as a pioneer and innovator in chocolate and cocoa, glob- ally. Consumer re- search in very dif- ferent markets confirms that ruby chocolate not only satisfies a new con- sumer need found among Millennials, hedonistic indul- gence, but also high purchase in- tent at different price points. We're looking forward to working with our partners on in- troducing this innovative breakthrough to the market and making the new ruby chocolate category available to chocolate manufactur- ers and consumers around the world as the fourth reference next to dark, milk and white chocolate."

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