Chocolate Extasis

For five small custards use one pint of milk, two eggs, one ounce of Walter Baker & Co.’s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, and a piece of stick cinnamon about an inch long.

Put the cinnamon and milk in the double-boiler, place on the fire and cook for ten minutes. Shave the chocolate, and put it in a small pan with three tablespoonfuls of sugar and one of boiling water.

Stir this over a hot fire until smooth and glossy, and then stir it into the hot milk, after which take the liquid mixture from the fire and cool.

Beat together with a spoon the eggs, salt and two tablespoonfuls of the sugar. Add the cooled milk and strain. Pour the mixture into the cups, which place in a deep pan.

Pour into the pan enough tepid water to come nearly to the top of the cups. Bake in a moderate oven until firm in the center. It will take about half an hour.

Test by running a knife through the center. If the custard is milky, it is not done. Serve very cold.

Retirement

Beat to a cream half a cupful of butter and a cupful and a quarter of powdered sugar. Add two well-beaten eggs, two tablespoonfuls of wine, half a cupful of milk, and a cupful and a half of sifted flour, with which has been mixed a teaspoonful and a half of baking powder.

Bake this in four well-buttered, deep, tin plates for about fifteen minutes in a moderate oven. Put half a pint of milk in the double-boiler, and on the fire. Beat together the yolks of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and a level tablespoonful of flour. Stir this mixture into the boiling milk, beating well.

Add one-sixth of a teaspoonful of salt, and cook for fifteen minutes, stirring often. When cooked, flavor with half a teaspoonful of vanilla extract. Put two of the cakes on two large plates, spread the cream over them, and lay the other two cakes on top. Beat the whites of the two eggs to a stiff froth, and then beat into them one cupful of powdered sugar and one teaspoonful of vanilla.

Shave one ounce of Walter Baker & Co.’s Premium No. 1 Chocolate, and put it in a small pan with two tablespoonfuls of sugar and one tablespoonful of boiling water. Stir over a hot fire until smooth and glossy. Now add three tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, and stir into the beaten egg and sugar. Spread on the pies and set away for a few hours.

premium chocolate

Coffee pods look like round tea bags which contain the right amount of pre-packaged coffee beans, encapsulated in a paper pod. Designed for usage with single-serving coffee-makers, it allows the savoring of the flavor of your first cup. Pod brewing grows quickly due to the many top brands of coffee manufacturers that ensure a no-mess experience, for a perfect cup of coffee.

Coffee pods look like round tea bags which contain the right amount of pre-packaged coffee beans, encapsulated in a paper pod. Designed for usage with single-serving coffee-makers, it allows the savoring of the flavor of your first cup. Coffee Pods have a specially formulated filter paper which aims to maintain the freshness of ground coffee. It is circular in shape, and weighs from 8 up to 12 grams, with a 57mm up to 61mm in size. Oxygen is being removed in ground coffee in order to ensure the quality of the product.

Moreover, coffee pods have a variety you can choose from. This is with regards to its brew strength. This includes:

? Mild roast - a mild and delicious aromatic blend taste

? Medium roast - a natural and harmonious taste with a mild and balanced aromatic blend

? Dark roast - a smooth, full-bodied and robust blend. Coffee machines helps in the process of extracting the coffee pods. This is in balancing the ratio of coffee into the water in order to produce a rich frothy cup of coffee.

Historically, as far as 1000 AD, the introduction of coffee has become a part of the daily living in several countries. Since then, coffee has been transformed into many varieties. Hence, the birth of instant coffee finally took its toll in the year 1901. Producing 97% of the worlds output, Brazil became the world’s largest producer of coffee since 1907. By 1920, America consumed 70% of the worlds coffee production.

Coffee pods come with different types. Such are:

?decaffeinated

?flavored

?dark

?medium

?light

Packs to choose from are as follows:

?all Pod Sampler Packs

?All Tea Pods

?All Pods

Now, manufacturers of coffee-makers help in ensuring the compatibility of coffee pods with certain coffee makers in the market. Manufacturers which introduced patented coffee makers with easy methods of brewing for different brands of coffee pods include the following:

?Senseo

?Melitta One

?BUNN

List of branded coffee pods are as follows:

Pod Coffee by Brew

1.Aloha Island Chocolate Macadamnia Nut Pod Coffee 100% Kona

Aloha Island Chocolate Macadamia Nut is a rich chocolate flavored coffee. A 100% Estate Kona Coffee with the right amounts of macadamia nut flavors. It is a medium roasted coffee with low acidic content. It is also pesticide free. It only costs $20.75.

2.Aloha Island Light Roast Pod Coffee 100% Kona

A 100% Kona coffee KONA_PODS that has a smooth texture and exquisitely flavored whole bean Kona. It is a light roast type that one can enjoy with a single serving of pod brewer, with a low acidic content and no pesticide. It’s on sale price is $20.75.

3.Aloha Island Magnum Opus Diamond Private Reserve Pod Coffee 100% Kona

Aloha Island Magnum Opus Diamond is a very special tiny portion of the crop that qualifies as a Diamond selection of coffee. It is somewhat woodsy and smoky, making it rare and extraordinary. It has a 12 capacity box that is smooth. It is also called “dessert coffee”. Aloha Diamond Pod Coffee is 100% Kona coffee and it is a light roast type which is low in acidity and has no pesticide. It only costs $22.95.

4.Aloha Island Magnum Opus Gold Pod Coffee 100% Kona

Aloha Island Magnum Opus Gold is 100% Pure Kona coffee which is very smooth, very rich and has an excellent depth of flavor. In order to develop the exquisite flavor and quality, selecting the top grades from the plantation and roasting it carefully is an excellent choice for daily morning and afternoon coffee breaks. It is also a medium roast coffee that is pesticide free. Plus, it possesses low acidity content. It only costs $19.95.

5.Aloha Island Magnum Opus Platinum Pod Coffee 100% Kona

Aloha Island Magnum Opus Platinum is made from a round-shaped and small coffee bean. This is manufactured in the big island plantation of Hawaii. It is 100% estate Kona coffee it possesses low acidity and no pesticide content. It is also a light roast type that has 12 pieces inside its box. It only costs $21.95.

6.Aloha Island Variety Pack 100% Kona

Flavors of this type include:

?French Vanilla

?Espresso roast

?Chocolate Macadamia Nut

?Decaf

?Dark roast

?Medium roast

?Light roast

?Hazelnut

Aloha Island Variety Pack has 12 pieces inside its box. It only costs $23.95.

7.Baronet Galapagos Pod Coffee

Baronet Galapagos Pod Coffee is grown from San Cristobal in Galapagos, only 600 miles from Ecuador. It is an exceptional, medium roasted, organic chemical and pesticide free coffee that possesses buttery sweetness, making it silky and full. It only costs $10.75.

8.Baronet Pod Coffee French Roast Decaf

A dark roasted coffee with a full body blend of the South and Central Americas. Its on sale price is only $5.90 for every sleeve of 18 pods.

9.Baronet Pod Coffee Mint Chocolate Chip

This is a smooth, rich chocolate with refreshing mint taste. It is much better than an ice cream. It is also a light roast coffee that consists of 18 pods per sleeve. Its on sale price is only $5.90.

10.Dallmayr Crema d’Oro Coffee Pods

This is a delight as Café Crema. It is a balanced blend of the finest beans. It is also a medium roasted coffee equipped a gentle technique in order to produce a fine light-velvety crema. It only costs $ 4.85 for each. Its box has 16 pieces.

11.Fratello Christmas Morning Coffee Pods

Fratello Christmas Morning Coffee is a rich festive creation with orange and cinnamon. It is a lightly roasted coffee with 18 pieces of pods in a box.

12.Fratello Coffee Pods Yemen Moka Sanani Single Estate

It is vibrantly fruity, rich, earthy, light roasted and fresh flavored coffee equipped with a blueberry finish that will really surprise one’s taste buds. It is of the best quality. It is also a consistent coffee which is grown in the highland regions of Sana’a in Yemen. It only costs $8.50.

13.Fratello Dixie Voodoo Coffee Pods

Fratello Dixie Voodoo is an Indonesian coffee blend, with a bold spicy flavor. It is also a dark roasted coffee with a smooth and dark unsweetened bakers chocolate taste. It only costs $5.99 for every pod. One box of this type contains 18 pods.

14.Fratello Eggnog Coffee Pods

A light roasted coffee that is equipped with traditional eggnog of rich rum and spices. It only costs $5.99. It has 18 pods inside its box.

15.Fratello Gingerbread Coffee Pods

Fratello Gingerbread is a lightly roasted coffee pod with a warm spicy flavor of gingerbread and molasses. It only costs $5.99. It contains 18 pods per box.

16.Fratello Nicaraguan Org. FT Coffee Pods

This is a medium roasted coffee with mild acidity content, along with hints of tobacco and chocolate. Its on sale price is $5.99. It has 18 pods per box.

17.Fratello Spiced Buttered Rum Coffee Pods

The Fratello Spiced Buttered Rum has a buttery warm flavor, with just the right touch of actual spices. It is a lightly roasted type. It has 18 pods per box. It only costs $5.99.

18.Java One Pod Coffee Estate Costa Rican

Java One has a unique flavor and intense aroma, making it a well balanced taste. It is a medium roasted type of Costa Rican coffee. It only costs $5.35. It has 14 counts per box.

19.Java One Pod Coffee Hazelnut Crème

This is from 100% Arabian beans, making it unique, light roasted and having a touch of a hazelnut nutty flavor. It is smooth and subtle, along with sweet flavors which can be enjoyed as a delicious end meal. It only costs $5.35.

20.Lavazza House Blend Premium Coffee Pods

Lavazza House Blend is made up of 100% Arabica. It is from the Brazilian region, making it fruity and with a flowery aroma. It is also a light roasted coffee with 18 pods per box. Its on sale price is only $8.99.

21.Melitta Southern Pecan Pie Pod Coffee

This is a lightly roasted coffee, having a blend of toasted pecans, sweet maple and cinnamon. Its standard measurement is 9 gram / 55mm pod and it’s

Price is only $4.99.

22.Reunion Island Maple Creme Coffee Pods

This is a medium roasted blend with a smooth flavor of maple cream, making it better tasting. Its on sale price is $7.50. It has 25 counts per box

23.Wolfgang Puck South Pacific Dark Pod Coffee

Wolfgang Puck South Pacific has an elegant blend of all natural coffee, usually from the tropical Pacific Rim. It is a medium to dark roasted coffee type. Its on sale price is $8.90. It has about 25 counts per box.

All coffee pods can be used within 2 up to 3 weeks after opening. Maintaining its freshness is what makes coffee pods different from other kinds of coffee preparations. There are many factors that contribute in making or producing a perfect cup. People usually judge a good cup of coffee with its flavor and crema. However, there is always a good way of preparing this, along with an easy cleanup and measuring devices, which will surely satisfy a coffee drinker. It is definitely money well spent. If you want a convenient, great tasting, and time saving coffee experience, you should try a cup of pod coffee.

Travel Informer

One of my fondest memories of growing up was the ice cream truck slowly cruising through my neighborhood on those hot summer days. The sound of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down or The Entertainer played through tinny speakers would send kids scrambling in every direction to get a quarter before the truck got away. Nothing in the world ever tasted as good as those frozen treats during the hazy summers of so long ago.

America loves ice cream. The average American eats 23.2 quarts of frozen dairy products every year. In the north central states, the average is 41.7 quarts. Ninety-eight percent of all households purchase ice cream. According to the International Ice Cream Association, the most popular flavors are vanilla (29%), chocolate (8.9%), butter pecan (5.3%), strawberry (5.3%), and Neapolitan (4.2%).

To supply our ever-increasing demand, the ice cream industry in America now produces 1.54 billion gallons of ice cream a year, much of it produced by local and regional manufacturers. Some of the best are produced in southern Wisconsin. We put some of them to the test to see how their vanilla ice cream would stand up.

Babcock Hall Ice Cream

Babcock Hall ice cream is unusual in that it is not made by a company but by the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Babcock Hall is the home of the Department of Food Sciences within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The hall is named after Prof. Stephen M. Babcock who, in 1890, discovered a simple and inexpensive way of testing the butterfat content of milk.

What you really need to know about Babcock Hall is that it contains a dairy plant and, most importantly, a dairy store that sells ice cream that is the food of the gods. The state-of-the-art dairy plant can and does manufacture yogurt, butter, cheese, and fluid milk products. They also make ice cream … really, really good ice cream in over 90 flavors divided into two types: regular and super premium. Flavors include popular favorites as well as flavors like Union Utopia (vanilla ice cream with a fudge, caramel, and peanut butter swirl) and Berry Jubilee (a berry flavored ice cream with strawberries and raspberries).

Many of the special flavors are created for specific groups or special events as Eileen Karre, the Dairy Store Manager, explained, “Right now we have Aloha SOAR which is for the SOAR (Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration) Program that takes place during the summer for students that are coming in the fall. It’s vanilla ice cream with pineapple and chocolate chips.”

The taste of Babcock Hall ice cream almost defies description. Their vanilla uses the finest quality ingredients available to produce a flavor that is silky smooth with an indulgent, creamy taste that fills your mouth without overwhelming your taste buds and makes you want to savor each delightful spoonful. They do all that with a fat content you would swear is much higher at a remarkable 8 percent.

It used to be that the only place you could get Babcock Hall ice cream was at Babcock Hall, but it has started appearing in select retail locations, so keep an eye out for it. Some of the places you can find it include Cheesers in Stoughton, Ken’s Market in Monona, and Sweets on Third in Wausau.

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream

Chocolate Shoppe ice cream is another Madison institution, starting as a family-owned business in 1962 on Madison’s east side. They now have three stores in the Madison area and distribute super premium ice cream to select retail and restaurant locations throughout Wisconsin and parts of surrounding states.

Chocolate Shoppe offers more than 110 flavors. These include 29 standard flavors, 21 specialty flavors (like Fat Elvis — banana ice cream rippled with peanut butter and chunks of chocolate), 14 nut flavors, 10 seasonal flavors, three no-sugar-added flavors, as well as four soy-based flavors.

Chocolate Shoppe vanilla ice cream has sinful amounts of cream and top-quality ingredients. The vanilla is thick and creamy, almost to the point of being gooey, with a buttery overtone. Megan Turk, Chocolate Shoppe Brand Manager, explained what sets their ice cream apart. “It’s the butterfat content and the overruns. The overrun is how much air is mixed with the ice cream. More air means a sandier, grittier texture. Our overrun is only 34% so there’s not as much room for ice crystals to grow.”

This is a vanilla that’s best eaten plain, bite by creamy bite. There are 14 grams of fat in a serving but as their nutritional information statement on their website says, “That means it’s not low-fat, low-calorie, or low anything and that’s why everyone loves it. You want nutrition, eat carrots.” If you want a really, really delicious treat, grab some Chocolate Shoppe ice cream.

Turk also mentioned that Chocolate Shoppe will be creating a new flavor for a name-the-flavor contest coming up in August. “We’re not sure what’s going to be in it yet but it’s going to be a fun flavor. And the winner gets a year’s supply of ice cream.”

Schoep’s Ice Cream

Schoep’s ice cream is the big kid of our test group and has been turning out quality ice cream since 1928 when E.J. Schoephoester began making small batches in the back of his grocery store. Today Schoep’s produces 12 million gallons of ice cream annually in around 200 flavors. Schoep’s makes seven kinds of vanilla ice cream. While we didn’t test them all, our personal favorite was the New York Vanilla.

“The big thing that sets us apart is our recipes. They have been around since the 1920s. The only thing that’s changed is the equipment we make it on,” says Al Thompson of Schoep’s. “Another key is the people that work for us. Many of them have worked for us for many years. They feel a sense of ownership and take pride in the company.”

Schoep’s is the kind of ice cream you remember from your childhood. The taste of the cream and vanilla are evenly balanced to create a satisfying, complete flavor.

Sibby’s Homestead Organic Ice Cream

As the name implies Sibby’s Homestead Organic Ice Cream is an organic product in an industry that boasts few organic manufacturers. Sue Sebion-Huber (her nickname is Sibby) only makes two flavors, vanilla and chocolate, made from only five all-organic ingredients: eggs, cream, nonfat dry milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and, in the case of chocolate, a sixth ingredient of cocoa. Her vanilla and cocoa are fair trade imports and everything else is purchased locally. “I was able to go to the Chaseburg Creamery and get my cream fresh and then I sourced my other ingredients,” said Sebion-Huber, “so when I found out I was able to get all my ingredients organically, I went to a little ice cream manufacturer called Viroqua Dairy and ran our first batch of ice cream.”

She’s not stopping at two flavors. More are soon to come as Sebion-Huber explained, “The third flavor will be strawberry and the fourth flavor will be Sibby’s Favorite and that’s going to swap out according to the season.”

Sebion-Huber is a small producer (100,000 pints annually) compared to someone like Schoep’s, but that allows her to make ice cream having an old-fashioned flavor that’s not often found anymore. Her vanilla is fresh and clean — you can taste every ingredient as this smooth-textured treat melts on your tongue. With only 8 percent fat, the vanilla flavor is clearly evident and not overwhelmed by the buttery taste of the cream.

When we taste-tested these ice creams, we stuck to vanilla because it’s ice cream in its purest form. We didn’t try one we didn’t like, as each had its merits. At the end of the day what brand you like is an intensely personal choice, governed by what characteristics combine to make you purr inside.

Neighborhood ice cream trucks are a rare commodity these days. The flavors of summer, however, are as tasty as always. A trip to the grocery store or your local ice cream shop can take you back to those days when your biggest decision was one scoop or two.

Hold the dairy

Not everyone can, or wants to, eat dairy products, but they still want the ice cream experience. Fortunately, there are a number of alternatives that let you eat ice cream without the cream.

Turtle Mountain offers four lines of nondairy frozen treats: Purely Decadent, organic It’s So Delicious, Soy Delicious (sweetened with a blend of fruit concentrates, brown rice, and tapioca syrup), and fat-free, soy-free, fruit-sweetened Sweet Nothing frozen novelties. Turtle Mountain products can be found at Pick ‘n Save, Roundy’s, Whole Foods, and Woodman’s. Check their website for more information and locations at turtlemountain.com.

Oats Cream is produced by American Oats, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s available as soft serve as well as hard pack. Oats Cream is dairy-free, cholesterol-free, low-fat, and vegan. It’s not organic but they’re working on it.

Tofutti makes a number of products, but their flagship is a dairy-free ice cream substitute. This soy-based dessert has been around for years and comes in a variety of flavors. You can get Tofutti at Copp’s, Willy Street Co-op, Whole Foods, and Pick n’ Save to name a few. Their website (tofutti.com) has a store locator.

Rice Dream frozen desserts are part of a line of products that has been around since 1971. As the name implies, they are rice-based and so offer different health benefits from soy-based. These all-natural treats contain no refined sweeteners, no cholesterol, and are lactose free. Go to tastethedream.com for a store locator.

If You Go

Babcock Hall Dairy Store, 1605 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1565 Phone: (608) 262-3045 foodsci.wisc.edu/store

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company & Ice Cream Shoppes, 1726 Fordem Avenue, Madison, WI 53704 Phone: (608) 241-2747 chocolateshoppeicecream.com

Schoep’s Ice Cream, 2070 Helena Street, PO Box 3249, Madison, WI 53704 Phone: (608) 249-6411 schoepsicecream.com

Sibby’s Organic Ice Cream, S2987 Sebion Road, Westby, WI 54667 Phone: (608) 634-3828

Sibby’s Organic Zone Ice Cream Parlor, inside the Viroqua Public Market, 215 South Main Street, Viroqua, WI 54665 Phone: (608) 637-1912 sibbysicecream.com

Travel Informer