Capicola - The Final Update!

Three months ago, I settled four whole boneless pork loins into a bed of salt, starting them on a journey to become capicola ham as made by my brother-in-law's parents, Mike and Nina Massa. After a two-day salt cure, the pork was rolled in cracked black pepper, stuffed into beef bung casings, strapped tightly with wood slats, and hung to age in my cold, dry attic. For the past week, I've gone back to checking on them every two or three days, sniffing them to check for spoilage, and squeezing them to feel for moisture content. When they're ready to open, they're very firm (but not hard) and slightly yielding. Over the weekend, I decided that it was just about time to open them up.

Today, we took the capicolas down from the attic to the kitchen.

My friend Roger joined me - this has been a shared effort right along - and we started off by cutting the plastic cable ties off of the capicolas, then prying loose the wooden slats. Capicola right out of the splints is an ugly looking thing. The wood hides a bloom of mold which ranges in color from white to blue to green. It's better than harmless - it's actually beneficial and helps develop the flavor of the capicola - but damn, it's hideous.

The next step is removing the casing. This is best done by slipping a knife between the casing and the meat and using the blade to help loosen the casing from the capicola underneath. Once it's loose, it can be peeled off. It will have the stiff feel of rawhide.

Sometimes, when you take the casing off, you'll find more mold underneath. We did, on a few of our cappies. This is caused by trapped air that didn't get sufficiently bled off when we were packing the casings (even though I pricked the casings with a needle as needed, we missed enough of the air that we did get some mold.) Again, this isn't really a problem, as long as the mold is gren, blue, or white (red mold indicates genuinely toxic spoilage.) For the pieces with inside mold, we scrubbed them clean under cool running water.

Once the capicola were peeled, we gave them another bath in white wine to prepare them for packaging. Using a heavy Chinese chef's knife, we cut each capicola into four more-or-less equal portions and sealed each portion into it's own little cryovac pouch with the vacuum packager.

It's my experience that, left unopened in the cryovac, the capicola chunks will be safe to eat for about a year, perhaps more. I plan to put most of my packages in the freezer just to be sure.

And, of course, we broke out the slicer and slivered one of the chunks so we could enjoy the fruits of our labor and our patience. The meat is a translucent dark rose color, tending to mahogany near the ends of the loins where the diameter was thinner and more moisture evaporated out, and the fat is creamy white and melts in your mouth. The capicola has an earthy, nut-like aroma and a rich, deep meaty flavor. The taste and texture is very similar to a Parma ham.

Success!

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Tropicana Carton Redesign

This seems to be a hot time for package redesign. Tropicana Orange Juice cartons are sporting a new, cleaner, more modern design with lots of big, lower-case sans-serif lettering and plenty of wide orange and white spaces.

And check out the cap on the pouring spout - it's a little plastic orange now! Isn't that cute?

I'm Gonna Get Me Some Whipped.

There's nothing quite so delicious as a carton of Whipped.

Stop & Shop says Scan It!

Stop & Shop Supermarkets are offering a new in-store service they're calling Scan It! Users scan their shopping card at the entrance and pick up a hand-held Motorola MC17 scanner. With the scanner in hand, shoppers scan and bag their items as they wander the aisles. When you're done shopping, scan an "I'm finished shopping" barcode at the register, scan your shopping card again, and the MC17 transmits your shopping order to the register, which prints a receipt, asks for payment, and sends you on your way. Any register will accept input from the scanner, so you can pay at the staffed cashier checkout or at the self-service lanes according to your preference.

From my perspective as someone who really likes and is comfortable with technology: This is the cat's ass. As you shop, the big, bright screen gives you a running total (before any taxes) of your grocery order on the top line. You can also scroll through a list of what you've selected and bagged. Change your mind? No problem, just select "Remove," scan the item again, and it's taken off your list. You can also use it to check the price of an unticketed item by scanning the item's barcode. And because your scanner is linked to your shopping card when you activate it, the scanner will also offer you targeted advertising based on your prior shopping patterns - say you buy a lot of dog food, for example. The scanner might make a ka-ching! cash register noise and display a notice of a special discount on your favorite dog food.

But the best part is the time saved when checking out. Since all your items are pre-scanned and bagged, you can glide through the checkout station in seconds. On the Saturday before Easter, my local Stop & Shop was jammed, and lines at the checkouts were huge. But I checked out by going to the empty self-service lane, scanning my card, running my debit card through the pin pad, and walking out the door. I had a full order paid for and loaded in my car before other shoppers had even unloaded their carts for the cashier.

This is aces.

Links:

Stop and Shop Supermarkets

Scan It! at Stop and Shop

Motorola MC17 info from Gizmo Watch

IBM press release to the trade, touting the software they developed for shopping (note the Stop & Shop logo on the scanner screen in the photo.) This is a PDF file.

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Silk Soymilk Confusion

On the 10th, I wrote about Silk Soymilk's label change and how it was causing some confusion. The existing Silk label, which for years has carried a USDA Organic certification, now reads "Silk Soymilk Natural" and the contents are no longer organic. If you want organic Silk, you need to look for the new green cartons which are being sold on adjacent shelves to the natural version.

According to the email I received from WhiteWave, this changeover began back in January. And yet, three months later, some retailers have not changed their shelf labels. Some stores aren't even carrying the new "organic" variety of Silk, but have kept their shelf banners advertising the "natural" variety falsely as "organic" (the photo at right was taken on 11 April 2009 at a local supermarket. They carry Silk Soymilk Natural, but not Silk Soymilk Organic. The signage all identifies Silk as "organic" in this store.) Until retailers get on board with Dean Foods' product shift, there is going to be more confusion - and it won't surprise me if there was some backlash against this kind of borderline-deceptive marketing.

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New Packaging for Silk Soymilk

A couple weeks ago, my daughter noticed that Silk soymilk no longer had the "USDA ORGANIC" tag on their label, and she asked me if I had noticed as well.

I hadn't noticed until then, but she was right - the familiar Silk labels were no longer tagged as organic, and the ingredient list had changed as well, describing the ingredients as "natural" rather than "organic."

Because I hadn't seen anything but the original-looking cartons in my regular grocery store, I sent off an email to WhiteWave, asking whether or not Silk was still an organic product, and got this reply:

Thank you for your recent e-mail to Silk®. We appreciate your interest in our products.

Silk is pleased to offer a new line of natural products. As demand for organic and natural food options continue to grow, Silk remains dedicated to providing a variety of selections to satisfy a broad range of consumer demands.

You will find these new products to be the same high quality, great tasting soymilk you have come to know and enjoy.

In addition to the natural lines, Silk will continue to offer the same organic flavors we have always offered – Plain, Vanilla and Unsweetened – in new packaging clearly labeled organic. Silk’s organic product in new packaging will be available starting January 2009. Until then, the organic options for these varieties will still be available.

In addition to offering consumers greater options, broadening our product line gives us an ability to source both natural and organic beans domestically (from North America).

Further, in a time when you have to pay more for every food product, this is an effort to keep our prices in line and competitive. Silk remains committed to providing the highest-quality products to you at competitive prices.

A few days later, at a different market, I discovered Silk's new packaging for the "organic" product. How clever! The cartons are green! Get it? Green! Organic! You can tell the flavors are different because each different flavor has a distinctively-colored "banner" underneath the big "Organic" script on the front of the carton. That's totally less confusing than making each flavor an entirely different color, right?

I notice that the price is identical for the "natural" and the "organic" varieties, so - for now, at least - WhiteWave isn't trying to differentiate their two varieties based on price points. I wonder about their marketing, though. Why create a new label for an established product, and use a tweaked version of the original label for a new product?


Links:

Silk Soymilk

Silk Soymilk is Not Organic at Healthy Vegan Blog. Blogger Kathy is upset about WhiteWave's marketing changes, which she considers deceptive.

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Breakfast Sandwich Cage Match: McDonald's vs. 7-11

Most weekdays, I haven't got the time to make a real breakfast at home, so I usually have toast spread with some labneh and a touch of jam. Occasionally for a treat I'll stop at McDonald's on my way to work and buy a Sausage McMuffin with Egg, which is the Emperor of all fast food breakfast sandwiches.

This morning was hectic. I was running late and didn't have the time even for my usual toast, and McDonald's was insanely crowded with long lines both inside and at the drive-through. So I stopped at the much-less-crowded 7-11 a mile down the road instead. 7-11's coffee is aces, and I thought at the very least I could grab a coffee and maybe a bag of popcorn or something to hold me over until lunch.

In the center of the coffee service island, though, there was a warming oven filled with various breakfast sandwiches. Cool, thought I; I wouldn't have to skip breakfast after all. I selected a Fresh To Go Sausage Egg and Cheese on an English Muffin sandwich and was soon on my way to work.

The Comparison:

Freshness: 7-11 is a convenience store, not a restaurant, and they bring their breakfast sandwiches in to be reheated and held at serving temperature until purchased. Because of this, they just can't taste as fresh as a McDonald's McMuffin, which is made to order. So as far as "freshness" goes, I simply accept that 7-11's product starts off with an obvious handicap and take it from there. No points awarded.

English muffin: McDonald's toasts or grills theirs, however minimally. That bit of golden toastiness goes a long way toward flavor, though, and 7-11's muffins still have that "raw" flavor that untoasted muffins exhibit. +1 McD.

Cheese: 7-11's cheese is strange and plasticy, with an artificial taste and a strange slippery texture. Reminds me of Cheese Wiz or Velveeta, neither of which are in my Top One Million Foods list. McDonald's uses straightforward orange Kraft American Cheese produced for them under contract. +1 McD.

Egg: The cooked eggs are the same diameter, cooked to the same degree of doneness, and have the same fresh eggy flavor. The only difference I can see is that the 7-11 egg is thinner. Maybe they're using smaller eggs? +1 McD, +1 7-11 (tie.)

Sausage: McDonald's sausage is a nearly perfect blend of herbs, spice, meaty flavor, and salt. If I could buy it in the store in bulk, I would, because it's just that awesome. 7-11's sausage has a very good texture, not quite as salty as I expected it, and a strong cayenne pepper presence. Spicier than McDonald's, but not as well-balanced a flavor. Thing is, it works in context. Although I wouldn't buy 7-11's sausage for its own sake, it's quite enjoyable on the sandwich. +1 McD, +1 7-11 (a tie.)

The score:

McDonald's Sausage McMuffin with Egg: 4/5
7-11's Fresh To Go Sausage Egg and Cheese on an English Muffin: 2/5

McDonald's wins by a decision.

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Pomegranate Glazed Pork Chops and More

The friendly people at Pom Wonderful sent me a case of their delicious 100% pure pomegranate juice this week, and my family and I have been having a blast with it. Of course it's a delicious beverage, but to make the best use of our bounty, I wanted to see what other ways we could come up with to enjoy it.

Last night, we had pomegranate-glazed pork chops. We started with six beautiful bone-in pork chops from the neighborhood butcher up the street, and made the glaze from POM pomegranate juice, fresh pineapple, and brown sugar. Fresh thyme and rosemary provided savory notes that complimented the sweet glaze.

Pomegranate Glazed Pork Chops
Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary (about 4 inches long)
a few sprigs fresh thyme
6 bone-in center cut pork chops, each about 3/4-inch thick
12 ounces POM 100% pure pomegranate juice
¼ cup finely minced fresh pineapple with its juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a skillet large enough to hold the chops; sweat the rosemary and thyme in the oil to flavor it, but don't allow the herbs to brown. Pull the herbs to the side of the skillet and add the chops. Brown the chops well on both sides, then remove the chops to a warm platter and pluck the herbs from the pan, discarding them. Pour off excess fat from the pan, but keep a tablespoon or so of the fat in the skillet.

Over medium heat, add the pomegranate juice to the pan and deglaze it quickly. Add the pineapple and brown sugar and stir well to blend, simmering all the while. In a few short moments, the sauce in the pan will begin to thicken a bit. Return the chops to the pan and, turning them frequently to cook and coat them evenly, cook gently for about 15 minutes, just until they're done. As the chops cook, the pomegranate sauce in the pan will thicken and glaze the chops. Serve the pork with a drizzle of sauce on the meat, and a small condiment bowl with more glaze on the side.

Side dishes are up to you; we had ours with fried eggplant sticks (one of my daughter's all-time favorite veggie sides.)

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I've mentioned before that we like to make jams and jellies. POM pomegranate juice is an ideal ready-made base for preserves because it's 100% pure, with no added sugar or water. I made a small sample batch of jelly:

Pomegranate Jelly (Small Batch)
Makes about 1 cup

12 ounces POM pomegranate juice
1¼ cup sugar

Combine juice and sugar in a small pan and stir well to completely dissolve the sugar. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, then turn heat down to maintain a constant high simmer. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 220 F on a candy thermometer (jelling point) then pour the jelly off into a small Mason jar, cap it, and allow it to cool and set. Store in the refrigerator.

So many fruit flavors are complimentary to pomegranates that I can't wait for early Spring produce to start coming in. I'm looking forward to putting up a batch of strawberry-pomegranate jam, and when the small sugarplums near my house are ready, I'll try combining them with pomegranate as well.

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As a final note, I just want to add that pomegranate juice and vodka - on the rocks with a twist - is delicious.

Link:

POM Wonderful's website. Turn your speakers down, they have sound effects.

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Pistachio Recall Information

If you're concerned about the recent pistachio recall, you'll want to check out the newly-opened website PistachioRecall.org. The website is a joint effort by the CAL-PURE California pistachio grower's co-op and the Western Pistachio Association, and presents a FAQ about the recall as well as an updated list of pistachio brands and products that are safe to buy and use.

The WPA and CAL-PURE have a vested interest in providing consumers with timely information about the recall and about brands which are safe. There's no reason to stop enjoying pistachios as long as we know which ones are OK.

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Yet Another Internet Scam

Check out this cool email I got today:

Do you wholesale? I sent you an email a few weeks ago about selling your spices through our network of stores. They'd be a great fit.

We work with buyers from thousands of grocers, specialty food stores, large chains, mail-order catalog companies and Internet shopping sites. We need a larger variety of spices can choose from, hence my email to you.

If you're interested in selling your spices to more stores visit us at http://www.wiserep.com/sellers.php We guarantee sales.

Sincerely,
David Thibos
Director of Merchandising
WiseRep.com

Seems kind of suspicious to me. After all, I don't sell anthing here - the only mention I've made of spices have been in recipes and reviews.

I decided to find out a little more about WiseRep.com. A quick Google search yields a bunch of hits, but nearly all of them fall into one of these categories:

• Bloggers with items to sell - mostly arts and crafts, but some other items too - who have been contacted by WiseRep with the same kind of email that I got, asking if WiseRep is legit. Funny how the emails are all exactly the same - the only parts that differ are the the words describing a product.
  

• Press releases announcing that WiseRep has "joined forces with [insert major retailer name here]." That's a pretty clever way of spinning the news that you've signed up for an affiliate program. Your bullshit detectors should ring loudly and clearly at press releases like that - Target, Macy's, Walmart, and other big retailers are household names. Why haven't you ever heard of WiseRep before that suspicious email slipped past your spam filter?
  

• Blog comments enthusiastically reporting how great WiseRep's services have been and how much sales have grown since Anonymous has signed up with WiseRep. A large number of these comments quote the exact same press release and are so similar that they are obviously copypasta posted by WiseRep shills.

Now, let's take a look at the WHOIS information for WiseRep.com:

Registrant:
Domains by Proxy, Inc.

DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: WISEREP.COM
Created on: 17-Oct-06
Expires on: 17-Oct-09
Last Updated on: 06-Mar-09

Administrative Contact:
Private, Registration WISEREP.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax -- (480) 624-2598

Technical Contact:
Private, Registration WISEREP.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599 Fax -- (480) 624-2598

Domain servers in listed order:
AUTH03.NS.HOSTING.COM
AUTH04.NS.HOSTING.COM

So, the people behind WiseRep.com are hiding their identities behind a proxy registration service. Seems to me that a legitimate business wouldn't have any reason to scurry under a rock.

Buyer beware.