I just read that after eight years and millions of dollars scientists have managed to created the food technology of the century. Yes, all you finicky eaters who must have your white mushy bread (God forbid you try the goodness of real whole grains) will now be able to have your white bread with a few whole grain specks tossed in.

This amazing new method of adding inconspicuous ingredients was developed by ConAgra Foods Inc. The process will be used to give the illusion of nutrition to junk food. I wouldn’t be surprised if its presence will even be touted in donuts. They created an entire new food group called Ultra White Whole Wheat. It has been designed to meet the requirements of the USDA’s new food pyramid. You can get half of your daily supply of whole wheat with this new bogus bread product. It might just take the place of low-carb products as the year unfolds.

With the exodus of the low-carb diet foods, companies now need to replace those vacant shelves with new products. Atkins is gone and his company is now bankrupt. Americans are ready for the next big food item. Will hi-fiber become the new messiah for the food industry?

They are introducing products with Ultra White Whole Wheat in TV commercials using encouraging words like “It’s so good. It’s so soft. But it is actually whole wheat bread. Imagine wheat bread made for white bread fans.” Well, actually, it’s only 30% whole grain. The bread is fundamentally the same but now carries the blessings of the USDA! If there is a nutrition problem in our country, leave it to our government to solve the problem by keeping the American public in the dark about what the real truth is behind the advertising.

Tammy Yamon, the Director of Nutritional Services for Omaha Public Schools has stated that children have an aversion to eating anything brown or with seeds. She thinks adding extra fiber into food products will make it easier for youths to follow the guideline of consuming 3 daily whole grain foods. Of course, schools in America have students who are served real grains from a very early age before their finicky behavior sets in. However, you can be sure that Tammy Yamon has signed up to purchase ConAgra’s Ultra grains for some 2,600 school districts.

Many whole wheat consumers are not so pleased with this innovation. They believe that eating the real thing is actually more satisfying to the stomach. When you eat a sandwich with a two solid slices of 100 % whole wheat you feel more satiated, whereas eating a slice of white bread with Ultra White Whole Wheat is more like eating Styrofoam with sprinkles of wheat dust intermingled. Besides you mustn’t forget that they add just enough high-fructose corn syrup to camouflage the wheat dust.
Others are equally unhappy with this innovation because obesity in adults and children is still currently a major concern. Classifying these products as whole grain is a marketing tool that will send mixed messages to responsible parents. Many nutritionists and doctors share this same outlook regrading fiber-fortified foods, as they further complicate meeting the food pyramid guidelines. I say we should just skip bogus wheat bread and learn to enjoy the real thing. Your colon and the wheat growers of America will both be grateful for your choice!

General Foods who offers whole grains in their products is petitioning the government to define whole grains according to Kim Rawlings a spokesman for the FDA. According to the FDA guidelines such products must not be made with whole wheat flour in order to be labeled as “whole wheat.’ Whether any new rulings will hurt the new bogus white wheat flour bakery campaign is yet to be seen. Where I come from, we like to a call a spade a spade and notably we like to think of whole wheat bread is made from real grains. If you looking to our government to define the discrepancy between fool’s gold and the real nuggets you may be in for a long wait.

We who are lucky enough to live in the Sacramento Valley have access to an exciting adventurous place; it’s the local Farmer’s Market. Each Saturday, in designated areas, we can feast our eyes on the freshest local grown produce at a reasonable price. It’s truly a Disneyland for local chefs, this ride is free! And each week there are new additions for you to experience.

In June, you can acquaint yourself with a dozen varieties of peppers, the bells: Mexicans such as Jalapeno, Pasilla, Anaheim, and many others of whom I am still learning their names. Peppers can add new life to any dull skillet dish. You might say it’s our Mrs. Dash before they petrified and packaged her.

The Oriental varieties are abundant and beautifully displayed without the plastic casing found in supermarkets. One thing that is sheer joy is those baby bok choy usually bundled in packets of four. There are many varieties of eggplants but my favorite is the basic eggplant in miniature. This type is highly preferred to regular eggplants which have far more seeds and the flavor is mild. Veggies are fun to experiment with because you may develop a new taste sensation such as mixing sliced green tomatoes with completely ripe tomatoes along with onions and sliced eggplant, sauté, season and new taste is born.

Then we come to July and August, the fruit selection if incredible. There are a dozen of choices in the peach family. The nectarine is the top choice for most buyers because it is high juice, sugar content and smooth edible skin. It keeps well and also freezes well for future enjoyment. However, we have an interesting newcomer to the field. This new fruit hybrid is half plum and half apricot and has distinct freckles on its smooth skin. They are larger than the average plum. It is extremely juicy and quite sweet if consumed when fully ripened but has a highly unique flavor of its own and unlike the nectarine or peach, plucot has a very small pit.

With so many choices, you can easily bring home a bounty. Place them in Zip-Lock bags (without sugar), just cut them to the desired size. Saving couldn’t be simpler. When fruit is $3.00 a pound next winter, you can be enjoying cobblers, low-sugar jams and fruit topped waffles.

Final note: Bring canvas bags or even old pillows cases to avoid the plastic bag trap. Use small bills, wear waist cash holder and invest in a fold-up cart. This theme park reminds of us of those colorful outdoor markets of Paris and Italy. Why not be European for a day? This means bring a net bag or large basket for all glorious garden bouquets! Bon Appetit!

In this age of Twinkies, Crispy Kremes and other over-hydrogenated and sugary snacks, the tasty square called gingerbread is a delightful slice of baking history. Gingerbread is a comfort food steeped in tradition and enchantment.

In medieval times, gingerroot was discovered to have a preservative effect and was thus added to a number of baked goods. Not surprisingly, this practice developed into the baking of many types of breads, cakes and cookies. The manufacture of gingerbread began appearing around the end of the eleventh century. How rich and wonderful for an edible to remain popular for ten centuries!

In 1571, French bakers belonging to an elite guild were permitted to bake these noble cakes. The most noteworthy recipes came from Dijon, Reims and Paris. Their wares were prized and separated from ordinary bakers of the day. For 8 centuries, a gingerbread fair was held at an abbey on the site of the present day St. Antoine Hospital where monks sold animal shaped gingerbread. The power of ginger has been a remarkable cohesive element in the community!

In 1614, in the town of Nuremberg, Germany, ginger was not used in the home but rather as a preservative whose use was restricted to an exclusive guild of master bakers. The town became known as “The Gingerbread Capital of the World” and became a major trade center. The finest craftsman were attracted to the town and created the most beautiful gingerbread cakes in Europe. They turned such cakes into works of art and sold them at fairs and carnivals.

In England in 1614, a typical family may have visited “The Bartholomew Fair” held every August. Many special cakes were made which honored the town’s patron saint (whose image is reputedly was stamped upon the gingerbread). On special days, the cakes would be decorated with icing that looked like men, animals or hearts, attracting hordes of buyers from near and far.

While Germany remains the strongest influence on the origin of gingerbread, the making of gingerbread would spread to the rest of Europe and England soon enough. In the nineteenth century, it was immortalized by Brothers Grimm in one of their most famous fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel. Abandoned by their parents, Hansel and Gretel found a house made entirely of gingerbread. It is believed that from this enchanting story came the tradition of creating edible ginger houses which has spawned many a worldwide competition.

In North America, early pioneers created recipes of gingerbread made with new and intriguing ingredients such as sorghum molasses. It is this addition of molasses which accounts for the dark, rich color of gingerbread that we recognize today.

Rumor has it that General Lafayette visited the home of George Washington in 1884 where his mother served fresh baked gingerbread. The fine cake was served with a generous mint julep. Apparently, gingerbread was made in the most dignified American homes and remains one of the enduring traditions we enjoy today.

If you’d care to taste a sweet bit of the 15th Century yourself, email me for your FREE copy of Traditional Gingerbread Recipes: mailbag@savvykitchensolutions