To Be Fair...

Barry Callebaut recently introduced Fairtrade-certified versions of their chocolate the 35.1% milk, 55.3% and 70% dark chocolate with no recipe adjustment. I hear Fairtrade a lot, but thought I might do a quick delve into what it actually means, so you can determine if it’s something you would like to support. To start, a definition off a webpage I found on the Green America website helpful; "Fair Trade is a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment. It is a model for the global economy rooted in people-to-people connections, justice, and sustainability”. It encourages women to participate in the work force and leadership roles, and strictly regulates human rights and child labor laws alike ensuring safe working conditions and finally a chance to take a small business that may have otherwise gone unnoticed and allow it to become part of the global market. Fairtrade certification ensures the product being sold is bought meets particular economic, social and environmental standards providing workers with fair pay for their labor, goods and empowering them to receive an honest ability to sustain themselves and the earth.  Barry Callebaut will have agreed to pay a fair price for the chocolate, an amount that would cover cost of production, wages, and the basic necessities of living including food, shelter, clothing, medical care and education. Fairtrade items include coffee beans, cocoa pods and chocolate, sugar, rice, flowers, olive oil, tea, vanilla beans, wine, crafts, bananas and…sports balls. You learn something new everyday!  Fair Trade is monitored by World Fair Trade Organization, a global community consisting of over 350 organizations committed to the principals of Fair Trade and they operate in over 70 countries and in five different regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North American and the Pacific Rim. And for clarification, there is Fair Trade and Fairtrade. The difference is Fair Trade is the movement to make the world better. Fairtrade is the actual labeling stamp you see on products, like if you are ever in a Whole Foods, they are amazing with this. The Fairtrade Labeling Organization puts this stamp only on products that meet the standards from the supported producer.For more information, check out the following links and share what you learn!

http://www.bakingbusiness.com

http://www.greenamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/whattoknow/index.cfm

http://www.fairtradetowns.org/about/faq/

Save Time!!

So, I was wondering, how much time do you have in your day…because really,
lately I think they’ve been taking some time away. I don’t know who “they” is,
but I swear it’s not 24 hours anymore. I think we are down to a solid 22,
because I know I can’t get all I need to get done during the day, no matter how
much I organize, list and dive in head first! But, I do have a secret I’ll
share with you. There are a few helpers I know of, that actually do make life
easier and give me back some time I’m certain I’ve been robbed of! I have
pretty high standards so my theory is if it doesn’t compromise quality or
taste, and saves me time, it’s definitely worth it. I’ll share a few of my
favorites, although I don’t know if I want to reveal ALL of my secrets!!

My very favorite, I’m talking the top one, is called…Top 1 (24029). It really
is. It’s an all natural, bake stable, pre-made pastry cream. In my past life, I
spent a few years looking for just this product, with no success. Most tasted
too acidic, nothing like pastry cream, were not bake stable, the wrong
texture…you get the picture. This beauty is spot on and while there is nothing
exactly like home-made pastry cream, I challenge you to find something this
darn close. The color, texture, mouth-feel, flavor…it’s all there! It’s
packaging is pretty much amazing; it’s aseptically packaged in 4 pound
pre-filled pastry bags and unopened it has a one year shelf life. After opening
it requires refrigeration but with four pounds per bag, it won’t last long
enough to take up that much room in the fridge. It’s a huge time and labor
saver, plus, really tasty! Win, win, win.

The next awesome product we talked about a few weeks, ago; Florenta (02122).
Florenta is a dry powdered product that creates one of my favorite snacks, nut
brittle. It takes a total of about 2 minutes to put together, 16-18 to bake and
a few more to cool. Done and done…on to the next product. There are no
thermometers, hot sugar burns, pots to clean…just a sheet tray with a pan liner
(to make clean up a breeze!), a bag of Florenta and whatever you want to put
inside it. It can be savory, sweet, soft, hard…nuts, dried fruit, oats, and
coconut. You can use a lot of the Florenta and make thick brittle, less and
make thin brittle or even less and make granola. You can add water or egg white
and make granola bars that are chewy or hard, you can cut it right after it
gets out of the oven and dip your uniform pieces in chocolate, or when it comes
out of the oven put chocolate chips on it and let them melt then spread them.
There are lots of options, lots of flavors and the best thing is I haven’t met
anyone who doesn’t like it. Packaging options are endless and they make great
gifts! Packages for holidays, teachers, house warming gifts, dinner parties…you
follow me? Send me an e-mail and ask for a sample and see where it takes you. I
have recipes and ideas and you will have profits!

The last product for today anyway is our Golden Eclair Mix (42021) and then a
fantastic recipe. Initially when I thought of making pate a choux with a mix, I
thought if it’s THAT easy, it can’t be good. I remember the first time I tasted
it, and I was POSITIVE, I mean CERTAIN, that our baker in the lab had made them
from scratch. They had a beautiful open crumb, a lovely color and tasted as
good as any I had made in a kitchen or tasted from a bakery. Then I saw the
bag. This product came from a bag! The directions said add hot water and mix.
Seriously, that’s it!! NO stove top, no whisking like a money!! Nothing! Hot
water, a mixer and a piping bag, then bake!! And while making pate a choux
doesn’t typically take that long to begin with, this takes seconds. It’s
another of my favorites. Plus, when you use the Golden Eclair Mix and fill it
with Top 1 and sprinkle with Sweet New Snow (53060), now you have time for a
cup of coffee and a sit down! Since we are talking about it on the blog and
in the newsletter, we are running another special! For a limited time you can
purchase just one bag of the Golden Eclair Mix, instead of the usual palette
requirement! Stock up and enjoy some time free time to keep reading!!