Swiss Cheese Confusion

Okay, so you have maybe thought about making a cheese Fondue one day but have been frustrated by cheese terminology or availability.  There are many Fondue variations but in general, Gruyere and/or Emmentaler cheeses are the mainstay of this dish.  And then there is the term, ‘Swiss’ cheese to consider.

In this photo I have captured a portrait of the three main ‘Swiss’ cheeses you will encounter, but rarely in the same store at the same time!

Top right is Gruyere, anyone from Gruyere will tell you that the best Swiss Fondues are made from this cheese.

On the bottom is Emmenthaler, which anyone from Emmenthal will tell you is the only cheese you can make an authentic Swiss Fondue from.

Many recipes will call for one or the other and some just compromise by telling you to mix half of each.

But guess what!  They are all Swiss cheese with virtually no difference in taste, texture or melting properties!  Not so long ago in the Swiss court system, neither was able to identify their differences and so the status of “Official Swiss Cheese” has remained unfilled to this day. 

So, what is the square cheese in the photo?  That is Jarlsberg, Norway’s contribution to the Swiss cheese debate.  Jarlsberg is decidedly different from the two Swiss entries, it has a sweet nutty flavor, a creamier texture and I think it is a far superior cheese!

Of course, America has many Swiss style cheeses produced not only locally but also in the mid-west.  And, I have to admit a slight prejudice here, I think the American Swiss’ are all quite bland and often tasteless!  (With one exception to be found in Wisconsin.)

So, I will stick with Jarlsberg, for my money, as the best value in sandwiches or Fondue!

Okay, so you have maybe thought about making a cheese Fondue one day but have been frustrated by cheese terminology or availability.  There are many Fondue variations but in general, Gruyere and/or Emmentaler cheeses are the mainstay of this dish.  And then there is the term, ‘Swiss’ cheese to consider.

Freezing Strawberries

Select strawberries that are uniform red, firm and fully ripe.

Sort, wash and drain the fruit carefully.  Do not soak in water, as the berries will lose their flavor.

Remove stem and caps.

Do not add sugar!

Place strawberries in a single layer on cookie sheets and place in freezer. After completely frozen, about 24 hours, place into freezer container or freezer bags.

Hint:  If you measure each bag’s contents ( x number of cups ) it will make later usage so much easier!

Sugar and Sugar Substitutes

I am a lifelong type 2 diabetic. I have been on Metformin since 2005, when I was diagnosed, however once aware of the symptoms I realized that they have been a part of my life since I was at least 13!  My last carb reading was 5.3, yes I can score into the perfectly normal range by controlling what I put into my mouth.  But, let us face it, when it is Girl Scout cookie season that number is going to be significantly higher for a period of time!

When I am cooking, you will notice that I do call for sugar in my recipes but understand that is for those whom are not diabetic and wishing to try the recipe. If you are diabetic then we both know that "sugar" is not going to be sugar.

Sugar is derived from various sources: sugar cane and sugar beets are the most common.  It is bad for you whether you are diabetic or not.  So, many substitutes were sought:  

Aspartame ... aka NutraSweet aka Equal, is a chemical with a laundry list of what is wrong with it, but people buy it anyway.  I would avoid this chemical at all times unless you like the idea of cancer, epileptic seizures and oh so much more attributed to it by doctors!   It can even convert to alcohol when exposed to heat and a DUI is not really what you want in the middle of Nevada in summertime!  (one of my friends!)  For me, it gives me really bad headaches - so restricting blood flow to the old bean is not good.  NOT recommended!

Beech, Birch and Maple sugars are naturally occurring sweeteners made from evaporated tree saps.  I grew up with them in northern Europe and they have subtle flavors all their own and work well for all forms of baking but for teas, coffee or lemonades - not a good choice in my book.  Lemonade should not taste like pancakes.

Cyclamate - oh where to start!  The oldest of all artificial sweeteners (1930's) it was banned in the US by the FDA due to a California study finding that it caused cancer in 8 out of 250 rats (1969?).  It should be pointed out that a human would have to consume 350 cans of diet pop sweetened with cyclamates a day to match that study!  I met one of the chemists from the California study decades after the ban and she admitted the study was bogus.  But, in the US, the product remains banned.  I would recommend against exposure to this chemical as one of my acquaintances, whom had drunk this heavily as a child, did die of bladder cancer 30 years later.  So, caution ...  NOT recommended!

Nutiva is a new to the market, a coconut based sweetener made from palm tree flower bud sap drippings.  Odd, but okay ....  It is a brownish color and is used volume for volume for sugar in baking.  Browns well in baking, has a subtle caramel flavor that is not unpleasant in tea and was liked by my taste testing panel.  It also was a winner in the chocolate chip cookie taste test as well  (I only managed 2 cookies the panel scarfed the other 30!).  The interesting part is that it has only one-third the carbohydrate load of normal sugar!  Also, it is not as sweet as Sugar.  So, although not the best choice, since it is still a sugar, you can still use it and know that you are at least watching your diabetes while cheating!  It is my new go to sugar selection for cooking and baking.  From this point forward anything that is baked will actually be done with this product.  So you can see for yourself that it bakes quite normally.

Saccharine once banned because of its close tie-in with Cyclamates, was restored to the market some years ago.  Good for baking, has a brown sugar equivalent offering as well, browns and acts just like sugar.  I rarely use it and then only sparingly.  Just not so comfortable with its safety.  So, out for lunch I will grab the Sweet-n-Low pink packet (not all pink packets are Sweet-n-Low!) and then only use maybe a fourth of a packet in a 12 ounce mug of tea.

Splenda ... a chemical whose properties are completely misrepresented by its owners, to the extent of false advertising. Yes, your body does breakdown this chemical because:
A) you can taste sweet, which is a chemical reaction;
B) I am violently allergic to it!

And it seems that there are many whom are as well.  I was an early user of this product, importing it from Canada for several years.  But, it does not bake well and in volume has an odd after-taste. NOT recommended!

Stevia is a Mexican shrub with a very sweet taste to its leaf.  I was such an early user of Stevia leaf that the white powder got me more than once approached by police for possession of cocaine at restaurants!  But, one taste of the powder and, after they were done retching from the sweetness, point was made.  The problem with Stevia is that it does have an odd after taste when used in abundance. So you would think that a muffin would taste like a muffin, only it does not - it tastes odd and it will not brown either in the oven!  So great for sweetening tea in the morning or on a bowl of cereal - it has not much else going for it.  I carry packets of this in my daytimer so that I can avoid the packets of pink death (Saccharine) when dining out.

Xylitol is another Mexican shrub whose leaf yields a very sweet taste.  It is not widely cultivated and a little goes extremely a long way.  I have yet to see this in much more than in gum or occasionally a candy.  So, not available for baking but should it be, it will have the same problems as Stevia.

In my baking or cooking: Nutiva or very rarely sugar.
In small doses:                  Stevia or sugar in tea or on cereal.

Whatever your choices, keep those carbo load numbers down!

Hard Boiling An Egg

My oldest daughter asked about this and, although an easy answer at face value, it is a little more difficult to get it right.

Have you noticed that sometimes eggs are hard to shell?  Sometimes the yolks are greenish-gray rather than yellow?  Well, that is nature’s way of telling you, you have not mastered the boiled egg..... 

So, here are some tips:

• Let the eggs to be boiled come to room temperature before boiling
• Place the eggs in the smallest pan which will allow them lay in a single layer
• NO stacking of eggs, cook two batches instead!
• Bring the eggs to a hard boil, then turn off the heat
• Allow the eggs to remain in the hot water on the stove for 10 to 13 minutes.  This depends upon your pans and how well they hold heat.
• Immediately put under cold running water until they have cooled 
• Drain and place in the refrigerator

It may take some playing on your part to get it "just right" as no range/pan combination is the same.  But, with practice you will be able to have a beautiful hard boiled egg to work with.