A-maize-ing Veggie Blends
Simplot extends the flavors of summer with the latest addition to its Roastworks brand. The Flame Roasted Corn & Jalapeño Blend combines flame-roasted sweet corn and white corn with green onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic. With bright flavors and a bit of a kick, this gluten-free vegetarian blend can be tossed into salads or employed in other dishes like burritos and corn cakes. Priced to order.
Save Water, Save Money
Dipping into the well too often can be a major drain on a restaurant’s bottom line. The ConserveWell utensil holder is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional, perpetual-flow dipper wells. One ConserveWell unit can save more than 250,000 gallons of water per year, and its water remains above 140 degrees, keeping utensils safe from harmful bacteria. A programmable timer reminds users to refresh water. Estimated cost is $525 per unit.
High Yield, Low Prep
A new value-add broccoli product has reduced food waste at the point of harvest and increased yields from the field. The Diced Broccoli Stem Blend is the next-gen take on the traditional bite-size broccoli floret. While the trimming and prep necessary for traditional florets can be labor-intensive, the Broccoli Stem Blend comes ready to use, has been triple-washed, and offers 100 percent yield. Six 2-pound bags per case, with a 16-day shelf life, and priced to order.
Sustainable Syrup
Hershey Foodservice cans traditional packaging for its chocolate syrup in favor of an eco-friendly, BPA-free pouch. Weighing 85 percent less than the traditional No. 10 can, Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup pouch cuts the product’s packaging materials nearly in half and is estimated to reduce landfill waste by 27 percent. And since the pouch takes up less space, restaurant operators can store more back-of-house—just in case of a chocolate craze. A case of four 64-ounce pouches is priced $23.09.
How Does Your Garlic Grow?
Not every chef grows his own, but almost all restaurants use garlic. The Michigan Garlic Farm is a family-owned farm that specializes in hardneck garlic and sells both seed garlic bulbs and culinary garlic bulbs. All of the garlic is hand-planted, hand-weeded, and hand-harvested, with no herbicides or pesticides. Products include garlic bulbs, powders in 2-ounce jars, and garlic chive plants. Seed garlic is $17 per pound; culinary garlic is $15 per pound.
Making the Cut
Mann’s slices up three new products in its award-winning Culinary Cuts line: Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Cauliettes, and Broccoli Clovers are fresh-cut into unique shapes and thoroughly washed. Each 9- to 14-ounce package holds five 1-cup servings that can be microwaved, steamed, or sautéed. Gluten-free and Paleo-friendly, the Culinary Cuts can be used as a starch substitute, side dish, or key component in stir-fry dishes, casseroles, or assorted menu items. $3.99 to $4.99 per package.
A Novel Cookbook
Part memoir, part recipe book, the newly released Leo Tolstoy: A Vegetarian’s Tale will likely become a classic in the kitchen library—perhaps less for its recipes than for its insights into the mid-life conversion to vegetarianism by one of history’s most acclaimed novelists. More than 100 years after his death, the ethics he cited as reasons for becoming vegetarian speak volumes toward today’s conversations surrounding animal welfare and sustainability. Hardcover, $23; Kindle, $4.97.
