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Ingredients
March 2nd, 2015

Ingredients

Insights from growers and menu ideas on a variety of ingredients

Soft cheese gaining popularity

brie cheese

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"Americans are getting a little more adventurous in their purchasing,” Kehler says. “And we are seeing a huge increase in demand for soft cheese.”...

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Growers’ Insights: Tea production is gaining steam

12-11-2013  Menu Development

“Tea is probably the most labor-intensive crop on the planet,” says Angela Macke, the founding director of Light of Day Organic Farm and Tea Shop, in Traverse City, Mich. 

Better with beans

11-12-2013  Menu Development

A longtime side dish staple, beans are getting the spotlight treatment as operators look to satisfy customer requests for healthier and meatless options.

Growers’ Insights: Beans: An American crop consumed around the world

10-30-2013  Menu Development

Beans are a popular export for American farmers. Chris Capaul, a grower of baby lima beans in California, thinks it’s partly due to household economics. 

Beverages: Punches and sodas

10-07-2013  Menu Development

At the Carson Long Military Academy, a client of Flik Independent School Dining, in New Bloomfield, Pa., chef manager Joe Wiles has to feed growing boys three meals a day, seven days a week, so he...

Finding Flavor

10-07-2013  Menu Development

When talking turkey, the subject inevitably leads to Thanksgiving. Chefs can’t help but cite the bird’s big day when discussing how they serve turkey. 

Growers’ Insights: Food Fight

10-07-2013  Menu Development

Turkeys consume a steady diet of corn and soy meal. The combination of last year’s drought and government mandates for corn crops to be used as ethanol to blend with gasoline have led to...

Fill ‘Em Up

09-23-2013  Menu Development

If you are lucky enough to have the manpower, making your own stuffed pasta can elevate your dishes to true restaurant quality. So it makes sense that a campus restaurant would be one of the few...

Growers’ Insights: Squashed Potential

09-03-2013  Menu Development

Unfortunately, squash seems to enjoy more popularity as a sport than as a vegetable, farmers say. Squash, such as pumpkins, melons, gourds and zucchini, is a Cucurbitaceae, one of the four main plant...

Thinking Beyond Burgers

09-03-2013  Menu Development

While hamburgers appear on most menus, they’re only one in a wide variety of beef sandwiches.  

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