Miscellaneous: Too Many Kinds of Beer?

Buying beer used to be so much easier. This is a view of about half of the beer selection at my local supermarket.

Miscellaneous: Nine-dollar Bread

I was a bit startled recently by seeing a loaf of bread on sale at my local Whole Foods for $9. I'm sure it's good bread, but $9? Ingredients are simply flour (albeit some of it organic), water, and salt. $9?

Wines I'm Drinking: 2007 Domaine Maby Lirac "La Fermade"

If you're like me, you think of a typical southern Rhône red overflowing with the scent of violets (the good ones, anyway) when you hear the name Lirac. I can't remember coming across a white Lirac before, but I knew that it existed (the rules allow Clairette Blanc, Grenache Blanc, and Bourbelenc, as well as Ugni Blanc, Pipoul, Marsanne, Rousanne, and Viognier, the first three of these being the principal grapes). I found a bottle in the newer Santa Rosa Whole Foods (at Coddingtown Mall) recently and decided to try it tonight. I must admit I was partially persuaded by a sticker showing that this wine won a Gold Medal at the 2008 Concours des Vins, at Orange--an honor it seems to have deserved. Brief tasting notes follow.

A very pale, clear, slightly green-tinged wine. The initial impression on the nose is a fresh sappiness, with a certain waxiness in the background. There was something that reminded me of pencil shavings and there were floral hints as well--but rather restrained flowers--hawthorne perhaps or pear blossom. Overall, a fresh, attractive, delicate but fairly characterful nose. Seemed a bit closed at first on the palate but then quietly burst with sweetness that was followed quickly by citrusy flavors and then by something sweet again. Has a certain bitterness as well, that nicely offsets the fruit. I've had well made Soave that tastes like this. Very good length. Really lingers and seems to keep flitting back and forth between fruity sweetness and a delicate acidity as it slowly fades on the tongue. Delicious. Recommended. Reasonably priced at $9.99 a bottle. I'm likely to go back for more of this.

2010 Altovinum "Evodia" Calatayud Old Vines Garnacha

Tonight I tasted a wine from Spain's Calatayud DO, in the western part of the Zaragoza province of Aragón. The area is heavily planted with Garnacha (Grenache), among other varieties. This "Evodia" is made from old vines, some as old as 100 years, according to the label. The vineyards in the area are generally at high elevations on stony soil. This particular wine was grown on slate soils. Brief tasting notes follow.

A very pretty, deep ruby red. This is a young wine, but it doesn't have the brash purple-red color of many young wines. Herbal scents on the nose--not sage, but something along those lines. Wood and vanilla. Red berries--not quite strawberries, not quite red raspberries. Red currants, perhaps? Something suggestive of bitters, or root bark. With a little time, it began to smell jammy, suggesting fig jam. Later I noticed some smoky, flinty scents. Nice, rich attack on the palate. Full, fruit sweetness. Jam, but interlaced with licorice. Remarkably sweet. Given the sweet fruitiness and the somewhat medicinal flavors of roots and bark, you might be forgiven for mistaking this for vermouth. Very light, very soft tannins. Moderate to low acidity. Immediately appealing, with seductive fruit making the wine all too easy to drink too much of, but ultimately not very well balanced. Worth trying at least once, however, if you like wines that are all fruit. This will certainly appeal to some palates. Fairly reasonably priced at $9.99 a bottle, at Whole Foods, Santa Rosa (Coddingtown Store).

Miscellaneous: What Our Eyes Fail to See

I don't mean to pick on Whole Foods, but here's another interesting sign I spotted at the Yulupa Ave. store in Santa Rosa. Look carefully. Notice anything wrong? The person who made the sign didn't. No one else in the store seems to have seen the problem until I pointed it out this morning (I actually noticed the mistake yesterday). Amazing what our eyes can fail to see.

Miscellaneous: Notes of Coca (February 5, 2011)

Another unfortunate sign at my local Whole Foods.... I think that should be "Notes of cocoa." Then again, this is coffee from Peru. Maybe they DID mean notes of coca?

Miscellaneous: Funny Crackers

I came across this display at Whole Foods this morning. An ordinary stack of cracker boxes. The boxes read "Assorted Entertainment Crackers." Then I read the sign.

Do they tell jokes?

Food I'm Eating: The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part II (The Yogurts)

I tasted six vanilla yogurts today to kick off my yogurt comparison project. If you want to know what prompted this, see my previous post on the topic of yogurt--the Introduction.

There were a couple problems from the outset. First, I noticed on careful examination that some of the yogurts I've purchased so far are in fact nonfat yogurts--which underscores the difficulty in choosing yogurts from among the many confusing options. I've decided to include these because the difference in fat content is generally small and, well, the stuff has to be eaten. Second, I had no idea how to do a taste comparison. Do you judge yogurt like wine--using color, aroma, and flavor? I was pretty sure swirling the yogurt containers would be pointless, but decided that, yes, essentially yogurt tasting is like wine tasting. I looked at color, scent, flavor, and texture. Each review also gives information about sugar and milkfat content and price.

Lucerne (Safeway Brand) Low-fat Vanilla Yogurt
($0.40 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.07 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 33 grams sugars)

Very pale whitish color--rather like goat's milk cheese, but semi-transparent. Has a somewhat gelatinous look. Smells like yogurt--a slightly sour scent--and distantly of vanilla. Stirred, it began to look a little creamier. There was nothing to stir up from the bottom. Tastes very sweet with only a moderate vanilla character. Not at all unpleasant, but has no really outstanding characteristics. I did, however, prefer this to what turned out to be the Yoplait yogurt, and it is considerably less expensive. Sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup and sugar. Certainly the best value of any of the yogurts I sampled. This isn't my style, but, if you like it, there doesn't appear to be anything cheaper, and many more expensive yogurts were not necessarily better, in my view.

Siggi's Icelandic Style Non-Fat Vanilla Skyr
($2.49 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.42 an ounce, 0% fat, 10 grams sugars)

A different beast altogether. Skyr is Icelandic for "thick yogurt," according to the label, and that's appropriate. Thick and creamy-looking and heavily flecked with bits of real vanilla bean. Slightly creamy color. Thick enough that you can turn the container upside down and the yogurt doesn't budge. It sticks to the spoon, making it somewhat difficult to stir. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Maintains a rustic, cheesy texture. Not much of a scent, but it has a very distinctive flavor. A real yogurt tang. Not sour like unsweetened plain yogurt, but does not taste sweet either. Thick, sticky texture. Not a lot of vanilla flavor, but distinctive and interesting. Feels authentic. I found myself liking it better and better the more I ate. Probably unappealing if you're used to heavily sweetened yogurts, but delicious if you like real yogurt flavor. Sweetened with agave nectar. Real vanilla beans. On the downside, it's expensive--six times the price of the Lucerne product.

Yoplait Low-fat French Vanilla Yogurt
($0.69 for a 6 oz. container, or about $0.12 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 27 grams sugars)

Noticeably yellowish color (artificially colored with annatto and turmeric extracts; simulated egg yolk to make it French vanilla?). Slightly gelatinous look. Creamier, but still fairly thin after stirring. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Has a strong scent that suggests caramel more than vanilla. The gelatinous texture was a bit unpleasant, but I recognize that there are many styles of yogurt and this may appeal to some people. Very sweet to the taste. Although this has less sugar in it than the Lucerne yogurt, it tastes sweeter for some reason. Flavor a bit suggestive of caramel or something toasty, but not exactly vanilla. Has no real yogurt flavor. Tastes mostly like corn syrup. Sweetened with corn syrup and sugar. I liked this least of the first three.

Wallaby Organic Low-fat Creamy Australian-style yogurt
($0.75 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.13 an ounce, 1.5% milkfat, 20g sugars)

Plain white with a quite liquid look to it, but not at all gelatinous like some brands (see above). Creamier when stirred. Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Clean vanilla and yogurt scents with good yogurt flavor. In other words it has tang not overwhelmed by sugar, but it is noticeably sweet. Medium body. Creamy texture, but not especially thick. Not exciting, but good middle-of-the-road yogurt. Wallaby is a brand I often have bought in the past. Moderately priced. Sugar from sugar cane.

Brown Cow Low-fat Vanilla Bean Yogurt 
($0.99 for a 6 oz. container, or $0.17 an ounce, 1% milkfat, 25g sugars)

Firm rather than liquid, but not dry or stiff as in some cases. Smells of cream rather than sour like yogurt. Vanilla on the bottom. Stirring reveals vanilla bean flecks. Very nice creamy texture to this one. Full vanilla flavor, but yogurt tang masked by sugar. Quite sweet. Tastes a little like bananas, although there is no banana in it. Sugar from sugar cane. Excellent for its creamy texture, but doesn't really taste like yogurt because of the excessive sweetness. Overall, though, not bad.   

Stonyfield "Oikos" Organic Greek Vanilla Yogurt

($1.00 for a 5.3 oz. container, or $0.19 an ounce, 0% milkfat, 20g sugars)

Very creamy-looking. Thick and creamy when stirred, not at all dry or cheesy in texture like some Greek-style yogurts (or the Icelandic-style yogurt reviewed above). Nothing to stir up from the bottom. Very nice yogurt tang. Moderate vanilla flavor. Has a distinct cheesy aftertaste balanced by attractive sour yogurt flavors. Tastes like real food. Remarkably rich and creamy despite the 0% fat content. Sweetened with sugar, but not so much that the yogurt flavors are overwhelmed. Excellent balance. Delicious. My favorite so far. 

Continued (see below)--You can eat only so much yogurt at a time.

[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part I--Introduction]
[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part III--The Yogurts, Continued
[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part IV--More Yogurts]

Food I'm Eating: The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part I (Introduction)

About two weeks ago, I put an oyster knife through the fleshy part of the middle finger of my left hand. This was not idle self-destructive behavior. I was trying to open an oyster. The knife slipped and went in deep. I felt the tip of the blade hit the bone, in fact. Needless to say, it was very painful. Although the wound bled a lot, it was comparatively small. I washed it, bound it with a heavy band-aid, and hoped for the best.

In a civilized country, I would have gone to the doctor without hesitation. Here, however, my health insurance co-pay is so high (Kaiser Permanente), that I determined to avoid a visit, if possible. This is exactly the kind of thinking that US health care providers encourage and benefit from. I pay Kaiser lots of money every month and then do my best to never use their services. Two days after the incident, my hand was inflamed and clearly infected--it seems oyster shells harbor nasties better dealt with in the stomach than in a deep puncture wound. I went to see the doctor. One-hundred and twenty-five dollars later, I had a ten-day supply of Augmentin (amoxycillin and clavulanate potassium). The main side-effect of this broad-spectrum antibiotic is lower digestive tract havoc--also known as diarrhea. I won't go into the details.

This is where yogurt comes in. I finished the prescription yesterday, and, having spent the past ten days waging total war on the bacteria in my digestive system, I decided yogurt would help to get the good bacteria going again after the bombing was over. I stopped in at Whole Foods to pick something up, but, as usual when I look for yogurt, I found myself searching the shelves for something simple and getting nowhere fast. There's much too much to choose from. There is yogurt made from cow's milk, from goat's milk, and from soy milk. There's Swiss-style yogurt, Icelandic-style yogurt, Australian-style yogurt, Greek-style yogurt, and yogurt in Eastern European styles. There's whole milk yogurt, lowfat yogurt, nonfat yogurt, and cream-top yogurt. There's plain yogurt and yogurt with all manner of sugary gloop under it, on top of it, or mixed up into it. I should have gone to Safeway--although the situation is only marginally better at the less trendy stores.

How do you choose? I choose wine with confidence, because over the years I've done so many blind tastings and written so many reviews that few wines are a mystery to me. I eat a fair amount of yogurt, but I tend to stick to one or two brands. Suddenly, it dawned on me: I should blind taste all the yogurts in the world and decide what's best, and then scratch the yogurt problem off my list. Well, tasting all the yogurts in the world was slightly impractical, so I decided to taste 10-15 lowfat vanilla yogurts blind, and you, dear reader, will get to read about it. I chose vanilla because most yogurt is flavored, most brands make vanilla, and vanilla is a fairly neutral flavor that should allow the underlying yogurt flavors to show through. I chose lowfat as a compromise between the nonfat and whole milk varieties, but I ended up tasting lowfat and nonfat yogurts (see notes in the following section).

Tomorrow, I begin. Stay tuned. (For the record, I have no financial interest or any other connection with any of the companies producing or selling yogurt mentioned in this series of reviews.)

[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part II--The Yogurts]
[The Great Yogurt Taste-off Part III--The Yogurts, Continued]
[Part IV--More Yogurts]

Miscellaneous: Salsa Time

A couple days ago, the local Whole Foods store starting featuring Mexican beer and salsa ingredients with this eye-catching display. Onions, hot peppers, cilantro, garlic, salt, avocados, and lime juice does it for me--although I prefer white wine with my salsa.

When I lived in Japan and came home for annual visits, I would always stop at a supermarket on the way home from the airport just to look at the mountain ranges of fruits and vegetables. The bounty in American supermarkets continues to amaze me.