What’s the next best thing you never ate?
Carob molasses. I know what you are thinking, but it’s not that weird health food chocolate substitute that made trail mixes depressing. Carob molasses is something completely different and worth seeking out. We’ve even put the molasses in baskets on Chopped. You get carob molasses from cooking the fruit of the carob pod with water, then straining and reducing it down to a crazy delicious syrup. It’s a Middle Eastern product, so if you want it, head to your nearest Middle Eastern market or look online.
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by Vince Camillo
What’s the next best thing you never ate?
The staff of Food Network Kitchens might know. We see (taste and smell) ingredients and products just before they make themselves known to the national palate. Sometimes one of our on-air chefs brings them into our kitchen, sometimes we find them during restaurant dinners or in grocery stores, at home and away. Each month we’re going to share one with you, along with tips or recipes. And we know that many of you devote a good amount of time to exploring, tasting or simply getting dinner on the table, so let us know what you find that might just be the next best thing we never ate.
If you’ve ever eaten a vacuum-fried banana chip (or any vacuum-fried fruit or vegetable), you may have been staring into the bag of the next big thing. Though the bag you remember was likely empty, because once you eat one of these puffed little disks of pure banana essence, you’ll realize that you can’t stop — the most important indicator of a successful snack.
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What’s the next best thing you never ate?
The Food Network Kitchens staff might know. We see (taste and smell) ingredients and products just before they take their place in the national palate. Sometimes one of our on-air chefs bring them into our kitchen, sometimes we find them during restaurant dinners or in grocery stores, at home and away. Each month we’re going to share one with you, along with tips or recipes. And we know that many of you devote a good amount of time to exploring, tasting or just getting dinner on the table, so let us know what you find that might just be the next best thing we never ate.
There’s always room for more hot sauce, so say hello to a new friend: gochujang. The next best thing you may have never tasted was actually a part of my everyday meals growing up. Gochujang (a spicy, slightly sweet, beautiful dark red fermented chili paste) has been a staple ingredient in Korean households for hundreds of years. It’s used as an ingredient in stews and sauces, or simply as a dip for a snack. You may have seen it when you ordered bibimbap (mixed rice dish) at your favorite Korean restaurant. To see this special food from my childhood bloom into the next best thing — I embrace it. I see the popularity of gochujang as the first step to a greater awareness of Korean cuisine.
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