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Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
We are having a candy moment
Customers make their selections at Lil Sweet Treat on Newbury Street. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up The shops are a child's wildest dream, but they are here for the adults. 'What we're trying to capture is that feeling of feeling like a kid in a candy store,' says Ross, who calls her customers 'candy connoisseurs' and emphasizes the concept of community. 'How do you create those moments of magic and joy, in even the smallest parts of your day? Everyone needs a little joy right now, and candy has that. It knows no bounds. Regardless of age, culture, gender, ethnicity, everyone can appreciate a sweet treat.' Advertisement On Clarendon Street in the South End, Madeleine's Candy Shop specializes in Swedish candy and more. It opened in February. Devra First Especially right now. Lil Sweet Treat arrives on the heels of 'I've always had a major sweet tooth, and the Swedish candy craze was taking off in New York. I'd be Googling, walking around trying to find it,' says founder Madeleine Brason, who left a career in clinical research for candy. 'I identified a gap in the market for candy stores, and also in a selfish way, I wanted a lifetime supply of unlimited candy for myself.' Another pick-and-mix-style candy store, If it seems candy sales must be exploding, that isn't the case exactly. Dollar sales are up (2.5 percent for chocolate and 3.6 for non-chocolate), but unit sales are down (2 and .9 percent respectively), according to Chicago-based market research firm Circana. Cocoa prices continue to rise, and budgets continue to tighten. Consumers are shifting purchasing patterns, perhaps buying less candy or different candy. But there is still candy in almost every household in America. 'We have not seen households back away from treating,' says Sally Lyons Wyatt, global EVP and chief adviser for Circana. 'Candy is one of those categories that everybody loves. It is something that brings joy, it is something essential to social occasions, and that I don't think is ever going to waver.' Advertisement Happy Buttons are one of Lil Sweet Treat's own offerings, bouncy and chewy smiley faces in strawberry, raspberry, pear, and pineapple. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff In this landscape, one category keeps doing well: gummy candy. Consumers (particularly younger ones) cannot resist the lure of brightly colored, chewy, sweet, and tart gummies in a glorious riot of shapes and textures. 'The only categories growing in interest from younger consumers are all chewy: chewy candy, beef jerky, gum,' says Hunter Thurman, founder of Cincinnati-based consulting firm Alpha-Diver, which focuses on why consumers do the things they do. 'Chewing actually has some real proven stress relief ability.' In case you haven't noticed, the last few years have been a lot. 'We have measured it, and we have seen over the last five to six years people are feeling more and more anxious and stressed. The upshot is more people are looking to make themselves feel better,' Thurman says. 'From an evolutionary psychology perspective, food and drink are right at the core of how we help ourselves feel better. There's a reason there's a phrase called comfort food.' The scene inside Boston's Lil Sweet Treat on a recent Thursday afternoon. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Perhaps we are candy freaks because we are control freaks. 'If you ask a psychologist what do human beings crave above all else, there's one answer: control,' Thurman says. 'Something like candy is very easy to control. I can't control what's happening in Iran or the economy, but I can control something that makes me feel better in the near term.' Banana-caramel Bubs? Don't mind if I do. It's emotional self-regulation. Advertisement Stores like Lil Sweet Treat, Madeleine's Candy Shop, and Nantasket Sweets are tapping into this: Safe spaces, Thurman calls them. They also offer an experience, one more affordable than tickets to a game or a concert, or a new outfit, or dinner out. (Although these candies aren't cheap, priced at around $20 per pound, it's all relative.) In a recent Circana snacking survey, 59 percent of consumers said they like to eat snacks that add excitement to their daily diet, and 58 percent are looking for authentic and/or unique experiences, says Lyons Wyatt. Eric Williams makes pick-and-mix selections at Lil Sweet Treat. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff 'Those stores are the answer to this,' she says. 'They are really feeding into the experience, the excitement. Let's face it, it's been pretty heavy stuff the last few years. These stores are just a breath of fresh of air.' That's the idea. This summer, Madeleine's Candy Shop will open an adjacent ice cream window, serving creemees, Vermont's take on soft-serve. (Yes, you can add candy to your ice cream.) 'I think in a post-pandemic world we're really just looking to feel like kids again and have that nostalgia and be playful,' says Brason, who offers chopsticks with each bag of candy, to aid customers in their nibbling. 'With a candy store like this, the options are limitless. We can have a lot of fun.' Sour hitschies from Belgium at Lil Sweet Treat. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Devra First can be reached at
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- General
- Boston Globe
‘The Boston Chef's Table' gets a delicious update
Silverstein, a local writer and historian, also explores how Boston's neighborhoods evolved through waves of immigration in the 19th century. Chinese immigrants, for instance, first set up tents in the area now known as Chinatown. Roxbury became famous for the tart Roxbury apple, once cultivated there. A section of Jamaica Plain is now known as the Latin Quarter, home to a Latin American community. Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up She traces the city's dining legacy through long-gone establishments that once defined Boston dining, from the traditional New England fare at Advertisement Organized by course — from appetizers, soups, and salads to entrées, sides, and desserts — the volume includes chef-created recipes adapted for the home cook. The instructions are clear, accessible, and mostly uncomplicated, with photography and notes that place each dish in context. Advertisement For instance, Oysters Savannah from Yvonne's is a nod to the Lobster Savannah served at the historic Naturally, the book includes the recipe for Besides an engaging cookbook, 'The Boston Chef's Table' is also a fun bedside read ($29.95). Available at , , , and other retail and online book sellers . Ann Trieger Kurland can be reached at
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
With these two chewing the fat, King Arthur Baking's new podcast is a delicious mix of wisdom, stories, and tidbits
Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up 'Things Bakers Know' is the new podcast from King Arthur Baking Co. Handout Advertisement The hosts begin the sourdough episode with a back-and-forth about naming starters, which many bakers do, and what they call their own. Hers is Jessica's Jazzy Starter, named for her by a colleague. She doesn't name anything, not even her cars, she says. His four starters are called 'Choices,' as in, it's your choice to feed your starter or you'll pay the consequences. We hear listeners' recorded voices with more names: Bread Pitt, Rise Up, Domer Simpson, Yeast Mode, The Baby (which the caller explains got confusing when she and her husband had a real baby). Advertisement The hosts obviously amuse each other. Their laughter is genuine. They're smart, a little sassy, and quick with quips. They sound like old friends, which in fact, they are. They knew each other before they started working together. Her laugh is a joy and makes you want to laugh with her. He says that recently he listened to a sped-up recording of a work meeting he couldn't attend. 'Your laugh at high speed is amazing,' he tells her. Jessica Battilana is cohost of the new King Arthur Baking podcast, 'Things Bakers Know.' Battilana, 46, is the staff editor at the company. She was raised in Woodstock, Vt., did a stint as a cheesemonger at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge, earned a Grand Diplome from Tamarkin, 47, is the editorial director. He comes from Cincinnati and describes himself as 'Midwestern to my core.' He was a producer for 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,' worked at Time Out Chicago, and spent many years at the website David Tamarkin is cohost of the new King Arthur Baking podcast, 'Things Bakers Know.' The two are not together when they record, though segments have an armchair quality. They're in their homes with scripts, says Battilana, but if they stick too closely to them, they don't like how stiff they sound. In a discussion about how to reheat pizza, Battilana says that she reheats slices cheese-side down in a nonstick skillet, then turns them over to heat the crust. 'You're lying!' he says. 'That's not possible!' He tells her she's essentially heating the crust in pizza grease. 'What you're making is fondue.' Advertisement Guests appear now and then, including Zoë François of 'Zoe Bakes Cookies' chatted about her chocolate chip cookies on the podcast. Zoe Francois 'Begging them not to,' interjects Tamarkin, who ends every podcast with some variation of 'Just please follow the recipe.' On a biscuit podcast, after Battilana says that 'your biscuit vibe says a lot about you,' he describes his as fluffy with soft edges that have almost baked together in the pan; hers are flaky, buttery, crispy-edged, high in stature. He hears this question often: 'Why'd my biscuits come out so thin?' His answer: 'Because you put them in thin, baby.' We learn that before he makes biscuits, he freezes everything. Then a discussion about flour (ideally something with less gluten than all-purpose), butter (American, not European), grating frozen butter (the water in the butter forms pockets of steam during baking that create flakes). For their second season, 10 episodes will launch in September and run until just before Thanksgiving. Subjects include butter, Thanksgiving pies, and an entire episode on holiday baking questions. The duo is often riffing — about everything. In the pizza episode she says the Neapolitan trend is over. He sees a rise in super thin pizza, like 'Great Lakes tavern-style' in Chicago and surrounding areas. Later in an email, he tells me, 'It is a very thin round pizza, made with a dough that is enriched with butter, that is cut into squares and usually served in bars alongside beer. Very delicious!' Advertisement Both think slices that droop at the pointed end are out. He calls a more structured style 'a no-dip tip.' An ideal slice remains stiff when you hold it up. At one point when Tamarkin is explaining to listeners how to send in a question, he says, 'Jessica and I will use it to pontificate and have long conversations that have nothing to do with your question and eventually get around to answering your question.' Find 'Things Bakers Know,' on or Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or wherever you get podcasts. Subscribers will be notified about new episodes. You'll also see a link to send a voice message with a baking question. Sheryl Julian can be reached at
Boston Globe
18-06-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
With so many kinds of yogurt available, how do you choose?
Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up In the United States, dairy yogurt is made primarily from cow's milk, and from any type and combination of whole, low fat, or nonfat milk, cream, and dry milk powder. In many European and Middle Eastern countries, sheep's milk and goat's milk yogurts are also available. Advertisement To make yogurt, milk is heated, then cooled to a warm temperature so bacterial cultures, specifically Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus , can be introduced. The cultured milk is left to sit for several hours in a warm environment, which causes fermentation to take place. The resulting lactic acid sours and thickens the milk and gives yogurt its tangy taste. (Look for recipes online and in cookbooks to make your own dairy and plant milk yogurts.) Advertisement Dairy yogurt is a nutrient-rich food, a good source of naturally occurring protein, calcium, phosphorus, riboflavin, and vitamin B12. Many brands contain added vitamin D. The beneficial bacteria used to ferment milk, as well as any other added strains, are a potential source of probiotics, which have been associated with improved digestive health. The most healthful plant-based yogurts have been fortified with desirable nutrients that the specific plant milks lack. Strawberry yogurt parfaits. Sally Pasley Vargas 'The main reasons why people eat yogurt are the protein, calcium, and live cultures,' says Nancy Oliveira, a registered dietitian and manager of the Nutrition and Wellness Service at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Classic plain yogurt has about 10 grams of protein and 20 percent of the daily value of calcium per serving, says Oliveira. Greek-style yogurt is strained of its liquid whey, which concentrates the protein but removes some calcium; one serving can have as much as 20 grams of protein and 10 percent to 30 percent daily value of calcium. Oliveira says many people All dairy yogurts and most nondairy yogurts are made with live active cultures for fermentation. The Food and Drug Administration's most recent ruling on yogurt labeling is the following: a yogurt product can be (voluntarily) labeled with the phrase 'contains live and active cultures' if the product contains a minimum of 10 million colony forming units per gram at the time of manufacture, with a reasonable expectation of 1 million CFU/g throughout the manufacturer's assigned shelf life of the product. Advertisement It is not guaranteed cultures will be active at the time you consume the yogurt nor in adequate quantities. While there is some evidence that probiotics, like those found in yogurt, can help improve the symptoms of some digestive problems, Oliveira says there are still questions as to how much survive our stomach acids to get into our intestines." She says she wouldn't recommend people eat yogurt just for the cultures. If 'variety is the spice of life,' today's yogurt options will certainly keep breakfasts interesting. You'll find yogurts made from cow, sheep, and goat milk; whole, low-fat, nonfat, lactose-free, and grass-fed cow's milk; and nut, seed, soy, oat, and coconut milk. There are Greek, Icelandic, French, Turkish, Middle Eastern, and Indian styles. Many brand names sound exotic — Noosa, Chobani, Siggi's, Icelandic Provisions, Fage, Oui, Ellenos, and Wallaby — but are made here in the United States. Want a local brand without a catchy name? Try the quality yogurts from Stonyfield Farm of Londonderry, N.H., and Sidehill Farm in Hawley. Homemade yogurt strawberry yogurt parfaits. Michele McDonald for The Boston Yogurt flavors run the gamut from plain (without added flavors or sweeteners), vanilla, coffee, lemon, and berry to the more unusual passion fruit, cloudberry, Key lime, and even Boston cream pie. Containers range from single-serving (about 5.3 ounces) to 2 pounds (32 ounces). You'll find French styles in glass jars. Textures vary widely, from thick Greek- and Icelandic-styles to drinkable yogurt. Labneh, with a texture between strained yogurt and cream cheese, is a staple in Middle Eastern countries, mostly used for dips and spreads. For plant-based yogurts to have a thick and creamy consistency like their dairy counterparts, most contain thickeners and stabilizers, such as starches, gums, and pectin. According to Oliveira, most of these additives have been used for years and are deemed safe, although people with digestive issues might be sensitive to them. Advertisement So what's a yogurt eater to choose? Your first decision is dairy or plant. The reasons for choosing one over the other include allergies, dietary needs and preferences, taste, cost, and environmental concerns. Second, decide what nutrients you're looking to get from 'Consumers should look for properties of yogurt that are important to them, such as protein, calcium, and vitamin D,' says Oliveira. For the industry as a whole, she says, 'Manufacturers are trying to replicate the nutritional profile of what's in old-fashioned dairy yogurt.' Another important consideration is your personal health or dietary issues. Oliveira has patients who must limit saturated fat, others need to reduce carbs and added sugars. 'I would recommend a low or nonfat yogurt if someone needs to control their cholesterol.' But she adds, yogurts with low protein and/or low fat are less likely to keep people satisfied very long. Protein can vary from zero to 20 grams per serving. Non-dairy yogurts containing soy or pea protein have more protein than products made from oats, almonds, or coconut. If adding calcium to your diet is important, look for products with 15 percent or more daily value, DV, of calcium. Fat content is highest in whole milk dairy yogurts, coconut, and some nut-based varieties. All yogurts have carbohydrates from naturally occurring sugar (or starch) in milk, nuts, seeds, soy, fruit, and oats and from any added sugars. Oliveira advises patients to look for products with less than 7 grams of added sugars per serving. 'It's not excessive and very doable,' she says. Be wary of products labeled zero sugar; instead of cane sugar, these contain alternative sweeteners, usually stevia extract, which has an aftertaste you may or may not like. Advertisement Let's compare some nutrition profiles: a ¾-cup serving of Stonyfield plain lowfat yogurt has 90 calories, 1.5 grams of total fat, 10 grams of total carbs (zero added sugars), 7 grams of protein, and 20 percent of the DV of calcium. Cabot Greek plain reduced fat yogurt has 130 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs (zero added sugars), and a high 16 grams of protein and 30 percent DV of calcium. The sweetened Dannon blueberry fruit on the bottom yogurt has 120 calories, 2 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbs (11 grams added sugars), only 5 grams of protein, and 15 percent DV of calcium. Plant-based yogurts generally have less protein, calcium, and vitamin D than dairy yogurts unless they're fortified. Most have low levels of fat, except for coconut yogurt, which also has minimal protein and calcium. For those reasons, Oliveira doesn't recommend coconut yogurt, the exception being Siggi's plant-based coconut blend, which has an intriguing combination of coconut milk, pea protein, sugar, coconut oil, macadamia nut butter, starches, and flavorings. A 5.3-ounce container has 190 calories, 11 grams of fat, 12 grams of carbs (8 grams added sugars), 10 grams of protein, and 4 percent DV of calcium. Silk Almondmilk peach yogurt has 180 calories, 11 grams of fat, 19 grams of carbs (13 grams added sugars), 5 grams of protein, and 10 percent DV of calcium. Most non-dairy yogurts are flavored and sweetened. Advertisement A bowl of yogurt with granola and fruit. CHRISTOPHER TESTANI/NYT If you're eating yogurt for a healthful breakfast, lunch, or snack, choose plain yogurt or one with low added sugars. Yes, the tangy, sour flavor is an acquired taste; it's no wonder food companies introduced all kinds of tempting sweetened flavors to appeal to more consumers. But you're better off sweetening plain yogurt to your taste, adding a drizzle of honey, maple syrup, or jam, and pairing it with fruit and/or a spoonful of granola or nuts. Sweetened yogurts, particularly those that come with sprinkles, cookie pieces, or fruit purees, end up being a high-calorie, high-carb dessert rather than a healthful meal. With the multitude of yogurts on store shelves and their vastly different nutritional profiles, Oliveira says, 'You've got to be a label reader. People should know what they're eating. That's really what matters if you're eating for health. And find one you like so you'll enjoy it as well.' Lisa Zwirn can be reached at . Lisa Zwirn can be reached at
Boston Globe
17-06-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
By brewing with 100 percent quinoa, Meli is ‘giving beer a wellness makeover'
'That beer in Peru didn't have the typical characteristics that I associated with beer,' says Oster. 'The flavor was crisp and light, with none of the malty or bitter aftertaste that I had come to expect of beer. I also loved the health halo of a beer made from quinoa — it caught my attention and drew me in, when I normally wouldn't have been interested in drinking a beer. Get Winter Soup Club A six-week series featuring soup recipes and cozy vibes, plus side dishes and toppings, to get us all through the winter. Enter Email Sign Up 'The only issue was that the beer in Peru contained barley, and I was reducing gluten from my diet.' Advertisement Oster set out to brew a 100 percent quinoa beer. 'The first challenge we encountered at homebrew-scale was what type of quinoa to use. Quinoa exists in red, black, and white varieties, and quinoa grown in one part of the world has completely different nutritional features than quinoa from other parts of the world. So, identifying a quinoa that both tasted good and efficiently produced an alcoholic beverage was a challenge,' says Oster. Advertisement It took more than 20 test batches to brew a beer that satisfied those requirements. And then another challenge arose: because quinoa is such a small grain, adapting a recipe to fit commercial brewing equipment wasn't straightforward. It took nearly 100 formulations, according to Oster, to get it right. Brew Theory Brewery in Lowell currently brews Meli. The beer is gluten-free, has zero sugar, and contains the proteins and essential vitamins and minerals such as iron and B6 typically found in quinoa. A can of Meli even contains about 7 percent of your daily potassium. One noticeable aspect of the beer is that it tastes a little spicy, the result of using an herbaceous grain rather than the typical barley. Meli is light and crisp, like Oster says, and should make an interesting pairing with all kinds of food. Oster is 'committed to winning in our own backyard,' meaning Massachusetts. Meli beer is available at select restaurants including Uni, Catalyst, Alma Nove, and Shy Bird, as well as at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Gary Dzen can be reached at
