Dean’s Sweets We recently had the great pleasure of trying some hand-dipped truffles from Dean’s Sweets in Portland, Maine. Dean’s Sweets uses no nuts or nut products in their truffles, and several are also gluten-free. With intriguing flavours like Stout, Ginger, and Cayenne, we could hardly wait to get tasting. One thing our tasting panel noticed right off the bat was the wonderful quality of the chocolate. It was a deliciously rich, dark chocolate. It wasn’t the slightest bit waxy and it delivered a warm, slightly sweet cocoa flavour. The second thing we noticed was the absolutely natural flavour of the fillings. And the flavour intensity of the fillings was in perfect balance with that of the chocolate. We sampled eight flavours — Maple, Stout (which is also dairy-free and vegan), Ginger, Salt Caramel, Blueberry, Lemon-Apricot-Chevre, Coffee, and Cayenne. Top favourites of the tasting panel were the Salt Caramel, which would have quite a broad appeal (who doesn’t love sweet mixed with salty?), and Cayenne, which had a devilishly spicy punch. However, we enjoyed every one we tried. There was one child on our five-person panel, whose clear favourite was the Maple variety. But, these sweets are really geared toward those who really appreciate fine foods and are perfectly suited for adults to indulge in. Intriguing and satisfying, these are truffles are to savour and discuss. Dean’s Sweets is now also offering a collection of chocolate bars (un-tested 🙂 ) Shipping to Canada is not mentioned on their site but if you contact them they would be willing to give you the shipping price, which I can tell you is not very much. About the Truffle Maker Before and after the review. Phew!     Share...

I want to bring your attention to a chocolatier that is new to us, Dean’s Sweets hailing from Portland. While I have not had the pleasure to sample thier offerings (no shipping outside of the U.S.) I would love to hear some reviews if you have! tell us what you think in the comments.     Deans Sweets offers elegant, extraordinary, hand-dipped truffles created from the finest imported dark chocolate. Luscious flavors include brandy, rum Myers Dark, scotch single malt, orange, raspberry, coffee, peppermint, ginger, plain, and cayenne!. All with a rich dark chocolate coating. Please see the Orders page for a complete list of our many chocolate choices. For the chocolate connoisseur, what makes these truffles so unusually fine are their uncommonly good ingredients – centers are made with a delectable 56% cocoa content excepting of course the white chocolate and the coating is a rich 70%. Please make special note that we use no nuts or nut products when creating these truffles. Anyone with allergies to nuts of any sort can rest assured that there are no tree or ground nuts in products from Deans Sweets. Also of special note: Our chocolate stout truffles are dairy-free. Delectable and yummy, this also makes them vegan. Most of our truffles are also gluten-free. Email us if you have dietary needs or questions. Truffles are available all year, though in the peak of the summer months, delivery times and costs may be affected by warm weather. For special events and corporate gifts, delivery times will depend on the size of the order. Please email us with your wishes and we will work to meet your deadlines. Special orders are gladly accepted and every effort is made to supply you with your ideal flavor choices. via Deans Sweets | Elegant Chocolate Truffles. Share...

Food allergies: fact or fad? As a father of a food-allergic child I know that this FACT is not a FAD. This article has good insight and urges us all to think rationally when others around us are doubting our family’s health concerns. A new British study on nut-allergy sufferers found that “parents are routinely made to feel by friends and even family that their child’s nut allergy is a ‘frivolous and self indulgent fad invented and maintained by attention-seeking people.’” via Food allergies: fact or fad? – Editorial – The Cape Breton Post. Share...

Another shout out to another of our favorite products! SUNBUTTER, we love you! Congrats!   SunButter® Sunflower Seed Butter Receives National Taste Test Award at IFT ’11 Offers Innovative and Flavorful Ingredient Option for Peanut-Free Products Fargo, ND (August, 2011) – SunButter® received third place in Mintel’s IFT 2011 taste test under the flavor and ingredient predictions for 2011 category. Mintel announced the winners of their IFT 2011 taste test, naming SunButter sunflower seed spread an example of the seed ingredient trend. via SunButter® Sunflower Seed Butter Receives National Taste Test Award at IFT ’11 | Cision Wire. Share...

A big shout out to Enjoy Life! Our family has enjoyed a few of their products and appreciate the work they do to provide tasty allergic aware foods (can a food be aware?).   Enjoy Life Shows Support For Food Allergy Community By Becoming Gold Level Sponsor Of The Kids With Food Allergies FoundationAugust 11, 2011 | Author: EnjoyLifeFoods | Posted in Food & Drink0inShareAugust 10, 2011 Chicago – Enjoy Life Foods, the leading allergen-friendly brand in the Supermarket and Natural Foods stores, has broadened its partnership with the Kids With Food Allergies Foundation, a leading resource site and organization for families who struggle with the everyday challenges of food allergies. By elevating itself to a Gold Level Sponsor, Enjoy Life will support a variety of KFA’s initiatives, as well as provide an opportunity for new KFA members to receive valuable coupons for Enjoy Life’s products, all of which are free of the 8 common allergens. via Enjoy Life Shows Support For Food Allergy Community By Becoming Gold Level Sponsor Of The Kids With Food Allergies Foundation | Press Releases @ Your-Story.org. Share...

  Even companies with the right intentions are taking the crossed-out peanut to mean they can include nuts in thier ingredients. Be vigilant when reading labels! A registered nurse is sounding the nut allergy alarm over potentially confusing allergy labels on packaged foods. While the red circle with a line through it is an internationally recognized symbol for ‘no,’ the symbol with a line through a peanut doesn’t necessarily mean no nuts. Rob Cimaglia, who has a severe allergy to tree nuts, was shocked to discover that a package of granola bars he purchased at IGA had the no-nut symbol on the front, but contained almonds in the ingredient list   Read on at CTV British Columbia – Misreading nut labels a potentially deadly mistake – CTV News.   Share...