Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Costa Rican/American Yuca Strips

      This one was a blast from the past for me.  Or, more accurately, an event from the past.  Whatever the intensity, I first had yuca over 11 years ago, and reported on it in my post on April 10, 2014.  This brush with yuca was in a canned form, and from the mammoth Goya corporation.  This time it was bagged yuca strips, from the relatively tiny Mayte brand.

     I went into some detail about the yuca plant in my 2014 post, so I won't repeat myself much now.  Briefly, yuca, aka cassava and manioc, is a very popular carbohydrate food source in the world, especially in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.  It's not to be confused with "yucca," which is an ornamental plant.  To add to the fun, dried yuca is often known as "tapioca," and is then rendered into the strange looking, eyeball-looking, pudding.

     The Mayte brand is plantain-focused.  The company makes many flavors of plantain chips--sweet, garlic, chile-lemon, salted, lime, sweet maduritos strips, and in strip form.  Additionally, Mayte sells "Danny's Roots," which is a bag filled with a combination of plantains, cassava (yuca), sweet plantain, taro, and sweet potato chips.  Other than these chips, and of course, the yuca ones I had, they also make dulce de leche (a milk chocolate spread) and a guava paste.  Mayte's wares are currently sold in Florida, Alabama, Washington D.C., New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and a few other places in New England.  According to the official website, Mayte was started in Miami, Florida in 2002, by a woman who goes by the same name.  She came to Miami seeking independence, and to strive to fulfill her dreams, and to liberate her true self.  Mayte is passionate about music, her roots (both literal plant roots, and her history, I think), and she likes to be the center of attention.  And that's all I could learn.  I couldn't even find out what her real full name is.  "Mayte" is a common nickname in Hispanic communities, as it's usually a shortening of "Maria Theresa," or sometimes "Maria Esther."  Reportedly it means "lovable" or "loved one" in various Spanish dialects.  And I guess Danny of the Danny's Roots product might be Mayte's husband, or father, or son, etc.

Mayte yuca strips:  These were thin yellow strips, with brownish cooked edges, and of various shapes and sizes.  They were dry and crunchy.  By themselves, they tasted kind of like bland potato chips.  Okay, but a little tame.  Combined with a good dip or spread they were much better.  So they were a decent canape or dip vehicle.  Therefore, eating them plain I wouldn't really recommend, but with a good dip they're pretty solid.  And I will try Mayte's plantain offerings if I see them, since it is their flagship product.

     A few weeks ago, in my June 14th post, I reported that one of my stories might be out in the first issue of Horrorsmith:  The Magazine, due out on June 30th.  This was a misunderstanding, as this issue did come out, but my story is not a part of it.  It will be in an issue of this magazine, but obviously in a later issue--perhaps the issue that comes out in late July/early August, or in late August/early September.  I'll try to find out and keep everyone informed as soon as I do.  In the meantime, I certainly recommend that folks give issue #1 a read.  There's no risk--it's free.  You can access it at the publisher's website, which is:   https://www.horrorsmithpublishing.com

     Finally, the other story I've mentioned recently is coming along nicely.  The edits are complete, and my author biography has been turned in.  It's slated for an August 2025 release at this time, in the Volume II anthology.  More info will be shared on this blog as soon as I receive it.  Stay tuned!

 

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Turkish-American Savory Spread

      I happened upon this while waiting my turn at the deli counter.  It was amongst the spreads, such as hummuses, cheese spreads, etc.  Specifically, it was red pepper labneh from the Bezi brand and company.

     Looking back through my memories, and former posts, I re-learned that I'd had labneh before.  That example was spelled lebni, but it was the version made by Family Mediterranean Cuisine, which was a restaurant located fairly near me.  (Sadly, it closed down recently.)  Consult my October 24, 2020 post if you're interested.  There are several types of labneh, and as I just covered, several different names and spellings, even.  The one constant is that all lahnehs are dairy, made with some sort of strained milk.  Many are strained yogurt, which has had the whey removed, and are very soft, having the texture of a dip or spread.  These types can be sweet or savory.  Other folks make a dry, solid type, often rolled into balls and eaten with olive oil.  These dry labnehs can once again be savory, or sweet in flavor.  And some labnehs are made with different kinds of milk, which can also affect their taste.  Labnehs made using cow's milk are considered to be the most mild, while those made using goat or camel milk are much stronger.

     Moving on to the maker of the kind I tried, the Bezi Foods Club is the brainchild of two people--Ilay Karateke and Hasan Bahcivan.  Both were born in Turkey, but have since relocated to the New York City area.  Bahcivan is from a cheesemaking family, and Karateke spent a while learning the cheese trade, by interning at a Brooklyn ricotta making operation, and then even working on a dairy farm in the Mediterranean.  Their version of labneh is a bit different than the various types I previously mentioned.  They don't define theirs as a strained yogurt.  Instead, Bezi's is pasteurized milk passed through three membranes, which removes the water and most of the lactose, in a process called ultrafiltration.  This results in a soft, spreadable product, which is less tangy than most labnehs, and is between a yogurt and a cream cheese.  I couldn't learn the exact founding date for Bezi Foods.  It may have been as recently as 2024, or as "long ago" as 2019.  Aside from the roasted red pepper one I ate, the company also makes a plain, and an everything kind.  The official website also proudly noted that their labnehs are higher in protein than most other kinds, while having fewer calories.

Bezi Labneh:  This was an orange colored spread with red pepper specks visible in it.  The odor was peppery, not surprisingly.  The texture was very soft, smooth, and spreadable.  The flavor was rich, and tasty.  Only a slight spice bite, but I really liked it.  I had some plain, and some on crackers.  It was better on crackers, as the crunch and the saltiness of those combined well with the labneh.  It kind of reminded me of lobster, or seafood salads.  (Although there was no seafood or meat of any kind in it.)  So all in all, I would strongly recommend this.  I am a fan of spreads and dips in general, so this wasn't much of a risk for me.  I'll also look for the other flavors of Bezi, and if I locate them I'll update this post.

     I did kind of enjoy how obsessed the Bezi founders are with labneh.  On their website, they included a (probably exaggerated?) account of how they badgered the hosts of every social event they went to about serving labneh.  They also use "labneh" as a verb, meaning the act of preparing and eating the product.  Hence Bezi's posted motto, "There's actually no wrong way to labneh."  An immature part of me wants to accept this challenge and propose outrageous and possibly even criminal uses of labneh, just to get them to admit that there are actual exceptions to their adage.  Finally, there is the company's name.  I Googled translations of it, and consulted some Turkish to English language websites.  Some, and I assume that these are the most accurate and reliable, claim that "bezi labneh" means "cloth labneh," in Turkish, and "bezi" itself also means "hand towel" or "washcloth."  Which probably was chosen by the Bezi folks to refer to the cloth that strains the milk for their labneh.  However, I did see alternate definitions--one translation claimed "bezi" meant "gland," and another one said "bezi" means "diaper."  Which amuses me, because if either of these definitions are true, especially the latter one, that would be a very bold, but stupid name for a food.  It reminds me of the famous 1970's "Saturday Night Live" sketch that mocked the real Smuckers jam ad motto--"With a name like Smuckers, it has to be good."  The SNL troupe came up with many funny and gross parodies of this--Monkey Pus, Death Camp, Dog Vomit, Mangled Baby Ducks, and Painful Rectal Itch.