Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Couple of Portable Protein Balls

      This was yet another discovery from my Shop-Rite's nutrition/protein bar section.  This brand was at least a little different in that it was protein balls rather than the usual protein bars.  Anyway, I tried the cinnamon bun protein balls from Day Out, and their peanut butter cup ones.

     Day Out is a fairly recent brand and company, having started only in 2018.  Both its founder, and its brand name have changed from their initial versions.  Becky Pleat became Becky Dheri after getting married, and Protein Power Balls became Day Out.  The label on the ones I purchased were called "portable protein balls."  Which kind of amuses me.  Aren't all protein bars/balls and such snacks portable?  Are there any that are like 400 pounds (about 181.5 kilos), that you need a vehicle and/or a few strong friends to help carry around?  I'd like to think so, for absurdity's sake.  But back to Becky Dheri.  She's a pharmacist by trade, and got tired of the snacks that she would pick up for lunch and breaks at the local stories every day, worrying that they were unhealthy.  So she started developing some of her own, with "ingredients you could pronounce, no gums, emulsifiers, questionable oils, and artificial preservatives."    Her protein balls are plant-based, fiber-rich, protein-packed, and lack gluten, soy, dairy, GMOs, and artificial preservatives.  Her products have become decently popular.  They were featured on NBC's "Today Show" in a segment called, "Best Healthy Snacks," and were also in a Men's Health Magazine article titled, "17 Best Healthy Snacks on Amazon."  Day Out's reported marketing scheme is to focus on attracting Millennial females of ages 28-45, who are doing shopping for their families.  But, they got at least one sale to a Generation X male over 50, who was just shopping for products to talk about on his blog.  Alternate flavors of Day Out protein balls include brownie batter, cookie dough, and occasional seasonal ones like peanut butter crunch. blueberry muffin, peanut butter & jelly, peppermint bark, apple cider donut, and pecan pie.  Also, Day Out is based in Montville, NJ, so I'm representing for my home state once more.

Day Out portable protein balls, peanut butter cup flavor:  There were three balls in the bag, and they were roughly oval, being about 1.25 inches by 1 inch (or about 3 by 2 cm.) with a dark brown color.  Not much of an odor.  The texture was chewy, and a little grainy.  The taste was very peanut buttery, not shockingly, and pretty good.  Not great, but better than average

Day Out portable protein balls, cinnamon bun flavor:  These also came three balls to the pack, and were about the same size as the previous.  Although the shape was slightly different, as they were a bit rounder, with a nose-like protuberance on one end.  The color was brown, with some streaks of white.  Again, not much of a smell.  The texture was dense and chewy.  And these were...very cinnamon-y, to the snack's credit.  Nicely sweet.  I enjoyed these more than the peanut butter cup ones, surprisingly, given my love of peanut butter in general.  These were just shy of exceptional.  

     Overall I'd recommend both of these--the peanut butter cup ones slightly, and the cinnamon bun kind more enthusiastically.  I'll have to look for different flavors of Day Out as well, and if these are available I'll add to this post.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--English Baked Beans (aka "Beanz")

      I've been vaguely aware that English folks were into baked beans, but I hadn't taken the opportunity to explore them until now.  I saw some Heinz baked beans in tomato sauce in the alternate Shop-Rite, in the same aisle that had some foreign foods.  A quick look at the label confirmed that they were indeed made in England, so I bought myself a can.

      I've heard about the English loving baked beans in general, and Heinz's beans in particular, and this caused me some confusion.  Because Heinz is an American company, based out of western Pennsylvania, starting in the late 1800's.  (If you want a more detailed account of Heinz's origins, check out my post on the Dutch made salad cream dressing on June 8th, 2019.)  So what gives?  Well, all of that is true.  However, Heinz exported some canned baked beans to England starting in 1886.  For quite some time this was a niche treat, as only one store, the upmarket department store Fortnum & Mason, sold them.  Because of this store's "upmarket-ness" and because they were imported, the beans were relatively expensive.  However, in 1905 the first Heinz bean factory was opened in England, in South London.  Another followed in 1919.  Because they were now locally made, prices plummeted.  Thus, Heinz's baked beans became popular to people of all economic classes.  During World War II, they even received an "essential food" designation for wartime rationing purposes.  Therefore, baked beans, and Heinz's baked beans in particular, became an addition to the traditional "full English breakfast."  Similar versions are called the "full Scottish breakfast," or the "full Welsh breakfast,"--you get the idea, part of breakfasts for folks with United Kingdom backgrounds, such as former colonies.  If you're curious (I was), the traditional full English breakfast has some variants, but most commonly it consists of bacon, sausage, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fried bread or toast, washed down with tea.  Other fairly common additions include the Heinz baked beans (often put on the bread or toast), black (blood) pudding, and coffee.  Aside from being part of traditional breakfasts, Heinz beans are also typical fare in cafes and pubs.  (You usually don't find them on the menus in posh, high-end restaurants, though.)  Otherwise, English baked beans differ from their American counterparts in that the latter usually are made with molasses and/or brown sugar, while the British ones aren't.  Meaning the English beans are less sweet, and more savory.  On the cultural front, Heinz baked beans have been featured in the English television program "Dr. Who."  And a popular advertising campaign in the 1960's and beyond came up with the slogan "Heinz Meanz Beanz," and even up until the present some English Heinz cans (mis)spell "beans" that way.  (Not mine, alas.)

Heinz beans with tomato sauce:  The beans were tannish-white, in a red tomato sauce.  They had a slight beany odor.  And they tasted like beans in tomato sauce.  Or decent.  Oddly, considering what I later learned about the ingredients, the sauce was a tad sweet.  (Despite the lack of molasses and/or brown sugar.)  Plain I liked these, but didn't love them.  With some hot sauce mixed in they were improved, as the spiciness helped.  I also mixed in some Vienna sausages, and this also made them more interesting.  I didn't have them on bread or toast--I didn't find out that this was one of the traditional English ways of eating them until afterwards.  All in all I would recommend these beans slightly.  They weren't spectacular or anything, but they were okay.  Maybe I'll pick up another can and try them on toast.  If I do, I'll re-edit this post and include my thoughts on that combination.

     Perhaps not surprisingly, given their cultural importance, baked beans have been the subject of at least two museum exhibits.  A man named Captain Beany (nee Barry Kirk) ran a museum dedicated to beans, including Heinz's contribution, out of his council flat (aka apartment) in Port Talbot, Wales from 2009-23.   And in 2019 there was a pop up exhibit about Heinz Beanz specifically in Covent Gardens, in London.

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--Two Thai Tunas

      Regular readers will probably recall that I post a fair bit about canned seafood.  So, it's not too surprising that I happened upon a new-to-me brand a while back, Genova.  When I saw that the fish included inside the can was a product of Thailand I bit, buying two cans--the yellowfin tuna in olive oil seasoned with lemon and herbs, and the albacore tuna in olive oil.

     There wasn't much online about the origins of the Genova brand, so I'll have to provide what little I could find out, which was largely indirect.  Way back in 1914, a man named Gilbert Van Camp bought up the California Tuna Company, and renamed it the Van Camp Sea Food Company.  (Although his father, Frank Van Camp, is listed as the founder.)  Van Camp's most popular product was its tuna, which it called "chicken of the sea," a slogan which eventually became a brand name.  Ralston Purina bought the company in 1963, and then in 1988 an Indonesian company named PT Mantrust briefly acquired it.  Shortly thereafter Prudential Life Insurance owned it for awhile.  Finally, in 1997 a partnership made up of three companies bought Chicken of the Sea.  These three firms were Edmund Gann's Caribbean Marine Services Company, the Singapore-based Tri-Marine International, and the Thailand-based Thai Union International.  Their partnership was called Tri-Union Seafoods, LLC.  In 2000 Gann and Tri-Marine sold their shares to Thai Union International, so it became the sole owner of Tri-Union.  So, I'm not sure if Genova started as an independent company and then was acquired by Chicken of the Sea, and then Tri-Union, or if it was a brand of Van Camp/Chicken of the Sea from the beginning, or if it was a brand of Chicken of the Sea after Tri-Union bought that company.  Moving on, Thai Union is a mammoth seafood company, which owns many brands and subsidiaries aside from Chicken of the Sea and Genova.  It has had its share of controversy, though.  In 2015 Greenpeace accused it of conducting human trafficking.  Other human rights organizations have also made this claim.  (In short, the company is said to have forced its employees to work in unfair, or unsafe, or underpaid conditions while out on the fishing boats, which may be away from land, and thus the law, for weeks or months at a time.)  Predictably, Thai Union has denied these claims, and its official company website documents their fair working conditions, and concern about fair labor practices and such.  I'd like to believe that these employees are being treated well, but, we live in the real world.  It wouldn't shock me to learn that Greenpeace and the other organizations may be right, or at least partially correct.  Sorry, this blog post about a couple of cans of tuna took a turn for the serious, I know, with it being largely about company acquisitions and mergers, and possible labor abuses.  Sometimes that's where the information takes me.  Getting back to the food, Genova does make a couple of premade tuna-based salad bowls, but most of their products consist of canned yellowfin tuna packed in various liquids, and/or different seasonings, or canned albacore tuna packed in various liquids, and/or different seasonings.

Genova yellowfin tuna packed in olive oil, with lemon and herbs:  The tuna itself was a pinkish-tan color, and it had the usual tuna-ish odor.  Plain it tasted like regular canned tuna, or okay but bland.  It was the usual chewy and soft texture.  Next I mixed up some with potatoes, squid, sauce, and ketchup, and this was improved, and pretty good.  But overall it was like most of the canned tuna I've had in my life--no better, no worse.  I don't know if I could have distinguished it from cans of Starkist or Bumblebee, etc.

Genova albacore tuna packed in olive oil:  Had the same pinkish-tan color, and typical tuna smell.  Same soft and chewy texture.  Plain it was fairly bland, and tasted like regular canned tuna.  Mixed up with mayonnaise it was quite good, a solid tuna salad.  Once again, this was like pretty much every other canned tuna I've had.  If you like canned tuna, both of these were fine.  But if they're more expensive than another common brand, I don't think I'd pay the extra price.  (I forgot to save the receipt, so I can't remember if these did cost more than the other brands of canned tuna.)

     To end this on more light-hearted note, I did find out that the human model for the Chicken of the Sea mermaid logo was Grace Lee Whitney.  Who is best known for playing Yeoman Rand in the early episodes of the original Star Trek television program (1966).  She also appeared, apparently as Rand, in many Star Trek movies, and other Star Trek television programs.  Otherwise, she was in movies such as "House of Wax" (1953), "The Naked and the Dead" (1958), and "Some Like it Hot" (1959).

 

  

Exotic/Disgusting Foods and Beverages Forum--A Colombian/American Hot Sauce

      I realized recently that I've been neglecting a very common edible in these posts--the condiment.  I've done a few posts about jams, marmalades, spreads, and such, but very few about savory sauces.  A post on June 8th, 2019 is a rare exception.  I'll try to rectify this, starting today with a hot sauce.  Or, more specifically, the sriracha chili pepper with garlic hot sauce from the Badia brand.

     The origins of the Badia brand, and company, date back to the 1960's.  Jose Badia, a Cuban hardware store owner, fled the country for political reasons.  Resettling in the "Little Havana" part of Miami, Florida, he switched his profession, and began selling spices, assisted by his wife, Azucena Badia.  The Badia company officially began in 1967.  By 1970, Jose had his son, Joseph, take over the day-to-day operations of the company.  The Mariel Boatlift in the early 1980's reportedly helped the company, as thousands of Cuban refugees settled in the Miami area, and bought a taste of home in the Badia products.  Also, distribution deals with the grocery behemoths Publix and Winn-Dixie helped the brand even further.  Baden Spice, Inc., sells spices, obviously, both raw and blended.  They also sell herbs, dried chili peppers, specialty salts, sauces and marinades, olive oils, and teas.  The Badia company was family owned for most of its history, with Joseph "Pepe" Badia taking over for his father.  However, in late 2024 it was sold to a group of investors, including the owners of Bia Foods and some banks.  There is one legal case involving Badia, as in November of 2018 the Gel Spice Company was required to pay Badia $564,000 for trademark infringement.

Badia chili with garlic, sriracha, picante hot sauce:  Had a spicy odor, and a reddish-brown color.  Plain it tasted spicy at first, and it built up a little with time.  A decent heat--not ridiculously overpowering, but a reasonable medium amount.  I also tried some on some Vienna sausages, and in some beans and tomato sauce, and for both it aided the experience, but adding some nice spicy "ummpth" to the dish.  Overall then, I would recommend this hot sauce, to folks like me, who don't want crazy, momentous spice hotness, but instead a manageable, spice "bite" to the proceedings.

     While covering this blog post topic, I was once again intrigued by the question of what is the official hottest pepper in the world.  I went into this category in some depth previously, along with some discussion about the methodology used to determine the winners, in my post on June 6th, 2015.  Anyway, the current champ, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, is "Pepper X," created by Ed Currie of the U.S.  Currie is no stranger to the hot pepper game, since he also grew the previous champion, the Carolina Reaper.  Pepper X has a Scoville rating of 2,693,000.  So, case closed, right?  Not quite.  Some peppers growers maintain that Currie's creation is probably not the real champion, or at least its hotness is highly exaggerated.  Because reportedly Currie has not allowed his alleged champion pepper to be tested independently.  Critics point out that Pepper X is a mustard yellow pepper, and all of the other extremely hot candidates are reddish, or orange.  So, we're in a conundrum.  I'm certainly no authority about pepper hotness, but I do find it suspicious that Currie doesn't allow independent testing of his Pepper X.  If it's the real champion, what does he have to lose?  But maybe we'll get a thorough test, and a final assessment at some point.  (Part of me enjoys the drama over a food, but it also would be cool to get a final, scientific judgement on which is the hottest pepper, and what its strength is.)