BBx Babble

Why our candy is more "expensive" than lots of others...

Jan 30 2012 | 0 comments

We know you are all used to paying next to nothing for a little sweet treat.  We get it... We love a good deal, just like the next guy.  We also get that it might be hard to understand why our artisanal caramel costs more than the ones you find in the grocery store bulk bin.  Let’s just cut to the chase here; this is a situation where you ACTUALLY get what you pay for.

 

Some Food for Thought:

  • It’s cheap to “grow” and process corn syrup and refined white sugar.
  • Those, and lots of chemicals, are the primary ingredients in most candy.
  • It is cheap to mass-produce and distribute factory foods.
  • Cheap, genetically modified, highly processes sugars are truly awful for the human body as well as the environment.
  • Cheap, genetically modified, highly processed sugars don’t have a lot of flavor, they are just plain sweet and cloying.

Conversely…

  • It’s not cheap to sustainably grow and distribute minimally processed, quality sugars with nutritional value, digestive enzymes, character and flavor.
  • It’s not cheap to source those and other real ingredients in the place of chemical stabilizers and preservatives.
  • Candy made with real ingredients is real food that is better for the body and the environment.
  • Candy made with real ingredients tastes better with more flavor and character. 

Conclusion:

If a piece of candy were made with any kind of quality ingredient or craft attention to detail it should cost more money to purchase because is costs more money to make from farm to table.

 

So, it really comes down to your priorities and your perspective.  What is more valuable to you: superior quality or lower price?

We believe the cost is greater, making it more “expensive” to support a food system that harms the planet and is detrimental to consumer health.  What do you think?

Dear Santa...

Sep 08 2011 | 0 comments

We've been very good this year (so far).  It's a little early for this but since the holiday season gets busy both at BBx and at The North Pole, we thought we'd get our Dear Santa in early.

If it's not too much trouble, please send us a double twist wrapping machine for Christmas this year.  Either that or maybe loan us some of your elves?  We pay in candy and we saw Elf so we know how much elves like candy...

Also, will you take caramels and bourbon in the place of cookies and milk?  Let us know, we're flexible but we've got a really nice Maple + Bacon caramel coming out if you're into it...

Thanks in advance for all your help,
The BBx Team]]>

Our Ingredients: Coconut Palm Nectar

Aug 30 2011 | 1 comments

The primary sugar used in Barbary Brix caramels is the delightfully healthy and delicious Coconut Palm Nectar! We use it for a lot of meritorious reasons, which I will now illuminate for you below...


  1. It's the most environmentally sustainable sweetener crop in the WORLD! Well, at least according The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)...
  2. It's lower glycemic than almost any other sugar!
  3. It's good for you with vitamins, mineral and enzymes your body needs!
  4. It tastes delicious on its own or in other foods - especially caramel!

I know what you're thinking... "Prove it!" So here goes...

Coconut Palm uses a very small amount of water compared to other sweetener crops. In addition, it is grown in tropical climates with lots of rain so the farmers don't have to do any irrigating. The plants themselves produce a very high yield of nectar for a small crop area and they also - get this - REPLENISH nutrients in the soil rather than depleting it. In addition, the farmers don't have to destroy the plant to harvest the nectar, making the sugar a renewable resource. On top of all that, unlike conventional sugars like white sugar (mostly made from GMO beets) the Coconut Palm Nectar is unrefined so it retains the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes your body needs in order to digest it well. Which, brings me to my next point - when you talk about lower glycemic sweeteners, it doesn't get much lower than this.

What exactly does that mean and why should you care? To get a really easy-to-understand explanation of how different types of sugars are broken down in your body, read our guest blogger, Alex Mart's post here! In the meantime, to make it short and sweet (pun intended), when your body processes sugars it needs certain enzymes and nutrients to do it without causing a huge spike in blood sugar.

Coconut Palm Sugar is loaded with B-vitamins, macro-nutrients like Potassium and Zinc, and plenty of good enzymes your body needs. Eating nutritious sugars, like this, allow your body to break the carbohydrates down gradually without depleting your stored mineral and vitamin resources. So, this is obviously good for everyone but the lower glycemic index make it especially good for diabetics, people with hypoglycemia and children who suffer from sugar-induced spastic episodes (so pretty much ALL of them).

Wanna see a comparison chart of different sugars' nutrient content? Check it!

Last, but certainly not least is the fact that Coconut Palm Nectar tastes amazing and is a perfect addition to our caramels. Not too sweet but rich and complex, it creates layers of flavor so you end up with a smooth, fragrant caramel that tastes like caramel, not sugar. Don't believe us? SF Weekly food writer, Jon Kauffman, recently described the flavor by saying: "While the Barbary Brix sweets are as sticky as conventional sugar caramels, the rice and coconut sweeteners give them a deeper, most complex flavor — similar to the difference between a piece of toast smeared with butter-flavored Crisco and one slathered in Irish cultured butter." You can read more of his review here.

Are you also wondering where we get ours from? I'll tell you anyway! While over two thirds of the ingredients in our products are local, there aren't currently any Northern California coconut palm farms so we import this ingredient from Big Tree Farms, a sustainable co-op of small scale farmers in Bali. The technique used by these farmers to collect the nectar is the least damaging to the tree as it involves collecting nectar from the flower (inflorescence) rather than "tapping" the tree for sap. Big Tree Farms' Coconut Palm Nectar is the most eco-friendly Palm Nectar on the market today and we feel great about their commitment to social and ecological responsibility.

Want to read more?? Here's some cool links:

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Awesome Stuff Series: ColcaSac

Jun 06 2011 | 0 comments


Heyoooo! Sugar here...

So, I recently replaced my old, antiquated iBook with a shiny new laptop, which I desperately needed after leaving my desk job for the world of better-for-you sweets! Of course, I also needed a way to protect my little efficiency facilitator from damage so I went on the hunt for a case. I was looking for something that, like Barbary Brix candy, was made with quality, sustainable materials in a responsible manner.
What did I find? Only the coolest electronics case company out there, ColcaSac!! Not only are these babies handmade using sustainable materials but they are affordable and the company itself belongs to 1% For The Planet to boot! You can choose from tons of different designs for your iPad, MacBook, iPhone, or Kindle. They even make shoulder bags!!
I've been using my Lappy (aka laptop) sleeve for over a month now and it's FANTASTIC. I love how soft and snugly it fits. Speaking of snuggling, I feel like I'm tucking it into a fuzzy, warm sleeping bag every time I put it away. (Sweep tight, wittle Wappy!!) Bottom line, it looks great, does its job, and makes me feel good knowing how it's made. Needless to say, I'm a huge fan and I'm not the only one:
ColcaSac has the Official Sugar Stamp of Approval!

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BBx Caramel Bread Puddin' Recipe!! Try it today if you want to be popular.

Jun 03 2011 | 0 comments

Making bread pudding is like cheating at culinary skills!  It’s SO easy and SO satisfying.  We created a super simple caramel-inspired recipe that anyone can master on the first try.  Promise.  Impress your friends with amazing cooking skills you never knew you had!  You’ll be the most popular kid in the book club (or whatever club)!  We won’t tell anyone how easy it was if you won’t…
The recipe instructions are in the text below but check out this video for the step-by-step...

Quick notes:



We highly recommend you use a “Good” sugar!  You know, an organic one that isn’t over processed so you get all the nutrients and enzymes your body needs to digest it well.  For example: coconut palm nectar, evaporated cane juice, honey, brown rice syrup, agave, etc. Keep in mind, depending on the type of sugar you use, it may be more or less sweet.  You can change the quantity of the GRANULATED sugars in the recipe to your liking without affecting the way the dish turns out but be careful with the SYRUPs – they add more liquid.  If you substitute with one of the syrups, we recommend you use ~1 cup of syrup and use ½ c LESS of either cream or milk.

You can use ANY of our delicious caramel chews in this recipe.  Just remember, if you are using a variation with vanilla bean, chocolate, nuts and/or spices, you might want to omit one of those ingredients below.

Now, let’s do this thing!

Ingredients:
1 loaf fresh, soft bread (like brioche or challah) cut into ¾” - 1” cubes
3 Eggs
4 Egg yolks
¾  c. Sugar
3 c. Cream + 2 c. Milk (or 5 c. Whole Milk if you’re skimping on fat)
4 T. Sweet butter (aka unsalted), melted
¾ t. Salt
1 Vanilla Bean Pod, scraped (optional)
1 t. Ground Cinnamon (optional)
10-15 Salty Dog caramel chews cut into quarters
½ c. Chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
½ c. Chocolate chips (optional)
Lots of LOVE (Mom’s secret ingredient; works like magic.)

Equipment:
Small saucepan
Cutting board + knife
Baking sheet(s)
Medium mixing bowl
Large prep bowl
Electric beater or wire whisk
Greased 9x13 Baking Pan

Directions:
Gettings Started..
  1. Preheat oven to 325°.

  2. Spread your bread cubes out in a single layer on one or a couple of baking sheets.

  3. Bake for 15 minutes to dry them out a bit.

  4. Remove from oven and let cool.  Set aside in large prep bowl.

  5. In small saucepan, melt your sweet butter and set aside.

  6. Use small amount of melted butter to grease your baking pan and set aside.

  7. Scrape your Vanilla Bean!  Not sure how?  Watch Sugar demonstrate or just cut it open the long way and fold it out flat.  Then use the back part of your knife to scrape the tiny little “seeds” out and set them aside.  The skin is potent so don’t throw it away!  Add it to a jar or bag of sugar and in no time at all you’ll have yummy Vanilla Sugar.  No vanilla bean pods??  Substitute with 2 t. Vanilla Extract.

  8. Unwrap  your caramel pieces and cut them into smaller pieces by quartering them.  Set aside for later.


Now for the custard! 
  1. Separate  your eggs!  Not sure how??  Check out Sugar's video demonstration or google it!  It’s easy.  You can save the remaining egg whites in the fridge for up to FOUR days to use in other things or just cook with a little salt and pepper for breakfast.

  2. In medium mixing bowl, beat egg, egg yolks and sugar until a little bit frothy, about 1 ½ to 2 minutes.

  3. Add in the cream and milk to your eggs as you mix.

  4. Add vanilla bean (or extract), salt and cinnamon and mix until combined. 

  5. (Just be nice to your custard and don’t over-beat it!)


The final pre-cookin’ steps!
  1. In your large prep bowl, drizzle melted butter over your bread cubes and toss with your hands to get them all good and coated.  You can do this in stages, drizzling a bit then tossing, then drizzling some more, and so on.

  2. Add caramel pieces, nuts and chocolate chips and continue tossing with your hands to coat as well.

  3. Transfer your bread and goodies to your baking pan, making sure the goodies don’t all fall to the bottom of the pan but are evenly dispersed throughout the bread.

  4. Pour your custard evenly over the top of the bread mixture, smooshing it in there nice and good with your hands.  The bread is going to act like a custard sponge so make sure they all soak plenty up!

  5. Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or up to a day).


Cook it up!
  1. When you’re ready to cook it up, take your puddin’ out of the fridge while you preheat your oven to 350° and cook for 30-45 minutes or until it is cooked through (custard should be “set” or not runny) and golden brown on top.

  2. Serve warm!  You can even add a scoop of your favorite ice cream or any dessert sauce if that suits your fancy.

  3. Enjoy!  :)

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COMING SOON! Recipe + Video: Sexy Caramel Bread Puddin'!!

Jun 02 2011 | 0 comments

In the short term, check out our trailer for a taste of what's to come...

Also available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixTCAdasjy8
Or a 15 second clip on Tout: http://www.tout.com/tzh4k9

-Sug

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What's this moustachey-looking thing in my bag of Emperor Norton?

May 22 2011 | 0 comments


To answer that question, first let's talk about The Captain's Secret 'Stache. Captain Sugar Bugs, the mastermind behind our delicious caramels, likes to keep things exciting by whipping up a little special something here and there; something different from our standard offerings.

Two months ago we offered The Mother Lode. We used our lowest-glycemic, most nutritious Bold-Fashioned recipe as the base caramel and topped it with a big dose of raw, organic cocoa nibs. Widely considered to be a superfood, no less! We like to think it's as close to a health food as you'll get in a piece of candy. This caramel has been so popular that we made another tiny batch and still have some in stock (for now).
This past month, we created The Emperor Norton. Like the Emperor, himself, it's pretty nutty! This yummy chew also uses our Bold-Fashioned caramel as the base and is infused with a touch of cinnamon and a lot of raw, California walnuts from a local family farm.
So, in honor of the Captain's Secret 'Stache, we've included a bonus "beerstache" in each and every bag! This is a versatile 'stache that can be attached to the mouth of any bottle (water bottles, beer bottles, soda bottles, etc.) to add a touch of class to every sip, all compliments of yours truly, Captain Sugar Bugs!
Enjoy your 'stache responsibly...

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