The Jungle Stand Tasting BAR - April 2013

It's time for another Jungle Stand Tasting BAR! (Please see my original Jungle Stand post for all the subscription details.)

This month's theme is 'The Treasure Hunt'. 

Front of the card: Welcome to the Jungle Stand. Ahoy, me adventurous Tasters! We're about to embark on a tresure hunt. There are hidden riches in this BAR. A taste in here is highly prized. It has a flavor known as the 'Diamond of the kitchen'. Instead of a map, use your taste buds to find it! Arrrr...X marks the spot!

Back of the card: Before you are 6 gourmet appetizers. 5 of the 6 are hand-stuffed w/  creamy fillings so you can experience how texture plays a role in tasting. Pay close attention as you sample each taste. Strong, familiar flavors OR subtle strange ones may provide clues to the hidden 'Diamond'. (Spoiler alert: the inside bottom of this BAR has the X that marks the spot) Will any of these tastes change your life?

The tastes:

Green - Red Mini Peppers: These are red peppers (aka Pepperoncinis) cut into small tips & stuffed with cream cheese. The moisture comes from canola oil. The peppers have a soft texture & are mildly spicy, But don't worry, they won't set your tongue on fire. Perfect as an appetizer with crackers.

Yellow - Blue Cheese Olives: Green olives stuffed with zesty bleu cheese. Once you bite into the olive, you'll taste the intense flavor of the bleu cheese. The subtle saltiness and meaty texture of the olive perfectly complements the savory cream filling of the bleu cheese.

Pink - Stuffed Mushrooms: Jumbo mushrooms stored in canola oil and stuffed with a cream cheese/red pepper mixture. The overwhelming flavor is umami. Mushrooms are high on the umami scale. They're rich, savory and meaty which is why they're often used as a stand-in for meat in vegetarian dishes.

Red - Greek Olives: These Greek olives are flavored with a mixture of feta cheese, capers, and canola oil. This taste packs a punch. It's very firm, tart and slightly bitter. Probably the most intense taste in the BAR.

Blue - Pepperballs: Sweet picante peppers (imported from South Africa) stuffed with cream cheese and moistened with canola oil. It's a crunchy pepper, mildly sweet-and-spicy. A gourmet appetizer usually served next to cold cuts and warm baguettes.

Orange - Fungi-Cheese Stuffed Olives: Green Sicilian olives stuffed with a Fungi-flavored cheese. The briny (of salty water or the sea; salty) olive with the earthy cheese really come together to create a delicious appetizer.

Treasure HO!!! The card in the bottom of your box indicates that the Orange taste is the buried treasure in this BAR!

Real name - Black Truffle Cheese-Stuffed Olives: A truffle is a fungi that flourishes with the roots of certain trees. They have a mysterious allure and are quite expensive. Some have sold for as much as $6,000/lb. Part of that is because they're difficult to find, available only at certain times of the year and are notoriously difficult to cultivate. The other reason is there simply is no food that tastes like a truffle. Some have described an 'earthy' flavor while others have found it 'syrupy sweet'.

Truffle, the Diamond of the Kitchen

This subscription is $9.92 per month, charges at the beginning of the month, and ships your BAR via Priority USPS in the middle of the month.

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