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Muuna Cottage Cheese

Sunday, March 11th, 2018
Photo courtesy of Muuna

Photo courtesy of Muuna

The yogurt industry has gotten saturated. Depending on where you live, you may have access to 50 different brands. That’s why my interested was piqued in accepting an offer to try the three new flavors of Muuna, a cottage cheese brand that launched about 18 months ago.

Here’s the nutritional lowdown: Each 5.3 oz. cup has 120-130 calories, 9 grams of sugar and 15-19 grams of protein, and there are no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. I sampled the fruit-on-the-bottom black cherry, raspberry and vanilla flavors; pineapple, peach, blueberry, strawberry and mango also are available.

The cottage cheese itself is fresh-tasting, mild and creamy, and it’s made from 2% milkfat that comes from a farmer-owned cooperative in the Midwest. Muuna says it has a proprietary process that allows its curds to absorb more cream.

Still, all cottage cheese gets to be too bland for me after a while, so I appreciated the flavorings. The raspberry comes in the form of a puree, and it’s certainly not as sugary as you would find in yogurt.

img_20180311_115126Meanwhile, I liked the actual chunks of fruit in the black cherry version, as it provided a contrast in texture. The vanilla flavor was my surprise favorite, as the right amount was added to make the cottage cheese resemble yogurt in taste. I look forward to trying the mango flavor in the future.

“Backed by extensive research, including a deep-dive into consumer flavor demand in the yogurt category, our in-house R&D team created these new flavors,” Muuna CEO Gerard Meyer said in a statement. “The debut of black cherry and vanilla mark a first in the cottage cheese category, as consumers previously have only seen these flavors available in yogurt.”

By the way, I am really impressed with the amount of cottage cheese-related recipes Muuna has created, including the buffalo dip and the blueberry banana bread scones.

Muuna is currently expanding its availability across the country. The Muuna website lists Walmart as a retailer, but none of the Madison-area stores carry it yet.

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Stillhouse

Sunday, December 18th, 2016

20161211_194404I was first introduced to the Stillhouse brand of whiskey at its tailgate party before a football game this fall. Eager to try more after that experience, I accepted an invitation to sample two bottles.

Stillhouse, which is distilled in Columbia, Tenn., launched in February and comes in original, apple crisp, peach tea, coconut, mint chip and red hot. Wisconsin is one of the first states in which it’s sold, and it generally retails for $27.99.

You have to admit the bottle is really unique. The whiskey comes in a stainless steel red can that resembles an oil can. I have to imagine it’s easier to transport these bottles than glass bottles to, say, a tailgate.

“This is a crafted whiskey in an innovative package, and we will continue to be disruptive in everything we do,” Founder and CEO Brad Beckerman said in a release.

I’ve sampled several other moonshine (clear corn) whiskeys, and most of them too closely resemble rubbing alcohol. Fortunately, Stillhouse’s original version (80 proof) is much more enjoyable. In fact, it’s got a surprising smoothness, and it leans on the sweet side. I drank it neat, on the rocks and in a mixer, so it’s versatile in that regard.

Meanwhile, the red hot whiskey (all flavors are 69 proof) also did not have a harsh bite. The best way to describe it is whiskey with a dash a cinnamon mixed into it. It’s just fine all by itself.

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Here are some recipes from Stillhouse:

Cran Apple Fizz
1 oz. Stillhouse Apple Crisp whiskey
2 oz. cranberry juice
2 oz. soda
Garnish with a lime wheel

Stillhouse Mule
2 oz. Stillhouse Original whiskey
3 oz. ginger beer
4 squeezes of lime
Garnish with a lime wheel

Pineapple Express
2 oz. Stillhouse Coconut whiskey
3 oz. fresh pineapple juice
Garnish with a pineapple wedge

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Underwood wine cans

Sunday, February 21st, 2016

Wine in a can?

After being pleasantly surprised by the single cup wine Copa Di Vino, I had an open mind about Union Wine Co.’s Underwood cans. Each of these 375 ml cans ($24 for a four pack) is the equivalent of half a bottle of wine (two glasses), so even one can be enough for some people.

According to Oregon-based Union Wine Co., the wine in the cans is the same wine found in its bottles. Your choices are pinot gris, rosé and pinot noir.

I did not notice a difference in taste between drinking the wines straight from the cans or from a glass. That’s a good thing, because now you have another way that you can bring your wine anywhere and not worry about breaking a bottle, packing a corkscrew or washing a glass.

The pinot noir is the only one that you don’t need to chill, obviously. On the spectrum of pinot noirs, this one fell right in the middle. It’s not at all dry, and it has a slight hint of chocolate flavor.

I thought the sweetness level of the rosé was perfect. This wine balances dryness with tartness, and I did enjoy notes of strawberry and peach.

For the pinot gris, I could detect the pear but not the peach and grapefruit listed on the can. The carbonation bubbles were prevalent, likely because of the can. Overall the flavor was light and dry.

In Madison, the only place I’ve seen these cans is Steve’s Liquor in Fitchburg. You also can purchase the wine online.

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