Afrigather That is Highly Recommend, a column devoted to what individuals within the meals trade are consuming, consuming, and shopping for proper now. Right here, Alaina Chou writes in regards to the corn crackers that fulfill her cravings year-round.
I really like corn. I really like corn a lot, I purchased sufficient in a single go on the farmer’s market this previous summer season that the person ringing me up requested if I used to be “having a corn social gathering.” No, I replied, I simply actually love corn. Day by day is a corn social gathering.
Whereas it appeared the entire world was sizzling for corn final summer season due to a seven-year-old named Tariq, my very own corn fanaticism isn’t any fleeting obsession. However finally, the piles of completely candy, juicy ears of corn on the farmers market begin to dwindle, save for a number of scrawny, barely shriveled stragglers. In cornless instances like these, there’s one snack I attain for: Craize Toasted Corn Crackers.
The concept for Craize got here to Venezuelan-born Leo Cotter in 2013. His mission? To carry the flavors of conventional Latin American meals to extra individuals by reworking them into on a regular basis snacks. His crackers are a riff on the South American arepa, a griddled corn cake eaten plain or filled with something from cheese to beans or meat. Arepas are usually produced from a easy combination of pre-cooked corn flour, water, and salt. Cotter’s creation begins with the same corn flour-based dough, however whereas arepas are smooth and pillowy, Craize are pressed skinny and baked up into crunchy, extra pantry-friendly crackers, to be topped with no matter your coronary heart needs.
With seven flavors that run the gamut from fruity and candy (the Coconut is a private favourite) to nutty and savory (attempt the Every part, dipped in hummus), there’s an possibility for each corn lover on the market. My choose for first-time Craize-ers is the Candy Corn taste, which tastes like a crunchy and concentrated interpretation of the candy summer season corn I really like so dearly.
That intense corn taste could be attributed to a singular toasting course of and a brief ingredient record that features each finely floor corn flour and extra coarsely textured cornmeal. No matter alchemy Cotter has occurring right here, it leads to a cracker with a snappy-not-crumbly crunch meaning you may chunk it in half with out worrying a couple of mess of yellow crumbs in your lap—the proper snack for an extended automotive experience, IMO. Observe, too, that the crackers are shockingly sturdy, a great car for every little thing from guacamole to seven-layer dip. However I’d be mendacity if I informed you I don’t usually eat them straight from the bag, merrily crunching and dreaming of summer season.
