Sweet baked goods

HPC stocks several breads from Organic Mills of Eagan, Minnesota. They make an excellent Bavarian Rye with the authentic slightly sharp rye taste. Try also their cinnamon swirl and sourdough varieties. It’s easy to miss HPC’s bread shelves because they’re opposite where you queue to pay for your items. People may be blocking your view of the bread. Also, there’s a second side to the bread shelves, so be sure to check both.

There’s no shortage of bread choices at the co-op. On my last visit, I had my choice of hemp, rye with sunflower, spelt, rye with flax, sunflower wheat, sprouted sesame, cinnamon raisin, four kinds of sourdough, multigrain, Mediterranean white, walnut wheat, teff-barley, and green olive, as well as baguettes, organic hotdog buns, petit pain, and ciabatta. And you’ll find gluten-free breads in the freezer, too.

--By Karen Kloser

Another holiday season is upon us and so is the temptation of all the sweets made with refined sugar. Besides the high calories and lack of nutrients, refined sugar contributes to a range of side effects from mood swings and insomnia to headaches and weight gain. Hampden Park Co-op has several healthier sugar alternatives available (including Stevia, which is not covered in this article) to fulfill our sweet tooth urges.

Sucanat™

Sucanat™ is the abbreviated word for “sugar cane natural.” The sugar cane is processed much like refined sugar, but after heating, the juice is left to evaporate into grainy crystals. These crystals have the distinctive, strong flavor of molasses. One source says Sucanat™ is a good substitute for brown sugar and “anything that calls for sugar.” Another says, “it can be difficult to bake with, because it behaves very differently from more processed forms of sugar.” It’s less sweet and its grainy texture comes through in baked goods. Also, its molasses-like taste competes with intense flavors like citrus and chocolate. In general, it does not replace refined sugar cup-for-cup in a recipe.

—by Katharine Holden

Tapioca is a starchy ingredient derived from dried cassava (or manioc) roots. It’s tasteless on its own. HPC offers both the tapioca “pearls” and the granulated form. The best known use of the pearls in the United States is to simmer them in a sweetened milk base for tapioca pudding. You can make tapioca pudding from granulated tapioca, too. But the granulated form is most often used as an add-in to thicken soups and broths; or it can be reconstituted, formed into strips, and fried. In addition to pearls and granulated tapioca in the bulk spice aisle, feel free to check the dairy cooler for tapioca flour/starch, which is a gluten-free flour alternative.