Cook's dialogue.

Calcium Stays Intact In Hot Cappuccino

January 12, 1995|By Pat Dailey, Tribune Staff Writer.

Q-I'm trying to increase the amount of calcium in my diet and one strategy has been to have a cappuccino daily. I know that heat destroys some vitamins and I'm wondering if the process of steaming the milk destroys some of the calcium.

- Beth Herderger, Chicago

A-Indeed, some vitamins are destroyed by heat. Calcium, however, is a mineral. According to Connie Weaver, head of the department of Food and Nutrition at Purdue University, no minerals are destroyed by heat so bottoms up on the cappuccinos.

Q-My supermarket has started selling gold potatoes. I've heard that they're very good. Can you tell me if they're dry and mealy, like a baker, or waxy, like a boiling potato?

- Joan Laforte, Munster

A-Yellow-fleshed potatoes are quite old but recently were rediscovered as an apt tuber to grow in colder climates with relatively short growing seasons. The two main varieties are Yellow Finn and Yukon Golds.

Matching the potato with recipe is usually a function of how much starch is contained in the potato. The golds are medium-starch, according to "Potatoes: A Country Garden Cookbook."

Fans of gold potatoes say that they combine the best of both worlds and are suitable for all uses. The flesh is creamy rather than mealy but they bake, roast and mash very well and are excellent in salads.

Q-In 1985, I lived in Sycamore for a year. One of my best memories is of a honey bran muffin that I bought by the dozen when they were available at a bakery called Erik's, which was in the downtown area, right across from the hotel. When we decided to move back to North Carolina, I went to the bakery and requested the recipe but was told that it was a secret. The cashier did tell me that it had crushed pineapple in it. Since then, I have tried every combination I could think of to perfect them but with no luck. If you have a recipe for honey bran muffins I would be ever so grateful if you would share it with me.

- Sandy Bishop, Cary, North Carolina

A-We tried to find Erik's Bakery in Sycamore, only to learn that it had closed for good. Although Elleson's Bakery is located in the same spot, the old recipes aren't part of the new owners' repertoire. Ken Elleson, who owns the bakery along with his father and two brothers, describes Sycamore as a meat and potatoes kind of place, where muffins aren't big sellers.

We flipped through some cookbooks, looking for a muffin that combined the three ingredients you mentioned. Striking out there, too, we ended up in the test kitchen, where we developed the following rendition.


Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Yield: 20 muffins

3 cups bran breakfast cereal, not bran flakes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

6 tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon each: cinnamon, salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup each: honey, vegetable oil

1/4 cup well-drained crushed pineapple

1/2 cup dried currants or raisins

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 20 muffins cups with paper liners or grease the muffin cups.

2. Combine cereal, both flours, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Lightly whisk eggs in another bowl. Add the buttermilk, honey, oil and pineapple. Mix well. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix only to combine. Fold in currants.

3. Divide batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until set, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.


If you have a food question, please send it to Cook's Dialogue, Food Department, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611-4041. We can't answer individual letters or recipe requests, but will print answers of general interest.