3 Musketeers Candy Bar

via 3musketeers.com

Do you know how the 3 Musketeers® candy bar got its name?

The 3 Musketeers® Bar takes its name from the original design of the product, which was three pieces and three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. It was first sold that way in 1932 by the Mars candy company. Supposedly, during WWII, due to difficulty in getting vanilla and strawberry flavorings, Mars changed the candy bar to be all one flavor.

How is it made?

The 3 Musketeers® Bar is made of chocolate-flavored nougat covered with milk chocolate. The nougat center is first formed into very large slabs, which are cut to size, and after the centers are formed they are coated with thick, rich milk chocolate, through a process called “enrobing.” The actual enrobing process begins when the centers pass through a continuous curtain of liquid chocolate, which coats the top and sides of the bar. At the same time, a rotating chocolate covered wheel beneath the mesh belt coats the base of the bar. To ensure an attractive, glossy, smooth coating, the chocolate must be just the right temperature. The fully enrobed bar is then cooled and prepared for wrapping.

What is nougat?

Nougat is made by whipping egg whites until they are light and frothy. Sugar syrup is then added, stabilizing the foam and creating “frappe.” A number of other flavoring ingredients are then added to the frappe; each ingredient creates nougat with a different taste.

Raspberry Brie Panini

I love panini. There’s something wonderful in how a plain meat and cheese sandwich can be transformed into a deliciously satisfying experience. I don’t how it happens, but the pressing of the bread, the oozing of the melted cheese, and the mixture of other stuffings all combine to make a special treat that makes my mouth and tummy quite satisfied.

I see this recipe for a raspberry and brie panini and I don’t know if I would find it as satisfying as a meat based sandwich, but it sure is pretty to look at. I want to try one.

I don’t cook, although I do have an unopened panini grill that I received as a present last Christmas. Actually, I had forgotten about it until I started writing this note.

Now I’ve gotten myself so worked up thinking about my love of panini, I want to unbox it tomorrow and give the little appliance a try. It won’t be raspberry and brie, but I may be able to able to cobble together some fat-free swiss cheese, fat-free hot dogs, and the ends of the loaf of bread that I haven’t thrown out yet.

The ingredients don’t matter. The panini process makes anything remarkable. (Or at least, we’ll see.)

The Italian word panino refers to a small bread roll. It is the diminutive form of pane (“bread”). The plural is panini, which when you have it, linguistically justifies eating more than one.

photo and recipe via rockrecipes.blogspot.com