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EDITOR’S PICKS
JENNA’S FAVORITE BITES AND SIPS OF THE QUARTER
Startup CPG brands' dedication to innovation, taste, and both human and planetary health has been incredible to witness, and only validates our core belief: that emerging CPG brands represent the future of food + beverage. While so many of our brands deserve a spot in your kitchen, these are a few worth checking out
Dripdash Dripdash is the first ready-to-drink Japanese style Kyoto drip coffee. In less non-coffeesnob terms, this means that it was brewed for 16 hours – quite literally one drop at a time. The resulting coffee is ridiculously smooth, balanced, and low-acid. Dripdash has three SKUs of their rich iced coffee: their traditional Kyoto, Oat Milk + Black Sesame, and Oat Milk, Maple + Lavender. My favorite of the bunch was the maple and lavender. Perfectly smooth and creamy oat milk, lightly sweet and warm maple, and floral and fruity lavender come together to make better-than-barista quality coffee in a can. Plus, Dripdash ethically sources their beans and roasts them in the world’s first zero-emissions commercial roaster in small batches.
Already Spaghetti If you’ve ever attempted to prep your own spaghetti squash at home, you understand the struggle. As delicious as the resulting product may be, spaghetti squash is on a mission to break your knife and also give you carpal tunnel, if not simultaneously. The labor expenditure never seems worth it, until you’re reminded of this miracle vegetable that genuinely mimics a top tier pasta shape. Already Spaghetti is a brilliant innovation that takes all of the labor out of the process for you, leaving you with an already spaghetti-ed squash – just the innards sans the seeds in a perfectly compact ring, and all you have to do is heat it through. Already Spaghetti is dedicated to reducing food waste by upcycling spaghetti squash that are typically tossed due to cosmetic scarring. The team even partners with non-profit organizations to provide nutritious spaghetti squash to food insecure areas.
Rooted Fare It’s not often that you come across a brand that completely shifts your standards for home cooking – but Rooted Fare did just that. Rooted Fare makes a variety of authentic Asian sauces that fully shapeshift any meal. Their Roasted Peanut Dan Dan Sauce, made with freshly roasted peanuts and spicy peppers sourced from Sichuan, is jam-packed with warm, spicy, slightly umami flavor that I now refuse to eat any vegetable without. They even bring sweet to the table, with a Black Sesame Crunchy Butter that adds a rich, nutty sweetness and perfect crumbcake-like crunch to anything from ice cream to oatmeal. Best of all, Rooted Fare’s products are all made by immigrant chefs who share profit with the brand – bringing an income and visibility to chefs who selflessly share their culture through ridiculously delicious food. That’s a win-win-win.
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