Tag: instant coffee

Apricot-Espresso Glazed Roast Pork Loin

Posted on by Sara Walker

Now you always hear about cacao used for savory food, but coffee a little less so. It’s most commonly known as a meat tenderizer. We found a recipe using it for roast pork though and as it’s coming up to the weekend, why not try? Personally I don’t eat pork, but I have a feeling it might work well for chicken too. It’s definitively a flavour I have not tried previously.

One might scoff at the freeze dried instant coffee if one is food connoisseur enough, but the only other option (unless you want freshly ground coffee beans in the actual glaze) would be to cook the apricots with coffee when making the jam and somehow we believe the instant coffee will do just fine. After all we sell it. It’s easy to use and has it own unique flavour that some actually prefer.

So fresh roasted coffee beans aside, we are looking forward to try this recipe. Let us know what you think!

Ingredients

  • 1 3-pound boneless pork loin, trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup apricot preserves
  • 2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet with foil.
  2. Tie kitchen string around pork in two or three places so it doesn’t flatten while roasting. Rub oil, salt and pepper all over the pork. Place the pork in the prepared pan.
  3. Roast pork, turning once, for 30 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, combine apricot preserves, espresso powder, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic and cloves in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.
  5. After the pork has cooked for 30 minutes, brush all over with 1/2 cup of the glaze. (Leave the remaining glaze in the pan.) Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the meat registers 140°F, 20 to 40 minutes more. Transfer the pork to a clean cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, add broth to the remaining glaze in the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove the string and slice the pork. Serve with the sauce.

The history of instant coffee

Posted on by Sara Walker

instant coffeeInstant coffee – coffee granules soluble in water – has been around since the early 19th century. The first commercially successfully process for making a powdered product was developed by chemist George Constant Washington, and his product hit the shelves in America as ‘Red E Coffee’. His process was patented, but the taste of the instant coffee still left a lot to be desired when compared to the real thing made from freshly-roasted coffee beans. In the 1930s, the Brazilian coffee industry, then the world’s top coffee producer, became interested in developing instant coffee as a way of preserving their excess crops. Various companies began to experiment with liquid coffee extract, but the Swiss company Nestlé, who was at the forefront instant coffee research, launched its iconic powdered coffee product Nescafé in 1938. Instant coffee became enormously popular during the Second World War as a convenient and long lasting product, which could be made anywhere without the need for a coffee machine. In one year, the U.S. military bought more than one million cases of Nescafé, which represented a whole year’s output for the company.

Although the original instant coffee contained equal portions of soluble carbohydrate and coffee, the process was being enhanced all the time and in 1963 Maxwell House launched a freeze-drying process which came to dominate the market, giving a taste more comparable to fresh coffee.

Other milestones in instant coffee’s history include the launch of Nestlé’s famous brown tin in 1961, which in 1971 gave way to the clear glass jar still in use today. In 1986, the Nestlé also became the first company to launch a decaffeinated instant coffee.

Although modern manufacturing methods have greatly improved the taste and solubility of instant granules, the freeze-drying process means that fresh coffee will always have the edge for aroma and complexity of taste. However, the convenience factor that made instant coffee so popular during the war means that it continues to thrive in a modern market.