Thursday, March 28, 2013

WHAT IS MEANS TO BE PAS YISROEL

What it Means to Be Pas Yisroel
Davidovich Bagels are more than just Certified Kosher

Pas Yisroel or Pat Yisrael (Hebrew: "Bread of an Israelite") products are grain products, such as bagels that were cooked or baked with the participation of an "observant" Jew.  This must be, at minimum, the ignition of the flame used to prepare, cook, or bake the grain product.  In classical Rabbinical Judaism, this requirement is considered restricted to five classical grains of Judaism-these are wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye.  In modern food production, commercial bakeries may accomplish a status of Pas Yisroel by using something called the "Shain System", named for it's inventor Rabbi Yehuda Shain, whereby an apparatus can be ignited remotely by an observant Jew.   For more information on this and other Bakery Historical Facts visit www.allnp.com


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The History of The Bagel

The History of The Bagel

A bagel is a round bread, with a hole in the middle made of simple ingredients:  high-gluten flour, yeast, salt, water, and malt.  Its dough is boiled, then baked, and the result should be a rich caramel color.  It should not be pale and blond.  A bagel should weigh five ounces or less and should make a slight crackling sound when you bite into it.  A bagel should be eaten warm and, ideally, should be no more than four to five hours old when consumed.  All else is not a bagel.

The bagel’s birthplace is considered to be Poland.  A story popular in the United States is that the first bagel was produced as a tribute to Jan Sobieski, 17th Century King of Poland, after he saved Austria from Turkish invaders at the battle of Vienna in 1683.  According to Maria Balinska, the author of “The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread” (Yale University Press) it is just that-a story.

The first known reference to the bagel among Jews in Poland, according to Balinska, precedes the Battle of Vienna by seven decades.  It is found, she says, in regulations issued in Yiddish in 1610 by the Jewish Council of Krakow outlining how much Jewish households were permitted to spend in celebrating the circumcision of a baby boy- “to avoid making Gentile neighbors envious, and also to make sure poorer Jews weren’t living above their means.” 

Eastern European immigrants arriving in the United States at the turn of the 20th century brought the bagel with them to the streets of the Lower East Side.  The rise of the bagel in New York in inextricably tied to that of the trade unions, specifically Bagel Bakers Local 338, a federation of nearly 300 bagel craftsmen formed in NYC in the early 1900s.

Local 338 was, by all accounts, a tough and unswerving union.  It was set up according to strict rules that limited new membership to the sons of current members.  By 1915, it controlled 36 bagel bakeries in New York and New Jersey.  These bakeries produced the original New York Bagels, the standard against which all others are still, in some manner judged.

What did they look like?  They were a mere three ounces.  They were smaller and denser than their modern descendants with a crustier exterior and chewier interior.   They were made entirely by hand.

Local 338 held its ironclad grip on the bagel market for nearly half a century, until industrial bagel-making machines were introduced into the market in the early 1960s.  The introduction of the bagel machines meant any retailer or bakery owner could make their own bagels with non-union help.



Thursday, March 7, 2013

Avoid Bakery Goods That Use Bromated Flour!

Avoid Bakery Goods That Use Bromated Flour!

Davidovich Bakery prides itself on the fact that it uses flour in the baking process for its world famous Davidovich Bagels that is designated as "unbromated".  This isn't simply a matter of using ingredients that the company deems conducive to the formulation of the best tasting, Artisan products on the market.   It is also a reflection of All Natural Products' commitment to never using products that the company believes poses any type of health risk to the public whatsoever.  Using this criteria, bromated flour is among the top ingredients the company has chosen to voluntarily ban.

Most consumers don't have a good understanding of what bromated flour is, why bakeries use it, and whether or not their baked good contain it.   Here is a simple summary:

Bromated Flour is flour that contains the chemical agent, potassium bromate.  This chemical is widely used in commercial baking to strengthen dough and promote rising.  Most brands of flour sold in supermarkets for home use also still contain potassium bromate despite the fact that studies dating back to the 1980's found that the chemical causes several types of cancer in laboratory rats.  The International Agency for Research on Cancer considers potassium bromate to be "possibly carcinogenic to humans".  The Center for Science in The Public Interest conducted tests going back to 1992 and 1998 which found levels of potassium bromate in numbers of baked goods which would be considered unsafe by the FDA.  

Bromated Flour is banned by a number of governments including The European Union, Canada, Brazil, Peru, and China.  In the U.S., the   has only recommended that bakers voluntarily cease using the carcinogen but many have not.  Aside from some initiatives in California there is no requirement commercial bakeries bring attention to the use of flour containing potassium bromate.  Only forward thinking bakeries have voluntarily ceased using flour containing this agent.  Davidovich Bakery is an example of a company which has never used flour containing potassium bromate for its world famous Davidovich Bagels despite the fact that the cost of such flour exceeds that of its chemically treated alternatives.  So this leaves the health conscious consumer with the burden to specifically identify companies like Davidovich Bakery that advertise their products as using unbromated flour.  It should never be presumed that simply because a companies baked good are advertised as "healthful" that their staple ingredient doesn't contain potassium bromate-"Let the Buyer Beware".




Tuesday, March 5, 2013

2013 Leadership Award Nominee: Marc Fintz, All Natural Products


2013 Leadership Award Nominee: Marc Fintz, All Natural Products

Date: 03/01/13 | Source: Member News | Author: Hannah O'Donnell
Categories: MembershipEvents | Tags: CitizenshipLeadershipPhilanthropySocial Issue
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Award Nominee Category: Citizenship
Marc Fintz has nearly 20 years of experience in business, franchise and compliance consulting. He joined All Natural Products in August 2011 as the Director of Business Development. He has since helped All Natural Products expand and increase customer satisfaction with his diverse skill set and marketing savvy.
Fintz’s personal mission has been the eradication of hunger in his community. He created and implemented the Davidovich “Feed the Hungry” program which has generated in-kind donations of food products to The Food Bank of NYC, City Harvest and numerous religious charitable organizations. Fintz has leveraged the All Natural Products brand to raise awareness for hunger in Long Island through correspondence with Long Island Harvest and was the first to donate free food from the company to any parties impacted by Super Storm Sandy. His unwavering commitment to ending hunger continues to inspire the staff at All Natural Products every day.
(reprinted from: http://www.specialtyfood.com/news-trends/featured-articles/article/2013-leadership-award-nominee-marc-fintz-all-natural-products/#article-comments )


Sunday, March 3, 2013

Davidovich Bakery Launches It's Gluten Free Line


ALL NATURAL PRODUCTS DAVIDOVICH BAKERY PRESENTS
It’s Gluten Free Product Line

Davidovich Bakery is proud to introduce its extensive line of gluten-free bread products, to be showcased for the first time at the 2013 International Restaurant Food Service Show on March 3, 2013 including
    Artisan Breads
    Sandwich Breads
    Raisin Breads
    Dinner Rolls
    Hamburger
    Hot Dog Buns
    Baguettes
    Special Order Products

The product line is ever growing to fit clients’ special needs.  Our Gluten free breads use the finest ingredients and are the best tasting Gluten Free Products in the marketplace.
Why Has Gluten-Free Suddenly Become So Popular?
 With recent increases in people being diagnosed with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, the idea of a gluten-free diet has been recently researched by physicians from all sides of the nutritional spectrum, including weight loss specialists, bariatric physicians, and dietitians.
 A gluten-free diet can have a variety of health benefits, such as improving cholesterol levels, promoting digestive health, and increasing energy levels, if you have a Gluten intolerance.
If you would like more information about our Gluten Free products, or any of our gourmet, Artisan products, including the world famous Davidovich Bagels, featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, The NY Daily News, The Village Voice, and on The History Channel, ABC News, 30 Rock, The Jon Stewart Show and more, please contact Marc Fintz at (212)391-2870 Ext 113 or marc@allnp.com