Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 12, 1993 TAG: 9301120250
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Toni Burks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
PICK OFF THE DRAGEES AND EAT THE COOKIES
Silver balls: lovely to look at but not to eat.That's the culinary puzzle behind the BB-size decorations known as silver dragees, which have brightened the eyes of gingerbread men for years - and have been eaten at countless holiday parties.
But dragees (pronounced drah-ZHAYS) actually are non-edible, because they contain small amounts of silver.
Packages of the dragees note that they are non-edible and should be used only for decoration - meaning that you should pick off the balls before biting into cookies and cakes.
But that warning hasn't satisfied state officials in California and Colorado, who have pressured distributors - including Sparks, Md.-based McCormick & Co. Inc. - to pull dragees from grocery shelves.
Most ingredients of the balls - which include cornstarch, gelatin and acetic acid - cause no concern. But the dragees' small amount of silver, which provides color and luster, has set off alarms.
Each dragee contains 23 parts of silver per million - the equivalent of 23 tissues in a stack of tissues about the height of the Empire State Building, said Allen M. Barrett Jr., a spokesman for McCormick. The spice-and-flavoring company sells the decorations under the Cake Mate brand.
In early 1991, McCormick and the two other dragee distributors - Specialty Brands of San Francisco and Pioneer Products Inc. of Ocala, Fla. - pulled these silver balls from California grocery shelves after state officials sued the companies because the silver content exceeded permissible state levels. Last month, the companies, under pressure from Colorado officials, agreed to stop selling there.
In the wake of the California action, McCormick and the other companies changed the labels of the dragees to more plainly show that they were not meant to be eaten. The words "non-edible" and "Use only as a decoration" now appear on labels; previously, the labels did not include the word "non-edible."
Still, you are more likely to break a tooth on the rocklike balls than to be poisoned.
Dragees are listed on a national poison reference as being non-toxic and should trigger no harmful effects - unless eaten in huge amounts, said Dr. Carla M. Goetz, assistant director of the Maryland Poison Center. "If one or two of these are eaten, there should be no problem."
One last note: McCormick, which sells about $500,000 in dragees annually, is working on a substitute for the silver. It hopes to begin selling edible dragees by the 1993 holiday season. - The Baltimore Sun
\ REAL TV DINNERS In Japan, 20 companies make a remote control device that can run not only your TV but all kinds of appliance - such as a microwave. - Los Angeles Times
\ FOOD FEST The first Pennsylvania Dutch Food Festival is planned for Feb. 15-20 throughout Lancaster County.
Visitors will have an opportunity to see the farms that grow the food, tour the facilities that produce it, visit the markets that sell it, and eat at the restaurants and inns that prepare it. Scheduled events include a chicken pot pie cook-off, a tour of bed and breakfast inns, cooking demonstrations and soft pretzel making and sampling.
Throughout the week, a "Save Lancaster County Farmland" Amish Taste-Fest will be held at the Country Market at Intercourse. Visitors will be able to taste an array of Amish foods including whoopie pies, grape mush, homemade root beer, banana pickles and traditional Amish wedding foods.
For a free map and visitor's guide to Pennsylvania Dutch Country and information on the food festival, write Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau, Department 2237, 501 Greenfield Road, Lancaster, Pa. 17601. - Associated Press
\ COMBO COOKING You can't top these quick-and-easy biscuits, because they top themselves!
A glistening pineapple glaze forms during baking, just like on an upside-down cake. Because you start with refrigerated biscuits, you only need one baking dish. In it, you can heat the glaze in the microwave oven, then bake the biscuits in the conventional oven. Serve them warm for breakfast, brunch, dessert or a coffee-time snack. Pineapple upside-down biscuits 2 Tbsps. margarine or butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 8 1\4 -oz. can pineapple slices, drained, or 1 13 1/2-oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 can of 10 refrigerated biscuits
In microwave-safe 8x1 1/2-in. round baking dish, cook margarine or butter, uncovered, on high (100 percent power) for 40 to 50 seconds or until melted. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and cinnamon; stir until sugar is dissolved. Arrange drained pineapple slices or tidbits in the dish. Separate biscuits and arrange them in a single layer over pineapple. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown. Carefully invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm. - Associated Press
\ HELP!!! DEAR SOS: By unanimous opinion, banana split pie is the best pie anyone in our family has ever eaten. Please try to get the recipe. - DOROTHY
DEAR DOROTHY: The pie is quite a show. Here's the recipe. Banana split pie 1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Vanilla custard
baked 9-in. pie shell
1 large ripe banana, sliced
1 8-oz. can pineapple chunks, sliced in halves and well drained
1 8-in. round white cake layer, 1/2-in. thick
3 ounces almonds, diced and toasted
Whole strawberries
Combine 1/2 cup of the whipping cream and chocolate chips in small saucepan. Gently heat over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool completely. Pour 1 cup of the vanilla custard into pie shell. Arrange banana slices in layer over custard. Spread 1/2 cup of the custard on bananas. Arrange pineapple over custard. Spread with remaining 1/2 cup custard. Gently place cake layer on custard. Spread cooled chocolate mixture over cake slices. Top with diced almonds. Whip remaining cream. Fill pastry bag with whipped cream and pipe rosettes around and on center of pie. Garnish each rosette with whole strawberry. Makes 8 servings.
Vanilla custard: Whisk 2 eggs in top of double boiler. Whisk in 2 Tbsps. cornstarch,\ cup sugar and [ tsp. salt until blended. Slowly stir 1 1/2 cups scalded milk into egg mixture. Place over simmering water that does not touch top pan and cook, stirring constantly, until custard coats a metal spoon. Immediately remove from heat. Cool immediately by pouring custard into a cold bowl or by setting the pan in a bowl of ice water. Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla. Cover and chill. Makes 2 cups. - Los Angeles Times