I must confess, I love sugar. There is something about it that is amazing. The versatility and various applications. The transformation from a granule to something as perfect as caramel. Sugar is quite amazing.
I am not addicted to sugar. In fact, I am really careful about how much I consume and the quality and source of it. I don't drink soda or eat commercial candy or baked goods. I don't consume any artificial sweeteners. i don't eat high fructose corn syrup. Almost everything that I consume containing sugar has been prepared in my home. From scratch.
The politics and environmental and health issues surrounding the production of sugar on a global scale scares me. I am a big fan of food movement leaders, such as Michael Pollan, and health leaders such as Andrew Weil. Everything we read right now is about how sugar is so bad for you. Well, but it isn't really sugar that everyone is eating in massive, lethal proportions. Is it? Most of the "sugar" being consumed in North America is high fructose corn syrup. It has received a lot of press lately. So I am going to assume that you know what it is.
What we eat should be a personal choice. And by personal, I mean the ability to eat what you want and be informed about it. And there should be choices. It may seem that there are so many choices out there, but with a little research you would discover that the average grocery store carries hundreds of products made by only a few companies. And the industries behind the food dominate what you know about it. I am fortunate to live in the Vancouver area, where fresh food is abundant. But this isn't necessarily true of all parts of Canada and the US.
So back to my confession about sugar. I enjoy a little sweetie every now and then and think that small, good quality indulgences are a good part of life. But I have found it really tough to find such things in stores. There is a good selection of chocolate available but as for other sweets, I have found few organic choices that I enjoy. Even just something that is good quality with few ingredients would be nice.
So I started to make my own confections. An avid baker, I wanted to branch out into something a little different. Marshmallows seemed fun to try and definitely a novelty. Caramel is so easy (I shouldn't tell you that) and so satisfying. And the rest, I hope, will be history.
The goal of Kimberley's Kitchen is to provide confections of the highest quality. With a touch of nostalgia. I endeavour to create treats that contain organic ingredients, are made with love, and eventually are carbon neutral. Because caring about health and the environment shouldn't mean that we sacrifice the little things in life. In fact, we need to make the most of those little things.
