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Photo courtesy of www.FoodGal.com

In my life as a walking, talking, professional tastebud, I have been honored to serve as a judge for various items from tomatoes to — wait for it — water (Swear to God. H2O). This time it was chicken. All six recipes in the Foster Farms West Coast Chicken Contest had their strong points, especially the winning Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breasts. But I was perhaps most happy to see a multi-culti take on America’s favorite protein: Chinese-style Sesame Chicken with a chili dipping sauce. Nice nod to the West Coast’s Asian population. Find the recipe and more information on the Foster Farms website.

I love Swiss chocolate — love, love, love — but it’s rare that while rolling it around my tongue, making pacts with the devil over “just one more piece” I wonder about how the Swiss actually came to possess chocolate as the national confection (no cocoa trees in the Alps.)

Turns out chocolate isn’t the only thing given to the world by Latino culture. “When Worlds Collide,” premiering on PBS Monday (Sept. 27) at 9pm, explores the transfer of culture that took place during the century after the “Old World” encountered the New. As to be expected, much of the communication was achieved through food.

“It was probably the most important transfer of foods in world history,” says James Amelang, a historian at the Autonomous University of Madrid. “Think of Italy without tomato sauce, Spain without gazpacho, Switzerland without its chocolate, and France — and everyone else — without its French fries.”

Sounds like a terrible world to me.

What, you don’t like apples and honey?

Relax, Bubbe. Sometimes even tradition needs a facelift. Enter “Chozen” – as in, the people — a line of artisanal ice creams based on traditional desserts of the Jewish holidays. The newest flavor, Apples and Honey, swirls honey and hints of apple through vanilla ice cream to update the Rosh Hashanah custom of honey-dipped apples. Launched just three months ago, the line also offers Ronne’s Rugelach (cinnamon ice cream with homemade rugelach), Matzoh Crunch (vanilla ice cream speckled with matzoh brittle), Chocolate Babka (with chunks of cake so delicious that Seinfeld’s Elaine fought an old woman for it), and Coconut Macaroon, which, I believe is self-explanatory.

And only a schlemiel would need to ask. Of course they’re kosher.

Available online at IceCreamSource.com.