5 Projects I Want to Back on Kickstarter

Workhorse Rye coffee bitters, perfect for a cocktail or even just a glass of sparkling water

The first campaign I saw that I wanted to back made perfect sense. Workhorse Rye is from two guys from San Francisco who are distilling a new blend of bitters and whiskeys, collaborating with one of my favorite local coffee companies: Four Barrel Coffee. I looked through the options to back the campaign and pondered what level to commit to. Coffee bitters and a limited release of a pumpkin bitter both tempted me at a modest backing amount. Before I committed I started wondering what else is out there?

WEDO Banana Flour. What will they think of next?

Next I found WEDO banana flour. Gluten free banana flour? It's like I'm in space and astronauts are making flour while floating in zero gravity. How exactly do they do it? From the website: "Making banana flour is simply gathering unripe green bananas before the sugar content has fully developed and peeling, slicing, drying, grinding and packaging." They also write that since it has a higher starch content you can use 30% less of the flour in your cooking projects. They suggest putting it into your smoothies or sauces to make them thicker. I wonder what it tastes like but WEDO states that green bananas have no flavor. Fascinating! I think it might behave like tapioca flour, which I have dabbled with, it makes breads more airy and cake-like. Who's with me?

I buy a new bottle of Sriracha, or as many devotees call it, rooster sauce, about once every 9 months. It's a confirmed weakness. Wikipedia notes that the sauce is named after the coastal city of Si Racha, in the Chonburi Province of Eastern Thailand. I'm not sure where the extra R came from. When I heard that the factory was being forced to halt production, I began to wonder what exactly I was buying. Turns out the sauce includes potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfate, two common preservatives in processed foods, which are deemed safe, but do are we sure? (I wonder what Michael Pollen would say.) Kickstarter, home to dozens of hot sauce hopefuls, was just the place to look for a replacement. Welcome SOSU barrel aged sriracha, from San Francisco sauce lovers. In fact SOSU's first successful sauce was a hybrid sriracha ketchup mastermind. This campaign has already met its initial goal, and is now going for its stretch goal. Seems like a slam dunk to me.

Keen nut butter from Ireland.

Nut butters are an ongoing dilemma. I love them and I love to buy them. They're also expensive and high in calories. But cost and calorie be damned. I bring you Keen, an Irish-based purveyor who is looking to enter their product into the Great Taste Awards in the UK. Their list of nut butter styles is vast and impressive. If I decide to back it the biggest problem will be which one to choose. Here's just a few that caught my eye: hazelnut dark chocolate, three-nut (Almond, Hazelnut & Cashew), almond espresso, and pecan maple. This Kickstarter campaign wraps up soon so hop to it.

A label from Alchemy Vinegars, adorable and old timey.

My dense spice cabinet is also a treasure trove of vinegars. I have rice wine vinegar, red wine, white balsamic, and vanilla rooibos kombucha vinegar. When I saw that Kickstarter Alchemy Vinegar Works was producing their own raw vinegars, full of health benefits, and great in salad dressings and sauces, I was intrigued. The founder, Mike Brown, took something being dumped into the ground, spoiled wine, fermented it, and created a product from someone else's waste. Smart man yeah? The two flavors I want to try are black rum maple and harvest tomato vinegar.

Well, that's the roundup. The best part of backing a Kickstarter campaign is forgetting you did, and then receiving a package in the mail. Now, where's my credit card?