It's important to know who your friends are, and on whom you can rely.

In the days leading-up to holiday baking and cooking at your home, as you review recipes and check the pantry for all the necessary ingredients, occasionally a question arises.  The experts at Fleischmann's Yeast, Argo Corn Starch, Kingsford's Corn Starch and Karo Corn Syrup want you to know they're available to help.

Experts with America's leading yeast brand, leading corn starch brands, and leading corn syrup brand are answering calls from home-bakers and home-cooks all over the nation.  The phone calls are free; the brands provide toll-free access.

Questions run the gamut, from
     - How to convert measurements of the ingredients, to
     - How to store the ingredients, to
     - How to adapt recipes to high altitudes, to
     - Differences between the various types of products sold, bearing the same brand

Nowadays, it is fashionable for corporations to export their tech support services (if they offer them at all) to subcontractors.  Many consumers wish it were different.  Calls to the help lines offered by Fleischmann's Yeast, Argo, Kingsford's, and Karo are answered by technical experts who work in the companies which make the products.

Here are the toll-free help lines every home-cook and home-baker should keep within reach:
     Fleischmann’s Yeast:  1-800-777-4959
     Argo Corn Starch and Kingsford’s Corn Starch:  1-866-373-2300
     Karo Corn Syrup:  1-866-430-KARO (5276)

The hours of operation for the toll-free help lines are weekdays 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Central Time.  The help lines are closed on major holidays.

If e-mail is your "cup of tea," you can pose questions to the experts and expect answers within two business days, often faster.  E-mail submission forms are found at:

     www.breadworld.com/ContactUs.aspx  (Fleischmann's Yeast)
     www.argostarch.com/ContactUsHome.aspx

     www.karosyrup.com/ContactUsHome.aspx

All four brands offer answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" on their Web sites.  Actually, you may want to start at the "F.A.Q.s" first, because chances are, the answer to your question is waiting for you on those pages.

     www.breadworld.com/FAQ.aspx  (Fleischmann's Yeast)
     www.argostarch.com/faq.asp

     www.karosyrup.com/faq.asp

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Here are three new recipes.  And the only help you'll need with these three creations is keeping up with the requests for extra helpings!  Karo introduces Holiday Cranberry Glaze for your holiday roast.  From Fleischmann's Yeast comes the recipe for light and fluffy high-fiber dinner-sandwich rolls, called Honey Whole Wheat Rolls.  And Argo Corn Starch (with its sister-brand Kingsford's Corn Starch) offers a recipe for delicious homemade Turkey & Wild Rice Soup.

Cranberries (lesser known as bounceberries for the way ripe ones bounce) are cultivated mainly in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Washington and Oregon, where they are harvested between Labor Day and Halloween.  Cranberries are high in fiber, phytochemicals, and flavonoids (a natural source of antioxidants), and are very high in vitamin C.

In most families -- no holiday banquet is complete without cranberries.

Holiday Cranberry Glaze delivers the tangy, fruity taste of fresh cranberries, while preserving the true shape of the berries.  This recipe balances the cranberry's tartness with the sweet citrus flavor of orange juice concentrate, and the velvety sweet undertones of corn syrup.  It's a sparkling, festive-looking glaze.  During the brief (seven-minute) cooking, the darkest, most-ripened burgundy-colored berries break open and release their dark, aromatic juices into the glaze, while some of the firmer berries stay intact and glisten in the sauce like tiny ruby red ornaments.

Use a portion of the recipe as a glaze for poultry or pork at the end of roasting, and serve the remaining portion as a side dish on the dinner table (serve warm, fresh-off the stove, or serve chilled).  Holiday diners will dollop the glaze onto their plates and commingle it with slices of meat and scoops of dressing.  In the refrigerator, Holiday Cranberry Glaze lasts up to two weeks.  Chilled leftover glaze makes a perfect spread for turkey sandwiches, or get creative!  Mix it with fruit salad, add it to yogurt, use it as a garnish for oatmeal or pancakes, even serve it as a topping over vanilla ice cream!

(Pictured:  Savory roast pork tenderloin adorned with Holiday Cranberry Glaze, served with medley of roasted sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, and new potatoes with parsley flakes and seasoned salt, and garnished with sprigs of sage.)

The USDA's advice to eat more whole grain foods has Americans looking for tasty whole grain breads.  With a full gram of dietary fiber per ounce of bread, Honey Whole Wheat Rolls qualify as a whole grain food.  This recipe produces a whole wheat roll which is light and airy and -- thanks to one-quarter-cup of honey -- a little sweeter.  The secret is blending all-purpose flour in with the whole wheat flour.  In this recipe, the ratio of all purpose to whole wheat flour is 2:1.

Fresh, fluffy Honey Whole Wheat Rolls have a tender crumb, made fluffier and more healthful with a full cup of rolled oats mixed in the dough.  Fresh from the oven, they have a full yeasty aroma.  The reddish-brown crust is paper-thin.  An egg wash atop the rolls doubles to add a gentle luster, as well as to anchor a layer of rolled oats, added for taste and appearance.

Honey Whole Wheat Rolls will be a welcomed addition to your holiday dinner table.  (Consider serving them with honey.)  And, of course, all whole wheat breads have a stronger crumb, which stands-up better to piled-high sandwiches, like those made with holiday dinner leftovers.  Also, Honey Whole Wheat Rolls complement a hearty soup (like the Turkey & Wild Rice Soup pictured, and featured in the next recipe).

In January 2005, the USDA announced a revised "Food Pyramid," which calls for a two-fold increase in Americans' consumption of whole grains.  Whole grains have been elevated to a new separate "encouraged food group."  In advance of this, Fleischmann's Yeast introduced its goodfibes™ program, a recipe-identification program for recipes with no less than 0.8 grams of dietary fiber per ounce of bread.

Honey Whole Wheat Rolls is a Fleischmann's Yeast goodfibes™ recipe.  For nearly 100 more goodfibes™ recipes, visit http://www.breadworld.com/recipes/goodfibeshome.asp

Preceding the holiday gatherings, or when the excitement of the holiday is behind you, and the nights are cold and dark, few things are more comforting that a tall pot on the stove, simmering with fresh homemade soup.  Throw another log on the fire, and get ready for a big bowl of steaming-hot and hearty Turkey & Wild Rice Soup.

The featured ingredient of this soup, with its luxurious nutty flavor and chewy texture, is long grain wild rice, which, according to the Food Lover's Companion, isn't really rice at all.  Instead, it's a long-grain marsh grass native to the northern Great Lakes area.  Long grain wild rice has a distinctive taste and a wonderful texture.  Its "grains" are well-defined and somewhat chewy, compared to standard rices, which tend to be more fluffy and can cook-together.  Long grain wild rice also has a distinctive appearance, as many of the "grains" are long and straight, while some twist into tight curls.

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup starts with a base of white wine and corn starch and eight cups of turkey broth.  The corn starch gives the soup a clear, creamy, consistency -- almost like a thin gravy.  Corn starch also helps the soup hold-in the warmth.  Sautéed chopped onions, carrots and celery are added, with hearty herbs like thyme and sage.  The long grain wild rice slow-cooks in the soup, to take-on maximum flavor.  Finally, big cubes of juicy turkey meat go in, giving them about 10 to 15 minutes to meld with the hearty flavors of this terrific soup.

This recipe offers a crock-pot variation, as well as instructions on how to make your own homemade turkey broth, when turkey parts are available after a big holiday meal.  Fresh, homemade turkey broth makes possible an even tastier, fresher, and more completely homemade Turkey & Wild Rice Soup.

Be warned.  Once you and your loved ones taste this soup, it could turn into an annual tradition.

Turkey & Wild Rice Soup goes great with hearty whole wheat rolls (like the Honey Whole Wheat Rolls pictured, and featured in the previous recipe).

Fleischmann's Yeast was founded in 1868.  Today, Fleischmann's Yeast enjoys the leading market share in the yeast category in U.S. supermarkets.  Fleischmann's Yeast sells Fresh Active Yeast, Active Dry Yeast, RapidRise Yeast, Bread Machine Yeast, and a line of Bread Machine Mixes.  Fleischmann's Yeast's Web site, www.breadworld.com, offers baking tips and more than 500 recipes, most with full-color professional photographs.  Fleischmann's Yeast is a member of the ACH Food Companies, Inc. family of grocery products.

Argo Corn Starch was founded in 1892.  Its sister-brand, Kingsford's Corn Starch, which is sold primarily in California and Utah, was founded in 1846.  The Web site for Argo and Kingsford's, www.argostarch.com, offers baking and cooking tips and hundreds of recipes, many with full-color professional photographs.  Argo and Kingsford's are members of the ACH Food Companies, Inc. family of grocery products.

Karo Corn Syrup was founded in 1902.  Today, Karo enjoys the leading market share in the corn syrup category in U.S. supermarkets.  Karo sells Light Corn Syrup, Dark Corn Syrup, Pancake Syrup, and Corn Syrup with Real Brown Sugar.  Karo's Web site, www.karosyrup.com, offers baking and cooking tips and hundreds of recipes, many with full-color professional photographs.  Karo is a member of the ACH Food Companies, Inc. family of grocery products.

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