Cooking
This year I tried so many delicious things at the Winter Fancy Food Show, it's hard to know where to begin. Let me take you on a brief tour of highlights. Today I'm sharing some delicious international offerings and next week come on back for some of my favorite domestic bites and sips.
Sometimes it's the color of something that catches my eye. I don't think I've ever seen a strawberry jam quite so vibrant as the one at the show from Tunisia. Even though I was trying to limit myself to tasting savory things, I took a spoonful of Stifen's Strawberry Orange Blossom jam and was transported to a field of fruit and flowers. The bright color was matched by the bright flavors. I don't know exactly how they process fruit, I only know they are able to retain the freshest color and flavor.
It was both the color of these conserves and pestos plus the unusual flavors and combinations like asparagus and almond or squash blossom flower that attracted me to Tesori of Siciliy. Each one I tried was stunning. Incredible intense flavors, the essence of saffron, eggplant, almonds and more. The caponata was white, with no tomato, but I have never had a better or more sophisticated version. It was refined and delicate without the heavy sweet sour flavor I'm used to tasting. These sauces to use on bread or pasta are nothing short of spectacular.
Bottarga is Italian salted and dried grey mullet roe, and I appreciate it's briny, salty sea flavor. But I'd never had Greek Trikalinos bottarga, known as avgotaraho before. Imported by the The Rogers Collection, it's soft, less salty, bright apricot in color and rich with flavor. I loved it. I can imagine using it with pasta, salad, on bread. It's flavor is concentrated but has a sweetness as well that tempers the salt. Imagine a chewy thin slice of the clean sweet essence of the sea. It's a luxury product to be sure, but filled with nutrients and so dense that a little goes a long way.
I'm fascinated by the fact that guava can taste so different from one place to another. The color changes too, sometimes it is greenish, then pale or bright pink. This Mexican guava from Guayeco & Co was a dark golden raisin color. But the flavor was not like guava I've tried before. Sweet but with an almost citrus tang with tropical notes. It is available in paste, jam and marmalade and I could see using it on pastries, in sauces, glazes for fish or meat. It was like discovering a new fruit, I'm not even sure I would have realized it was guava. A really excellent product, easily the best guava marmalade I have ever tasted. Needless to say, I will seek out in the future.
There was so much rich luscious cheese at the show, it's hard to single out just one, but I'm going to anyway. The marinated feta from the Yarra Valley Dairy in Australia was one of the mildest, sweetest feta cheeses I have tasted in a long time. Scented with a thyme and garlic infused olive oil, it was creamy and fresh and left a lasting impression. Sometimes something simple and pure is even more impressive than a pungent, blue, triple creme, whatever.
I'm not generally speaking a soda drinker and even the supposedly "dry" styles have disappointed me, but I really liked Bionade, an organic drink from Germany. Made with malt, it is fermented and not very sweet. The malt sugar is not converted to alcohol, but into gluconic acid, which is also found in honey. It's lower in calories than other soft drinks and quite refreshing. The ginger and orange flavor in particular was my favorite. I could see pairing these with food. Flavors included herbs, lychee and elderberry. A very sophisticated and uniquely flavored drink, well worth seeking out if you want something non-alcoholic that is dry enough to enjoy with food.
Over at Bay Area Bites you'll find the products I hope indicate potential trends in the future.
- 10 Delicious Things From The Winter 2015 Fancy Food Show
If I had to make a shopping list based on what I tried at the Winter 2015 Fancy Food Show, here is what I would recommend buying. I thought I knew something about maple syrup, but now after talking to Dori Ross of Tonewood Maple I know so much...
- Coconut & Chili--fancy Food Show Trends 2013
In addition to "chia in everything" two other trends I saw at the Winter 2013 Fancy Food Show were lots of products with coconut and a more sophisticated use of chili. It was impossible to miss the virtual rivers of coconut water at the show. Interestingly,...
- Fancy Food Show Winter 2010 Cool Stuff
There were a number of things I saw at the Winter Fancy Food Show that really intrigued me this year. But tasting something is not the same as cooking with, or trying something in my own home kitchen, so I decided I would put some of the most provocative...
- Fancy Food Show 2004 Top Trends
Every year in January, the National Association of Specialty Food Trade puts on the Fancy Food Show and Confection Show in San Francisco. For those in the trade, it's exciting to see thousands of gourmet products in one place and it's one of...
- Persimmon Bread Recipe
I've never really gotten into making bread. I do it occasionally, but it's not my passion. When I want to bake something I usually don't have much patience so quick breads are more my style. There are lots of great quick breads. Two of my...
Cooking
Highlights from the Winter Fancy Food Show
This year I tried so many delicious things at the Winter Fancy Food Show, it's hard to know where to begin. Let me take you on a brief tour of highlights. Today I'm sharing some delicious international offerings and next week come on back for some of my favorite domestic bites and sips.
Sometimes it's the color of something that catches my eye. I don't think I've ever seen a strawberry jam quite so vibrant as the one at the show from Tunisia. Even though I was trying to limit myself to tasting savory things, I took a spoonful of Stifen's Strawberry Orange Blossom jam and was transported to a field of fruit and flowers. The bright color was matched by the bright flavors. I don't know exactly how they process fruit, I only know they are able to retain the freshest color and flavor.
It was both the color of these conserves and pestos plus the unusual flavors and combinations like asparagus and almond or squash blossom flower that attracted me to Tesori of Siciliy. Each one I tried was stunning. Incredible intense flavors, the essence of saffron, eggplant, almonds and more. The caponata was white, with no tomato, but I have never had a better or more sophisticated version. It was refined and delicate without the heavy sweet sour flavor I'm used to tasting. These sauces to use on bread or pasta are nothing short of spectacular.
Bottarga is Italian salted and dried grey mullet roe, and I appreciate it's briny, salty sea flavor. But I'd never had Greek Trikalinos bottarga, known as avgotaraho before. Imported by the The Rogers Collection, it's soft, less salty, bright apricot in color and rich with flavor. I loved it. I can imagine using it with pasta, salad, on bread. It's flavor is concentrated but has a sweetness as well that tempers the salt. Imagine a chewy thin slice of the clean sweet essence of the sea. It's a luxury product to be sure, but filled with nutrients and so dense that a little goes a long way.
I'm fascinated by the fact that guava can taste so different from one place to another. The color changes too, sometimes it is greenish, then pale or bright pink. This Mexican guava from Guayeco & Co was a dark golden raisin color. But the flavor was not like guava I've tried before. Sweet but with an almost citrus tang with tropical notes. It is available in paste, jam and marmalade and I could see using it on pastries, in sauces, glazes for fish or meat. It was like discovering a new fruit, I'm not even sure I would have realized it was guava. A really excellent product, easily the best guava marmalade I have ever tasted. Needless to say, I will seek out in the future.
There was so much rich luscious cheese at the show, it's hard to single out just one, but I'm going to anyway. The marinated feta from the Yarra Valley Dairy in Australia was one of the mildest, sweetest feta cheeses I have tasted in a long time. Scented with a thyme and garlic infused olive oil, it was creamy and fresh and left a lasting impression. Sometimes something simple and pure is even more impressive than a pungent, blue, triple creme, whatever.
I'm not generally speaking a soda drinker and even the supposedly "dry" styles have disappointed me, but I really liked Bionade, an organic drink from Germany. Made with malt, it is fermented and not very sweet. The malt sugar is not converted to alcohol, but into gluconic acid, which is also found in honey. It's lower in calories than other soft drinks and quite refreshing. The ginger and orange flavor in particular was my favorite. I could see pairing these with food. Flavors included herbs, lychee and elderberry. A very sophisticated and uniquely flavored drink, well worth seeking out if you want something non-alcoholic that is dry enough to enjoy with food.
Over at Bay Area Bites you'll find the products I hope indicate potential trends in the future.
- 10 Delicious Things From The Winter 2015 Fancy Food Show
If I had to make a shopping list based on what I tried at the Winter 2015 Fancy Food Show, here is what I would recommend buying. I thought I knew something about maple syrup, but now after talking to Dori Ross of Tonewood Maple I know so much...
- Coconut & Chili--fancy Food Show Trends 2013
In addition to "chia in everything" two other trends I saw at the Winter 2013 Fancy Food Show were lots of products with coconut and a more sophisticated use of chili. It was impossible to miss the virtual rivers of coconut water at the show. Interestingly,...
- Fancy Food Show Winter 2010 Cool Stuff
There were a number of things I saw at the Winter Fancy Food Show that really intrigued me this year. But tasting something is not the same as cooking with, or trying something in my own home kitchen, so I decided I would put some of the most provocative...
- Fancy Food Show 2004 Top Trends
Every year in January, the National Association of Specialty Food Trade puts on the Fancy Food Show and Confection Show in San Francisco. For those in the trade, it's exciting to see thousands of gourmet products in one place and it's one of...
- Persimmon Bread Recipe
I've never really gotten into making bread. I do it occasionally, but it's not my passion. When I want to bake something I usually don't have much patience so quick breads are more my style. There are lots of great quick breads. Two of my...