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Sciabica's Oil of the Olive at Ferry Building Marketplace

Fancy Food Tease

Some of you may remember when I attended last year's. I will be at the Winter Fancy Food Show today; here's a video of the big Summer Fancy Food Show held in New York every year:

Watch this spot...

Great Glass Pumpkin Patch

Glass Pumpkins by Peter Vizzusi

I know I promised that this post would be related to my previous post, but I just visited the 14^th Annual Great Glass Pumpkin Patch at the Palo Alto Art Center and I can’t contain myself. I promise to reveal the identity of the rough-textured photograph of my previous post as soon as possible.

Every year glass blowers of the Bay Area Glass Institute  showcase their glass pumpkin art. Peter Vizzusi featured a patch of  iridescent beauties:

I always enjoy seeing the traditional pumpkins, like this one by Shannon Morgan at Girl Glass:

I think this very large clear pumpkin, by Truck Dog Glass, transported Cinderella to the ball:

These earth-toned pumpkins look at home as the autumn leaves fall between them:

This fist-sized black and gold one created a buzz of excitement:

This is the first time I saw pumpkins fashioned into teapots. I especially like this one by Ken and Ingrid Hanson:

If you are in the vicinity of Palo Alto, CA it is worthwhile to visit the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch:

Exhibition runs through Friday. The pumpkins go on sale this weekend (rain or shine).

Even More Fancy Food Show – Winter 2009

Photo from Bottled Water Store

This is the final installment of the Fancy Food Show miniseries.

Most Beautiful

I already told you about the beautiful California Wine Wafers; here are some other beautiful products.

Hannah’s Delights displays their goods in the same corner of the convention hall every year. I can always count on seeing their spectacular display of hand-pulled hard candy along with their collection of Sofi Awards. It’s heartwarming to see a company keep this lost art alive.

I wish I remember which booth Jodi and I saw the most beautiful pita bread ever. The vendor of this booth told us that they unleashed a couple of florists with their products and they came up with the creative idea of making roses from pita bread.

Photo by Jodi

Stephanie found some gorgeous macaroons from Cocola Bakery from nearby Redwood City, CA:

Photo by Stephanie

Photo by Stephanie

We all howled when we read the label of this pasta:

Before there are any ruffled feathers, I just want to go on record that I adore my mother-in-law.


New Unusual Products

Obama Cookies Since it was two days before the inauguration, our favorite, most apropos, new product is the Obama-Biden bag of cookies by Parker’s Crazy Cookies. We all promised to bring our bag to Dakota Angel’s inauguration breakfast, but I’m not sure any of us remembered.

Parker will custom-make a cookie based on any photograph and he also offers a line of holiday, celebration and university cookies. Can sports cookies be far behind?

Spice Rub Sheets or Seasoning Blends? There was one product line that truly divided us. None of use can remember the product or vendor name, but it might have been Flavor Magic.

Photo from flavormagic.net

When I sent out an e-mail to my co-reviewer saying that I thought it was the worst product of the show, I had a mini revolution on my hands. This product offers various spice blends fused to sheets of plastic. You then place your moistened meat, fish, or poultry on a sheet, cover, and then let it marinate. The seasonings will fully transfer within 30 minutes to two hours and then you can throw away the plastic and cook as usual. Many of us thought it was a clever convenience because everyone can choose a flavor and it is a very tidy means to apply a rub.

I personally object to the use of throwaway plastic when there are lots of delicious ready-made spice rubs on the market that you just shake out of a glass jar. Lesley Elizabeth makes over thirty blends of spices (my favorite was the Mango Fruit Salsa – just add fresh mango cubes).

Edith Schneider likes to blend her own spices thus she was not interested in either product.

Qzina Pastry Spoons Dakota Angel and Edith discovered Qzina’s pastry shells shaped like spoons that were neutral in flavor so that you can serve either savory appetizers or sweet desserts in them.

Photo by pastrypost.com

San Gennaro Cheese Grits Linda enjoyed some Southern style cheese grits patties by San Gennaro Foods
.

Photo from polenta.net

Minglirs Stir Sticks

I was grateful that Minglirs handed out samples to try at home. My mother and I tried a hazelnut-flavored stir stick in our coffee this morning and we were amazed how much flavor was imparted and how good it tasted! They also offer caramel and vanilla flavors for coffee and cinnamon, peppermint, and raspberry for cocoa. I personally would like to try the cinnamon in coffee. This is a great travel product – no liquids involved.

Photo by Minglirs

Minglirs uses birch wood and also offers seasoned skewers, flavored grilling planks. Beverages We each had our favorite beverage products.

Rishi Tea

Photo by Stephanie

Stephanie was delighted by “the great variety of teas offered by Rishi Tea from Wisconsin, of all places. The owner sources all his teas directly from small growers in Japan, China and India. They had an incredible variety of green and black teas, plus rooibos ‘red tea’, which is caffeine-free, and Japanese genmai chai with roasted rice.”

Photo by Stephanie

Drinkable Vinegar Dakota Angel’s favorite beverage was a drinkable vinegar drink from South Korea. She didn't get the vendor name, but it might have been this.

Photo from Asia Food Journal

It is recommended that you drink this with a straw because vinegar is not kind to your tooth enamel.

Aquadeco

Linda, my favorite water snob friend, loved a Canadian water product in a gorgeous 8 oz. art deco bottle, see top photo, by the aptly named Aquadeco. She recalled, “The package was wonderful, but a bit overdone on the plastic/non biodegradable topic for only 8 oz. Someone returned the sample in protest of same and told the rep that the company should be ashamed of itself. I agree, but the water was good.”

Their website says that their plastic bottle is recyclable and that they do offer a 750 ml. glass bottle. My research tells me that the bottle is blown in Slovenia and is priced at a whopping $35. That would make it the ultimate prestige water. It would make a beautiful gift, especially for a budding florist who could use it as a vase and amuse herself for many hours coming up with deco floral designs. Sence Nectar Linda also enjoyed a delicious drink by Sence Rare European Rose Nectar, also in a beautiful glass bottle. According to her it is a “wonderful drink flavored with the essence of a rose which only blooms three weeks a year. It would make a great wedding favor.” Their website says the nectar is made from the Kazanlak rose which is grown in Bulgaria. They claim that Leonardo Da Vinci drank nectar from the same rose; both hot as a tea and chilled. They also recommend pairing the nectar with champagne, vodka, rum, gin, sake and many cordials.

Photo by Sence Nectar

Tasmanian Beer I’m not a big beer drinker but I truly enjoyed a Tasmanian beer as a welcome palate cleanser. When I remarked that it was nice and clean tasting, the exhibitor beamed and waxed on about how clean the water in Tasmania is. He said it is one of the four places in the world where scientists use the water as a control against which all other waters are measured. Good to know. I wish I remembered the brand, I only remember a dark label. hi*ball energy

Photo by hi*ball

By the end of the day our palates were spent and vendors were begging us to make an exception and please taste one more thing. Four of us made an exception and tasted one more beverage. I’m grateful we did. We tasted the ten-calorie, orange- and grapefruit-flavored energy drinks by hi*ball energy ; they were both delicious and a great way to end five glorious hours.

Thank you to all of my co-reviewers for venturing out into unknown food worlds, for your feedback, your photos, and a lovely afternoon.

More Fancy Food Show – Winter 2009

I promised to tell you our favorite items from the Fancy Food Show so here they are.

Our Favorites

Baconnaise
Let me start with the obvious. Yes, they were there. Justin and Dave, the Baconnaise boys. If you haven’t read tangobaby’s escapades with Baconnaise yet, click here.

Image by Baconnaise

Their booth took on the atmosphere of a tailgate party put on by fraternity brothers. First it was BaconSalt, and then it was Baconnaise, now it is Baconnaise Lite – now there’s an oxymoron. The big surprise is that Baconnaise does not contain bacon, only bacon flavoring. I think it might even be a vegetarian product. Believe or not, they are kosher certified. Now that takes chutzpah! When it became obvious that I was a bona fide groupie, either Justin or Dave (don’t know which), reached behind the counter and handed me: (drumroll) Bacon lip balm! Tangobaby, I scored a second one for you. It’s the perfume you were looking for!

California Wine Wafers
On the other end of the scale are the very elegant wine wafers by California Wine Wafers. These beautiful, crispy, light, delicious wafers have a four hundred year history starting in a spa resort town in the Czech Republic. They are delicious with wine. They are beautifully packaged, see top photo; they would make a lovely hostess gift. Their website has dessert recipes including one called Nutella Light Torte, where the only ingredients are Nutella, whipping cream, and cinnamon-hazelnut wine wafers. I bet that’s delicious!

California Porridge
Every one of us who tasted the California Porridge by Our Daily Grain loved it. The combination of the steel cut oats, wheat berries, rolled oats, sunflower and flax seeds create a great flavor and texture. The plump, nutty wheat berries made it especially memorable. The best part is that is comes in ready-to-eat individual serving containers. Just heat and serve!

Photo by Our Daily Grain

The porridge has no sugar in it, even diabetics can enjoy this product, but we were given the option to add maple syrup flakes. They were great because they added a great crunchy texture and just the right amount of sweetness.

Other Favorites
I polled my co-reviewers for their favorites. They found lots of interesting booths that I wish I didn’t miss.

Linda loved the sweet, yet spicy, Peppadews , stuffed with cheese, which looks like a small red pepper or large grape grown in South Africa.

Stephanie and Edith thought the Cantaré Foods' booth with the Spanish tapas were out of this world. Their national sales manager, Jim, made hand-pulled mozzarella cheese. Edith said “they had the best tasting samples from the whole show; I think I tried four different things there.”

Photo by Stephanie

Stephanie also enjoyed the Agave Dream line. “Two dental hygienists from Southern California scraped together their savings to launch delicious ice cream and granitas that have only agave nectar as sweetening. Apparently agave nectar has a very low glycemic index; even diabetics can eat this ice cream. Nicole and I sampled the chocolate and the pomegranate granite; both were delicious.”

Photo by Stephanie

Stephanie also visited the Strauss Family Creamery. They just launched soft-serve vanilla ice cream...”delicious, and I'm not a soft-serve fan!”

Interesting Combinations of Flavors
RoseAnn’s and my favorite combination of flavors is found in the sea salt chocolate caramels from Lula’s Chocolates. Even though it was at the end of five hours of continuous tasting, these chocolates truly stood out. The combination of the soft caramels, dark chocolate, with a few crunchy crystals of salt was magic. They offer a nine-piece box of caramels, each with a different artisan salt. That would be a fun tasting with some wine!

Photo by Lula's Chocolates

Just to prove that we are a diverse group, Jodi thought it as a dreadful idea. "That was such a great piece of chocolate, why would you ruin it by adding salt to it?" Nor did she like the lavender vanilla gelato: “I would use it as a face cream”. (Dakota Angel and I loved it.) Just when I chalked Jodi off as someone who didn’t like new flavors, she tried and liked the wasabi cheese. Now I wish I tried it.

Photo by Stephanie

Vosges chocolates, Stephanie’s favorite, offered a bacon-flavored (!) chocolate which was wildly popular.

The Cheese from Britain booth offered a cheese called “Red Dragon” which is made with mustard seeds and ale. My friend Jodi pointed it out to me and told me that she had it when she was in Wales last year. Because cheese is so filling and rich, I was careful not to taste too many cheeses because the day was still young and I wanted to taste many, many more foods. I was leery, but I decided to try it anyway. I liked the crunchy mustard seeds and the little kick in the flavor but I didn’t taste the ale at all. I assumed it was overpowered by the mustard until I realized that the ale arrives as an aftertaste. I think foodies call it a finish because “aftertaste” has a negative connotation. Mustard and ale are a great combination, especially if you add some celery, crackers, and a glass of beer.

Another interesting flavor combination that Jodi and I enjoyed was in the onion jam in merlot by Huerto Azul:

It was delicious: I think this would be great inside baked brie!

If this didn’t send your head spinning, next post I will write about the most beautiful, most unusual products, and about some of the beverages.

Fancy Food Show - Winter 2009

Hannah's Delights with Sofi Awards

One of my many passions is food. I love discovering new foods and new flavor combinations, the more unusual the better. The super bowl for foodies is the Fancy Food Show, produced by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) since 1955. NASFT is the organization who awards the Annual Sofi Awards, Oscar’s foodie brother. The summer show is in New York and the winter show is, lucky for me, usually in San Francisco. Sunday I attended this show for the fourth time.

Attendees & Exhibitors
This show is huge. 20,000 food professionals crowd both halls of the Moscone Convention Center all looking for the latest and greatest food-related products. Combine this with 2,000 plus exhibitors, representing over 80 countries, who are eager to show them off. What does this mean? Yes, you guessed it: thousands of tastings! Imagine Costco during the lunch hour times a thousand.

Photo by Stephanie

Photo by Jodi

If a product touches food, it was present in this convention. Obviously, food purveyors were there, but so were packaging and shopping bag manufacturers, retail display vendors, food associations, food publishers, and even breath mint vendors. I attend as publisher so I now happily report to duty as a reviewer. To help me with this review, some of my foodie friends came along. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Photo by Stephanie

Photo by Stephanie

It is very easy to overeat at this event. The first year we went, we tasted everything from every booth. We were full, and nauseous, before we got through ten percent of the booths. You could be tasting chocolates in one booth, olives in the next, salts around the world in the booth after that, and gosh now there’s cheesecake tasting. My my my, Mylanta! I now try to sample in sequence of a meal; savory items first, then dessert items. This means that I skip many booths, but it’s impossible to taste everything anyway.

Trends
Like in every other industry, awareness of a green planet is a strong focus. This year, organic foods as well as shopping bags were well represented and I was happy to see a few more fair trade organizations.

The natural and organic section grows larger each year, but there is a shift in what is considered healthy. Low carbs and low fat are taking a back seat to omega-3, antioxidants, and MUFA's (mono unsaturated fatty acids).

In previous years we there was always a lot of discussion about what was in a product, now more and more time is spent discussing what is NOT in a product. Vendors, like Willow Cole of Heritage Shortbread,  proudly tell you what's not in the products. "No corn syrup, no modified food starch, no saturated fats..." Hallelujah!

Trendy Ingredients
Walking down the aisles, you hear many overlapping sales pitches and conversations about ingredients. After a while you start to hear the same words over and over again. This year I heard lavender, sea salt, and goji berry repeatedly.

The first time I tasted lavender chocolate was at a Fancy Food Show around three years ago. This year, lavender was teamed with just about anything. Most chocolate vendors offered a lavender flavor, but I also saw lavender salt, shortbread, biscuits, cakes, cookies, honey, spreads, and ice cream. Dakota Angel and I both loved them all, but Jodi said: "It makes me just want to take a bath with it or use it as a face cream."

Photo by Lula's Chocolates

Artisan sea salts are still hot. No body of salt water in the world is spared; each and every one of them has given its all to season your food. It is passé to just say that your product contains sea salt; you better know which sea the salt was sweated from. Sea salt crystals are actually quite beautiful. It comes in many hues and they each have their own unique flavor: gray Celtic salts, red Hawaiian salt, pink Australian flake salt, or Black Sea salt. I even saw some green salt, but I didn’t stop to find out where it came from, probably because I heard a platter of prosciutto calling my name.

Goji berries, a heavy lifter in the antioxidant arena, are touted in many jams, smoothies, chocolates, and toppings. After a while, I began to think that no blended fruit product was complete unless it had goji berries in it.

That’s it for today; stay tuned, because next time I will tell you our favorites.