Summer Salads and Balsamic Vinegar

I love olive oil but being a bit of a sweet tooth, my summer salads are simply just not the same with balsamic vinegar. And not just any will do.

We carry several that you can get here at WFM or at any good specialty food store that knows their stuff. Villa Manodori balsamic is thick, rich and sweet–it reminds me of an expensive tradizionale balsamic–plus it’s affordable for a high end condiment. A little indeed goes a long way–I’ll have a bottle on our kitchen table for months as all I need is a tad on my greens every night.  We have friends that swear by this stuff and all I have to do is to bring them a bottle for a birthday or a party and you’d think I’d just bought them a new car.  I’m not joking. 

Another one of my favorites is a direct import that Amelia found while travelling through Italy last fall which is Farmacia Oro…red label. Another higher end condiment (but value oriented as you don’t use a lot) it comes in a great European glass bottle with a cork top for pouring–just what you’d expect from a small family operation in Italy. It’s not as thick and syrupy as Villa but it’ clean, sweet flavor rivals any other I’ve tried.  They call it their middle of the road but I’d swear it was their flagship.

You might think balsamic vinegar related to wine vinegar, but it’s an entirely different beast. It’s origin is from grapes no doubt–but from grape must or the juice of the grape. Briefly, here’s the process: Farmers grow the grapes (like Trebbiano and Lambrusco, to name a few), leaving them on the vine until the last possible moment to ensure great sweetness; then they press them and cook them down to a thick syrup; then the whole concoction is aged (the good stuff)  for more than 12 years in real wooden barrels made of oak, cherry, juniper and the like. The fermentation and aging is done, unlike with wine, open to the air to achieve even more concentration of flavors, and combined with the blending of older and younger vinegars in the process results in a perfectly balanced marriage of mellow, fruity-sweet vinegar and deep woodsy and spicy notes from the barrels.

Might you now better appreciate a 40 dollar bottle of vinegar?  Sitting and aging for 10 years or more isn’t a cheap process…time is money.  In my mind though, it’s still the best value for my salad.  Traditional salad dressings have all sorts of bizarre ingredients and ounce for ounce are just as expensive as some great balsamics. You pour dressing, you drizzle balsamic.  Drizzling a little Villa Manodori on my greens or on my fresh local veggies this time of year wakes up my senses and balanced with a great extra virgin olive oil makes an amazing simple dressing for the summer or any other time of the year.  Eat well!

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a way of life

Lisa and I had a great lunch today with the guys from Les Moulins Mahjoub over at Provisions International, in White River Junction, Vermont–right down the road from the Market.  Mr. Mahjoub, a delightfully humble man, spoke in his charming broken English all about their slow food philosophy.  He was in town because Provisions carries much of the Mahjoub product line–cous cous, condiments and olive oils.   In particular,  Mr.Mahjoub the owner, spoke of something I had never given much thought to before–that the process of making olive oil via the extra virgin, first cold press method, is really more a way of life, not just a process of making olive oil.

At first, I did not understand; his broken french/arabic/english–he’s from Tunisia–can be difficult to understand. But through his exuberance and hand gestures–plus some help from his small audience–his thesis became very clear. 

The Mahjoub family produces olive oil in small batches in methods that date back hundreds of years.  First they blend 3 maturity stages of olives–ripe, medium and green.  Second they harvest all olives by hand.  Third, they are maniacal about the time from harvest to crushing.  Same day from harvest to crush is their mantra.  Fourth, they crush the olives very slowly but quickly take the crushed olives and press them.  We’re talking minutes here–like  20 minutes of crush time.  Then finally, the cold pressing of the crushed olives on the very first press.  All of their exported oil is first pressed oil.

Mr. Mahjoub’s key point was that these five steps are more than just the foundation for  making outstanding olive oil.  Passionately, he pointed out that they are also the critical steps for the production of great tasting artisan food all over the world.  Concepts like hand harvesting, making items in small batches, shortening the time from field to market–all concepts of making great olive oil–are components of making outstanding baked goods, jarred condiments and so forth, all over the world.

And paramount too, Mr. Mahjoub pointed out, are things like the land–where the product is grown, the variety of the crop grown and it’s heirloom quality; the maker–the small farmer or artisan paying attention to details; the process–crushing olives with ancient stones for instance rather than modern money saving techniques that ruin the flavor or the nutritional value; the retailers and distributors–involving ethical, passionate, service oriented people to help bring these items to market; and finally the customer whose instance on high quality and support of small batch, artisan products is critical for the ultimate survival of this what some people call the slow food movement.

Transfer many of these concept to modern everyday life–slowing down, taking one’s time, paying attention to quality instead of quantity, concerning oneself with learning and education,  shopping local, looking for organic products…and you can see why Mr. Mahoub is so passionate about often saying olive oil and the process they use–extra virgin (no chemicals–all organic), first cold press–is more than just a process for food production.  It’s a process of life. 

Frankly, it’s a philosophy that everyone here at the Farmers’ Market embraces everyday.  FYI…Check out this great video on the Mahjoub family and how they make their extra virgin olive oil.

Fancy Food Show in NYC

In our biz, the preeminent trade show  is the Fancy Food Show, put on by the folks at the NASFT (the National Association of Specialty Food Trade).  We just got back from the show last week and it was–once again–a kick ass show, with tons of great new products and amazing “regular” products that have been around for years.  It’s an absolute mob scene with folks from all over the world stuffed into the Javits Center in NYC for three long days.  

One of coolest parts of the show is the showcasing of the silver SOFI finalists and the choosing of the SOFI  gold winners. SOFI stands for Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation.  When you win, you get a big statue that rivals an Oscar; in fact we always call them food Oscars.  We got one last year ’cause we were chosen by the NASFT as one of the top 5 Retailers of the Year!   The NASFT puts on a red carpet ceremony to showcase the gold winners.  This year’s keynote speaker was Dan Barber, noted Chef and food writer from upstate New York.  

Don’t know much about the show or the awards? Check out this great video done after last year’s Fancy Food Show.

We had a slightly new twist this year: the Woodstock Farmers’ Market was chosen to be a product judge by the folks at the NASFT.  So for 3 days in April and 2 days in June, we were locked up from 9 AM till 5 PM tasting away like banshees—gobbling down thousands of items from dessert sauces, hot sauces, food service items and frozen entrees– 33 different categories in all.

For us, it was quite an honor to be on the inside of this great annual judging. We tasted over 2,200 products from a record number of entries. The judges—there were nine of us from all over the country—buyers, chefs, food magazine writers—were charged with narrowing the field from 2,200 to about 150.  A pretty big task.   Those silver finalists then got the chance to win gold at the Fancy Food Show where 300 members, buyers and retailers choose from the group of silver winners.  What’s most amazing about the SOFI’s is the weight it carries:  winning a SOFI can rocket a relatively unknown regional product to the heights of the national stage.  It truly is the highest honor that the industry can bestow upon a product.  And retailers love trying to carry as many SOFI winners as possible.

For instance, we always place signage on the the shelves for the silver or gold winner.  It’s a huge honor when we carry something that the rest of the food world thinks is really good too. Like Effy’s Oatcakes. These guys finally won a Silver and a Gold for Outstanding Cookie. And Vermont Smoke Cure—they just came out with a cool line of little “jerky” style snack sticks and won a silver for Outstanding Snack.  La Salamdra Chocolate Dulce De Leche won a silver for Outstanding Dessert. It’s one of those incredible treats that’s well worth the price.

Once again, there are some fantastic Gold SOFI winners this year too…and we carry several. 

–The Ginger People won Outstanding Product Line…these guys rock and we sell a ton of the marinades and their great candy. 

–Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce won for Outstanding Classic.  I remember when this first came out 15 years ago…remember the huge chunks of garlic and tons of full leaf basil?  Still there and still just as good as it was years ago.

–Way to go Vermont Butter and Cheese!  They won a gold for outstanding Perishable Food Product for their Bijou–a triple cream, very buttery and spreadable cheese that’s absolutely wonderful.

–Nutorious Cranberry Orange Tango–an amazing concoction of candied nuts and dried fruit–won gold for best Snack Food.   

–And finally, Nueskes Applewood Smoked Bacon, perhaps the world’s finest bacon, won a gold for Best Meat, Pate or Seafood.

Patrick

Halloumi or Haloumi…stellar no matter how you spell it

The other day, Executive Chef Lisa mentioned Halloumi in passing.  My mind instantly drifted off to a funky hangout/bar/restaurant simply called “Monica’s” in Astoria, New York (eclectic section of Queens).  Ten years ago (almost to the day), I schlepped my way from a small town in Idaho, to NYC.  Luckily, I found a share in a cozy little apartment in Astoria.  Primarily Greek, the neighborhood is full of amazing food, culture & music.  I quickly met a tight-knit group of friends from Cyprus.  Among other things, my new Cypriot buddies introduced me to Grilled Chicken & Halloumi Sandwiches at Monica’s.  From that moment on, I was a changed woman.   I vowed never to base food decisions on logic.  Cheese you can grill?  It made no sense to me.  Up until that point, I had not been very adventurous with food…almost missed discovering one of my favorite types of cheese.  That was one of my first lessons as a small town, meat & potatoes girl in a big city, with countless cuisines.  

As a farewell to National Dairy Month, I thought I’d share some info from Lisa on the infamous “Grilling Cheese.”  Allyson

“With grilling season here, it’s time to re-introduce Halloumi cheese, a traditional cheese from Cyprus. Halloumi is produced by first heating the cheese curds prior to pressing which practically speaking, produces a cheese with a high melting point.

Halloumi is semi-firm cheese similar in texture to Mozzarella, with a taste reminiscent of Feta.  It is often lightly flavored with mint to add to the taste. Traditionally, Halloumi was wrapped in mint leaves to keep it fresh and ended up with some of the mint flavor.  Hence, if you look closely, many packaged Halloumi will have bits of mint leaf on the surface of the cheese.

Easily cut into neat rectangles or cubes, Halloumi may be placed in a lightly oiled frying pan and fried until golden or grilled on a gas or charcoal BBQ grill. Crispy golden on the outside with a soft center, Halloumi is a cheese which compliments a variety of flavors. Try it with grilled vegetables or cubed and grilled on skewers with tomatoes.”  Lisa

Rosés – Why They’re Great

Mistakes were made in the ‘80s.  There was bad hair, there were shoulder pads, and “blush” wine made its first appearance, right alongside “wine coolers”.  No doubt this was a brilliant marketing move: make wine taste like soda to broaden its appeal, especially to women and new (often underage) drinkers.  However, the effect on the way real rosé is perceived was disastrous.  Suddenly, this delicious, noble, venerable beverage was cheapened by its association with that sweet, pink mass-market counterpart.  You could no longer Drink Pink and be a “real” wine-lover.

I was as guilty as the next gal.  I remember having a bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel in my fridge in college, and appreciating its friendly, fruity flavor.  It was years before I tried my first French rosé, so it was good enough for me.

Then I learned about European wines, winemaking history, grapes, the way all foods come from a place, and how that place tastes relative to other places.  I learned that the wine of a region will always go with the foods of that region, because they share the same soil and the same management and influences.  I learned that red wines from the Rhone often taste like the herbs and fruits that grow there; that Australian Shiraz is brilliant with lamb; that the gorgeously floral whites of Germany and Alsace compliment the rich sausage dishes from the same region.

What about Rosé? 

First of all, it’s vital to understand that the term “rosé” refers to a color of wine, not a grape, or style of winemaking, or particular group of common flavors.  Rosé can be made from pretty much any red wine or wines by removing the grape skins shortly after pressing.   The color will vary based on the variety of grapes used and how long the juice remains in contact with the skins.  As the tannin in wine resides mostly in the skin and seeds of grapes, often rosés are less tannic than their red counterparts, therefore softer in the mouth and shorter-lived.

Rosés are usually found in warmer climate zones, making the red wines grown there into refreshing hot weather drinks (they are usually drunk chilled).  The south of France, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all great places to try rosés as they have been made there for centuries.  However, you can find rosés pretty much anywhere red grapes are grown.

The color of these wines may be anywhere from the palest salmon or petal pink to deepest magenta.  They may be vinified sweet or dry, sparkling or still, delicate or bold.  Often they will taste like a red wine that’s been chilled (close your eyes, take a sip, and see!).  In general they are wonderful summer wines as they make a great aperitif and go well with all kinds of warm weather dishes (again, their place of origin will guide you to the ideal pairing).  Rosés from Provence, Portugal and Spain often match with seafood; those made in Austria pair with fresh water fish, veal and rich pasta dishes.

I think of rosés as a joy to drink.  I love everything about them—their lovely color, their ripe fruit flavors, their bright acidity, their refreshing coolness.  Personally I enjoy them year-round, maybe because they remind me of warm summer evenings, even in the middle of winter when Provencal sunsets seem as far away as the moon.

Amelia

Tips on Storing Cheese…

June is National Dairy Month!  

In celebration of all the cheese lovers out there, I thought it fitting to share this story… 

A few weeks ago in the office, I overheard Abby, our Mail Order guru, take a call from a customer who wanted information on storing cheese. She had placed an online order  for one of our local cheese boxes, but was unsure of how to preserve it.  I was dumbstruck…the notion had never crossed my mind before.  Why do we purchase unique cheese with limited availability (that’s certainly not cheap) and toss it into the fridge without a second thought?  Are we all guilty of cheese neglect?  While still mulling this over, Lisa, WFM’s Executive Chef & Retail Representative of the Vermont Cheese Council Executive Board, jumped into action.  She whipped up simple storing instructions, that broke it down by cheese type.   I thought it was interesting reading and much too valuable not to share…Thanks Lisa!

Lisa’s Tips on Storing Cheese

The vegetable drawer of your refrigerator is the best place to store cheese. The humidity level tends to be higher.

Fresh cheeses – Keep these cheeses in the plastic tubs they come in. If they come vacuum-sealed, as some fresh goat cheese does, just take it out of the plastic and put it in an airtight plastic container.

Semi-hard and hard cheeses – Since these cheeses have already lost quite a bit of moisture, to keep them from drying out further, wrap them with wax or parchment paper and then either foil or plastic wrap. Once again, store the cheese in the refrigerator drawer.

Blue cheeses – Blue cheeses are often sold in foil wrap. This is okay, but be sure to change the foil. The type used by cheese producers has a tendency to get a bit slimy if the cheese is a creamy style. If it is a harder style, follow the same procedure as you would for semi-hard and hard cheeses.

Washed rind cheeses – These are often sold in a wooden box. Keep these in that box and cover the box with plastic wrap without allowing the plastic to touch the surface of the cheese. If the cheese is not in a box, put it in an airtight container, such as an old cottage cheese carton, poke a couple of holes in it, and put it in the drawer.

P.S.  For our local WFM foodies….Vermont Cheese is 10% OFF all month long (in-store special only)!  Check out our other promotions, demos and events in our new monthly WFM News Flyer at the Market or sign up for our Online Newsletters!  www.woodstockfarmersmarket.com.

Happy June!

Allyson

WFM Marketeer

Gourmet Thoughts

Gourmet (pronounced /ɡɔrˈmeɪ/) is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses. The term and its associated practices are usually used positively to describe people of refined taste and passion. For some, it holds a negative connotation of elitism or snobbery. (Wikipedia)

When we first started the WFM back in ’92, we made a pact never to use the “G” word—Gourmet—in reference to our business or our products. It was our belief then, and is still our belief now, that Gourmet implies exclusivity, foods for an elite few. As far as we’re concerned, everyone should have access to great food, whether it has a funny foreign name or a fancy label or is hand-made in small batches by virgin goat herders from Spain. A person can enjoy and appreciate these delicacies whether they identify themselves as a Gourmet or not (and it is a lovely irony that many so-called Gourmet foods actually come from peasant cuisines around the world).

Instead we have always identified ourselves as a store that sells Great food, or Specialty food, with the intention of being as inclusive as possible. So far, our strategy seems to have worked—today our clientele is made up of many local trades people, as well as the well-traveled, well-heeled residents and part-time residents of our community. Young families, high school kids, farmers, carpenters, realtors, lawyers and school teachers, venture capitalists and a rock star make up our group of “regulars”, and all seem equally at home here.

Recently, however, we received a rude shock when our website developer informed us that the single most-used key word in searches for businesses like ours is—you guessed it—GOURMET. Horror of horrors! What were we to do? Our head of Marketing suggested we pepper our site with phrases like “we hate the word gourmet”, thereby getting it out there with a caveat. But then would we be alienating the very people who typed in that word in a search? We would be guilty of reverse snobbery, which is no better than the straightforward kind.

 
We still haven’t resolved this issue, and there may not even be a solution. For now we’ll maintain the status quo and hope for the best. But if you see the “G” word appear in our marketing anywhere, please know that we did it to provide a service for the Gourmet searchers out there, and not because we’ve changed our stance on anti-gourmet-ism. Food to the People!

Amelia

Best of the Best

Talk about over eating. I just got back from the NASFT’s (National Association of Specialty Food Trade)  Silver SOFI judging in NYC and man was I overwhelmed. The association picks top foods each year in various food categories that become eligible to win a Gold SOFI at the annual, super-duper mega food show–the Fancy Food Show–at the Javits Center in NYC.  We selected over 100 winners in over 25 food categories and tasted over 1,500 foods from around the world. There were nine of us–from all walks of the food world; from a specialty food shop in LA, to a food writer from O Magazine; from culinary chefs from a major restaurant group in NYC to the marketing director from Midwest and south Winn Dixie grocery store chain.  And we had a blast–we ate, drank, bonded and debated, sometimes quite loudly, about who was best in class.  I’ve included some pictures below to give you an idea of what it’s like.

To be asked to judge was quite an honor for us here at WFM.  This is not something we do every year. And what a thrill–this was like being in a room with tons of great actors and getting to pick the ones you thought were the best.  And while this was a gastronomic blast, it was serious stuff. Here were entries from big companies to mom and pops and our shoulders were heavy.  Winning a SOFI award is a big deal in the food business. Selecting a product for a Silver SOFI can thrust a relative unknown product to overnight-sensation status in weeks. Our taste buds and business heads needed full attention to detail.

Here’s a sneak peak at how it worked.  I’ll use chocolate judging as a for-instance. First of all, this was CHOCOLATE in caps…150 chocolates from all over the world.  Imagine walking into a large room with 3 very long tables of just chocolate!  Being a choco-holic, I was in heaven.  Of course taste was paramount but packaging, price and whether we might actually be able to sell the chocolate were all part of the equation.  

Besides the generous chocolate samples on the table, we had the product sheet in which the manufacturer described the chocolate and had the wholesale price, suggested retail and sundry other info.  And this was no saunter through chocolate land.  We had 25 minutes.  Thank god none of us were diabetic.  You had to be focused and clear.  The best approach?  Taste small tidbits, rinse with water, take a deep breath, repeat.   Taste bud over load was common.  Not to mention heart racing.  I had enough caffeine in 25 minutes to last a week.

You may ask, how in the world could we actually taste all the products and make good judgements…especially with the time constraints?

Good question.  Let me say first, it was not easy.  You had to stay focused.  You had to be aware that your vote was going to greatly affect someone’s well being.  This was serious stuff.  Like I said, SOFI awards are big deals.

But the judges in the room–every single one of us–had years and years of culinary experience and we knew when something was better than something else.  You just did.  Whether it was the pairing of ingredients or  texture, some items just plain stood out.   Plus, it wasn’t all just about the taste.  We factored in the price and packaging–and honestly, sometimes even though something was really good, if it was priced too high for us to sell, it was deemed–at least for me–a negative.  And what was even more impressive, in almost every food category the voting was pretty clear across the board.  And when it was not, we had clear, healthy debate and a winner emerged. 

Overall, it was an amazing experience.  Not to mention the great performance by the NASFT staff and chefs.  They sliced, diced, baked, and prepared a ton of food–all in seemingly a matter of minutes, plowing through 3 days and 25 food categories like a Saturday night at a well tuned fine dining restaurant.   

And we’re not finished.  We go back down to NYC to judge best product line and a few other special categories in early June.  I’ll report on that later.  But clear trends with the Silver finalists emerged.  2010 is the year of the truffle and the fig,  plus Indian and Asian flavors made a clear statement too.  Check out the winners and more information about the NASFT at www.specialtyfood.com/sofi/2010-silver-finalists.  You’ll already see some of the winners in our Woodstock store and at WFM Mail Order! 

Patrick

Mom’s Love Food Too

My mom lives far away.  So every Mother’s Day I dutifully send a gift–usually flowers or something that I consider feminine–for whatever reason.  Maybe socialization?  Who knows. 

Anyway, I never considered sending food for Mother’s Day till recently, when we revved up our Mail Order Gift Boxes.  And then it hit me.  Why not food?  My mother was a huge influence on me, my cooking and the entire business model that we’ve developed here at the Farmers’ Market.  She loves all foods–olive oils, coffee, jams, chocolates…and most  importantly gets excited at the thought of receiving great food. 

All those years wasted sending flowers or jewlery or something that I thought she might like when right under my nose there was FOOD!  And there is nothing like sending great food to someone you love.  It’s so immediate.  It’s so fullfilling.  It’s so personal.   And it works.  As a matter of fact, I just got off the phone with my mom who loved the organic extra virgin olive oil and coffee  I sent her from the Farmers’ Market .

And PS, when I suggest sending food as gifts for moms or for whomever, I’m not talking about some silly vinegar in an expensive goumet glass bottle that no one in their right mind knows what to do with. I’m talk’in about real FOOD–brownies, cookies, coffee, olive oil, Vermont Maple Syrup–stuff that you can use everyday–especially artisan or small batch made.  

The point being–and this is where the connection with food is so personal– when your loved one drizzles the olive oil on a salad, pours the maple syrup on pancakes, or spreads the jam on toast, it’s an immediate reminder of you, the-gift-giver!  Flowers die, gadgets get tossed aside but great food is consumed heartily…tasted, swallowed, appreciated…it’s really like no other gift in the world.  It creates long lasting memories of family, which is hard to top in the world of gift-giving.

Patrick

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla. History has it that in 1862, the French came snooping around collecting debts from then President Bentio Juarez. But the French had other ideas up their sleeves. They didn’t very much like Mexico’s northern counterpart—the U S of A, who was embroiled in their own Civil War. Smelling that the US was distracted, the French ended up sticking around and trying to outwit a very smart Mexican army which ended up slaughtering the French Army in a famous battle outside Mexico City. The victory helped keep Napoleon’s Army from supplying the confederate rebels—who were subsequently defeated in the Battle of Gettysburg only 14 months later. Subsequently, Union forces were also rushed to the border of Mexico to make sure the Mexicans got all the ammunition and weapons they needed to expel the French.

It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the US to a brave Mexican army but who knows? That’s why Cinco De Mayo is such a great celebration of US and Mexican relations—plus, it’s a great excuse to celebrate the great fusion of Mexican and American foods!

Here at WFM, we’ve got a great menu going for Wednesday, the high-holy day for Mexican-American food. Chef Michelle and her crew are making some mean fish tacos, beef enchiladas, tortilla soup and seafood frittatas. And me? Well, Cinco de Mayo reminds me it’s time for my favorite gringo creation–Kitchen Sink Burritos, where Stacy and I pull together a bunch of meat and veggies, spice it up, cheese it up, turn on the blender and tequila-it-up! It’s easy, it’s fun and each time out, our creations are different.

For me, creating a great meal doesn’t have to be a high flatulent thing. You just have to have great ingredients, a little direction, great drink and great people! And that’s what I love most about my recipe. Try it out. It’s easy, fun and quick… and a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!

Patrick