Sometimes the answer is to buy California olive oil instead of imports. But for certain products, like Fleur de Sel, shown above, there are no U.S. substitutes. Photo courtesy of Saltworks.us.
It’s no surprise that due to the weak dollar, along with higher shipping costs, imports from Europe and other parts of the world will be pricier this year. As of this writing, it costs about $1.44 to buy one euro, up from $1.30 this time last year. This means that those delicious French cheeses and sea salts, Italian olive oils and pastas, Hungarian paprika and Spanish Serrano hams—plus the eagerly anticipated Jamón Ibérico Bellota, already priced at $96 a pound—will cost more. With the poor saffron and fig harvests, the tab for those specialty products will climb even higher. Even if you’re willing to pay more, you may not be able to find your favorite products—because most people won’t spring for that $8.00 pasta, so retailers won’t stock them.
Betsy Power of the Culinary Collective, which imports some our favorite Spanish products (including the Matiz Olivada olive spreads and El Rebost cava vinegar and violet gourmet gels we wrote about last month), says that she is forced to discontinue three dozen slow-selling items, including some beautiful jars of gourmet artichokes that now have to retail at $10 a jar. “There’s only so high you can raise your price before [a product is] priced out of the market,” she recently told The Seattle Times. She also commented that she and many other importers are expanding their horizons from Europe to regions where the dollar stretches further, including Mexico, the Philippines, South America and Australia, hoping to find more reasonable, if different, gourmet specialties. So instead of beautiful stemmed artichokes to garnish your roast this Easter, you just might be finding jars of prickly pear cactus. Stay tuned!
If you received a food gift for Christmas that wasn’t to your liking—marmalade, spicy cocoa, flavored vinegar, whatever—don’t stick it in the back of the cabinet and forget about it. Products should be used within 12 months, or they begin to deteriorate—some items like cookies much sooner. Many products have expiration dates, but if you don’t like the food to begin with, the dates don’t really matter. It’s better to share the item now, with people who will enjoy it. Bring the food to your co-workers, be a friendly neighbor or donate it to a volunteer enterprise. Then, visit the Main Nibbles section of THE NIBBLE online magazine to find reviews in more than 70 categories of specialty foods, and pick something you’d rather have.
Thanks, but no thanks: If you’ll never use those fancy pink peppercorns, don’t stick them in the back of the cabinet to fade—give them to someone who’ll be thrilled to have them.
Several months ago, we wrote about the tomato sauces and soups of Lucini Italia, a company that imports top-quality, handcrafted Italian specialty foods. The products include an extra virgin olive oil and a limited-edition organic extra virgin olive oil, plus a 10-year-old balsamic vinegar and a Pinot Grigio white wine vinegar. Since January is “Healthy Food Month” at THE NIBBLE, we couldn’t wait to recommend the heart-healthy olive oils and the vibrant, yet smooth and mellow, vinegars. The rich, flavorful regular oil has been a favorite at THE NIBBLE offices for many months now. It’s a classic Tuscan blend that is delightfully fruity, bursting with a green apple freshness and sporting only the faintest hint of the pepper for which so many Tuscan oils are known (and which create that infamous back-of-the-throat cough when you try to taste them). The oils are also certified kosher. Take the money from whatever holiday gifts you returned and buy yourself the Lucini gift set—bottles of both vinegars plus the regular EVOO. When they arrive, enjoy a spoonful of each—straight—and rollick in the delectable aromas and flavors. Read the full review in THE NIBBLE online magazine, and see more of our favorites in our Oil & Vinegar Section.
Lucini Italia organic olive oil (foreground) and regular olive oil are kosher-certified.
Learn all about eggs—varieties, nutrition, tips—in this informative article.
If you thought there were only two types of eggs—white and brown—start the new year with this egg-cellent review of eggs: an egg glossary, egg nutrition and health facts, tips. Some highlights:
– There are 10 different type of eggs, apart from brown versus white. Cage-free, Free-Range, Vegetarian, Organic and Vitamin-Enriched are some of the choices.
– There’s no nutritional difference between brown and white eggs. Brown hens produce brown eggs, white hens produce white eggs.
– Eggs should be left in their and kept on an inside refrigerator shelf where temperature does not vary—not removed to a plastic “egg holder” on the refrigerator door. The carton insulates the eggs from loss of moisture.
– Never use a cracked raw egg. It can easily be contaminated with bacteria that cooking will not kill. Read the full article, and you’ll gain a lot of eggspertise. There’s more to learn about eggs in the Eggs Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine.
January 1st is Bloody Mary Day. But after last night’s celebration, you may be better off with a Virgin Mary. Most Bloody Mary mixes are made to complement vodka and can be very salty. We find it easier to make a mix that can be drunk Virgin Mary-style—spare the vodka and pack in lots of vitamin C. Start with a 32-ounce bottle of tomato juice. Because we love horseradish, we add 2 tablespoons of the prepared variety, as well as 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a teaspoon of celery salt and the juice of a fresh lemon or lime. The horseradish makes it plenty spicy, but an alternative is to add 6 drops of hot sauce like Tabasco. Just shake the bottle and serve. (If you don’t like spice, use more Worcestershire, celery salt and lemon juice, then experiment with a drop or two of hot sauce for flavor.) Keep the bottle chilled in the refrigerator—no ice needed to dilute your drink. With 41 calories per 8-ounce glass, add a celery stick for fiber and you’ve got a low-cal snack that has 74% of your daily requirement of vitamin C and 22% of vitamin A. See which tomato juices scored best in our tasting and find more of our favorite juices in the Juices Section of THE NIBBLE online magazine. If you insist upon celebrating Bloody Mary Day, find lots of Bloody Mary recipes in our Cocktails Section.
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A homemade Virgin Mary tastes even better than a Bloody Mary made with most mixes.
