When you sang “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s Eve, did you recall that it was first a poem by Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland (1759-1796)?

His birthday, January 25th, is celebrated in Scotland as Burns Night.

Family and friends gather for an evening of good food and company. It’s a warm and happy event much like our Thanksgiving. A traditional Burns’ Supper is served.

Here’s a Burns Night dinner menu.

But dinner or not, we never pass up this once-a-year opportunity to have a box of whisky-infused chocolates from the prominent artisan chocolatier Larry Burdick.

Why do the Scottish spell it “whisky” and the Irish spell it “whiskey?”

Here’s the scoop.
 
 
WHISKY-INFUSED CHOCOLATES

Call them chocolates, bonbons or truffles, this Scotch-infused assortment (photo #1) is available for just a few weeks each January.

This year, the dates are from January 4th through January 29th.

The eagerly-awaited, limited-edition collection of handcrafted bonbons is filled with whisky-infused chocolate ganache.

Some of the finest single-malt Scotch whiskies are used: Glenfarclas, Highland Park, Lagavulin, Macallan, Springbank and Talisker.

The chocolates are available in both half-pound and one-pound boxes.
 
 
SCOTCH WHISKY CHOCOLATE CIGAR ASSORTMENT

Burdick’s signature dark chocolate is infused with fine single-malt Scotch whisky and rolled into gourmet chocolate cigars.

A box of six (photo #2) has three each of cigars made with 10-year-old Laphroaig and 12-year-old Old Pulteney.

You can buy the box, or individual Laphroaig cigars (photo #3).
 
 
MORE WAYS TO CELEBRATE BURNS NIGHT

 
You don’t have to be Scottish to celebrate Burns Night.

All lovers of food adventures are welcome!

[1] A half-pound box of Scotch Whisky Chocolate Assortment. A one-pound box is also available (all photos © Burdick Chocolate).

[2] Cigars for the chocolate connoisseur are made in two varieties: Laphroaig and Old Pulteney

[3] Individual chocolate whisky cigars in cigar-type tubes are made with Laphroaig single malt whisky.

You may purchase lots of grapefruits, lemons, limes and oranges—the same ones you’ve been buying for years. But if you cast a wider net, you can find some real citrus excitement—like these Sumo Citrus® mandarins.

Like Sumo wrestlers, Sumo Citrus is super-sized, and it has a topknot.

It looks like a big orange, but it’s in the mandarin family (the difference between mandarins and oranges).

Mandarins are easy to peel and segment, and Sumo Citrus is:

 
Look for it, buy it; just don’t call it an orange.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF SUMO CITRUS

Sumo Citrus was bred from the pomelo, navel orange and mandarin.

In addition to size, it’s also one of the world’s sweetest mandarins.

In Japan, it is known as shiranui and nicknamed the “dekopon,” a reference to its distinctive top knot.

Not every dekopon is a Sumo Citrus however. It’s a brand distinction available only those fruits meeting size and taste standards.
 
 
Not All Topknot Mandarins Are Sumo Citrus

Originally, the different prefectures in Japan that grew the citrus gave them different names.

However, an agreement was reached whereby any grower can use the name “dekopon” if they pay a licensing fee and meet certain quality standards.

So the name “dekopon” now can refer to the fruits grown anywhere in Japan.

In the U.S., something snazzier was needed to market the fruit. The brand name Sumo Citrus® was created.

Think of the generic clementine mandarin, branded by different growers as Cuties and Halos, for marketing appeal.
 
 
GROWING SUMO CITRUS

While it’s sometimes hard to tell some mandarin varieties from others, you can’t miss Sumo Citrus and its topknot.

This rare seedless variety was originally cultivated in Japan in the 1970s by a grower who set out to develop “the ultimate citrus experience.” This variety was dubbed the “dekopon” [source].

In Japan, the fruits are usually grown in large greenhouses to keep them at a constant temperature, and are harvested from December to February.

In the case of orchard farming, the dekopon is harvested from March to April.

Harvesting trivia: After harvesting, the dekopon is usually left to sit for a period of 20–40 days so that the levels of citric acid in the fruit decrease, while the sugar levels increase.

This creates a more appealing taste. Only dekopons with sugar levels above 13°Bx† and citric acid below 1.0% can be sold with the name dekopon.
 
Outside Of Japan

Sumo Citrus is only grown in the San Joaquin Valley of California, and with partner growers in Australia, all of whom have licensed the ability to grow it.

Sumo seedlings were first imported into the U.S. in 1998, but because the Sumo is one of the most challenging varieties to grow, it wasn’t until 2011 that they became available to the public.

The dekopon was released as a commercial product in the U.S. under the name Sumo Citrus® in early 2011.

After many years, there is now enough Sumo Citrus available in the U.S. for most of us to try it—with thanks to family farms in California whose incredibly high growing standards made the crop possible.

Sumo season in the U.S. is just four months: January through April.
 
 
GET YOUR SUMO CITRUS

Check the store locator on SumoCitrus.com for the retailer nearest you.

You can also send a Sumo Citrus gift box.

[1] Why they’re called “Sumo”: the wide girth and the topknot (photos #1, #2, #3 and #4 © Sumo Citrus).

[2] They may look small in a photo, but Sumo citrus is double or triple the size of other mandarins.

[3] A benefit of mandarins versus oranges is that they’re so easy to peel. Some people pride themselves on being able to peel a mandarin in a single long swirl.

[4] Add Sumo Citrus segments to green salads and grain bowls,

[5] These are not mandarins, but they are food fun: Can you name these citrus varieties? The answer is in the footnote.<

*The citrus varieties from top to bottom: yuzu, variegated lemon, kaffir/kieffer lime, calamondin. Calamondin is a cross between a mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata, tangerine or Satsuma) and a kumquat (Fortunella margarita).

†Bx, an abbreviation for brix, measures the sugar content of an agricultural product.

[1] The original Oysters Rockefeller from Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans (photo © Antoine’s).

[2] Chefs who adapted the secret recipe often use spinach and diced bacon. Here’s the preparation at Monahan’s Seafood Market in Ann Arbor, Michigan (photo © Monahan’s Seafood Market).

[3] Some “builds” include Mornay sauce, a classic French cheese sauce made with Gruyère. Some American chefs substitute Cheddar but—please don’t (photo © Arch Rock Fish in Santa Barbara [alas, closed]).

January 10th is National Oysters Rockefeller Day. It was first celebrated in 2017 at Antoine’s restaurant in New Orleans.

If you live anywhere near New Orleans, you be rewarded with a special treat.

That’s because this weekend, Antoine’s will celebrate National Oysters Rockefeller Day with by offering orders of Oysters Rockefeller for just $5.

The legendary dish was invented in Antoine’s kitchen in 1899 by Jules Alciatore, the son of the restaurant’s namesake founder, Antoine Alciatore.

The recipe was an innovation in the art of cooked oysters, an unanticipated mother of invention.

At the end of the 19th century, there was a shortage of European snails—then a gourmet treat—arriving from Europe to New Orleans.

Jules identified a locally sourced replacement: oysters.

In creating the dish, Jules combined a buttery sauce with green vegetables, producing such a richness of flavor that he named it after one of the wealthiest men in the United States: John D. Rockefeller.

While Mr. Rockefeller reportedly despised the affiliation, grilled Oysters Rockefeller became an iconic dish.

It has approximated by chefs around the world. The original recipes a closely-guarded family secret.
 
 
OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER VARIATIONS

Here’s one big difference:

While just about every tribute recipe tops the oysters with spinach, Antoine’s original recipe does not contain spinach. Is it watercress?

Maybe: You’ll could head to New Orleans to find out.

But even then, you’d need to be a super-taster to have any success.

To safeguard the recipe, Antoine’s has subsequently puréed the topping ingredients and piped them on top of the grilled oysters (photo #1).

When we first had them at Antoine’s decades ago, the ingredients were still recognizable—and if we had known that food writing lay in our future, we would have taken closer notice.

Most imitators top the oysters with sautéed or blanched spinach, others cream the spinach or substitute a whole blanched spinach leaf.

Some add a garnish of bread crumbs, diced bacon and/or parmesan cheese (photo #2).

We’ve even had the oysters with topped with a Mornay sauce—a béchamel sauce turned into cheese sauce with Gruyère—before adding the spinach and bacon (photo #3).

Some modern interpretations even fry the oysters and serve them with conventional “imitator” garnishes: spinach, bread crumbs, bacon.

Since you’ll never know the original recipe, you can add the ingredients that please your palate most.

It may not be “Oysters Rockefeller” as Jules Alciatore created it; but it will be your Oysters Rockefeller.

Here’s a recipe to start you off, along with more garnish ideas.
 
 
ABOUT ANTOINE’S RESTAURANT

Antoine’s, an iconic New Orleans institution, is managed by fifth-generation CEO and Proprietor Rick Blount, whos estimates that the restaurant has prepared Oysters Rockefeller more than five million times since its introduction.

Beyond being known as the birthplace of Oysters Rockefeller, the legendary New Orleans restaurant is the oldest continuously-operating restaurant in the U.S. It remains owned by the same family that founded it in 1840.

The restaurant celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2015. It’s now 180, and we bet they’ll still be serving Oysters Rockefeller at age 200 and beyond.

For more information, visit Antoine’s website.