We have always enjoyed a nice jar of wine jelly, but no matter which brand we tried, we were always left with the thought: Shouldn’t “wine jelly” taste more like wine?

After 20-some years since tasting our first wine jelly, our question has been answered by Clif Family, and it’s no surprise why:

Clif Family makes its own wine from its California vineyards and it’s organic, too: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Grenache, Grenache Rosé, red blends, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Zinfandel, and a Petit Sirah dessert wine.

From these, the winery makes three wine jellies, which are also certified organic:

 
A good wine jelly is made with a concentration of real wine; the better the wine and the more wine in the jelly, the better the wine jelly.

A top wine jelly will taste like a glass of wine in jelly form, as the jellies from Clif Family so beautifully illustrate.

Each wine jelly is a gem on a cheese board or a fine cheese sandwich—say, Brie on a baguette, blue cheese and prosciutto, fine Cheddar or Gouda, and dozens of others, including grilled cheese!

The jellies also add flavor and excitement to cheese and charcuterie boards and have many more uses, which we detail in the next section.

In addition to their deliciousness, these jellies are feel-good gifts.

That’s because Clif Family is a B Corp Certified business, which means it prioritizes the highest standards of positive social and environmental impact (the owners began by founding Clif Bar).

Here’s more about B corps.
 
 
GET YOUR WINE JELLY

Not just for yourself, but as Thanksgiving favors and holiday gifts: You can select single jars or a gift box of all three.

Head to ClifFamily.com.

You’ll see other yummy items produced by the family, including other small-batch specialty foods that are enjoyable on their own or can be used to make tasty dishes:

 
If you find yourself in the Napa Valley, visit the Clif Family tasting room in St. Helena. In the interim, here’s:
 
> The history of jelly.

> The history of wine.

> The different types of jelly and jam: a glossary.

> Cheese condiments: pairing jelly and more with different cheeses.
 
 
20+ MORE WAYS TO USE WINE JELLY

When you open your first jar and the lovely aroma of wine wafts upward, you’ll want to dip into it with a spoon—and that’s a fine way to enjoy your first taste.

But, use it any way you would use jelly or preserves. In addition to your own creations, may we suggest:

As A Condiment

 
As An Ingredient

 
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*Sour cream is sensitive to heat and can easily curdle if heated or reheated at a high temperature. Do not microwave. Crème fraîche can be heated without curdling or splitting. Regular yogurt will separate when heated, but Greek-style yogurt which is double- or triple-strained won’t.

[1] Rosé wine jelly with a glass of rosé wine (photos #1 through #4 © Clif Family).

[2] Red wine jelly. The jellies are sold individually and in a gift box with all three varieties.

[3] White wine jelly, made with Sauvignon Blanc.

[4] The lovely gift box with all three flavors.

[5] Clever canapes with peanut butter and wine jelly (photo © Jif).

[6] These wine jellies are a great addition to a cheese or charcuterie board (photo © Castello Cheese).

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[1] The 2023 special collection of Thanksgiving sides-inspired chocolates from Campbell’s x Philip Ashley Chocolates (photo © Campbell’s).

[2] America’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish: mashed potatoes (photo © Idaho Potato Commission).

[3] The runner-up favorite side: stuffing/dressing† (photo © Bella Sun Luci).

[4] Coming in third: mac and cheese (photo © Flavor & The Menu).

To add some tasty fun to Thanksgiving, Campbell’s, whose soups and other products are used to make popular side dishes, has a special treat for gifting.

In a partnership between Campbell’s and Memphis-based Philip Ashley Chocolates, the chocolatier has created a limited-edition collection of chocolate truffles for Thanksgiving.

Available for pre-order on November 7th, the flavors are inspired by Campbell’s most iconic side dish recipes.

The flavors include:

 
> A box is $35. Head to PhilipAshleyChocolates.com.

> The history of chocolate.

> The different types of chocolate.

> The history of Thanksgiving.
 
 
AMERICA’S FAVORITE THANKSGIVING SIDES

Campbell’s announced the results of their State of the Sides report*, which found that Americans love their Thanksgiving sides!

This year’s Top 5:

 
More from the research:

 
> For Campbell’s side dish recipes, visit SidesSeason.com
 
 
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*Data from Campbell’s custom research and Ipsos Global Market Research (2023).

†Stuffing is a seasoned mixture (bread crumbs, vegetables, herbs, and butter, e.g.) that is typically cooked inside the cavity of the turkey. Dressing, on the other hand, is cooked in a separate pan or dish.
 
 

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Feast your eyes on the exotic Elefante Green Gold™ pineapple, a delicious and better-for-you food gift. (Gifts include those you give to yourself.)

This dazzling emerald green-skinned pineapple is taller, thinner, and larger than an average pineapple. Plus:

 
Each three-pound pineapple comes packaged in a beautifully decorated box with an incredible tactile feel, all while being 100% recyclable.

It’s also adorned with a special second label that immerses the reader in Ghanaian culture and symbolism.

The Elefante Green Gold is a variety native to West Africa. It’s grown in Ekumfi Abor in Ghana, a few hours west of Accra, Ghana’s capital.

The name, pronounced ela-font-tay, translates to elephant. The pineapple is grown in an area of Ghana where elephants roam.

Here’s more about Elefante Farm.

The farm specializes in ethical pineapple cultivation and creating sustainable farming communities.

> June 27th is International Pineapple Day.

> The first Tuesday in October is National Fruit at Work Day.

> The history of pineapple.
 
 
THE SUGAR LOAF PINEAPPLE

This variety, the Sugar Loaf pineapple, is native to Ghana and considered extremely rare and exotic. Ghana’s climate is ideal for pineapple cultivation.

The “Sugar Loaf” name truly reflects the taste (the sweetness has subtle flavor notes of honey).

Elefante Green Gold is the proprietary, trademarked name of the pineapples grown on Elefante Farms.
 
 
GET YOUR PINEAPPLES

This is an easy way to send a delicious food gift that’s different, special, and affordable. They’re available year-round.

> Just head to Melissa’s Produce.

The Elephante pineapple will keep at peak for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

[1] The beautiful Elefante Green Gold pineapple (all photos © Elefante Farms).

[2] The pineapple arrives in a lovely gift box. The core is completely edible—no waste.

[3] An Elefante Green Gold Pineapple growing on its stem.

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[1] Chef Ina Garten adds smoked salmon to her deviled eggs, with a topping of salmon roe (photo © California Caviar | Facebook).

[2] Durkee’s Famous Sauce, used by our mother and grandmother (photo © B & G Foods).

[3] Egg yolks mixed with mashed avocado create a creamier egg stuffing (photo © Avocados From Mexico).

[4] Piping the egg mixture creates special effects (photos #4 and #6 © D’lish Deviled Eggs Cookbook).

[5] Chop the yolk mixture finely and use a large open star tip to pipe it mixture (photo © DeLallo).

[6] Use vegetables in season, from asparagus in the spring to pumpkin in the fall.

November 2nd is National Deviled Egg Day. We have some of our favorite deviled egg recipes below.

For the simplest approach, we like chopped sweet gherkin and a bit of juice plus Durkee Famous Sauce.

Or for a special treat, a heaping topping of salmon caviar. We garnish both versions with a bit of fresh dill.

Our mom and grandmother always used Durkee Famous Sauce in deviled eggs. Here’s more about it.

Below, some famous chefs add surprising ingredients to their deviled eggs.

> The history of deviled eggs.

> More deviled egg recipes.
 
 
HISTORY OF DURKEE’S FAMOUS SAUCE

This popular tangy sandwich spread has been around for more than 100 years. It was even served in the Lincoln White House! [source]

The E.R. Durkee & Co. Spice Dealers was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1857, by Eugene R. Durkee. Durkee’s Famous Sauce was patented that year.

At the Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, the company, now Durkee Famous Foods, had a booth for visitors to try their wares.

Their stand-out product was, and remains, Durkee’s Famous Dressing and Meat Sauce, which, according to a pamphlet from the Exposition, was made from a “secret formula [which uses] vinegar, in which 12 different spices have been steeped for six months.”*

This vinegar is then combined with eggs and other ingredients “to complete one of the most fascinating dressings ever produced:” a thick mustardy, tangy-vinegary, mayonnaise-based sauce (some say, a cross between Dijon mustard and mayonnaise).

Attention housewives: Men, an earlier advertorial pamphlet said, were especially fond of the tangy flavor [source].

Eugene Durkee died in 1926, leaving everything to his daughters. Since the 1980s the company has had a series of owners. Most recently, in 2016, it was sold by ACH Food Companies, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, to B&G Foods.

In addition to deviled eggs, Durkee’s Famous Sauce is great on a BLT, club, or turkey sandwich (“Turkey and Durkee”) as well as:

 
While the sauce has fallen out of fashion, you can find it on Amazon.

And here’s a copycat recipe from Morton’s Steak Bible Cookbook should you like to make your own. Blend until smooth:

 
 
FAMOUS CHEFS’ SURPRISE INGREDIENTS FOR DEVILED EGGS

Thanks to Taste Of Home for the scoop here.

Sunny Anderson: Fried Onions. The Food Network host is all about texture in her deviled eggs, so she tops them with fried onions for a crisp, delicious bite. To spice things up, she adds minced jalapeños to the yolk mix.

Anne Burrell: Truffle. Burrell brought deviled eggs back to the culinary scene in 2008 when she introduced a truffle deviled egg on the menu of her Manhattan restaurant Centro Vinoteca. Her recipe calls for truffle oil in the yolk mix, topped with finely chopped black truffle peelings.

Ree Drummond: Pickles. Drummond uses chopped pickles and relish, plus a splash of pickle juice to set her deviled eggs apart.

Joanna Gaines: Brown Sugar Bacon. Gaines’s recipe uses bacon coated in brown sugar, cooking it until crispy. The sweet and savory pieces are chopped and sprinkled on top as a garnish.

Ina Garten: Smoked Salmon & Salmon Roe. Garten mixes cream cheese and smoked salmon into the yolks for a rich, creamy filling. She then tops the deviled eggs with salmon roe.

Robert Irvine: Green Apple. Irvine cooks shallots in butter and adds parsley and Dijon mustard to the yolk mix. But his secret ingredient is minced green apple, which adds a refreshingly sweet twist. Each deviled egg is garnished with lemon thyme or mint.

Aida Mollenkamp: Avocado and Proscuitto. This “green eggs and ham” recipe uses mashed avocado to give the egg yolk mixture a creamy, delicious flavor and green color. Mollencamp then tops the deviled eggs with prosciutto.

The Neelys: Barbecue Sauce. Pat and Gina’s secret ingredient for deviled eggs is barbecue sauce, smoky and sweet.

Rachael Ray: Anchovy Paste and Parm. Ray gives her deviled egg recipe a Caesar salad twist, using anchovy paste and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Michael Symon: A Symphony Of Ingredients. Symon mixes ketchup and Sriracha chili sauce and balances the heat with crème fraîche, cilantro, bacon, Dijon mustard, and lime.

Ming Tsai: Tea. Tsai boils the eggs with lapsang souchong tea leaves, a smoky Chinese black tea. The whites of the egg take on a rich, smoky, herbal flavor. He mixes the yolks with mayonnaise, chipotle, green onion, and jicama.
 
 
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*The ingredients on the package today: Soybean Oil, Water, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Mustard, Salt, Whole Egg Solids, Food Starch-Modified, Xanthan Gum, Spice Extractives.

†Substitute 1/4 to 1/5 of the mayo with Durkee’s.

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We’ve made pumpkin Martinis with pumpkin-flavored vodka, and with pumpkin spice syrup.

But this year’s version uses actual pumpkin purée and other ingredients that make it a fusion of pumpkin pie with a cup of coffee.

> October 1st is National Pumpkin Spice Day.

> October 26th is National Pumpkin Day.

> June 19th is National Martini Day.

> The history of the Martini.

> The history of coffee.

> The history of pumpkin.

> More pumpkin spice recipes.

> Make your own pumpkin liqueur.
 
 
RECIPE: PUMPKIN ESPRESSO MARTINI

 
Ingredients Per Drink

[1] A Pumpkin Espresso Martini (photo © Bonefish Grill).

[2] Patrón XO Coffee Liqueur (photo © Patrón Tequila).

1. PREPARE the espresso or coffee. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice.

2. ADD the ingredients to the cocktail shaker, adding the espresso last so has less time to melt the ice.

3. PLACE the lid on the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 15-30 seconds to create the foam.

4. STRAIN into a Martini glass. Garnish as desired and serve.

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