Flavor Notes by Robert Rich: Food, Wine, Restaurants & Recipes

 


 

Local Food Topics

Fancy Food Show 2009

by Robert Rich, February 2009

Every year in San Francisco, the Fancy Food Show draws thousands of people in the culinary business, from importers, manufacturers, large international brands, to people with odd new packaging, teas or propietary spice mixtures looking for distributors. Among the prospective buyers walking the floor, you inevitably find the feeders and grazers looking for a tasty nosh to stuff their face.

It's a bit crazy, too big to see everything, and a bit daunting to try to write about. In past years I have tried to take specific angles, such as sustainable harvesting, small companies, organics, a single food type, or whatever. Still too much to think about.

This year I decided simply to take pictures of things I liked, and say a word or two about each of them.

Above, some of the best French cheeses all together from one importer, including one of my faviorite in the world, the Cosican Fleur du Maquis, a firm young sheep blend covered in rosemary, ash and juniper berries. Bright clean flavors melded with herbal complexity and earthy undertones.

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One of the most interesting Italian cheeses of the day, Beppino Occelli, a strong-scented aged hard goat cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves and washed in Barolo wine. Strong musky oders and mushroom overtones with some astringency and a rich nutty lingering finish.

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Not just balsamic vinegar, but pure aged balsamico essencia. This precious syrup comes from unfermented grapes, aged for up to two decades in chestnut barrels. As the grape juice slowly evaporates, the sugars concentrate into a think nectar much prized for its complex flavors and health giving properties. My favorite use for balsamico is to drizzle a few drops onto seared diver scallops. It's a magical combination.

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Several importers of cured meats offered samples of specialty items, difficult to obtain here in the USA. Serrano ham must be one of the best, and here you see it served in thin slivers directly from the whole leg, as one would see at a tapas bar in Spain. These hams are not smoked, but rather dry aged for a year or more after a salt rub.

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Foie gras has seen a fair anmount of contoversy on the USA during the last decade. Animal rights activists protest the force-feeding of geese and ducks to create this delicacy of fattened liver. The complex history and politics of foie gras has been debated at length, and I won't enter into that maelstrom here. Suffice to say that Hudson Valley Foie Gras has made an effort to educate the public about their farming practices, showing that farmers actually need to treat the birds gently, as stress will adversely affect the flavor of the meat. In fact, their hands-on methods could be considered more humane than typical western factory farming. Indeed, they were serving up some very tasty samples.

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...and what goes better with foie gras than black truffles? I'm a sucker for Tuber melanosporum. This local importer was sampling some exquisite Menu brand Italian mushroom paste with black truffle, tantalizing fragrances and rich flavor that lingered long after the sample had vanished.

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Some people will do just about anything to get noticed. This enterprising fellow was demonstrating his line of bacon flavored salt in a giant foam bacon costume. I guess it worked! The salt wasn't bad either.

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I have long adored Flavigny pastiles for the astonishing way they manage to capture a fragrance in a flavor. Their rose and lavender scented hard candies are especially mysterious. A charming booth attendant adds even more appeal to these traditional Victorian era candies.

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Todd Spanier, the King of Mushrooms, our charming local Bay Area culinary mycological expert, towering above the competition at an imposing two metres tall. Todd sells wild mushrooms to some of the best chefs in northern California, he's a passionate foodie and a really nice guy as well!