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(Click
here for PDF printable version of Kosher Nexus)
 From
the Editor
New York City was rapidly being
overrun by tourists: tourists from within the USA and foreign
visitors as well. They were all easy to spot—short shorts in
Manhattan on a work day, cameras dangling from their necks, fanny
packs and water carriers around their waists, and, finally—who
else opens a map in the middle of Manhattan, stops and blocks the
sidewalk while they figure out how to get to their destination?
Yup. Tourists. Lots and lots of tourists.
In the midst of all the tourists, a
few dedicated and hearty souls had paid extortionate prices for
parking (is $50 to park your car for a few hours extortionate or
not?), and were hoofing it the rest of the way to the Javits
Center for the annual homage to the gods of fine foods: The New
York Fancy Food Show—the mother of all food shows. The one they
call the Big One, the show that reduces mere mortals to quivering
masses of overtired voyeurs.
So there we were. This
year, we traveled light—no huge entourage. Just your intrepid
editor and his sidekick, the ever lovely Colette, she of Moroccan,
dark, good looks and French charm. Actually, to most of the booths
we visited we were probably Beauty and the Beast! UTJ Editor and
Maven of Good Taste, Deborah Wenger traveled with her own posse.
Herewith our observations. As has become
our custom, we will report on this show as “he
said/she said.”
Snack Time
Snack foods were huge this year. Of
course, the show is not a kosher show per se, so most of the snack
foods were not kosher, but an ever growing number were kosher, and
quite tasty.
SABRA FOODS has introduced
some new products that are tasty and convenient. We tried the
Jalapeno Hummus and the Zesty Mediterranean Salsa. The hummus was
not too hot and we enjoyed it. Then we tried the salsa. First we
tried the regular stuff for comparison. Then we tried the new,
zesty salsa. It was super! It has a nice back door. That is to
say, it does not frontally assault you. Rather it slides down nice
and smooth and only then do you realize that it has a little kick
to it. Really niiiiiice!
Sabra also introduced Sabra 20oz
Hummus Cups. These babies are very convenient for school lunches,
work snacks, and any other time you want to take a little hummus
with you on the go. Finally, we saw Sabra To Go With Pretzels.
These are little cups with a layer of flat pretzels on top of the
container. Talk about a snack to go. We regularly pig out on
hummus and pretzels and now they come packed together! Wowzers.
We’re hooked.
Sabra is brought to you by Blue and
White Foods: www.sabra.com.
TRIBE HUMMUS also now makes
hummus and crackers with different flavored hummus in each
package. These little hotties have a 90-day shelf life, no less!
The crackers inside are sort of like saltines. The hummus is all
natural. Pareve, too. (duh!)
IRON CHEF makes rice crisps.
As far as rice crisps go, these are pretty good rice crisps. We
could live without rice crisps, but these are actually pretty
tasty. Cerification is by the OU. Flavors include: Mexican Beer
and Chipotle, Wasabi and Asian Teriyaki. Not your usual flavors by
any means!! Check them out at www.ironchefproducts.com.
MARY’S GONE CRACKERS makes a
whole new kind of cracker. Mary’s crackers are wheat-free,
gluten-free, and organic. They are made from whole-grain brown
rice, quinoa, flax seeds and organic brown sesame seeds.
Certification is by the Half Moon K. Flavors include Caraway,
Herb, Onion and Black Pepper. We found the product to be quite
tasty and worth trying several times! Find them at
www.marysgonecrackers.com.
From Carmel Farms comes AUNT
BERTA’S handmade crackers. Certification is by the rabbinate of
Zikhron Yaaqov. These crackers are made from rolled oats,
sunflower seeds, sesame and flax. The fiber content is high, the
taste is great. See them at www.carmelfarms.com.
Aunt Berta’s also makes some
great jams and preserves to put on those yummy crackers. They come
in delectable flavors such as mango/lychee, passionfruit,
pomegranate, apple cinnamon, apricot, plum, mandarin orange, and
of course—etrog marmalade!
SUZIE’S KRISBIT is a bread
crisp. Certification is by the OU and the product is OU-D. Suzie
bakes artisanal breads, slices them, and crisps them. Krisbits are
made with fruits and seeds and are lightly sweetened with honey
and molasses. Flavors include Original Raisin, Blueberry Raisin,
Cranberry Raisin, and Strawberry Pomegranate. We tried the
original and the blueberry and found them both to be really,
really tasty. Suzie also makes flatbreads that are oven baked.
These are pareve (OU) and flavors include: Sesame, Italian Herb,
Garlic Salt, and Rosemary. Go to www.goodgroceries.com.
One of the hot new snack foods
(“hot” in many senses of the word) is edamame. What is
edamame? you may ask. Or you may not, but I’ll tell you anyway.
According to SEAPOINT FARMS, edamame “is a complete protein
containing all the essential Amino Acids. Edamame is the only
vegetable that offers a complete protein profile equal to both
meat and eggs in its protein content. Edamame is rich in calcium,
iron, zinc, and many of the B vitamins.” Actually, it’s a
soybean. Anyway, it’s good for you and tasty too! Seapoint Farms
makes several flavors of this treat, but only the Dry
Roasted/Lightly Salted are kosher at the moment (under the OK).
They’re working on getting certification for the others. Find
out more at www.seapointfarms.com.
FENG SHUI is a
great name for a snack food, isn’t it? One of the many kosher
brands of ROLAND FOODS, Feng Shui makes a variety of delectable
kosher snacks (and their display features a very prominent
OU—which was a big help when I was on a trip far from any kosher
stores!). In addition to edamame (of course), they have rice
crackers in original, nori seaweed, and hot wasabi flavors; maki
rolls, which are seaweed-wrapped rice crackers (they taste better
than they sound); and wasabi-coated green peas, which are
three-alarm HOT! Find them at www.asiafoods.com.
Sweet Stuff
Sweet things are always a welcome
treat. And this year, the show was loaded with sweet treats of all
types. Some were kosher, even!
ALMONDINA was at the show.
They make some really fine snacks! We tried the Choconut and were
reduced to a melting heap of MMMMMMMM! Remember the dog that would
hug himself and float up into the air and go MMMMMMMMM? Well, that
was us. Flavors include Gingerspice, Cinnaroma, Almonduo,
Anniversary, Brantreats, Sesame, Original and Chocolate Dipped.
Certification is OU. The taste is divine. Check them out at
www.almondina.com.
WALKER’S
SHORTBREAD is
always a major presence at this show. They have a few new OU-D
shortbread treats this year: Oatflake & Cranberry, Belgian
Chocolate, and Chocolate Chip Mini shortbreads. All as delectable
and all-natural as the original, of course! Find the entire line
at www.walkersshortbread.com.
We have never outgrown our love for
licorice. LUCKY COUNTRY makes soft, gourmet licorice. The flavors
are Blackcurrant, Apple, Natural Black, Black, Strawberry, and
Pineapple. Our faves were the Blacks. We are a sucker for
traditional, black licorice. Certification is by the Star-K; they
are at www.lucky-country.com.
Cherries…we all know those red
maraschino cherries. But if red isn’t your color, try the new
line from ROLAND FOODS. They have four new flavors—and colors—of
cherries: passion fruit (orange); lemon (yellow); lime (green);
and wild berry (blue). They are at http://rolandfood.com.
Frankly, they didn’t taste all that different from regular
cherries, but they are eye-openers!
SHEER BLISS has some of the
greatest treats we tried at the show. They had frozen delights
that were palate pleasers of the highest order. Certified by the
Kof-K, this company makes way upscale ice cream and novelty items.
Their chocolate-covered pomegranate ice cream on a stick was to
die for. As in: momma put the coins on my eyes! What an incredible
treat that was. Not one for the kiddies, it was subtle, it was
delish, and it was sublime. The ice cream comes in a can! No
kidding—a can! They claim that by putting it in a can, it stays
in the freezer better and remains unfreezer burned. We tried the
pomegranate-blueberry swirl and it was taam gan eden. They
have our vote! They can have your vote too, at www.sheerbliss.com.
So I get to sample the
chocolate. Hey, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!
ASHER’S CHOCOLATE has discontinued their
pareve line (darn!) but still makes lots of yummy OU-D chocolates.
They now come in distinctive packages—such as almond
buttercrunch in an ice cream tub. You can also find these goodies
individually wrapped. They will also make all kinds of gift
packages for you. Go to www.ashers.com.
Recent studies have shown that
dark chocolate is good for you! GHIRARDELLI has
capitalized on this trend and introduced several new flavors of
the very aptly named Intense Dark chocolate: Citrus Sunset,
Twilight Delight, and Mint Bliss. Delightful and blissful indeed!
These are under the Kof-K, as are other Ghirardelli products.
Visit www.ghirardelli.com
for more info.
Want a bottle of chocolate? I
mean that literally—you can get a bottle made of chocolate from
the folks at EMPRESS CHOCOLATE CO. in
Brooklyn, who make OU-certified large and small chocolate bottles
and will imprint your company name, simcha logo, or whatever you
want. You can find these and other gift items at
www.empresschocolate.com.
And what report on chocolate
would be complete without a mention of GODIVA?
The slogan for their latest line is: “Decadence Goes Mobile.”
Gotta love it! Their chocolate “pearls”(think TicTac boxes)
are OU-certified. Go to www.godiva.com
to see the entire line.
Sides and Condiments
At the REAL SALT booth, we
got to sample “real” sea salt. What is “real” salt? Well,
it ain’t so simple. So, pay attention—there will be a test!
Most table salt today is bleached, refined, mixed with anti-caking
agents, and more often than not, contains iodine. Some table salts
even contain a minute amount of sugar to disguise the bitter taste
of the salt. Real Salt is just that. Salt the way it comes. No
refining. No additives. In fact, you will see small flecks of
color in Real Salt—that is trace elements of other minerals that
occur in salt. This salt does not come from the Salt Lake. It
comes from a salt deposit 150 miles away from the Great Salt Lake.
We tried the salt. It was incredible. We tried it on some fresh
veggies. Again, it was extraordinary. Treat yourself and your
family to some of this fine KSA-certified salt. Flavors include
Onion salt, Garlic salt, Sea salt, Coarse Grind Sea salt, and
Season salt. Find them at www.realsalt.com.
DEL GROSSO makes a line of
both kosher and non-kosher pasta sauces. Be sure to only buy the
kosher sauces! Look for the OU on the label. If it ain’t there,
it ain’t kosher! The following LA FAMIGLIA sauces are OU kosher:
Fireworks Sauce, Red Pepper Sauce, Marinara Sauce, Tomato Basil
Sauce, and Arrabiata Sauce. We tried that last one and it was
finger-licking good! According to company info, each sauce comes
from the private recipe files of different family members. Check
them out at www.delgrossosauce.com.
SOY VAY makes marinades and
condiments. Most of what they have, we have tried at one time or
another. Frankly, we like their stuff a whole lot. Especially the
Island Teriyaki—we use that one all the time! We got to try two
new (for us anyway) flavors: Wasabiyaki and Cha Cha Chinese
Chicken Salad Dressing and Marinade. Both were really very tasty
and worthy of your table! Certification is by the Half Moon K.
They are at www.soyvay.com.
Some time soon the cold weather
will return…and then it will be time for a good cup of tea.
STASH has come out with several new lines of organic teas.
Their Chakra teas are aimed at various parts of the body and
spirit. Whether you believe in this or not, the flavors seem good:
Red Berry, Dragonfruit, Vanilla Honeybush, Melon & Green Tea,
Blue Ginger, Guanabana, and White Lotus. Most, but not all, are
certified kosher by the Kof-K.
Stash also has a new line of
flavored green teas: Goji Berry, Mangosteen, Ginger Peach, and
Pomegranate Raspberry are all Kof-K certified. Visit them at
www.stashtea.com.
I can’t wait for cooler weather
so I can try these teas. OK, I admit it, I just can’t wait for
cooler weather!
And of course you must have
honey with your tea. But why settle for just one kind of honey?
DUTCH GOLD makes ten of ’em, all
OU-certified: Alfalfa, Blueberry, Buckwheat, Clover, Eucalyptus,
Golden, Orange Blossom, Premium, Tupelo, and Wildflower. Check
them out at www.dutchgoldhoney.com.
We have written about the products
from the fine folks at BEYOND CLASSICS in the past. We
totally love their multi-cheese sauce (and the exception to their
pareve line). Well, they continue to amaze us. They now offer
recipes to go along with their incredible sauces. And it seems to
us, every recipe is a huge winner! As are, by the way, their
products. On the Net, you can find them at www.beyondclassics.com.
Oh, and here is a recipe we recently took from them and made at
home. It was MMMM-good!
4 boneless, skinless chicken
breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 jar of Beyond Classics Roasted
Peppers and Toasted Almonds pasta sauce
Brush the chicken with olive oil.
Combine the herbs and salt and sprinkle over the chicken. Heat the
remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Sauté chicken for 3 or 4 minutes per side. Add the Roasted
Peppers and Toasted Almond sauce. Lower the heat, cover, and
simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Substitution: you can
substitute dried oregano and/or basil instead of herbes de
Provence.
What would a food show be without a
visit to Sandi Ford, son Patrick, and all the good folks over at
BONE SUCKIN’? Their booth was hopping this year. People
came by in waves and waves. Sandi’s product line just continues
to grow and grow. Oh, and by the way, Sandi just gets younger
looking and more beautiful all the time. Hmmm, must be from using
BSS in everything. Turns out that American expats living in Israel
are looking for BSS there (alas, it is not for sale there—yet!),
too. Sandi said they will just have to find some way of selling it
to their fans in Israel. In the meantime, our family there knows
that we can always bring a dozen jars or so in our suitcase when
we go to visit! Sandi is working on producing a new, kosher
balsamic vinegar in order to introduce a new kosher product, but
production is still a few years away! So, until then, hang in
there. Oh, and while you’re hanging—don’t forget to use BSS
on everything!
Here is a recipe from the Bone
Suckin’ test kitchen:
Grilled new potatoes
1.5 tablespoons Bone Suckin’ Rib
Rub
12 red new potatoes
3 tablespoons margarine
Rinse potatoes and slice into
quarters. Place in a large resealable plastic bag and pour in ½
cup of water. Seal all but one little corner of the bag and nuke
it on high for 8 minutes. Remove from the microwave and drain the
water. Add margarine and Rib Rub to the potatoes. Shake the bag to
make sure all the potatoes are coated. Then place the potatoes on
a sheet of aluminum foil over a hot grill for about 10 minutes. OR
preheat oven to 375 degrees and spread the potatoes on a baking
sheet in one layer. Bake until golden brown. Eat. Enjoy. Make
appreciate moaning sounds.
I’ve done this with other root
vegetables—sweet potatoes, parsnips—as well, and it’s just
as good.
OTHER DELECTABLE DELIGHTS AND TASTY
TREATS
Notice that we’ve discussed
snacks, desserts, and condiments—but there were more substantial
foods at the show too.
ATALANTA
FOODS is
always coming out with new taste treats in cheese. This year they
were featuring Barkanit goat cheese from Israel, as well as
sheep’s milk brie with pecans. These and other OU-certified
products can be found at www.atalantacorp.com.
Atalanta also imports EQUINOX
organic maple flakes. You can grind them into anything—muffins,
pancakes, cereal, you name it—for a real maple flavor. It’s
also available in cranberry. Certification is from the MK in
Montreal.
EDEN ORGANIC makes
pasta. But pasta from wheat? That’s so last year! OK, they do
have wheat pasta, but they also have kamut pasta. What’s kamut?
A strain of wheat that, they claim, people with wheat allergies
can tolerate. This is currently their #1 bestseller, although they
also say that flax pasta is hot. See their entire line at
www.edenfoods.com.
Another entry in the pasta
category is AL DENTE PASTA. They feature
blends of whole-wheat pasta, such as Basil Fettucine, Spinach
Linguine, Wheat Fettucine, Spicy Sesame Linguine, and Garlic
Parsley Fettucine. These are certified by the Kof-Q (in
Cleveland). Watch out for the squid-ink pasta, though—this is
obviously not certified kosher!
You may already be familiar with
RICE SELECT’s variety of rice and couscous
products. Their new products, certified by the Star-K, feature
organic brown rice, couscous, and orzo. Coming soon are rice-spice
blends. They had a sample of these at the show—definitely worth
a try. All their products are at www.riceselect.com.
☺☺☺
All in all, it was a good show.
We spent about five hours there and pretty much saw all the things
we needed to see. We drank a lot of water. We rested the legs. We
walked on and on some more. We saw old friends. We made new
friends. We had a blast. Ah, the life of a Kosher Nexus writer is
a life of joy! Something we agree on!
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