I once spent a night near Modena, Italy at an agriturismo, basically the Italian version of a B&B that’s on a farm. I got to talking with one of the owners and he asked what brought me to the area. I replied I was there to visit La Vecchia Dispensa, a balsamic vinegar maker. “Oh!” […]
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Gelato is Italy’s suave version of ice cream. It is to American ice cream what Gucci is to Levi’s. Most Italian towns have at least a few gelaterie, tiny shops that sell nothing but gelato. Big cities will have dozens of them. They’ll usually have at least a dozen flavors prominently displayed, everything from sexed […]
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I was at a cheese counter the other day. A gentleman looking for blue cheese stood next to me. The cheesemonger asked if he liked Stichelton. He’d never heard of it. She asked if he liked Stilton. That got an enthusiastic nod. But here’s the catch: Stichelton is Stilton, except for a pesky technicality. So […]
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Herb Eckhouse’s prosciutto is inspired by the time he spent living in Parma, Italy. A few years back, though, Herb turned his attention to Spain. Acorn-fed pork is an old tradition in Spain, where Jamón Ibérico de Bellota is renowned as one of the country’s culinary crown jewels. The acorn-heavy diet has an incredible effect […]
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Four hundred years ago, amongst the wild turkey, venison, cod, and bass, the original Thanksgiving table included corn. Not fresh corn on the cob. Since the corn harvest ended by early fall and flash freezing hadn’t quite been invented yet, back then any corn eaten in November would have been dried. Much of the dried […]
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The Thanksgiving turkey most of us are used to is very different than the turkey that would have been on our table a hundred years ago. They look different: today’s commercial turkeys are all white with a broad, distended breast; traditional turkeys range from white to tan to bronze to black and have a longer, […]
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Sun drying is the oldest food technology still in use today. (I believe it predates fire, but hey, I could be wrong.) It’s not too common these days, since cheap electricity allows us to dry things much more quickly than the sun does. But sun drying can produce some incredibly flavorful foods including some of […]
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Hungarians eat a pound of paprika per person each year. It’s enjoyed in everything from sausages and stews to breads and cakes. It’s a key seasoning in all of the national dishes of Hungary. If there isn’t enough paprika in the dish you’re served, not to worry—on the dinner table you’ll find salt, black pepper, […]
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Here’s a secret about American Spoon’s Whole Seed Mustard: it’s actually not mustard. You wouldn’t think that to look at the ingredient list; it’s made of the same stuff as mustard. You wouldn’t think it’s not mustard when you use it, either; it tastes like mustard and makes a great addition to sausages, burgers, sandwiches, […]
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A lot of the Dijon mustard out there isn’t from the French city of Dijon. Unlike, say, champagne, which must must come from the region of Champagne, or Parmigiano-Reggiano, which has to be made around the city of Parma, Dijon mustard can be made just about anywhere—France, California, Japan, you name it. The “Dijon” part […]
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