Kosher Blog

Review: KosherItalia.com

The goals of online retailer David Brawer seem to go hand-in-hand with the Kosher Blog: “We feel that although kosher products are widely available in supermarkets throughout the country, in the gourmet specialty product area there is very little and sometimes nothing available. We are attempting to fill that void.”

Filling the void is KosherItalia.com, which we first “discovered” last month. A month later, they still offer authentic products (with strict Orthodox certification) direct from Italy, but they’ve made a big change — the website. Online ordering is now fully operational, and each item available on the site is accompanied by a short description which includes full kashrut information.

Mr. Brawer asserts KosherItalia.com’s prices “can rival their non-kosher counterparts.” So, to put this to the test, we visited Cheese.com for some comparison shopping. Interestingly, both sites use the same open-source e-commerce platform, so they’re quite similar in that regard; descriptions at Cheese.com are more detailed, and their “Product Metrics” section is very useful. As for prices:

Fontal/Fontina
KosherItalia: $6.89 - 9 oz. ($0.77/oz)
Cheese.com: $6.95 - 8.8 oz. ($0.79/oz)

Pecorino
KosherItalia: $8.79 - 10 oz. ($0.88/oz)
Cheese.com: $6.10 - 8 oz. ($0.76/oz)

Provolone
KosherItalia: $6.49 - 8 oz. ($0.81/oz)
Cheese.com: $5.32 - 10 oz. ($0.53/oz)

By and large, all prices are competitive — that last comparison isn’t entirely fair, as Cheese.com’s offering is made in the US, not Italy.

But what about the important part — taste? Fortunately, we were sent samples of four cheeses — Fontal, Italico, Provolone, and Grana Padano — which arrived cold from thorough packing with styrofoam and a reusable ice pack. The short answer: each cheese was delicious. To taste, I was joined by two friends, Chaim and Kevin (the bona-fide treyf-eye to serve as “control”).

The Provolone (unsmoked) is the first kosher Provolone I’ve ever liked (The Good Life’s “Aged Provolone” was terrible), with a smooth, firm texture and full flavor. We enjoyed eating it in chunks and on crackers, but it would also serve well sliced thin on a sandwich. Kevin noted that on the grand scale of Provolones, it was on the mild side.

The Italico, an ivory-colored cheese with a thin whitish rind, was quite soft and had a delicate flavor.

The Fontal was a bit softer than the Italico (spreadable when room-temp) and had a much more pronounced flavor — Kevin’s favorite. I thought it was like a strong Brie — very nutty, earthy. The very soft red rind had an even stronger flavor, but we found it to be enjoyable. Though Cheese.com equates Fontal with Fontina, this cheese is entirely different animal.

Grana Padano was probably Chaim’s favorite — he happily ate large chunks of this hard cheese which is akin to Parmesean. True to the description, we found it crumbly and well-suited to sit atop pasta or salad, or, like Chaim, eat in chunks with a good wine.

I also had a chance, a few weeks ago, to try some of KosherItalia’s other products, which were available locally at the Butcherie. Their gnocchi, a fun alternative to pasta, was tasty and easy to prepare — altogether equivalent to Bartenura’s gnocchi product. Their vacuum-packed mixed olives were fragrant and flavorful, but I thought they were much too soft (perhaps they were sitting on the shelf too long, presumably not a problem if purchased direct from KI.com).

All in all, KosherItalia is a great addition to the limited number of kosher gourmet outlets, and will be even better as they add new products to their selcetion — roasted peppers and other vegetables, Gorgonzola cheese, and Italian tuna in olive oil are in the works.

As with any site that sells perishables, the shipping rates can be daunting — but the quality of the products certainly won’t let you down. Just get those orders in before sundown Friday — the site actually closes during Shabbat and reopens shortly after nightfall on Saturday.

Some final suggestions:
* Bigger product pictures (and more of them)
* Detailed shipping information should be available before checking out
* Italian salamis, cheese-stuffed cherry peppers, and aged balsamic vinegar would be wonderful, if there are any kosher sources available
* Keep working on the layout, it’s getting better! Some of the colors clash on my screen.
* Fix the broken “osCommerce” image on the bottom.