Kosher Blog

Kosher at the Fancy Food Show

Alyssa Kaplan, Kosher Blog reader and proprietor of KosherGourmetMart.com, has sent in the following dispatch about the kosher products she encountered at the latest NASFT Fancy Food Show, which was held July 10-12 at the Javits Center in New York.

There are over 5,000 vendors displaying products here from all over the world. Before I went to the show, I narrowed the list down to 200 vendors that had kosher products and found even more products at the show. All items are currently available or will be rolled out in the coming months. Here are many of the new exciting products that I found and enjoyed.

My favorite vendor/product line was from Beyond Classics. They have a complete line of pasta sauces with flavors like…

• wickedly wild Portabella Porcini & Shiitake
• creatively captivating Tomato Garlic with Cabernet
• playfully puttanesca Tomato Olives & Pine Nuts
• richly romesco Roasted Peppers & Toasted Almonds
• fabulously flavorful Asian Sesame Ginger (Noodle Sauce)
• gloriously great Flame Roasted Vegetables

…and a line of dressings and sauces…

• classically creamy Three Cheese Caesar (with imported kosher parmesan Regianno, caciotta and pecorina romano)
• strikingly splendid Garlicky Sesame Ginger
• ravishingly radiant Roasted Shallot Merlot
• lusciously lemon Lemon Garlic “Aioli” — very lemony would be great in a lemon chicken recipe
• sweetly savory Caramelized Onion Balsamic

All are under the OK Organized Kashrus Laboratories and are pareve except for the 3 cheese dressing. All products can be used on pasta or salad or in unconventional ways such as meat and fish.

What follows is a roundup by category of interesting and unique products.

HONEYS/JAMS

Rigoni USA’s line of imported organic Italian honeys and jams are all certified kosher under Star-K. Their honeys come in flavors like acacia blossom, lime blossom, and orange blossom. The main characteristics that distinguish their jams, called Fiordifrutta, from other jams include using only with organic fruit and using a limited amount of sugar (about 30% fewer calories than other jams). Fiordifrutta is produced with high-tech manufacturing methods that keep intact the taste and nutritution of the fruit. Varieties include apricot, cranberry, blackberry, peach, plum, lemon, orange, cherry, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, wild blueberry, and wild berries.

Aunt Bertas has whole line of products from Israel including marmalades (orange, pink grapefruit, mandarin orange); preserves (fig, peach blackberry, apricot, plum strawberry, apple cinnamon); spreads (onion, date & nut); and sauces (orange raisin, lemon mint, blue plum, tomato/onion). All are kosher under the OU.

VINEGARS/OILS

Marukan Vinegar’s products are all kosher under KAOAO supervision (”half-moon-k”):

• Genuine Brewed Rice Vinegar
• Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar
• Organic Genuine Brewed Rice Vinegar
• Organic Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar
• Ponzu Natural Citrus Marinade
• Ponzu Premium Soy dressing with Sudachi Citrus

The Village Press carries olive oil from New Zealand under a New Zealand heksher. They will eventually have flavored olive oils like lemon and rosemary. Their sample sizes are tiny and would be great for Purim baskets.

DAIRY

Royal George has introduced a Cheshire variety, certified kosher (chalav yisrael) by the OU. It is delicious and crumbly.

Mr. Barkan of Barkanit Cheeses was at the show. All Barkanit cheeses are now certified kosher/chalav yisrael by the OU.

Mozzarella Fresca makes delicious fresh mozzarella cheese and delicious ricotta cheese. Kosher under Kosher Certification Service in LA.

CHOCOLATE

Cocoa Pete’s: Pete used to make beer but switched to making chocolate after visiting Belgium. While there, he went to a local gas station and was able to purchase there a chocolate bar equivalent in quality to Callebaut and wondered why he couldn’t do that in the US. He has 4 varieties of chocolate. All certified kosher under the OU.

The Chocolate Traveler: Fine European-style chocolates presented in unique travel tins. Flavors include milk, bittersweet, white, and a new International selection including dulce de leche milk, tiramisu dark, and creme brulee white. Kosher under the OU.

Joanie’s Smiles: Gourmet chocolate bars infused with tea, kosher under Torah-Scroll-K of Denver. Flavors include: cranberry ginger tea milk chocolate, pistachio-green tea, white chocolate rosemary hibiscus tea white chocolate, herbal chai tea dark chocolate, coconut green tea dark chocolate, and wild raspberry tea milk chocolate.

San Francisco Chocolate Factory: Drops of dark chocolate with increasingly rich cocoa intensities are packaged in six signature Wine Country tins; each 3.5 oz. tin is also labeled with the wine varietal to which that specific chocolate is ideally matched. It ranges from 54% cocoa solids (for pairing with Port) to 72% (for pairing with Zinfandel). They also have a line of milk chocolates.

Vosges Chocolate: Chocolate bars (under Star-D supervision) with interesting flavors such as Black Pearl Bar (Japanese ginger, wasabi, black sesame seeds and dark chocolate) and Woolloomooloo Bar (roasted & salted macadamia nuts, Indonesian coconut, hemp seed and dark milk chocolate).

Bonnat Chocolate: Chocolate of superb quality, all made from cocoa beans roasted in-house, and imported from France in several varieties. Kosher certification by the Federation of Synagogues, London (Octagon-KF).

ICE CREAM

Palapa Azul: A new line of all-natural premium paletas (frozen fruit bars) made with the finest ingredients and flavors of Mexico. Bars include mango, cantaloupe, mango-chile and cucumber chile. Dairy ice creams include sweet corn (refreshingly good), mexican chocolate, and flan. Supervised by Kof-K.

Max & Mina’s Ice Cream is known for making interesting and unique flavors such as “lox” and “horseradish.” At the show, flavors were a little more standard and included root beer, halava, cookie monster (blue ice cream with cookies), chocolate blintz, and, my favorite, sour cream toffee.

Creme Cremaillere is ice cream made the French way. I had a delicious wild strawberry and white chocolate. People raved about the blueberry ice cream. They are dedicated to flavor, freshness and quality. Recipes are all fresh, all natural, all exquisite.

BAKED GOODS / DESSERTS

Cannoli Factory, Inc. had Italian deliciacies like cannolis, black-out cake, and Italian cheesecake. Under the Kof-K.

Galaxy Desserts offered miniature cakes perfect for entertaining.

BEVERAGES

Schokinag has a delicious line of European “drinking chocolates” with flavors like dulche de leche and dark chocolate. Their new flavors include Mexican Spice and Mint Chocolate.

Caffe D’Amore’s sipping chocolate is so smooth and rich, when it came out of the spigot, it was like molten chocolate. They also sell mixes for frappes.

Best Friends Cocoa, certified kosher by KVH. Flavors include traditional, raspberry truffle, cinnamon twist, and marshmallow cloud. They also have single serve muglets and cocoa gift tins. Both items are great for Purim baskets.

Tea was very big at the show with products from:

• Republic of Tea: white and red tea, plus unsweetened, bottled tea drinks like Orange Blossom and Honeydew Melon.
• Harney & Sons: tea tins, with coordinating bath salts and soap
• Adagio: a tea pot that brews from tea leaves
• Hoo Roo Outback: Australian tea
• Jones Soda Company: Organic bottled teas in a variety of flavors, certified by Star-K

SPICES

Spice blends and sea salts were very popular items at the show. There were several booths showing these items.

• Spice Hunter: complete line of spices and spice blends
• Kernel Seasons: healthy gourmet popcorn seasonings, with cheddar, parmesan, and garlic flavors
• Coastal Goods Brine Time: easily brine meat, poultry, and seafood for succulent and flavorful meat. Certified by OK.