June 26 to June 28,
2016
As opposed to previous years, this year I am highlighting
interesting products that I stumbled across while perusing the aisles.
At the Fage booth they were offering samples of their new
Fage Crossovers. Some of the interesting new toppings are olive thyme with
almonds, tomato basil with almonds, coconut curry with cashews, and coconut
with dark chocolate. The sample we selected was carrot ginger with roasted
pistachios.
Excellent, especially if you like your yogurt with a zing!
Although, I did feature it last year, it remains one of my
favorite samples from the show: Marukome’s make-your-own miso soup “bar.”
This
time I went with their Original Miso & Easy base with tofu, green onion, asparagus, and edamame:
I was glad to have run into Milton’s Local booth. First of
all, I was drawn to the smell of cooking bacon. Who can resist?
Also, like that
their meat is all-natural and uncured and that they use sustainable farming
practices.
And they were also the winner of the Shelf Showdown. Inspired by
Shark Tank, the competition allows
first-time exhibitors to pitch their product to a team of specialty food
buyers.
Initially, I thought this booth in the Japan aisle was offering olive samples.
Instead they were baby peaches from Japan.
They were very sweet and promoted to
accompany gelato, cocktails, or simply alone as a snack.
Sampled some strange-looking fruit called dragon fruit
(recalled it was a secret basket ingredient from Chopped, so I had to try it). Rather bland, similar to a kiwi
taste.
As well as a baby yellow tomato. Less acidic and sweeter
than a red tomato.
And seeing an alien-like ginger root in a jar was jarring!
Cypress Grove Chevre featured “cake”-style creations made
out of their cheeses? Wow!
Budweiser is now getting into the BBQ sauce business.
Interesting . . .
The centerpiece of the Moroccan aisle was a man seated on
cushions making traditional Moroccan tea. Great place to relax a bit from food
sampling, and the tea makes for a great palate cleanser.
The Or Tea? booth was beautiful.
Hope they are able to find
distribution in America as their artwork and packaging are gorgeous
Even their
cup holders are keepers!
And, as with every Fancy Food Show, must mention the
alcoholic beverages. Loved the
Tequila La Tilica bottle. The design is a tribute to the
Day of the Dead holiday. For the Mayans, the image of the snail symbolizes
birth, life, and resurrection. The tequila is 100 percent Agave. I’m not
usually a fan of drinking tequila straight, but this one was smooth yet
intensely flavored.
Malvasia Wine from the Greek islands was delicious. It’s a
white sweet wine that comes in a lovely bottle.
It actually tasted like port.
The wine also has a rich
historical backstory. According to their promotion material, it was a famous
medieval wine that was lost through time. In 2010 it “was triumphantly reborn
in its birthplace, Monemvasia.”
For a more complicated drink, try Ramune Hello Kitty Soda
In particular, the Hello Kitty Soda.
It involves a break-off cap and a marble. If you are pouring or drinking from
the bottle, make sure that the marble faces the side indents. They prevent the
marble from falling to the top and creating a slow pour).
The “R” in “Ramune” is
pronounced as an “l.” So it sounds like an Asian version of pronouncing the
word “lemonade.” And the soda does have that type of flavoring. Much lighter
than what you would expect from a soda. Fun and refreshing drink! They actually
gave away free samples, so I took a strawberry-flavored one.
The most magical drink, though, had to be the one offered by
Alice & the Magician, a Vermont-based company. They specialize in cocktail
aromatics (aka edible fragrances) that focus on one’s “scent memory.”
Their
booth looked like that of a mad scientist’s.
The one I tried was one with a chocolate birthday cake
scent. With these sprays you can celebrate your birthday every day.
Cheers!
