Specialty Food Magazine

MAY-JUN 2012

Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.

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SPECIAL MARKETPLACE ADVERTISING SECTION FOODS IN FOCUS (continued from p. 60) special tyfood.com/wnwh natural/organic paZm l ahm Pasta Carbonara with Belmont Butchery guanciale Gourmet Sea Salts The Spice Lab Over 180 salts from around the globe, the largest selection of gourmet sea salts from a single source. Plus pep- per, peppercorns and pepper spice blends—new tastes, flavors and aromas abound. 4- and 8-oz. jars, 12 per case. Foodservice Wing Sauces Wing-Time, Inc. Wing-Time's authentic Buffalo wing sauces in gallon sizes for all your food- service needs. Flavors include; Mild with Parmesan, Medium, Hot, Garlic with Parmesan and Super Hot (with habanero peppers). Gluten-free, sugar- free, all-natural & preservative-free. which Michael Giarraputo argues is unclear to the con- sumer. "Consumers are con- fused by this forced labeling; it could imply the products are unsafe," he explains. "Even retailers aren't all aware of the distinction, so it's a real edu- cation battle." Iowa's much-hyped La Quercia has been dry-curing sales@thespicelab.com Ft. Lauderdale, FL thespicelab.com 954.275.4478 eatwings@wingtime.com Steamboat Springs, CO wingtime.com 970.871.1198 Booth 5524 paZm l ahm Co-Packing Travel Chocolate LLC Co-packing & private label manufacture for small & large runs. Chocolate for retail, baking, or manufacture. 718.841.7030, ext. 2 travelchocolate.com New York, NY info@travelchocolate.com Facebook: Travel Chocolate LLC without nitrates since its start in 2000. The art of dry-curing—an ancient process that involves salting the meat and then keeping it in a cool room to age, often as long as six months to a year or more—wasn't happening in the U.S., recalls La Quercia's founder Herb Eckhouse; the only domestic charcuterie available at that time was cooked or fermented. Eckhouse found a way to dry out the moisture that supports bacteria, which doesn't require nitrates, beyond those naturally occurring in salt. But regardless of whether they are synthetic, from celery juice or in salt, Eckhouse explains that many nitrates are consumed by bacteria during the curing process, so the finished products of most artisanal producers have negligible amounts. The Pedigree Pig Eckhouse is far more interested in talking about breeds. "In Iowa we have a lot of pigs and not a lot of people, so we knew our product had to be good enough for people on both coasts to want," he says. The quest for quality has made him obsessed with select breeds of pigs; it took four years of work with Missouri farmers to get the population of Tamworth pig—an endangered breed known for the sweetness of its fat—large enough to start commercially selling his raw Tamworth bacon (which can be served uncooked) and breed-specific prosciutto. La Quercia's Acorn Edition Meats are made from free-roaming Plastic Food Packaging Tech II, Inc. Tech II, Inc. specializes in high quality manufacturing of plastic food packag- ing. A family owned and operated injection molding company since 1969, Tech II is expanding and is now the first American Company capable of Thermoforming In-Mold Labeling. Decoration also available. Iberico and Tamworth pigs fed on a diet of acorns and hickory nuts. To develop these meats, Eckhouse borrowed a few ideas from Europe, specifically how the Iberico de Bellota is made in Spain. The quality of his American-produced meat "expresses itself through the drying process," he says, and the end result is "an intense savory-sweet flavor with nice caramel notes on the finish." New Member Facebook: Tech II, Inc. Twitter: @techii_sales michele.stokes@techii.com Springfield, OH techii.com 937.398.7323 Booth 3412 GET MORE INFORMATION ON ALL THESE PRODUCTS ONLINE AT special tyfood.com/wnwh 94 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE ❘ specialtyfood.com Eckhouse is one of the many producers who believe the appeal of artisanal meats will continue to grow. And while much of the focus is on local and uncommon products, for Eckhouse, it all comes back to the taste. "As people try new things and their taste buds acclimate to higher levels of quality, they will continue to try new and better cured-meat options," he says. "It's the evolution of taste." |SFM| Kristen Bieler is a freelance writer and former contributor to Beverage Media, City and Food & Wine.

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