Last Wednesday morning, as we received our weekly delivery of California produce, the wind was picking up and the clouds were grey and churning – a sure sign of snow on the way. As we hurriedly brought in the fresh greens, jewel-like lemons and first-of-the-season strawberries, the juxtaposition between the impending New England storm and spring produce from California was increasingly apparent. Unpacking a box of Moro blood oranges from Rancho del Sol, I was immediately hit with a rich, balsamic fragrance that was only matched in richness by the oranges’ bright ruby appearance. Having yet to preserve any of this season’s citrus fruit, I immediately decided to snap up a pound to juice and candy. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Candy & Confections’ Category
Capturing California Citrus: Candied Blood Orange Peel
Posted in Candy & Confections, Desserts, Produce, Producer Profile, Recipes, tagged Bill Zaiser, blood orange, candied blood orange peel, candied fruit peel, citrus, food, Linda Zaiser, Moro blood oranges, preserving, Rancho del Sol, recipe on March 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Staff Survey Results: Our Top 10 of 2011
Posted in About Us, Candy & Confections, Cheese, Chocolate, tagged favorite foods, food, staff survey, top 10 of 2011 on December 10, 2011 | 2 Comments »
At the end of each year, staff members at all three of our shops fill out a staff survey, reflecting on our year in food. We pick our favorites, reminisce about revelatory food moments and about new discoveries. Like clockwork, some products can be counted on to appear each year. Other foodstuffs disappear and/or reappear, depending on staff members’ palates. Here we share our top ten picks culled from this year’s survey results – we hope you enjoy these delicious goodies as much as we do!
- 2011 Staff Top 10 -
Marcel Petite Comté – Year in and year out, this is the headline cheese of the survey! A raw, cows’ milk cheese from the Jura mountains, it is a classic French AOC cheese. What did staffers have to say? One wrote, “I feel this is the backbone of our cheese collection. Hand crafted and hand selected.” Another wrote, “aging cheese does matter and the care taken from start to finish with these cheeses makes for an amazing product at any age.” (more…)
Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano: Italian Confectioner
Posted in Candy & Confections, Christmas, Hanukkah, Italy, Producer Profile, tagged candied fruit, Chocolate, confection, fondants, food, glacé, marrons glacés, Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano, Romanengo on December 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
In the list of wonderful, accidental finds we have made for the shop, few rival the discovery of Italian confectioners, Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano. On a trip to northern Italy, Ihsan and Valerie were strolling the labyrinthine streets of old Genova when they stumbled across a fantastical, gem-like little shop.
Since 1780, the Romanengo family has been dispensing handmade candies from this beautiful shop with its marble walls, glass shelves and rich wooden cases. Crystal receptacles are filled with confetti-colored candied fennel seeds, threads of sugar-coated cinnamon, sweet fruit fondants, chewy rosewater marshmallows and tiny pastiglie. On his first visit, Ihsan bought some treats to take home and each parcel was painstaking wrapped in dark blue tissue-like paper and tied with a Genovese sailors knot. Since that trip, we have been importing directly from Romanengo and several staff members have made the pilgrimage to Genova themselves! (more…)
Marrons Glacés: Learning From the Master
Posted in Candy & Confections, Italy, Producer Profile, Travelogues, tagged candied chestnuts, chestnuts, food, Genoa, Genova, marrons, marrons glacés, Pietro Romanengo, Romanengo on December 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Emily recently traveled to Genova to learn how to glacée candied fruits and chestnuts with the Romanengo family.
I carefully fished the candied chestnut out of the pot of hot sugar syrup, watching its outer layer become glossy with white icing. Marcello leaned in to inspect my work.
“Bella,” he said. “Bella.”
I appreciated the encouragement. Marcello, who works for the Genovese confectioner Pietro Romanengo fu Stefano, has been making marrons glacés for 30 years. I had been in Italy learning this craft for just over a day—not even a blip when you consider that Romanengo has been in business for 230 years! (more…)
Visions of Sugar Ameixas: When Is a Plum Not a Plum?
Posted in Candy & Confections, Christmas, Food History, Pairings, Portugal, Travelogues, tagged Alentejo, Ameixas d'Elvas, Elvas, food, Greengage, plum, plums, Portugal, sugar plum, sugarplum on November 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
When is a plum not a plum? When it is a sugarplum or a plum pudding! Judging by the names of these traditional British Christmas treats, one would think that both include some quantity of plum. Not true! For centuries, the term ‘sugarplum’ has referred to any type of dried fruit, made into a small, vaguely plum-shaped sweet. During Victorian times, these sugary candies sometimes contained raisins or currants which were called plums.
Dios Mio, It’s Membrillo!
Posted in Candy & Confections, Pairings, Portugal, Travelogues, tagged cheese pairings, cotognata, food, Manchego, marmelada, membrillo, Portugal, quince, quince paste on July 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
If you love cheese, you’ve likely come across the sweet, tangy condiment called membrillo. Membrillo is the Spanish word for the quince fruit and is commonly used to refer to the sweet quince paste also known as cotognata in Italian and marmelada in Portuguese. Even though recipes vary, quince and sugar — cooked to a thick consistency, molded and cooled — are the primary ingredients. The resulting quince paste is a traditional accompaniment to many cheeses including the famous Manchego.








