GUSTI Blog

These EV Olive Oils Are Going to the Olive Oil Oscars - in California!

These ev olive oils were sent last week to Pomona, in California, to participate to the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition, an annual event since 2000. They expect some 500 different olive oils from all over the world. That's a lot of olive oils to taste. We are doing tasting of all our new olive oils in the warehouse these days, and after 3-4 tasting I already get confused. I hope there are a lot of judges at the LA Competition!The oils that are running for the gold are:

Tenuta di Cafaggio: from near Siena by Enrico Benci.

La Quagliera: from Abruzzi by Prisca Montani.

Cru di Cures: from Sabina by Laura Fagiolo.

Vicopisano: from near Pisa by Nicola Bovoli.

We kissed the bottles before we shipped them to to the West Coast. Good luck to them! Winners will be announced June 19th. Stay tuned.

Pasta al Farro by Carlo and Carla Latini - An Amazing Pasta

We always look forward to receiving your comments about our products and services. This is a review from a happy customer of Pasta al Farro I just read on amazon.com. Grazie mille! Below is what she writes:

"This is amazing pasta. Since my nutritionist suggested that I stop eating white flower and unhealthy carbs, I am still able to satisfy my love of pasta with this spelt grain pasta, that is high in fiber and big on taste. Since my husband hates pasta, when i made this for dinner he agreed that this was the best gourmet pasta he had ever tasted. Amazing. I love this stuff."

Mercato di Roma al Circo Massimo - of the series: you thought nothing ever changes in roma? wrong!!!

If you are visiting Roma and if you love authentic and local italian food you shouldn't miss the Mercato Circo Massimo. Open on Saturdays and Sundays, located in the center of Roma, in the splendid building which was once the old Jewish fish market, near Via dei Cerchi. It is next my other discovery of this trip, Cristalli di Zucchero. Caffe' and cappuccino, first, with Camille (Gustiamo's food reporter - see here her posts), Zac (Camille's boyfriend and official photographer of her culinary adventures with Gustiamo) and Pietro (third from left in the picture). Pietro works with Coldiretti, the sponsor of this  Mercato and knows everything about good authentic foods. How can I be so sure? Pietro had the best training, having worked part time with Gustiamo for four years, before. Pietro is always there and when you go to the Mercato, make sure you say hello!

Roberto Vinci is the infaticable Direttore of the Mercato and explained to me that only the farmers from Lazio can display and sell their products at the Mercato and their selection is based on best quality and practices. From 20 farmers, when the Mercato first opened last October, now there are 50, all grateful to have an outlet in the center of Roma. They are proud of their hard work and willing to tell you everything about their products. Roberto also told me that, in the average, 5,000 people (romani, but also many foreigners) visit the Mercato every week end, spending an average of 30 Euros. Prices at the Mercato are kept lower than other food markets. Therefore, everybody wins and when you go, you see all smiling faces. What a pleasure!

At the Mercato you can find everything you need: bread, honey, meat, unpasturized milk, the wonderful Pecorino Romano, the freshest vegetables, grains and legumes, salumi, flowers and... EV Olive Oil from Lazio. Flaminio D'Urso makes Itranello, an EV Olive Oil monocultivar Itrana, a local olive from Lazio which will soon receive the DOP status. He also cures Itrana olives and when these are picked ripe and dark, they become the famous Olive di Gaeta. Flaminio gave me a bottle of Oil and a jar of olives to bring to NY. If you go to the Mercato, go to Flaminio, taste his olive oil and let me know if you like it as much as I do.

The Perfect Gift for Mamma - May 9

Since the 1920's, when Mother's Day became a national holiday and the floral industry turned it into a major consumer event, our mothers, mothers in law, grandmothers, in fact all the women in our lives, have received tacky and ordinary bouquets of flowers that wilt after three days. Aren't you tired? Most of all, aren't THEY tired of floral arrangements with names like "Elegant Wishes", "Sunshine Daydream", "Sentimental Surprise"?

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This year Mother's Day traditionalists can find a tasty alternative to the conventional  bouquet. For Mamma, this year, express your true feelings of love, gratitude and, most of all, respect. Send her something good and lasting. Buy your gift from Gustiamo. Martina just put together these gifts for the Mom in your life:

- Mother's Day Dinner -  Bring Italy in her kitchen (above), and

- Indulge your Mother -  A unique Italian breakfast.

From Camille - A Culinary Adventure with Gustiamo - Camille pays a visit to Sant'Eustachio, il Caffe'

Camille  is enjoying a few quite days in Roma where she is attending a school to learn Italian. But her culinary adventure does not stop: she is still looking for the Italy Best Foods (and coffee) and she is meeting with Gustiamo producers. Click here if you wish to read  previous stories. In Roma, she pays a visit to Sant'Estachio, il Caffe':

I like to think of myself as somewhat of a coffee connoisseur. But in Italy, it’s a whole different story. From what I can tell, the majority of Italians drink caffè (what we would call “espresso”) with breakfast (for many, breakfast is only caffè), as an after-lunch pick-me-up, in early evening, and after dinner. By Italian standards, my one or two cups a day of watered down “caffè americano” with plenty of milk is as far from caffè as you can get. So I’ve been trying to take advantage of the “bar” (caffè bar, that is) on every corner, drinking as many cappuccini as possible before lunch (it’s strictly a morning beverage) and a caffè during the mid-afternoon slump as possible. When I first arrived I was impressed by everything, but now I’ve started to understand the difference between a perfectly balanced caffè and one that’s overly bitter or watery. And the caffè at Sant’ Eustachio is by far the best I’ve had. As I have been with every producer I’ve visited, I was really excited to visit the famous Sant’Eustachio in Rome.

I read about it in my “Food Wine Rome” travel guide and, as you might have noticed, they’ve been getting some great press lately. So although I was unable to visit them on a day when they would be roasting, I still felt fortunate to get a brief tour of where the magic happens. Raimondo took a quick break from the line at the cash register to show me the traditional, wood-fired coffee roaster (very few of which are in use today) and the bags and bags of pure arabica beans lining the walls. He explained that the entire roasting process takes only about 20 minutes, and that they have several different grinds (all of which are available through Gustiamo). 

The best part of the visit, though, was getting to try the famous caffè. It had bite but wasn’t overly bitter, was extremely sweet (just how I like it, but you can get it “senza zucchero” if you prefer), and the perfect strength. All in all, perfectly balanced.

And it’s worth visiting just to watch the barista at work – even when the line to get to the counter is three people deep, he works with determined precision and turns out the most attractive and best tasting drinks possible. As someone who’s done barista work, I appreciate the ability to make quality espresso even under pressure!

I look forward to taking my parents, who will be joining me in Rome, to Sant’ Eustachio and showing them the best caffè in town.

Camille Frazier

Gustiamo Salutes the Annual IACP Conference in Portland

 The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a worldwide forum for the development and exchange of information, knowledge, and inspiration within the professional food and beverage community.

Gustiamo is a proud member of this venerable organization and every year donates a food basket for the silent auction for its Culinary Trust. This year, we were invited to donate by Paula Lambert, the owner of the Mozzarella Company, in Dallas, TX. Paula not only sells mozzarella, but also both local and imported beautiful cheeses. Hence, the content of this basket, all cheese condiments: Organic Apple & Rosmary Preserve by San Matteo Organic Farm; White Dop Cilento Figs jam from Campania; pure Corbezzolo Honey from Sardegna: Zibibbo grape Elixir from the island of Pantelleria. All you need for a well traveled and delicious cheese board.

If you are in Portland... mi raccomando: BID HIGH on Gustiamo gift basket!

L'Angolo del Paradiso, a Real Local Restaurant in Gragnano Chooses Pasta Faella

Before making the final decision that Pastificio Faella was Gustiamo-worthy, after our careful due diligence (read of our visit to Gragnano, here) the pasta needed to pass the final test: we must eat it! La Prova del Cuoco!

Sergio Cinque, of Pastificio Faella, drove me on a winding and VERY narrow road uphill (so uphill, at times it looked vertical) 30 minutes past Gragnano. (Glad I am from Napoli and used to these roads and this crazy traffic. I didn't blink an eye!) We arrived to L'Angolo del Paradiso, a restaurant perched on the mountain. It is owned by Franco and his family. Franco says that he always cooks with Pasta Faella and he is very happy about it. He is so happy, he even sells it to his customers who buy the pasta in cases after having tasted it. Many years ago, it was Franco's father who suggested they use Pasta Faella. Franco's father had worked in a Pastificio in Gragnano all his life. Not Faella, another one. When he retired, during the busy season, he happened to go to help the Faellas and was so impressed by the quality of the raw materials, the production, the attention to detail, that he chose pasta Faella for his restaurant.

Franco made the MOST AMAZING pasta I ever tasted. It was the "mezzi paccheri", a shape I adore, because I think that the whole "paccheri" are too big. He said the name of the recipe was "mezzi paccheri fume' " and that the sauce was made with smoked provola (it's a local cheese), fried eggplants, fresh sausage crumbled and some cherry tomatoes to add color, he said.

Now, l'Angolo del Paradiso is a small restaurant in the middle of nowhere. It is extremely rustic and basic. That Franco has chosen Pasta Faella, which is not inexpensive, is a real testament to its quality and the final proof that this is an exceptional product. Grazie, glad to have you with us.

Why is Faella the Best Artisanal Pasta in Gragnano?

 After Camille's enthusiastic report of her visit to Pastificio Faella, I couldn't resist and decided I wanted to see the pasta magic, too. I went to Gragnano, thirty minutes from Napoli, the land of "O Sole Mio". There was no sun, when I went; in fact, it rained all day. My sunshine was the warm welcome of the Faella family and all their friends. What I learned illuminated me! Between me and Camille, now we have gone to Gragnano three times; we talked to everybody in and outside of town; we did our careful due diligence. The final decision is: Yes! Pasta Faella is good enough to be imported and represented by Gustiamo in the United States! Evviva!

Gragnano is called "La Citta' della Pasta" because its history of pasta making is 500 years old. Last century, every family would make pasta using the pure water from the local springs (it is still pure, with limited calcium content) and drying it in the streets, taking advantage of the warm breeze that would flow through the main road like a channel from the mountains to the sea.There are very few pastifici left in the center of Gragnano but they no longer dry the pasta in the streets, for hygienic reasons. Pastificio Faella is the only Pastificio left in the main square, Piazza Guglielmo Marconi.

Don Mario Faella is the son of the founder, Gaetano, and he is 95 years old. Gaetano and his family moved to the current location of the Pastificio, in Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, when Don Mario was 4. He still lives on the second floor of the building with his wife who cooks pasta for him every day. Asked whether he likes any particular pasta shape or sauce, Don Mario replies, I eat everything, as long as it is my pasta. Don Mario, started to work in the pastificio when he was 10. His first job? Fullfilling the export orders to a certain Mr. Letterese, their distributor in NY at the time. He says it was a very tough job; his father wanted to discourage Mario's passion in the family pastificio. Luckily, he did not succeed and Don Mario is still there. He goes to work (one flight of stairs down) every day and monitors the quality of the production with love and care. He told me with an authority and a passion I will never forget: LA PASTA VUOLE IL SUO TEMPO DI RIPOSO! (pasta needs its time to rest!) In fact, he believes that the drying phase is the most crucial and delicate in the production of pasta. Don Mario was happy to see me and wished me good luck at bringing his pasta to America. 

Kind, hard working and talented Sergio and Luca Faella, Don Mario's nephews, are now running the Pastificio. They are the family's new generation which will guarantee the company a good and long life. They have learned everything from Don Mario and can't make mistakes. Don Mario is the  soul of the pastificio and he is watching over Sergio and Luca's shoulders. He always will! Long life to Pastificio Faella. And grazie!

Did You Say Nothing Ever Changes in Roma? Wrong!

Writing from Roma, where I've been spending a few glorious days. I'm glad to report these 2 new entries, at least new to me:

Pizzarium in via della Meloria, which is near Via Candia, across the street from the Cipro subway station. The entrance of the place, which is miniscule, is even hidden by scaffolding, these days ; it's like a treasure hunt. And what treasure!!! Pizzarium serves pizza as the name suggests. Sublime pizza with the most amazing combinations of fresh and best ingredients. But don't think it is one of those fancy places we have become accustomed to in NY lately. This is "pizza al taglio" as the picture on the left shows. They literally CUT the pizza with the scissors. No tables, no nothing. Just a huge line in and outside Pizzarium which proves that quality pays, despite the high price. When I went yesterday, Gabriele Bonci, the master pizzaiolo, had left for the day. One more reason for me to go back. I want to meet the man in person and hear from him the secret of his success.

Tip if you go: working hours are all day until 9pm. I went at 8. Wrong! Try to go around 6-7. Bring the pizza home, heat it up in the oven and have it for dinner with your best bottle of wine or beer. Enjoy!

My second huge discovery in Roma is Cristalli di Zucchero, a pastry shop in the central area of Circo Massimo, across the street from the church Sant'Anastasia. Pastry chef and owner is Marco Rinella, continuing his family tradition and passion (his grandfather became a baker in 1920!). From the picture you can see only one kind of cake, but the selection of pastries and pralines  in the small and tastefully decorated shop is amazing. I cornetti are out of this world.When I went to visit Cristalli di Zucchero, Marco was not in the shop. Once more, it means I must go again. Can't wait.

Tip if you go: have a cup of Cristalli di Zucchero wonderful coffee! It comes from Le Piantagioni del Caffe' (aren't short names in fashion in Italy, anylonger?), a small company in Toscana. Cristalli di Zucchero uses their coffee. (Left is Tony, the master barista) In particular, they use San Luis-Raigode, which is a blend of 75% arabica and 25% robusta coffee beans. San Luis is a plantation in El Salvador and Raigode is located in Kodagu, India. Too much information? Don't worry, just enjoy this wonderful coffee.

From Camille - A Culinary Adventure with Gustiamo - A wonderful Journey through Molise and a Visit with Francesco Travaglini of Tratturello EV Olive Oil

From beautiful Cilento to even more beautiful Molise. It was a long trip but all worth it. Below, Camille's  post about her visit to Francesco Travaglini who makes Il Tratturello ev olive oil in Molise. Tratturello EV Olive Oil from new 2009-2010 harvest just arrived. We want you to experience Camlle's wonder and try it: 20% discount if you write  the magic word "molise" in the special instruction box of your order with Gustiamo. This offer is valid until April 30th. And grazie!

I knew going into this that it would be an adventure, but I didn’t count on the Italian train system to ensure that it would be! It took six hours, four trains and a bus (the train workers were on strike for a few hours, hence the bus) to get from Paestum to Molise, a tiny province on the southeast coast of Italy. But I really shouldn’t complain: I couldn’t have been happier than sitting and watching the beautiful countryside speed (well, rumble is more like it) past. And I know that I just ranted about how  beautiful Cilento is, but it doesn’t change the fact that Molise is now one of my favorite places, ever.  With blue skies, fluffy clouds, and green rolling hills dotted with olive groves and yellow flowers, it finally felt like spring! And the small town of Termoli, with its expansive beach, beautiful centro storico set on a cliff above the coast, and multitude of restaurants is the ideal vacation spot. But even better than all of this was my visit to Francesco Travaligni’s olive groves to witness the care that goes into producing his Il Tratturello olive oil, one of Gustiamo’s best-selling products.

Immediately after picking me and Zac up from our room at the nearby agriturismo,  Francesco began explaining the Molise is the perfect place for the production of olive oil because the climate is cold but not too cold and the rolling hills allow for the ideal amount of sun exposure. He drove us to his biggest olive grove containing 600 of his 1,000 trees, where his sheep (he also makes artisan pecorino and ricotta) spend their days eating grass and providing manure and compost. While we walked along the rows of trees, Francesco explained everything that goes into making sure his olive oil is the best around: he harvests his olives by hand in early October, when there are fewer olives but the quality is better, and he uses cold rather than warm water during extraction to ensure the best taste possible, even though warmer water produces more oil. He differs from his neighbors in these practices since most other farmers forgo quality for quantity.

And what does quality really mean? Well, Francesco explained that extra virgin olive oil must, by law, contain less than 0.8% acidity, but that his oil is much more balanced with around only 0.37% acidity. “Good” olive oil is not good enough for Francesco – even though his family have been olive growers (olivicoltori) for generations, Francesco went to school to make sure that his oil would be the best it could be. And his hard work pays off: I’ve tasted nothing more sublime that his exceedingly delicious olive oil drizzled over ricotta made that morning. I’m hungry just thinking of it!

But this is not the only reason why Francesco so fascinates and impresses me. He cares not only for the oil itself, but for the trees and their history. He brought me to another of his olive groves, this one much older. The trees had been through a lot, with cracks and bowed branches, but Francesco insisted that they were no less productive than their younger counterparts. He explained that the neighboring grove, also much older but owned by another olivicoltori, was being cut down and replaced by newer trees. Francesco believes this to be a complete disregard for the history that the trees keep alive and a result of ignorance about increased productivity.

And he has a strong case: the oldest tree in his orchard is believed to be about 500 years old. It towered above the rest, and I know this sounds ridiculous but there really was a strength and power about it. He said that he produced 70 bottles of olive oil from this one tree (about 30 litres of oil, compared to around 4 litres of oil per younger trees), the full profits from which went toward purchasing books for schoolchildren in Africa (which I found out only after I asked Francesco whether he kept some of the bottles for himself).

This is the real deal – everything Francesco does, from the care of his trees to the production of his oil is deeply rooted in a sense of community, history, and, perhaps most of all, taste. I have so much more to tell, but at the risk of writing a book I’ll stop here. But if you’re interested in knowing more, please don’t hesitate to contact me – I’m always happy to talk more about the wonderful foods I’ve tasted and producers I’ve visited!

Camille Frazier