GUSTI Blog

Petra Flour, Stone Milled by Molino Quaglia! Are you Petra Worthy, Too???

Petra flour, the stone milled flour made by Molino Quaglia, near Padova, will be in our warehouse in the Spring 2011. We know very little about flour: the closest l get to it is making bread at home, which is often a failure. Don't worry; by spring, we will be prepared!!! We are reading everything about flour; we keep consulting the Quaglia family; we ask our friends who know and cook with flour. We also give a bag of flour to try to the friends we think are "Petra-worthy". Odette Fada, who came to the office for lunch, the other day, considered one of the best chefs in NYC, is certainly very Petra worthy!!! In the video below (click the arrow below) Stefano explains to Odette the difference between Petra number 3 and number 9. I'm not sure I understand, either! It's going to be a long learning process. Anyhow, Odette promised she will try the flour and will get back to us! Grazie Odette. If you think of yourself Petra-worthy, too, let's talk!!!

Odette Fada, the Best Chef in NYC!

Frank de Falco, our new friend we met at Il Gattopardo, was thrilled to be invited at lunch at Gustiamo with Odette Fada (both at the end of the table, in the picture at left). Why? Frank is among the many fans of Odette who says she IS THE BEST CHEF in NY City. I don't know who is the best, but whenever friends would ask me which was the most authentic Italian restaurant, I would always (always, for the past twenty years, since I moved here) say: San Domenico, on Central Park South. (Disclaimer: I didn't know Odette, until very recently.)

But things always change in NY: San Domenico moved downtown, Odette moved to a new job (watch the video below to hear what Odette is doing) and all the other great chefs can now relax because she is no longer cooking. At least for now!

It was a big honor to have Odette in the warehouse (left with Martina). She not only is a great chef, she is proving to be a savvy and talented business woman; she is sweet, calm, soft spoken and beautiful. In the video below (click the arrow), she says she had   very good lunch (she doesn't lie!) and was interested to see our excellent excellent (2 times) selection of food products. Grazie Odette! Best of luck to you!!!

Piennolo Tomatoes - Not Only...

These tomatoes are jumping! The article in the New York Times by Florence Fabricant (click here if you missed it!) is inspiring: she says you can use them for pizza, pasta, on baked fish... and this BEAUTIFUL picture by Dan Neville, gives the jar of tomatoes a new light and life! Thank you bothl!!! The news spread fast; even Il Mattino, THE daily paper of Napoli, proudly announced that a neapolitan local product, the Piennolo Tomatoes by Casa Barone, was mentioned in The New York Times.

We are all very proud!  We have been carrying the Piennolo Tomatoes for 10 (ten) years! It took some time, but finally they received the universal recognition they deserve!!!

The thing is: we are proud of ALL our producers, and their creations. ALL the products we represent in America are selected with the same attention and integrity. They are ALL great food and food that is good for you. You should try them ALL, even if they are not New York Times famous. Not yet, at least!

If you have questions, want suggestions of what to try in your next order, call us in the office (718 860 2949)! We'd love to tell you what is your next Piennolo Tomato!

Vicopisano EV Olive Oil - From Dante to the Internet

Vicopisano is an enchanting village on a hill. (left the view of the village from Vicopisano's Farm.) It's equidistant from Pisa, Lucca and Livorno and it was even mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy when Dante had to chastise Count Ugolino who was on "il monte per cui i pisani veder Lucca non ponno". (loosely translated - if you are in Pisa, you can't see Lucca - and vice versa - because you have this hill, Vicopisano in the middle. Well, Dante says it a little better.)

 

Nicola Bovoli is a BIG man (left with Emilio, another big man and a friend) with a big heart! He bought his property in Vicopisano in the early 80's because his father in law, Nellino, fell in love with the Tuscan country and wanted to start making olive oil. Fast forward, Nicola bought his beautiful property with 2,850 olive trees, 1,000 of which are several hundred years old; built a new mill next to the ancient one, on the property; fell in love with the olive oil world; became a professional taster and now he is one of the  most reputable olive oil experts in Italy. The whole family is involved in the farm. Although he and Lucia work in Milano at Nicola's marketing agency, they spend as much time as they can in Vicopisano where their  daughter Simona and her family live full time and  tend to the olive oil business, which is Nicola's real passion. He is outraged at the cheap prices of commercial olive oils (self named Extra Virgin) out there. How do they do it??? He says that it costs an honest Italian olive oil maker  6-7 Euros ($7.80-9.10) per liter ONLY to pick the olives.

Vicopisano EV Olive Oil is made with Frantoio olives and it is a medium fruity oil with notes of artichokes, almonds, just cut grass and cardoon. Vicopisano EV Olive Oil is certified Organic and also IGP Toscano, a certification given by the organization which monitors that each individual bottle is made following the strict rules of IGP Toscano. This organization is ahead of the times! Long before we started to become concerned about where our food comes from, the Consorzio Toscano was concerned about where its oils come from! And they were able to use the internet in the savviest and most modern way. This is trackability at its highest point!!! It's fun, too. Enter the number you find on the bottle of Vicopisano (or any other oil certified by Consorzio IGP Toscano) on this page and you'll learn immediately who, when, how the oil on your table was made.

Antichi Uliveti del Prato, In Defense of Italian Landscape

Gavino, Leonardo and Antonella Pinna are brothers and sister who tend their ancestors' beloved olive groves, outside Sassari, in the north of the island of Sardegna. It is a beautiful area, 300 mt. above sea level; all around the family  property, real estate developers have built big villas. By keeping the olive business alive and well, the Pinnas are also defending the Italian rural landscape with 5,000 olive trees, 200 to 400 years old!

The olives are rare Bosana local sardinian olives. They make EV Olive Oil Antichi Uliveti del Prato. Their roles, in the company are very clear: Leonardo and Gavino are in charge of the production of the olive oil, Antonella is in charge of marketing.

Continued good luck to the Pinnas!

Laura's Choice!!! Cru di Cures EV Olive Oil in Sabina

 25 years ago, when her father passed away, Laura Fagiolo had to face a very difficult decision: to continue her beloved work as a Greek and Latin teacher in Roma, or move to the family farm, 30 km away, in Sabina, to carry on her father's work. She clearly made the right decision! She studied and became a professional olive taster, she purchased an olive oil mill (it's very important, she says, to have your own mill, to crush the olives immediately after being picked!). Now, she makes the wonderful and balanced EV Olive Oil Cru di Cures (medium fruity, with notes of artichokes and almonds). Appropriately, she named her olive oil after the latin name (Cures) given to the ancient capital of Sabina, near Passo Corese.

There are 4,200 olives trees in Laura's property: local raja (30%), frantoio (20%), carboncella (20%), leccino (10%), moraiolo and rosciola.

Laura is very smart, direct, no nonsense. She does not sell her olive oil to "EVERYBODY". We had to pass a long examination, before she decided that Gustiamo was Cru di Cures worthy. That, also, was a good decision!!!

Not only olive trees! On the property, Laura has an agriturismo, called Raja (remember the sabina local olive?) with 5 rooms and a farm with all kinds of animals (wondering what kind of food the olive trees are given?) for the pleasure of lots of school kids in the Lazio region who go regularly and spend the whole day learning and playing with the animals and eating good food. Bravissima, Laura!

 

Buonolio from Liguria, 100% Taggiasca and Do Good for Liguria

  Gigi Benza and his mother Claretta make the BuonOlio EV Olive Oil. It is not just Buono; it is Buonissimo!!! How do we find new producers, friends ask. It varies; in this case, a few years ago, we wanted to include a Ligurian Oil, in our most discriminate "carta degli olii italiani" and we asked our good friend Fred Plotkin. He is the true expert of everything Italian and, in particular, Ligurian, since he spends much of his time in this magnificent region. He said: I LOVE frantoio Benza. So, here I go. In the spring of 2007, after a few conversations on the telephone, I landed in the small airport in Albenga, near Imperia, to meet the Benza family and taste the olive oil on the spot. Due diligence was completed with an "exceptional" on all counts. But Gustiamo is very slow and we did not start importing BuonOlio until Stefano joined us, in the Summer of 2009. He would have not worked with Gustiamo if we did not have the best EV Olive Oil from Liguria, his region. Stefano also went to see Gigi and Claretta an  gave his final blessing to Gustiamo's partnership with BuonOlio. BuonOlio EV Olive Oil is 100% from taggiasca olives and is DOP Riviera dei Fiori, Gigi has all the certifications, but he, as with many other Gustiamo producers, is reluctant to use them and does not put the "DOP" label on the bottles. Who cares?

Liguria is famous for its olive oil: weather, vicinity to the sea, calcareus soil made it perfect to grow the local Taggiasca olive trees. But the olive groves are perched on terraced hills, very difficult to cultivate with modern machinery, olives must be picked by hand and the groves are progressively being abandoned by their original farmers, giving space to fires and desolate landscape. Gigi is a passionate young man with a big heart, hopes and a clear vision for his future: he wants to do good for his land and his beautiful region! A few years ago, he started to buy abandoned tree groves, reclaiming the landscape to its original magnificence. He has now 4,000 trees. We wish him good luck and more BuonOlio for Gustiamo and our friends in the future!!!
 

Luigi Biasetto, Maestro Pastry Chef

Click the arrow below, it's an interview with Luigi Biasetto, the Maestro Pastry Chef in Padova and King of Panettone! He says the Panettone is the best cake in the world and it is appreciated all over the world. With his products, he wants to transfer the Italian "Buon Gusto". Yes, it is difficult to send his artisanal Panettone long distances, but he will never betray his original recipe and the best ingredients he uses. He is working on his Panettone recipe with Gianduja. Difficult, he says. However, knowing how determined Luigi is, we have no doubt he will perfect it by next year. We and all his new Amercan fans can't wait! Grazie Luigi!