GUSTI Blog

Taste 2012 and Gustiamo's Producers

I am a great fan of Taste, the trade food show that is held in Firenze, every year in March.

Where else could I meet such a large concentration of Gustiamo's producers? In one spot, for three days, we talk about future plans, prices, new products and orders... we have fun, we talk about family things and we share the most delicious gossip, too.

Our producers are our friends, we talk on the phone constantly and we love to see them in action at their places, but also at Taste, at least once a year!

The big scoop, this year, was that the Martelli family (left), announced they have chosen Gustiamo, Inc. as their only importer, in America! Wow, and thank you!!!

It was great to see Piero Rondolino of Acquerello Rice, the Lunardi brothers of La Molina Chocolate, Antonella Pinna (right) of Antichi Uliveti Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Rosalba Cappelletti of La Valletta farm in Colfiorito, Umbria.

In the video below, the Fratepietro family proudly presented the olives from the new harvest, directly from their trees, as Andrea says.

 

Dario Meo, of Casa Barone farm, says: You should taste the Piennolo tomatoes and will not regret it! Try the Piennolo tomatoes on pasta, pizza or, naked, on a piece of bread.

Roberto Panizza, aka, the king of pesto, says Ciao America, try my pesto!

Nicola Bovoli of Vicopisano EV Olive Oil says the oil from the new harvest is wonderful but there is very little of it. Hurry up and place your order, now!

Gabriele Lasagni of La Nicchia Capers says: Hi America! happy to be here with Gustiamo!

And other than all these wonderful, hard working producers, the Taste show is on a manageable scale in a beautiful spot. 

Bella di Cerignola Olives Are So Good, Fit for a King

No kidding! Andrea Fratepietro, just emailed us the exciting news that his Bella di Cerignola are being tasted by the Royal Family. He was asked to send them (the Queen, King... everybody there) a presentation of his olives. This is what the Royal Family is reading, as we speak:

"The Fratepietro olive groves can be found in a beautiful and fertile area of Southern Italy in the heart of the Ofanto Valley near Cerignola. Hot dry summers, cold winters, and dry and windy weather provide the perfect conditions for the cultivation of olives. The family business was established in 1890 when Giovanni Fratepietro, aged just sixteen, inherited the Santo Stefano estate from his grandfather.

With hard work and passion, the precious knowledge of olive cultivation was passed down from generation to generation. Giovanni's grandson, Giovanni - named after his grandfather, later took over the business.  He turned it into a model of modern agriculture, sensitive to the natural growing cycles of the land. Today the estate is run by Andrea, Giovanni's son, who has dedicated himself to the business, compelled by a desire to follow in his father's footsteps and by his affection for the countryside. Andrea and his father Giovanni oversee the entire production process, making use of highly trained professionals, each an expert in a different stage of production.  Such team work ensures a final product of the highest quality, which encompasses the unique characteristics of the Cerignola area and the family's commitment to excellence. Hard work and perseverance have brought success to the company, but not at the expense of the traditional values of olive farming, since the family is committed to the preservation of the land and traditions that they love. To taste their olives and olive oils is to journey back in time to a bygone age, where nature was the true protagonist of flavour."
 

Lovely description! Andrea, did you send the Queen a link to GustiBlog, too? Let's hope the next time we are invited to Buckingham Palace, we are offered Andrea's Bella di Cerignola, with our Martini!!! Good luck, Fratepietro family, this would be really great and well deserved!!!

Tuesday Tastings Resume @ Il Cantuccio

The pilot series of Tastings @ Il Cantuccio we did at the end of last year were so successful, we decided to continue them in 2011. Same place, same time! It's going to be the first Tuesday of each month. We already had one. Did you miss the tasting of Bella di Cerignola Olives, on May 3rd? Do not worry, they are so good, we'll do another Bella tasting soon. We are getting ready for next week. Do come to Il Cantuccio, 91 Christopher st. in the Village, next Tuesday June 7th, from 5 to 7pm. It's a great opportunity to meet Gustiamo and our friends, taste Italy's Best Foods, learn about great products. Also, meet our smiling host, Lorenzo Palombo, one of the fab bakers/owners of Il Cantuccio. In the video below, Lorenzo tells us about his focaccia and schiacciata. Do you want to learn what is the difference? Watch the video, below! Which of our products does he like the best?  Watch the video, below.

Come to Taste with Gustiamo

Every year I go to Taste, the artisanal food show in Florence. I love the old and beautifully renovated Stazione Leopolda, where it is located! I love the Michelangelo Hotel, across the street, where I always stay! I love Davide Paolini's selection of Italian food artisans! I love to meet so many of our producers! This event has something I cannot describe: it even attracts a smart, cool, interesting and good looking crowd. Magical! I love everything about the show. My dream? That the organizers, Pitti Immagine, transplant the whole show, including the Stazione, here in NY City. Possible? There is already a Michelangelo Hotel in NYC! Will Taste be next???

Taste is also an opportunity to meet friends who do not make food but are passionate about it. Here is Elizabeth Helman Minchilli, an American writer who lives in Roma and whose most recent work is the very successful Eat Rome app. I get so excited when I can introduce my friends to our producers, who then tell them all their fantastic stories! Here are Elizabeth with Andrea Fratepietro who makes the Bella di Cerignola Olives on his farm in Puglia. Andrea explained to Elizabeth the artisanal process of making his olives black (only strong jets of air to oxidate the olives, NO iron as the industrial products do). When you hear the story, when you meet the producers, you fall in love and you can't wait to try their wholesome products!

Bella di Cerignola Olives - Read the Label - Too Much Iron, No Good.

If you are "in the know" of all things italian - true italian - you would not order cappuccino after 11 in the morning. You would also not ask for a pitted Bella di Cerignola olive. It does not exist. The DOP real Bella di Cerignola has a firm, meaty flesh and pointed pit, which cannot be removed. Look how large these olives are, on the left, in my hand. They come green and black, my favorite. The black olives are not born black, from the tree. They have to be treated; and here is where the artisanal process really differs from the industrial one. The olives are subject to strong jets of water continuosly (the air induces the oxidation of the olives and they become black). Artisan Fratepietro does this for 15 days. A work of love and patience. The industrial olve makers, instead, short cut the process to only 5 days and reach  the "desired blackness" by adding a cheap chemical (gluconnato ferroso) identified as "iron" on the label. So, here is the difference: Fratepietro's Olives' iron content is 15mg/kilo (you still need some of it to keep the olives black), the Bella di Cerignola from the big companies have an iron content up to 150mg/kilo. After that, it would be against the law, because it is bad for you. Read the label!!! Or, buy Fratepietro Bella di Cerignola Olives!!!

 

 

Bella di Cerignola Olives - You Can't Find a More Local Olive!

Here, Andrea Fratepietro of Fratepietro farm and Beatrice proudly holding jars of green real DOP Bella di Cerignola olives. Don't think we are in the Caribbean islands: This is Puglia, with palm and olive trees. Do you want to go? Andrea would love to see you, too. Back to the olives. Because they are so delicate, they are picked by experienced and local workers, including Mimi' and Cosimino, who have been working at the farm 50 years. They are washed and put in big bins with water and salt for three months. The salt they use is the expensive sea salt from Marherita di Savoia salt flats, a natural reserve and a heaven for tropical birds, located thirteen kilometers from the farm. Now, you tell me! How local is this?

Watch the video below, click on arrow. Andrea started to like being interviewed (se part 1 of the video here) and wanted to add something to his previous one. Bravissimo, Andrea!!!

Bella di Cerignola Olives by Fratepietro Farm in Puglia

I'm proud to announce that the authentic artisanal (as opposed to industrial) Bella di Cerignola olives have finally arrived to the Bronx.

They are huge and meaty, the biggest olives in the world. But not tacky big. Elegant and tasty big. Great for cooking, near your cold cuts and cheeses, alone with your aperitif. They come in black and green. Not red. Andrea Fratepietro tells us that the red Bella di Cerignola becomes red with chemical additives, and are made only to appeal the consumers' eyes. Go figure!

Bella di Cerignola are so called because they grow in Cerignola, a small village near Foggia, in Puglia. They are also DOP. Everybody knows the name Bella di Cerignola, but, until you taste these, you have not had the real thing.

We went to visit the Fratepietro farm in Puglia and met Andrea Fratepietro, whose family has grown Bella di Cerignola for four generations. The olives are so delicate, they must be picked individually by hand and stored in padded boxes. Watch the video, below and click on the arrow. You'll meet charming and passionate Andrea, too and will learn about his wonderful olives.