"We tried a lot and found this one! Coconut Milk when it is good it is a magical ingredient! and more at chefshop.com/enews EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER 5% OFF CODE coconut  Recipes | Chef's Pantries | Shop for Food & Ingredients | Food Blog Coconut Milk when it is good it is a magical ingredient! We tasted and tasted today, but the story starts many years ago. We wanted to find a coconut milk to use for a recipe in a dish that we had in Hawaii and, tangentially, we were looking into the health benefits of the coconut. What we found (product available) was not good. Taking something simple and adding a lot of “other” ingredients is less than appealing and does nothing to add to the taste. To make your own coconut milk takes elbow grease and a good quality coconut shredder. Split the brown nuts and grate the meat, squeeze out the milk and use it for cooking. For sure, as with many things, with plenty of time and work, you can make wonderful foods...but if you are short a coconut (or 2) and want to make a good Thai dish, for instance, then you need to find the next convenient thing. In this case coconut milk in a can. Coconut Milk doesn’t look like milk, a misnomer at best, more like a glop of stuff. Two of the “test cans” contained what looked like (and tasted like) crisco, pure white smooth paste, and once mixed up, didn’t change at all. Four of those we tasted had guar gum as a thickener, one was a “light” version. (Light must have been code for no coconut taste.) After a spoonful they all produced the same exclamation of yukk!! The one that we liked, is the one here, which will do what we need it to do, and is not like the others. It's made of 82% coconut and 18% water. No other can we found tells you how much coconut is in the can. Shop Now for Coconut Milk Cream! Tellicherry Peppercorns The term "Tellicherry" originated when these large, black peppercorns were exported from the Indian port city of the same name. These are the most pungent black peppercorns with the deepest hot flavor you'll ever find! Once traded, ounce for ounce, for pure gold, Tellicherry pepper is still a superlative spice that can add a depth of flavor - first heat, then a tinge of sweetness - to your everyday meals. Black peppercorns are produced from the still-green unripe drupes of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the spice is called black peppercorn. In general, the later pepper is picked, the better its flavor. But waiting too long to pick is a gamble too; ripe pepper fruits will rot if left too long, and there is also an increased risk of loss to hungry birds or unfavorable weather. Thus, black Tellicherry pepper from India, picked at just the right moment, involves a keen judgment and results in large peppercorns with truly excellent flavor. Tellicherry Peppercorns - shop now! Umami! Anchovies! There are 144 different versions swimming around in the warm ocean waters all over the globe. By the time we consume these little fish who rarely get larger than 4 inches these days, they start to blend together without distinction. But be forewarned, not all cans (jars) or vessels contain the same finished results. Anchovies cured (they are being transmogrified) are layered alternately with lots of salt in barrels. This process creates a liquid called Garum, the original fermented fish sauce of the ancient worlds, like Byzantium, and creates the anchovies we know and love. After many months of curing the little fishies are packed in salt or oil to be used in dishes around the world. These little babies explode your palate with amino acid! It’s this amino acid we affectionately call Glutamate that is naturally found in foods like tomatoes, Parmigiano-Reggiano and kombu. Naturally high in levels of glutamate, Inosinic acid, guanosine monophosphate, and you have what is named today as Umami. And the anchovy is one of the ingredients that exemplifies and exudes umami! Click here for Umami Anchovies! Yuzu Kosho - the green hot and salty topping "We'll happily make room on our condiment shelf for yuzu kosho, a blend of citrus zest, garlic, chile, and salt. It adds aromatic acidity (and some heat) to rice dishes, noodle soups, fish, and chicken. We substitute lemon, lime, and grapefruit zest for the hard-to-find yuzu, a Japanese citrus." - Bon Apetit Magazine Shop Now for Yuzu Kosho! San Giacomo Balsamic Condimento Using the same process as the Tradizionale, this is produced solely from cooked-down grape must, carefully aged and fermented in barrels of various woods. The nose of this medium-thick condimento balsamic vinegar opens both sweet and tart, with notes of molasses and hints of fruit. Sweet and fruity on the tip of the tongue, a pleasant amount of acid creates an interplay of sweet and sour on the mid-palate that is a sheer pleasure. This delicious condimento leaves one with the impression that the balance of sweet and sour leans slightly to the sweet. Shop now for San Giacomo Balsamic Condimento! Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is one ultimate umami! Salty, sweet, flavor rich, Parmigiano-Reggiano is like an additive on steroids. Add it to your handmade ravioli or topping a sauce. From pastry to oysters to fresh veggies, adding Parmigiano-Reggiano is like adding sweet and savory all at once. Parmigiano-Reggiano risotto is as simple and out of the world delicious as it can get. And don't forget to make a soup with the rind. Remember we don't cut the cheese until we are ready to ship. Click here to see when we cut the cheese - Parmigiano-Reggiano.! Banyuls Vinegar L'Abbe Rous A smooth, subtly sweet, light and airy vinegar from the Banyuls region in southern France, which is famous for its dessert wines. This vinegar is made from white grenache, muscat, and grey grenache grapes. Surprisingly milder and sweeter than the more widely available 5-year from the same producer. The Cave de Abbe Rous was founded by a priest, François Rous. Msr Rous was appointed to Banyuls sur Mer in 1870 as one of the main posts of the Diocese. His name was chosen by the Abbott to, at the end of the 19th century, become the first wine merchant trader in Banyuls to finance the construction of a church for the village. Located in Banyuls-sur-Mer, today the Cave of the Abbé Rous produces and sells a good range of AOC Collioure and Banyuls wines - and a few choice vinegars. They work with over 750 vine growers and their 1150 hectares of vineyards in the region, where they make selections to develop its wine vats. To make aged Banyuls wine vinegar, the Banyuls wine undergoes acidic fermentation, after which the vinegar is then aged in oak wood barrels for, in this case, six years. Some of that process happens in caves or cellars, but some of it happens outside and is subject, therefore, to the fluctuations in weather and ambient temperature. The result is a smoother, slightly sweeter vinegar than the 5-year. Shop now for 6 year Banyuls Vinegar! * Whole Grain Emmer Flour! Emmer (or Farro) is one of the oldest cultivated grains to have survived into modern times. Rich in fiber and calcium, this flour is stone ground, and perfect for making fresh pasta or biscotti. It is a harder grain than regular soft wheat, so perfect for using instead of typical whole wheat flour. Emmer flour is also know as farro and is an ancient variety of wheat that makes great scones, biscuits and waffles and other liked baked goods. It is also a good alternative for low gluten baking. Shop now for Emmer Flour! * Mint Crisps Chocolate and mint have been a classic marriage since 1674, when a fashionable London cafe invented the combination. These wonderful chocolate peppermint wafers are thin and dark with crunchy bits of minted sugar. These chocolate peppermint wafers are the perfect size, with the right crunch, the right bite, the right mint! Summerdown Mint Chocolate Crisps- Shop Now! Sun is shining and setting after 7PM! Big Island Bees Ohia Lehua Blossom Honey! Spreadable delectable! "At first we thought this was just a big jar of honey at a great price. After it has been in our kitchen at home (we shamefully have not shared with the warehouse) half is now gone. At first I ate it secretly, scooping out only the middle so you couldn't tell it had been touched. Then we took it to a bagel fest and when it was expectantly opened, the middle was missing. All eyes turned to me ... and I innocently said I was preserving the sides so I could photo it .... this is one pleasing, spreadable, not messy, yummy (and I never use this word lightly) honey." Shop now for Ohi'a lehua Blossom Honey! Chef Gina French Bistro Cooking Class Imagine strolling along the Seine past a busy little Parisian Bistro. The mouthwatering smells waft out into the street. You hear music and laughter. Instead of a long flight to France, why not join Chef Gina and learn to recreate that delicious food at home. You'll enjoy Homemade Tapenade, Truffled Potato Soup, Leeks Vinaigrette, Riz Pilaf (Rice Pilaf), Poulet a la Moutarde, and Dark Chocolate Mousse with Fleur de Sel Whipped Cream. Come join us - light appetizers will be served before and during class, and dinner is served at the end of class. Chef Gina French Bistro Cooking Class - Sign up to have fun! Store Hours - come visit and have some nuts! Monday thru Saturday 10AM to 5PM. ChefShop.com 1425 Elliott Ave W Seattle, Wa 98119 206-286-9988 Our parking lot is to the north of the shop and to south of Champions Party Supply. Easy open parking lot. Click here to see the map. This Week's Recipes Panettone French Toast Recipe Panettone, the wonderful butter-rich Italian Christmas Bread, is very often consumed straight without leaving a crumb. But should you find yourself with the chance half loaf left, this recipe is a perfect holiday breakfast favorite. Shawarma Spiced Chicken with Tahini Sauce Recipe This is an easy chicken-based version of the Turkish street food usually cooked on a rotating spit. It's perfect served over couscous or accompanied by Toasted Millet Tabouli. A great idea for a week night meal, just make sure to marinade your chicken in the morning to have it ready for dinner! Scrambled Eggs in Eggshells with Caviar Recipe This recipe was made by Jacques and Claudine Pepin on stage during the 2010 Food & Wine Classic at Aspen. See what you missed in previous Newsletters New Farm Parmigianno-Reggiano Elmer Smoke Shoyu So Tasty You Will Eat It With a Spoon Katz Chef's Pick is the Pick of Chez Panisse! ChefShop.com Toll-free: 1-800-596-0885 You've received this email because you have purchased from us or subscribed. We respect your privacy online, and will never share your email address. Help | Contact | About | Terms | Privacy Policy | Search | My Account DESIGN: JODI LUBY & COMPANY, INC. NEW YORK CITY, NY; EMAIL STRATEGY: CRM Group USA, SEATTLE, WA