"Cucunci and the berry they grow up to be, Redcurrant Vinegar, Music to your head and more at chefshop.com/enews EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER 5% OFF CODE caper  Recipes | Chef's Pantries | Shop for Food & Ingredients | Food Blog Objects appear larger than they really are. Cucunci and the berry they grow up to be. An acquired taste capers, are. They come from capparis spinosa which is an evergreen shrub growing to as big as 3ft by 6ft wide. The caper, which we typically add to dishes cooked, is the early bud of the plant's flower. The older version of the bud after a life of blooming becomes the berry and more often is eaten-out-of-hand, or can be used as the topping of a good idea like a dirty martini, an interesting salad or an omelet. Many capers and the more mature selves, the caperberry, are older and milder in taste than their younger brethren, the caper, are kept in brine and not in wine. These delicious caper berries are well aged in Prosecco, which makes them less in your face (and not salty) and makes these adult capers wiser and more sophisticated! Eat one and you symbolically reach joy (at least within your mouth). And like M&M’s, it’s just plain fun to eat more than one! Shop now for the treat of Caperberries in Prosecco! Red Currant Vinegar The hidden gem of Acetoria Vinegars All vinegars taste the same. Well, not really. Remove industrial vinegars from the mix and it is more like each vinegar is uniquely different. I was always wondered why some very fabulous recipes, old classical ones, called for red wine vinegar. If you took the elements of each recipe and tasted (or smelled) them alone, grocery store red wine vinegar is unpalatable! It is like acid detergent colored red with not even a hint of grape or even a wine. (Just me whining). We have tasted and used a lot of vinegars over the last 20 years and our palate has developed and matured. We certainly learned early on (from our friend Kitty Keller) that good red wine vinegar is actually quite flavorful, sharp, acidic, (not acid) and adds to a recipe. (It’s one of those food moments when you slap your forehead and say “I get it”). This Red Currant Vinegar from Acetoria is one of the amazing examples of what a vinegar can be. This vinegar starts with a red currant fruit wine, carefully made to not over ferment the juice, thus keeping the fruity sweetness. The wine is then converted to vinegar. Eliza says, “The end result is a uniquely tangy, full-bodied red currant flavor, with a nice sweetness and balanced acidity. Most “fruit vinegars” you find on the market today are merely fresh fruit macerated into white wine vinegar for a period of time. Although often delicious, they are not the same thing. Acetoria does everything he can to optimize the favor, and balance the acidity with the right amount of sweetness. And I think his red currant is the best example of that.” Shop now for Acetoria Red Currant Vinegar! It's like a song to your palate Music Hard Neck Organic Garlic One of the most popular garlics of the porcelain hard neck variety. The typically large cloves are easy to peel and easy to use. Whether you smoosh, crush or slice thin to make the perfect sauce or marinade, one clove is the perfect size. Less in your face with heat and spice than other porcelain hard necks, don't be fooled as this Music sings the song of potent garlic flavor! From Rock and Roll to Country to Jazz, we love our Music! Shop now for a sweet tune of Garlic Music! Bonito Flakes These flakes are exactly what you need for every day making of dashi. Bonito is for more than soup as well. Think of it as a light topping for a tofu salad or a tuna salad. In addition to its many uses in traditional Japanese cooking, we think bonito is a great addition to any pantry. It's a versatile, easy-to-use seasoning that adds a slightly smoky flavor to all sorts of salads, dips and dressings. It's also terrific for enhancing steamed or sautéed vegetables, with or without tofu. And another discovery…if you like bonito, keep it out of reach of your gourmet-inclined cat! They can't seem to get enough of the stuff. Shop now for Bonito Flakes Katsuobushi! Licorice from New Zealand We've tried a lot of licorice and we had all but given up on finding one that was the perfect blend of candy and licorice, until we tried RJ's soft black licorice so many years ago. Not too sweet, it is a refreshing treat! RJ's soft black licorice is licorice like it used to be. Nothing artificial, not sickly sweet - just real, licorice flavor and super-satisfying, chewy texture. As an added bonus, licorice has long been known for its stomach-soothing qualities. Shop now for Soft Eating Licorice! Pomegranate Molasses Ingredients: Concentrate Pomegranate Juice, Citric Acid, Sugar, Water 100%. A natural product of Lebanon. Long a favorite ingredient in Middle Eastern and Persian cuisine, pomegranate molasses (or paste) is starting to be recognized more and more here for its versatility and the rich, distinct sweet-tart flavor it brings to a wide range of dishes. Pomegranate molasses is made from 100% tart pomegranates, with nothing added. It is reduced to a thick, molasses-like consistency and rather than the bright red of the fresh fruit, it's a dark, syrupy mahogany color, sometimes with a slightly grainy texture. Shop now for Sadaf Pomegranate Paste Molasses! Organic Spelt - A Farro Spelt, one of the three farros, is the "softest" of the three when cooked. It still has the same properties of holding its shape and feel throughout the meal or in a cold salad. It is a lovely grain to add to a stuffed tomato or to be a "bed" to a nice protein. The genetics of Lentz' Spelt (Triticum spelta) and Lentz Emmer Farro (Triticum dicoccum) were vital to agriculture long before wheat. Today these two ancestral hulled-grain varieties rank as superb not only nutritionally, but also as gourmet alternatives to commodity wheat. They're natural grains, wholesome, and not bioengineered (they're "GMO-free"). Shop Now for Organic Spelt Farro! * Palouse Green Split Peas! These green split peas make a soup taste like perfection! PNW growers treat their soil and crops with tender, loving care - and you can taste the results in these vibrant, green peas. They simply burst with flavor. Shop now for Palouse Prairie Green Split Peas! * Best pork belly ever! "I slathered this on chunks of pork belly, sousvided it at 65 c for 24 hours and then seared it. It may be the best thing I ever cooked, period." -- Dan Shop now for Yuzu Kosho Red! * Tasty! "I was pleased with the depth of the taste that the Rega Rega tomatoes added to the soup I prepared. Going forward I will choose these canned tomatoes for the soups, etc. that I prepare." -- Peggy Shop now for Rega Rega San Marzano D.O.P. Tomatoes! * The red wine of honey! "This honey is to other honeys like red wine is to grape juice. It has a complex and rich flavor lacking in traditional honeys. Excellent with cheeses and teas." -- Kevin Shop now for Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey! Bigger Shop now for Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey! Medium Have a great Labor Day BBQ! FraMani Salume Gentile High-quality, true Italian-style salame! "Having grown up in Italy, I am very picky when it comes to my salume. This compares favorably with some of the best salami I had in Italy. This product is very expensive, but I have not been able to find anything close to this good for cheaper." -- Ruggero Shop now for FraMani Salume Gentile! 09/13 Spanish Tapas Cooking Class The Spanish Tapas class that started it all. Learn the history and origins of some of the most commonly used Spanish ingredients, as you learn how to prepare a variety of tapas dishes such as Rosemary Marcona Almonds, Citrus-Marinated Olives, Deviled Dates stuffed two ways, Classic Potato Tortilla with Aioli Sauce, Tuna-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers, and Butter Bean Salad. You will be ready for any dinner party with these simple yet delicious recipes under your belt! ChefShop Cooking Class Store Hours - We are here and enjoying not being in the out-of-town traffic! Monday thru Saturday 10AM to 5PM. ChefShop.com 1425 Elliott Ave W Seattle, Wa 98119 206-286-9988 Our parking lot is north of the shop and south of Champions Party Supply. Easy open parking lot. Click here to see the map. This Week's Recipes Farro Stuffed Tomatoes Recipe Instead of using the classic Arborio rice, we used one of our favorite grains, emmer. Emmer has more bite than rice, so the end result is a nicely toothsome side dish with a bit more flavor. Perfect. Red Carrots Glazed with Balsamic Vinegar Recipe This weekend I picked up some heirloom red carrots. Red carrots are not as naturally sweet as orange carrots -- so this recipes was a perfect way to bring-out more sweetness. Any carrot will do. Roasted Garlic Recipe Serve roasted garlic by squeezing it onto toasted artisan bread slices and drizzling with good olive oil. See what you missed in previous Newsletters KOJI, Real Cane Syrup and More New Hardneck Garlic, Easy Summer Foods Hardneck Garlic Organic is Here - Not All Garlic is the Same 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