A Taste of CulinEssence

IFF's Flavors Expertise in the Wall Street Journal

2011-07-13T14:06:00.000-04:00

IFF Flavorist Marie Wright lent her expertise to the Wall Street Journal for an article that appeared today on how seemingly disparate flavors pair well together.

It's always great to see members of our team help shed light on this fascinating science!

How Does Our Garden Grow?

2011-06-23T10:15:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, we told you about our new Herb Garden at our North American Culinary Center site. What a difference a few weeks of rain, warmth, and sunshine makes!

Our customers, employees, visitors, and of course, the culinary team are all enjoying this wonderful garden for its beauty, color, smells and tastes. It's been so exciting to watch it go from a plan to a beautiful showplace - one that we can enjoy as it grows into place.

Chef David's Morel Tale

2011-06-16T16:27:00.000-04:00

Spring is here and the morel mushroom season has come and gone in New Jersey.

Executive Chef Kevin McDermott, culinary intern Courtney Reed, and I spent many weekends and lunch hours running out to check on various likely spots and finally, around the second week in April, we found some of these little gems. Once you find a morel in the wild, you are hooked!

For us, the feeling is equal to a kid finding Easter eggs filled with candy. I find it simply addicting to hunt mushrooms! Why? I appreciate good food, especially the free stuff courtesy of mother nature.

Once we found them, we came back to the same spots over the next two weeks to find more morels, and bigger ones too. It's very easy to run out in your backyard and find mushrooms, it's much harder to find specific varieties. Once you have found spot where these mushrooms grow, you can rely on them to come back year after year for some time.

Morels are often found in old apple orchards, groves of elms, ash, or tulip poplar trees, For those of you who have not yet discovered the exciting world of mushroom hunting, morels are probably the best place to start.

WARNING! Before you run out and eat what looks like morels to you, become as educated as you can about the subject! Buy a book or ten on hunting mushrooms in general. I found Morels, by Michael Kuo, and The Complete Mushroom Hunter, by Gary Lincoff to be particularly good for those just getting started.

Joining a mushroom club and going to forays with experts is also a great way to learn. Finding wild mushrooms is only part of the fun, as they are also one of the yummiest things you can eat.

Now we have to wait until it's chanterelle season! Until then, it's a great time to plant our vegetable gardens.

Happy Hunting!

Our New Herb Garden

2011-05-15T21:43:00.000-04:00

Our roles as chefs definitely bring with them some great opportunities - this time, in the form of a gorgeous herb garden!

The North American team has been putting the garden together for a while and it's great to see it coming together so beautifully!

The photos below include the construction of our herb garden Some facts about the garden - Good organic soil, everything sourced locally including the hardscape which is manufactured in the area. Plants supplied by a local grower.

A local plantscape company did a great job in helping with the design and plant / herb selection. Irrigation will help insure some good growth and yields for this summers use in Culinary presentations, R&D analysis, and education and identification for our flavorists and application team.

Did I mention it smells great out there.

IFF's Marie Wright in the Wall Street Journal

2011-04-13T06:06:00.001-04:00

Our own Marie Wright was featured in a recent edition of the Wall Street Journal. You can read the story here. Along with the story is this video, featuring some of the CulinEssence Team tasting a reduced sodium mac and cheese product. Enjoy!

Chef David Talks to FoodNavigator-USA on Health & Wellness

2011-04-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

Chef David of our CulinEssence Team had a great chat with Caroline Scott-Thomas of FoodNavigator-USA last week. Click here to hear the interview where he shares how IFF helps customers formulate healthier products - for both their iconic brands and for their new products. Check it out here!

IFF Gives Back to our Future Chefs

2011-03-08T17:57:00.000-05:00

We are really proud to announce that IFF is supporting future chefs through its scholarship funds at both the Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales University. Members of the CulinEssence Team are graduates of these great schools, we get many of our interns from them, and we do all we can to support the continuing development of students of the culinary arts.

In addition, we're thrilled to announce that we are continuing our support of CulinaryCorps®. Founded in 2006 by Christine Carroll, CulinaryCorps Inc. is the nation’s first service organization designed specifically for culinary professionals. The group enables chefs, cooks, food educators, and culinary students to volunteer their professional skills and tackle some of America’s most critical food challenges: emergency hunger relief, cooking and nutrition education, healthy food access, childhood wellness, and culinary heritage preservation. Since IFF's philanthropic mission is in support of children's education, we have been supporting the areas specific to cooking and nutrition education for kids.

We're proud to work for an organization with an eye to the future and its heart in the right place. We remember how hard we worked in school and how tough it was for some of us and our friends financially. Giving to these organizations supports our future chefs and gives something special to kids that can never be taken away - the gift of cooking.

RCA 2011 - in 3D!

2011-03-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

Chefs Kevin, David, and Bryan in 3D

Thank you, Atlanta!

This year's RCA was great as always. And for 2011, International Flavors & Fragrances' presentation was all about 3D Flavors. What's that? Well, working on the whole 3D trend you see in movies and fashion, we decided that the healthy solutions we have at our fingertips to help customers create great-tasting, better-for-you foods and beverages, could also be used to make really innovative dishes! So for this year's show, we presented salad shooters, a frozen wine tasting, and a sparkling rosemary lemonade! Here are some photos:

We prep for the attendees

Chef David puts out some frozen pops

The top layer is merlot, the middle is marscapone with herbes de provence, and the bottom is tart blackcurrant. All the flavors are from our naturals portfolio. The pops were widely touted as the most innovative product in the Expo!

3D glasses for the smart set!

Final prep

Bob, Chef Bryan, Jay, Lesa, Chef David, Solveig, Kathi, and Chef Kevin

Ready for their close-ups

Sparkling Rosemary Lemonade (not bad with vodka, too!)

Salad Shooters - Parmesan tuille cookies, chiffonade greens with a whole grain mustard pomegranate dressing, and pomegranate spheres on top. Awesome!

Chef Bryan preps

If our videos work as we hope, we'll be posting more details on the products. Stay tuned!

It's that time of year!

2011-03-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

The RCA reception was held in the Oceans Ballroom at the Georgia Aquarium

Visitors got to see the life aquatic up close

A fuzzy picture of a really beautiful room!

We love the RCA and we're here in Atlanta in the thick of it! A couple of us did the Fun Run this morning, some of us attended classes. Tonight, the opening reception was held in the beautiful Georgia Aquarium where we got to catch up with our friends - customers and colleagues.

Tomorrow, we are pulling out all the stops at our booth - #400, if you're keeping score. We'll be showing some delicious, innovative, and healthy treats. More about those tomorrow!

In case you missed these....

2011-02-13T16:41:00.001-05:00

IFF reported its 2010 and FY results....

Two IFF flavorists, Hedy Kulka and Joan Harvey, were profiled in New Jersey Monthly magazine

Scandinavia Sweeps the 2011 Bocuse d'Or!

2011-01-27T12:54:00.000-05:00

At the final in the 2011 Bocuse d'Or in Lyon, the Gold medal went to Denmark, the Silver was awarded to Sweden, and Norway took home the Bronze. - Scandinavia sweeps the global gourmet event of 2011! We see Nordic cuisine gaining popularity and were fascinated with these results.

The event took place at the SIRHA International Hotel, Catering and Food Trade Exhibition and is considered one of the most important cooking competitions in the world.

You can see the competition in action by following this link:

http://www.bocusedor.com/2011/index.php/Web-TV.html

The CulinEssence 2011 Top Ten List

2011-01-18T20:35:00.001-05:00

With the new year ringing in, we are all being bombarded with predictions of what 2011 will bring in terms of food trends. We have been reading many of these predictions and found some interesting ideas as well as some real duds. For example, we've been trying to source many items that have shown up on a few top ten lists, and found many are just plain impossible to buy. If you can't get it, how is it going to gain popularity?

The North American team have our own ideas on this front, so here are our top ten trends for 2011 that make sense to us -- in no particular order:

1. Asian foods will continue to penetrate the mainstream, but move beyond Chinese food and Sushi. Thai, Vietnamese and Korean food items will continue to gain popularity.

2. Spicy Foods - More items made spicier, from beverages to pizza, with a view to the heat's origin.

3. Purees - Foods that have been pureed in high powered blenders and used as sauces, soups and even dressings will be gaining in popularity. Expanding on this trend from the plate to the kitchen, we see movement to tools that make our lives easier, like blenders, microplanes, better knife choices, combi ovens, quality pots and pans, vacuum sealers, and quick chillers.

4. Healthier, but not healthy - Foods that are bad for you are getting...not as bad for you.

5. Simple - Foods that have a more rustic appeal that are either homemade or traditional with gain more appreciation. Greater appreciation for fewer ingredients and basic preparation.

6. Cheese - Definitely a good thing, we always need more.

7. Less Salt - Ever get about halfway through a meal and realize you've hit your salt intake threshold? Maybe chefs will start backing off on the stuff!

8. Crunchy - From Potato chips and bread crumbs to cheetos, chefs are looking beyond panko to bring crunch appeal to dishes.

9. Local foods and wild foraged foods - Direct from your back yard. People want to support their immediate area, the new feel good factor.

10. Heirloom - No longer just tomatoes, but apples, beans, watermelons, pears, and other fruit to follow suit.

What are your top food predictions for 2011? We want to know!

*Note: this article was updated on January 27 to incorporate additional info on Purees, Simple, and Spicy trends.

IFF Invests in Greater Asia

2011-01-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, IFF announced an investment of over $100 MM in Greater Asia, allocated to two new purpose-built manufacturing plants. You can read more about it here and here.

The top two renderings are of the Guangzhou facility and the bottom is from the Singapore site.

The growth in the region is breathtaking, as are the opportunities! Culinarily speaking, we couldn't be more thrilled!

Catching Our Eye....

2011-01-11T15:41:00.000-05:00

Chef Kevin sends in this tasty link...

Chef Kevin in Singapore

2010-12-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

Recently, IFF's Chef Kevin, based in our South Brunswick Creative Center, visited Singapore and Shanghai to work with a customer. While there, he took the opportunity to research some culinary benchmarks, share the CulinEssence approach with colleagues, and to do some serious culinary exploration for himself and his fellow chefs.

"We had some specific benchmarks we were working on for our customer there," said Kevin, "but it would be impossible to not do some exploration of my own in these incredible cities. And when you take these very big trips, you feel an obligation to squeeze every opportunity you can out of them - both for the company and for your own natural curiosity."

Singapore and Shanghai did not disappoint. "The markets, the street vendors, the high-end restaurants all have something to teach you," Kevin continued. "One of the things I find so fascinating is the ability of everyone - no matter where life has brought you or how humble your tools - to make food that is exciting, comforting, delicious, and nourishing. Look at this cleaver and this stump. The knife is old, but it cuts. The stump works well as a cutting board. In the hands of the right person, these humble tools can make great meals out of the most basic of ingredients. As a chef, I find inspiration in this."

Singapore and Shanghai serve as culinary centers of excellence for IFF, but Chef Kevin expands on that: "These are great culinary cities with long histories of great food, everywhere you look. I kind of see them as culinary centers of excellence - period."

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T11:26:00.000-05:00

Cranberry Cake recipe from vanillagarlic

to all our American friends around the world!

Chef's Favorites: Childhood Foods

2010-10-18T20:54:00.000-04:00

For the final chapter in Chef's Favorites, we ask our culinary team the evocative question: What food most brings you back to your childhood and why?

Chef Kevin:

Egg and Cheese on a fresh baked roll ( It's a Jersey thing).

Chef Bryan
Grits, This was a Sunday morning tradition at my house. sometimes they had bacon, other times cheese, but always in one form or another.

Chef Ingreth:
Mashed Potatoes with ground meat, my mother prepares it like nobody else.

Chef David:
Tinfoil wrapped dinners. This consists of ground beef, onions, carrots, and potatoes heavily seasoned, then wrapped in foil. The foil wrapped food is then tossed onto the hot coals to cook for about 30 minutes. A must-have for camping, something we did often growing up in the Rocky Mountains.

Chef Michael:
Scots Broth (Lamb) (in pressure cooker) cooked by my mother.

Chef Jenny:
I always seem to make a version of Bibim Bop once a week mainly for my son which is a Korean
rice dish traditionally made with rice, bulgogi beef, mushrooms, spinach, bok choy and flavored with a red bean paste, sesame oil and soy sauce topped with a fried egg. I make variations of this depending on what leftovers I have. This dish particularly reminds me of my Korean roots.

Chef Sarah:
I think Autumn comfort foods, like apple pie, cold and mulled cider, candy apples.... I am biased but you can't beat upstate NY for that stuff.

Chef Florian:
Pancake with wild cranberries marmalade.
When I was a child and came back from school I smelt the pancake made by my
mother. The great smell from brown butter, caramelized sugar, a little vanilla andthe fruity note from the cranberries, flavored with cinnamon was really a big treat for me. At that time I did not realize that the flavor pairing with sweet from the pancake and sour from the cranberries fits so well.
http://www.foodpairing.be/

Chef's Favorites - Cookbooks!

2010-10-04T17:16:00.000-04:00

Today, we asked our team the burning question:
What is your favorite cookbook and why?
Chef Florian:
Grand livre de Cuisine, written by Alain Ducasse.

It is a fantastic cookbook with the most traditional Authentic and contemporary recipes, completed by clear description how to finish and how to present

Chef Sarah
For everyday at-home meals, I like Elie Krieger's The Food You Crave, because she uses a minimal amount of fresh ingredients that pack a lot of punch, nutritionally and organoleptically. I also like The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg for helping me to get through pastry school, and as a continuing resource for all things baking-related.

Chef Jenny:
I always go back to the first cookbooks I looked at when I was growing up that sparked my interest in cooking and helping out my mother in the kitchen which are Craig Claiborne's New York Times Cook Book and Joy of Cooking.

Chef Michael:

Nose to Tail Eating by Fergus Henderson. I love it's simplicity and indepth look at meat recipes and cooking tips. It shows you how to extract every bit of flavour out of an animal ....... Not for vegetarians

Chef David:

On Cooking - all of the recipes inside the book are spot on, restaurant tested, and reliably good. It's recipes have always been a great place to start to find something to work off of.

Chef Ingreth:
The History of Alimentation, is a book that talks about recipes and cooking methods from the ancestors until current day and many times i use as a guide .. 1001 Foods You Must Try Before you Died. Both are good to take ideas of ingredients and cooking methods.

Chef Bryan:
Culinary Artistry. I received this book when I was 16 it was the first time I really started to think about flavor combinations.

Chef Kevin:
Tough one, so many good ones. For technique, Jacques Pepin's, The Art of Cooking (Much of what I learned in my apprenticeship is in here). For food and recipe, Thomas Keller Bouchon or Ad Hoc for the home cook.

Chef's Favorites: Food Cities

2010-08-27T17:48:00.001-04:00

This is the second installment of Chef's Favorites, where we ask our global team the following burning question:

What is your favorite food city in the world and why?

Master Chef Florian:

Amsterdam--the multicultural city. It has so many different restaurants. One of my favorites is the Restaurant Nursery de Kas. Situated in the former Amsterdam city greenery from 1926. Extremely fresh reaped, seasonal vegetables, herbs and fruits. Rural Mediterranean kitchen..

Chef Kevin:
NYC - not just the upscale joints but more the down and dirty ( Chinatown, Little Italy, bakeries, markets and street vendors) The smell of pretzels warming our coals on a cool fall afternoon

Chef Sarah:

My best and most memorable food experiences came from touring around France (Auxerre, Beaune, Dijon, Paris). It was simple food prepared well. Great coffee, even the yogurt was delicious. And I was introduced to more adventurous stuff (for me) like escargot.

Chef Jenny:

New York City is the center of the universe. "If you can't find it in New York, it doesn't exist." This is according to my mother in law who has lived there for over 50 years and I think I may agree with her. Every ethnic group is represented throughout the 5 boroughs so of course you can experience so many different cuisines. Every neighborhood is like globe-trekking to another part of the world.

Chef Michael:

Naples - great restaurants without pretence. fantastic fresh ingredients (fish, vegetables), great coffee and the best Pizza in the world.

Chef David:

New York: you have to respect the diversity. "The City," has everything from the best street food to the hottest restaurants. Every time I visit, I am humbled by the cuisines I encounter.

Chef Ingreth:

Brazilian Northeast food, is the one of most richest cuisines because of the big influence of Indians, African Europeans (Portuguese) and Others. This culinary has several types of ingredients from inland to coast , and also spices, peppers, herbs and so on.

Chef Bryan:

New Orleans, because it is a melting pot, the food has inspiration from all over the world to include the French, Spanish, and African

Chef Favorites: Kitchen Tools

2010-08-05T08:01:00.001-04:00

Today, we begin a new series that gets us into the minds and memories of our global chef team. All of us answered questions on our favorite tools, food cities, cookbooks, and childhood dishes.

The first question posed was this:
What is your favorite or most indispensable tool for the kitchen and why?

Master Chef Florian:

A vacuum machine.

First I can preserve my fresh ingredient for longer than the traditional way in a vacuum bag.

It saves me space in the fridge.

I can use it for sous - vide cooking and slow cooking.

Executive Chef Kevin: Chef's knife - if you can't cut it, it makes it hard to cook it and prepare it.

Chef David: A Mixing bowl, a good stainless steel one, preferably made by Vollrath. A mixing bowl is good tasks such as mis en place, prepping sauces, melting chocolate, proofing bread, to washing vegetables.

Chef Jenny: Tongs which can be used for so many different uses from flipping items in a saucepan, to stirring, to ladling and most importantly for me grabbing items high on a shelf since I am vertically challenged.

Chef Bryan: Chef knife has already been taken, so I would say a side towel. chefs are constantly having to handle very hot objects, we would have a much more difficult time without a side towel

Chef Sarah: A good quality pastry brush - for removing excess flour from doughs, oiling crackers, and applying egg washes.

Chef Michael: Cling Film - poaching, rolling balontines, forming meats, and of course, keeping things fresh.

Chef Ingreth: A good pot or pan with triple layers, made of ceramic or stone. This types of pan that hold the heat slow, give a special taste for food.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be posting the team's responses to more of our Chef Favorites questions.

Check Out IFF's New EU Natural Flavors for Beef and Chicken!

2010-07-19T16:34:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple of years, the global chef team have been working hard to develop gold standard preparations, notably for beef and chicken, against which our flavorist can benchmark to ensure that their flavors hit the very highest standards possible. And because there is no "one size fits all" in the area of flavors, we created gold standards for several regionalized favorites. The delicious, authentic, natural flavors that resulted from the fantastic teamwork here were remarkable.

Next January, new regulations in the EU are changing the way the food industry can label their products. Flavors that were previously cited as "natural" may not necessarily remain considered so after the legislation takes effect.

In order to help our customers be compliant with the new legislation and continue to deliver natural flavors to consumers, a new portfolio of chicken and beef flavors, specifically for the EU, have been released.

We are proud of IFF's dedication to supplying fantastic, culinary-driven natural flavors and of our role in creating them!

Thinking of Inking?

2010-06-30T12:49:00.000-04:00

Check this piece for some culinary-inspired ideas....

Tasty Link Alert!

2010-06-24T09:26:00.000-04:00

Here is a new addition to our Tasty Links that was suggested by Master Chef Florian Webhofer -- Food Pairing. While their purposes sound simple -- helping users discover what foods pair well together or finding great replacements for foods in recipes -- the site is a veritable culinary visual thesaurus, filled with exciting ideas that will have you creating wonderful meals and returning again and again.

Also be sure to check out their blog while you're on the site.

I'm hungry already!

Just in case you missed it...

2010-06-23T10:06:00.000-04:00

Our own Executive Chef Kevin McDermott was consulted for and quoted in this article in the esteemed Wall Stree Journal on the increased appetite for intense flavor experiences.

Perfumer & Flavorist

2010-06-23T08:55:00.000-04:00

For those of you with a more technical interest, there is a great article in this month's Perfumer & Flavorist on advances that our R&D experts are making on citral stability. The research is being done in concert with the University of Massachusetts and focuses on extended shelf life for ready-to-drink and powdered beverages. We can't link you to the article, but get your copy and check it out!

A Taste of London

2010-06-18T08:43:00.000-04:00

IFF CulinEssence Chef Michael Gibson attended the first day of A Taste of London, held in Regent's Park and now in its seventh year. This pop-up festival, running from 17 - 20 June, celebrates the best restaurants and produce London has to offer. Chef took the snaps in this post and reports that his highlights include

Tom Aikens - Daleford 7 hour confit Lamb with mash and balsamic onions and La Gavroche - Ballotine de Volaille vinaigrette de truffes.

Below are some scenes from this amazing event...

Why Yes, That IS IFF on the New Cooking Channel!

2010-06-02T10:27:00.001-04:00

On Monday, the new Cooking Channel (which took over the Fine Living Channel) debuted Food(ography), a show that explores the history of iconic foods and highlights the chefs, artisans, movers, and shakers that move those foods into the future. IFF was honored to be in the company of the talented people featured in the premiore episode on Ice Cream. The folks from the Cooking Channel got VIP access to our Vanilla Extract plant and an interview with Marie Wright, flavoriste extraordinaire!

The episode is playing all week - check your local listings.

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Ten

2010-05-30T21:14:00.001-04:00

Day 10 was perhaps the best foodie day of them all!

It was our last day in Parma and right after breakfast we had a tour of the co-op that produces Parmesan cheese. This co-op is run by 5 small farmers who are only interested in producing top quality. Since we already had been on the farm for the last two days, that tour was done. Parmesan cheese is made with non-fat, raw milk, salt and rennet. There are no preservatives like other cheeses, such a Grana Padano, or American Cheese. The cream from the Parmesan cheese is pasteurized and then used for a special butter from Parma. Leftover whey from the production gets used as pig feed for the Parma Ham, and in this way they are connected.

The milk used to make Parmesan cheese comes from dairy cows that are in the region specified by the Italian government. The cows are well taken care of and have specific food regulations such as how much hay to grass they can eat in a given time of the year. Today's tour started out in the cheese
production area where there were 5 or 6 copper lined, steam-jacketed kettles shaped uniquely for cheese making.

First, the cheese is heated to a specific temperature and the whey from yesterday's production is added. This whey has all the cultures needed for the cheese. Then after being held for a specific time, liquefied rennet is added, and the cheese it held for a while longer while the curds set. Once the curds have set and pass the "clean break," test then the curds are cut using a unique balloon whisk.

The pieces of curds are cut to the size of rice, then heated again to a specific temperature. Once they achieve the right temperature, the batch is left to cool and the curds fall to the bottom and separate from the whey. Afterward, they use cheesecloth to remove the curds and then the cheese is pressed.

Inside the press, a plastic sheet used to label and date the cheese. This also records the specific origin of the cheese.

Second press.

After pressing the cheeses, they take a bath in a super saturated salt brine for 28 days.

Then left to air dry:

Then the cheese is put in a aging room:

When the cheese ripens, the rind becomes yellow. This takes approximately 2 years. You can see the cheese just below has a date (upside-down) of October, 2009.

This cheese is from May 2009, and has been graded the the Parmesan Consorsium. Thus Consorsium is kinda like a union of parmesan cheese producers who sets the standards for grading and producing the cheese.

The consorsium grades the cheese by flipping it on it's side and tapping it with a hammer to hear the noise in the cheese. This way the can tell if there is a problem.

Cheeses that are not of the best quality, but still tasty, are marked with lines:

After our tour we left our wonderful bed and breakfast, B&B Cancabaia. We hope to see them again someday.

We then headed to a Balsamic producer in Reggio-Emela, outside of Parma. Normally you only see balsamic from Modena, but this small producer is building a case for her balsamic, claiming that Modena has ruined their name by diluting their products with grape must and vinegar. Her products
have been aged a minimum of 12 years, and have nothing else added.

We got to see how it is made. First off they use Trebbiano Grapes, which are white grapes, often used in wine making, as well as for making cognac and brandy.

Baby Grapes!

The grapes are pressed for their juice, then the juice is reduced to 1/3 of its original volume. After cooling, the grapes are placed in Oak Barrels that have previously been used for wine making. This is important because the cooking process done to the grape juice kills all the yeast cells needed to ferment the juice, and the barrels contain yeast cells left over from their previous use. The grape juice ferments into wine over the next two years in these barrels.

After two years, the wine is transferred to the largest barrel of five, used to make balsamic. The wine is exposed to the open air through a hole in the top of each barrel. As the product is aged in a non-temperature controlled area, the balsamic evaporates through the barrels, and every other year, the
barrels get filled and the aging process continues. The barrels get filled in a specific way: the smallest barrel is always filled with the next larger barrel, and this continues up the barrel sizes until the two year old wine is added. There are traditionally 5 barrels used and it takes 12 years before they take the smaller barrel and fill bottles, or age it longer. The barrels are made or either oak, juniper, cherry or acacia wood.

The bottles are filled by a balsamic consortium, much like the ones for Parmesan and Parma ham, to ensure quality.

Because it takes 12 years to sell your product, most balsamic producers also make wine.

Day 10 continued, 11 and 12.

I am calling this my final blog for this vacation. Internet connection has become very hard to come by since coming to Italy. After the balsamic tour, my wife Lauren, and I headed to Florence (Firenze), to see the "David," and some art museums. We we are staying right across Duomo square. The artwork here is amazing, but not really food related, and most of the time they don't allow pictures. But as some do I have a few attached.

I hope my food trek has been interesting for everyone to read. It has certainly been educational for me and although I can't put everything I learned on the blog, I hope you learned something too. If you have questions or comments please feel free to email us!

Ciao!

David

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Nine

2010-05-30T10:00:00.001-04:00

Parma is Beautiful!

If anyone wants an easy place to visit in Parma, I highly recommend this place. Our hosts at the B&B Cancabaia are wonderful and serve as excellent guides to point you in the right direction for great
restaurants and things to do. Our breakfast consisted of homemade yogurt (made from the Parmesan cow's milk) and bread with homemade butter.

We then left for a town called Quinzano where we toured a Parma Ham (prosciutto) factory. It was a really cool tour and it was amazing to see and smell all that ham! There we learned how they cure and age the ham, how they mark the product for quality, and how they test the ham to make sure it's a
quality product.

For dinner we ate at Veichio Mulino in a small town called Lesignano. The restaurant is also a mill for making ground corn for corn meal and polenta. They mill the corn the traditional way, using the water from the river that runs under the restaurant. There we ate wonderful asparagus tortellis, a mixed grill platter, and an orange-infused white chocolate tiramisu. In Italy, it is apparently OK to serve pork medium, something I've never had before.

Tomorrow we are going to take a tour of a Parmesan Cheese production and aging area, as well as a balsamic producer.

Best,

David

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Eight

2010-05-29T20:57:00.000-04:00

Due to some internet and technical issues, the postings fell behind a couple of days, but we're back to catch up on some tasty new ones from Chef David!

Lauren and I left the Piemonte region yesterday and headed to Parma. Here we are staying in a Bed and Breakfast that also produces Parmesan Cheese. We are promised a tour before we leave, and they also booked our tours to see both Parma Ham, and Balsamic producers.

Restaurants don't open for dinner until 8PM here, as it's hot in the day and cool at night. While my wife rested, I took an hour-long stroll up a hill that over looks the whole valley. You can see snow capped mountains in the distance here, but where we are at it's about 80 degrees. A lot of people have wood burning ovens in their backyards for cooking during the hot summer. Unlike Asti, there is the constant smell of hay here. There are a lot of cattle, goats, chickens, bee hives, and horse ranches. This area is also famous for Porcini mushroom hunting, and they do some truffle hunting here almost year-round.

On our way to eat at a restaurant recommended to us by our hosts, we stopped at the Torrechiara Castle, where everything was closed, but the structure is beautiful. The restaurant was difficult to find, as it was located in a small village and looked just like a house. The only way to know about this place is by word of mouth.

It was recommended to us as the best place to find home-made traditional foods for this area. No-one in the restaurant spoke English, but they were happy to serve us. Our server owned the restaurant along with his wife, and I think it was his mother-in-law cooking in the kitchen as well. All the food was served family style, meaning everyone shared what you ordered.

We had a plate of Salumis as our antipasti, which included 27 month old prosciutto, lardo, cured head cheese, and a salami. This dish was accompanied by a plate of extremely crunchy fried polenta sticks, and we were instructed to spread the lardo on them like butter. We also noticed that there was no grissini in our bread-basket which seemed to come at every restaurant in Northern Italy.

We ordered "tortellis," as our first course which were pumpkin (zucca) stuffed raviolis served with a moderate sprinkling of Parmesano-Reggiano cheese as well as a plate tagliatelle pasta with both ground and shaved summer truffles.

We had a small bowl of gnocchi just to try it. The sauce was vegetable-based, with the dominant flavor of cippolini onions. The gnocchi was homemade and very delicate.

Our second course was stewed wild boar and stewed chicken, served with a side of polenta. The polenta was very plain, but worked as a nice base for our stews. The stews seemed like they were thickened with toasted bread crumbs and were very flavorful.

Our dessert was a multi-layered cake with lot of flavored liquors. It was good, and as we learned from eating Amaretti cookies, the Italian like a lot of this kind of flavor.

Tomorrow we visit a Parma Ham producer.

Ciao!

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Seven

2010-05-26T12:20:00.001-04:00

We started off today without quite knowing what to do. It seems there is so much to take in here. We began with breakfast downstairs and it looked like they had cleared out their entire kitchen cabinet for us. As we are both trying to eat healthy, I opted for an innocent looking orange on the table. To my surprise it was a blood orange! I have had them before from places like Wegman's and Whole Foods, but the inside looked more like fruit punch, or a grape fruit. This blood orange was so deeply red, it really looked like animal blood, or red meat. It was kinda gross to some extent, but wonderfully tasty at the same time. I guess the color is something you get over quickly.

On our way to the our first destination we stopped at a wine Co-op for Vinchio growers (I think I spelled it Vinchino yesterday, wrong). The co-op processes and bottles wine for it's 200 members. About 50 are large enough to have their own vintages, while the rest combine their crops to make the wine. 40 percent of the wine from Vinchio is made for export.

Afterwards, Lauren and I decided to visit the city of Asti. Asti is a region in Italy, but also a city. We figured there might be some great culinary treasures and markets to be discovered, wrong. Well, OK, we did go to one cool shop called "Eataly," which was like an Italian Williams-Sonoma. We bought some pasta made by Gragnano, we have been told that's Italy's best dry pasta. I bought some jarred pesto, and some Amoretti cookies as well. I think there is a bigger Eataly store in Torino (Turin), but we wanted to avoid the big city.

Because Asti didn't seem to offer us anything, we quickly ate lunch and then left for Alba. Alba is south of Asti and is the truffle capital of Italy. In October they have a bug truffle festival as it is the season for the White truffles they are known for. Right now there are summer truffles, but apparently they are not important to the Italians. Alba didn't have much going on at this time, so we decided to drive through the countryside in search of good wine.

The country side is scattered with vineyards, probably 80% of the land is covered in vines. Everywhere you go, you're driving either up or down huge bowls with tiny little roads with no guardrails. It's impressive that they are able to farm such steep terrain. If you go to this region to taste wine, you need to make appointments with the vineyards--it's not like Napa where you can taste anything, anytime, and leave with souvenirs and wine. Most of the vineyards are looking to sell to exporters and brokers, not to tourists driving up to their houses. I think this is mostly because the owners are out working in the fields, and because of the number of vineyards. But if you can manage an appointment or two, you will find they are most hospitable, and love to tell you anything they can about Italian wines.

We visited the Tintero Vineyards, where the owner there was thrilled to have us taste his wine. He told us that most of is wine is exported to the USA. We asked him about the differences between Italian DOCG, and DOC wines, and he told us about the difficulties he faces trying to consistently produce great wine. He told us nature controls 70 percent, and he can manage the rest.

After finding our way back to where we were staying, and having to do some off-roading to get there, we went out to a Pizzeria about 15 minutes away. The pizza was cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven, as is all the pizza we have seen here. The crust tasted more buttery and flakier than I've had, but other than that it was like a good old New York/New Jersey Pizza. It was a nice way to end a long day of driving around in our Citroen.

Best,

David

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Six

2010-05-25T08:50:00.001-04:00

No Internet!

Day 6. Lauren and I have left France and made the voyage to Italy. It took 2.5 hours to get here. If you can imagine being in "the sticks" out in Italy, that is where we are. There is nothing but farms and small villages here. The village we are staying in has 700 people in it, and is virtually a ghost town compared to Vence. It was very confusing getting here and took multiple leaps of faith. I must admit at one point in time I thought about canning our plans to get here and opting for the nearest Marriott instead. But we were lucky enough to have found this place without one wrong move, thanks to Google maps on my iPhone.

Lauren and I were greeted by a wonderful Italian family at the Ca D Rot, our off-the-beaten-path bed and breakfast.

Afterward, on the recommendation of our hosts, we left towards a town called Acqui Terme, which is known for it's sulfury smelling hot springs.

We passed on the hot springs, but did stop at La Margliana winery. There, we were welcomed in and had our own private tasting of wine, cheeses, and sausages. We bought one bottle of Branchetto wine, which was less sweet than muscato, but a lot sweeter than barbera. The cheeses were both aged and fresh goat cheeses, and where accompanied by jellies, including grape must, onion, and apple purees.

Afterward, we wandered around Acqui Terme, and found a gourmet food shop with huge piles of dried porcini mushrooms and shelves lined with jarred mushrooms, pastes, cheeses and salumis. One salumi we tried was made from a whole beef tenderloin, wrapped in ground meat and cured -- it was awesome. I bought two jars of porcinis packed in olive oil, one white and one black for home.

Tomorrow, more wine!

Ciao!

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day 5

2010-05-23T19:07:00.000-04:00

Today was our last day in France. Tomorrow we drive to the Piedmont region of Italy. There we hope to go truffle hunting and visit some vineyards. Today was a full day of visiting Nice -- we saw the beautiful Mediterranean beach, hiked up Castle Hill, went to the market, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Matisse Museum.

In the market I bought a huge head of purple garlic (pictured, top), which I would love to bring back to the US, if it wasn't an issue with customs. At home I grow garlic every year, and this year looks like a great crop. My wish would be to split the French garlic and grow it in my back yard. It smells strong, so we are keeping it outside the hotel room window for now. Maybe we'll get a chance to cook with it before we leave!

The big culinary delight today was discovered on our way into the Matisse museum. In front of the museum was a small festival going on in a park filled with old olive trees. The festival was featuring marionette acts, small plays and lots of food from street vendors. We were trying not to invade, but we could not help but smell the fresh made-to-order churros served with hot Nutella. And yes, they were as good as they sound.

Best regards,

David

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Four

2010-05-22T18:15:00.000-04:00

Day 4 in paradise, and we decided to visit Antibes. By the time we got there, it was around noon. There is a huge market there, which is bound to make anyone hungry. Our plan to visit the Picasso Museum was delayed in lieu of lunch. We have been eating in a lot of restaurants lately, so Lauren and I thought it best to eat various foods in the market. We bought fresh raspberries, a wheat baguette, farmers cheese, walnut salami, and two types of tapenades, one with sun-dried tomatoes and bell peppers, the other with green olives and chili peppers.

After collecting what we thought was enough food, we discovered a street vendor cooking Socca in a wood-fired brick oven on wheels. Socca is a savory chickpea flour flatbread, they cook in a deep dish pizza pan for a minute or so. You could taste the charred flavor from the brick oven making it a great treat with the farmers cheese we bought.

We visited the Picasso Museum after perusing more of the markets that were selling antiques, clothes and cutlery. I was impressed with Picasso's artwork. If you need some unique food paintings to hang in your kitchen or dining room, check out some of his work -- amazing!

Before going back to Vence where we are staying, my wife wanted to see how they blow glass in the small village of Biot. We watched the glass makers working and these guys had a real assembly line going, but it still took about 10 minutes to make one glass. The glassware made was nice, but expensive.

For dinner, in Old Vence, Lauren and I had "Marmite de L' Armoise Suprise Loup Lotte," which was a soup terrine filled with an array of "fruits de la mar" in a creamy tomato-tinged sauce topped with a puff pastry, really fun to eat with super fresh fish. Dessert was an Apple Tart tatin with cannelle glace (Cinnamon Ice Cream). Again, too good to get the picture!

Tomorrow is our last full day in France, and we will be exploring Nice.

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Three

2010-05-21T21:21:00.003-04:00

Today was another beautiful day in the lovely French Riviera. Lauren (my wife), and I spent the morning exploring Old Vence were there was some local producers selling food, clothes and souvenirs on table tops.

We tasted olives, cheeses, and jellies, but the best was this honey from a local producer. He had all sorts of honeys that came from bees that pollinated different types of flowers. The best type, by far, was the Lavender Honey, but a close second was the "Miel de Tilleul," or Linden Tree Honey. They also had honey from Pine Trees, Chestnut Trees, and Acacia. Each honey was very unique in taste. I suggest you get some of your own. He has a website: http://www.miels-chailan.com/.

Afterwards we went to the Confiserie de Florian, http://www.confiserieflorian.com/ in a town called Gordon de Loup.

There, we toured their production area to see how they make such unique products. The candy shop was originally a Perfume Factory, and its roots are still evident as their specialties include rose, violet and jasmine jellies, as well as whole fruit that has been candied. Their candied clementines were fantastic, and are cooked in a candy syrup for 45 days!

With some daylight left, Lauren and I scurried back to Grasse and toured the International Museum of Perfumes. There we learned about the history of perfume and how cultures have used scents for many wild things, like conjuring the dead, curing a head ache, and even mummification. Afterward, you can't help but buy some scented soaps or perfumes -- not the kind that conjures the dead, of course.

Dinner was at Les Relais des Coches. Our service was excellent and the food was top notch. Lauren had Coquilles St Jacques,

and I had a roasted rack of lamb.

We shared dessert; a molten chocolate cake, with Creme Anglaise, but it was eaten before I could get a picture. :)

Good Night!

David

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day Two

2010-05-21T07:25:00.001-04:00

This morning after having a basket of bread and pastries for breakfast at our hotel, we ventured off into the square across the street. There we found a beautiful market with tons of fresh seasonal product from local producers. We were happy to buy some fruit, but wished we had a kitchen to prepare some of the vegetables we saw.

After we took a brisk walk to see the Chapelle Du Rosaire, where famous artist Henri Matisse designed the decor and layout of the building. Many of his sketches and works were on display, including huge murals inside the chapel.

The highlight of our day was spending time with Jean-Claude Bayle, Manager of R&D at IFF's Laboratory Monique REMY (LMR) in Grasse. It was difficult navigating our way from Vence to Grasse, but after a few lucky guesses and we found our way. Once there, we met up with Jean-Claude who gave us an overview of what is manufactured from his facility, and how IFF partners with growers to secure the highest quality materials, and even has farms of their own. Many ingredients need to be extracted right at the farm, due to the short life of the precious volatiles, explained Jean-Claude. At LMR much of the work there is to purify the materials due to unwanted allergens or other compounds that are not friendly to people.

We toured the production facility were they processed extracts into absolutes by removing the solvents and waxes; as well as distilling materials to remove color and fractionate compounds. There were a few different types of stills, each had their unique functions for use. In the stock room, Jean-Claude explained that right now they are harvesting roses, all month they will process rose extract, then as other natural materials bloom they process them. Things are not made to order, but made when nature is ready. In the refrigerated stockroom there was small containers of extracts, the room was no bigger than an average bedroom, but contained millions of dollars worth of inventory, wow!

As it is the time to harvest roses, Jean-Claude took the opportunity to bring my wife and I to the area where IFF grows their roses to make the extracts. Everyday in the morning, after the dew evaporates, farmers who tend to the flowers, pick the roses and deliver them to IFF to be extracted. Jean Claude told us, that IFF is one of the few flavor and fragrance companies that still extract roses from Grasse, as many buy extracts from India, China, and Turkey, but there is nothing quite the same as the extract that come from here.

If only you could smell those roses on the farm!

Tomorrow we hope to drive to Gordon and tour the candy factory: Confiserie Florian.

Au Revoir!

David

Chef David's Culinary Tour: Day One

2010-05-19T18:39:00.000-04:00

Our own Chef David and his wife have embarked on a dream culinary tour of France and Italy and David has promised a daily update of his travels and adventures in words and pictures. And so, our first missive from David....

We arrived in Vence, France at around noon. Relying on printed directions from googlemaps, we managed to find our way to the hotel, conquering 8 rotaries in a little Citroen.

I must say, the highlight of our day was having two scoops of "glace," from a street cart. The obviously homemade ice cream was super creamy with "parfumes," like Nutella, Caramel, and Violets, yum!

After sleeping off some jet lag, we had a pleasant dinner at Restaurant Les Agapes. There, we had the "Plate Discoverie," which was a tasting of Vietnamese Smoked Duck Summer Rolls, Grilled Mackerel served on a "pirinaca," which is a sauteed mixture of peppers, onions, shallots, olive oil, vinegar and sherry. And Creme Brulee for dessert.

A perk about this part of the world, is that everything seems cooked perfectly and all of the products are as fresh as can be. The highlight of the meal was the chickpea fries that came with the mackerel, they looked just like french fries, but taste like a falafel fry, minus the cumin.

Both of us are excited to visit Grasse tomorrow, there we will visit some perfumeries, including IFF's LMR facility.

Best Regards,

David

In Case You're Keeping Score...

2010-05-04T08:05:00.002-04:00

This is the kind of list we always love perusing!

Chopping Bok Choy at the CIA

2010-04-25T20:20:00.002-04:00

Korean Pancakes

A good chef never stops learning. I have always found pleasure in cooking things differently and trying new things. Culinary inspiration can come from many places, but some are just better than others.

Stir Fry

Recently, I had the privilege of attending a cooking course at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. The course was on Asian Ingredients and Techniques with Chef “Ski” Skibitcky.

Fresh Spring Rolls

The goal for Chef Ski is to make sure you can create a dish that represents each cuisine, and more importantly, that you understand the differences. Every day you learn a new cuisine, starting with Chinese, then moving on to Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean, Malaysian, and Indian. The class does not make you an expert in these cuisines, but if you’re looking to learn and be inspired, then you’re in the right place.

Massaman Curry

The Culinary Institute offers immersion courses to those who are looking to broaden their culinary repertoire with other cuisines. In the past I took a class on Mediterranean cooking, and couldn’t wait to get the chance to take one again. There are many other courses offered such as Peruvian Cuisine, Pairing Wine with Food, Artisan Bread Baking, and Heathy Cooking. You can even double up and take two classes, one in the morning, and one in the evening. Many of the other students in my class were also taking Latin American cuisine in the evening. As great as the courses are, combined it’s a whopping 12 hour day, for 5 days straight!

Hot and Sour Soup

Class begins with a review of the prior day’s dishes, followed by a lecture about the new cuisine. After the lecture, the day gets even better with product demonstrations, and hands-on cooking. At the end of class you get to experience the food that was prepared, which tasted like it was made by Asian chefs!

Papadam

Every day you learn amazing stuff on just how complex and varied each region is. By then end of the course you feel right at home chopping with a Chinese cleaver, making dim sum, or cooking in a wok.

Saag Curry

Being a chef, and a major foodie, I have eaten my way around Chinatown enough to know the flavor differences in the regional cuisines. I even studied various cookbooks on Asian cooking, such as Robert Danhi’s South East Asian Flavors, and Michael Freeman’s Ricelands. But there is no comparison to having a chef demonstrate different techniques along with seeing, smelling, and tasting all the dishes that are prepared. Daily, the class cooked more than 25 dishes!

Summer Rolls

Noodle Pillow

Since you weren’t there, you can still learn some of the stuff we learned on YouTube. Here is a video on how to make Authentic Pad Thai:

Here is a crazy video on how to make Roti at home on the back of your Wok:

by David Horrocks CRC

A Kitchen Essential

2010-04-16T05:00:00.001-04:00

We have to share with you a book that we consider to be an absolute kitchen essential: The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It should be in every kitchen library.

Despite the title, it is about far more than flavors. It is about learning to recognize the language of Food. It is about understanding that elusive equation: Flavor = Taste + Mouthfeel + Aroma + The X Factor.

For anyone who loves to cook, this book is a revelation!

Worth Checking Out...

2010-04-15T10:05:00.000-04:00

Here's a blog we are adding to our "Tasty Links" on the sidebar. Chubby Hubby is a website from a much-travelled food blogger from Singapore. The site features interesting articles on food, restaurant reviews, recipes, and has beautiful photos. We also love the extensive blogroll with more fascinating links to Asian cuisine and beyond.

Enjoy!

Verjus, the Lemon/Vinegar Alternative

2010-04-11T20:15:00.000-04:00

We're hearing more about the increasing popularity of Verjus or Verjuice, a sour, acidic juice extracted from unripened grapes. Popular in the Middle Ages, it fell out of favor, but is currently enjoying a revival. Typically, it is used wherever you might use lemon juice or vinegar and we hear it makes a great sorbet.

We're looking forward to experimenting with this old/new ingredient and reporting back to you.

Salsa

2010-04-06T11:05:00.000-04:00

Salsa Time by OakleyOriginals

It's fascinating to see how, once a food item migrates from its home country to a new one, the impact that the new culture has on that dish. Salsa is a good example. It careened into popularity in the US, famously leaving ketchup in its wake as the country's most popular condiment.

But what we know as salsa in the US seems to be a far cry from its origins in Mexico. Which is why we appreciated this article that appeared in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago. Not only is the article well-written and informative, it features some great authentic recipes, like this one for Salsa Ranchera.

On Restaurants and Near Misses

2010-04-02T21:59:00.000-04:00

We are not restaurant critics and that is not the purpose of this blog. But we are chefs and hope to share with you now and again thoughts we have on some that we particularly like, or maybe even the near misses.

When in Phoenix recently, we, like pretty much everyone attending the RCA tried to get to the much-touted Pizzeria Bianco, recently voted as the best pizza in the country. And, like so many others, we were daunted by the crazy lines that started to form at 3pm each day for a 5pm opening. We didn't have enough beer and wine to wait that long, but maybe another time. Being so close to NYC, it's hard to be disappointed for too long.

We did want to share one restaurant that has become a real favorite of ours, Vie near Chicago serves up amazing seasonal contemporary American. Check out this menu! Paul Virant is a great young talent. And the wine list isn't bad, either. It's nice to see a great selection at reasonable prices.

IFF Cares

2010-03-25T11:59:00.002-04:00

This is not food-related, at least not directly, but we wanted to share some news.

After the earthquake in Haiti struck in January, IFF took up a collection globally. The total, including employee and corporate contributions, was over $118,000.00, all of which is going to the Red Cross in support of their continuing relief efforts in Haiti.

We've done this in the past -- when Jakarta was flooded in early 2007, many of our people there lost their homes. The money we collected went straight to our site there for distribution to our impacted colleagues. The 2008 earthquake in China, which deeply affected our colleagues there and all over the IFF world, brought a similar outpouring of generosity.

We talk a lot about the spirit and passion of our people as it relates to the work we do every day, but we think it speaks volumes that our people are also kind, generous, and compassionate.

RCA Recap

2010-03-22T21:30:00.005-04:00

The Team

The show is over, the swag packed away in our bags and most of the team is back home. We thought this would be a good time to recap the show, post a few more pictures, and give a few more thoughts on one of our favorite industry events of the year.

The reception, held at the Desert Botanical Garden was packed, but the variety of cacti and other local flora and fauna was amazing. Here are some shots of the Gardens...

You don't normally think of the desert as a place of color, but here's proof!

A glass sculpture by Chihuly

Saguaros

These guys looked like a troop of bunnies

Prickly Pear: Beautiful AND Delicious!

At the show on Friday, we presented two products that seemed to be a big hit with our customers and chef colleagues alike (whew!): Grilled steak tacos and a Wild Cactus Iced Tea. Both featured flavors created from our GenerEssence methodology, which uses only those components found in the named food. Sounds easy, but it's actually a creative challenge for our flavorists and one they readily embrace. We had phenomenal feedback on both presentations.

Our Wild Cactus Iced Tea featuring GenerEssence California Lemon Flavor

We found it interesting - and of course timely - that a few booths called out "No HVP" and "HVP Replacement." We also saw a lot of Gluten-free solutions being offered - another sign of the times.

HVP Replacer at the IDF Booth

And Gluten-Free Solutions from National Starch

LIVE FROM PHOENIX!

2010-03-19T15:23:00.001-04:00

Grilled Steak Tacos are a hit!

Chefs Lesa, Florian, Jenny, Kevin, and Bryan at the show

We officially launched our blog this morning and will be posting photos live from the RCA during the trade show portion of the show. Keep checking back for updates!

Getting ready for the crowds

Flavorist Brian Grainger on Food Network's Unwrapped

2010-03-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

Our very own Brian Grainger was on the Citrus Sensations episode of Food Network's Unwrapped! He talked about how we create a flavor from lime oil for one of our customers. It aired last night, but will be airing again at various times. This link will give you more details on the episode and air dates. We'll update this post when we have a link on iff.com.

Way to represent IFF, Brian!

Headspace: A Symposium on Scent as Design

2010-03-15T17:42:00.001-04:00

This comes from the other side of our business, but this symposium promises to be amazing! And truth be told, the culinary team, along with our flavorists, frequently interact with the perfumers. We share information, inspiration, and are always looking for new ways to work together. Those culinary notes in some of your favorite perfumes didn't just happen - they are the result of some pretty cool interplay between the disciplines. And some of our flavorists are working with notes more commonly found in fragrance with amazing results.

70 dishes in two days – a flavorist’s culinary adventures in Chongqing

2010-03-11T09:11:00.003-05:00

As chefs, we travel far, jump a lot of hurdles, and taste a lot of different foods in the never-ending pursuit of authentic tastes. But last year, one of our flavorists traveled to Chongqing in central-western China, a city famous for its incredible food, and had a culinary adventure that few of us get to experience. Evelyn Gunadi's trip was covered by the local press, shown above. The translation is below. Enjoy!

“Sichuan food is very well-known, and the best of its kind is in Chongqing” ~ Old Chinese saying.
IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances), an American company, recently sent Evelyn Gunadi, an Australian-Chinese Senior Flavorist based in IFF Singapore R&D center, to Chongqing for taste exploration. Ms Gunadi went to Chongqing for the purpose of bringing the ‘Chongqing taste’ to Asian packaged food market. She sampled more than 70 signature dishes in just two days!

Ms. Gunadi first stopped at Shanghai where she met with her Shanghai colleague, Mr Daniel Wang, the local Senior Application Specialist and her interpreter on this trip. Hence, they flew to Chongqing together and upon their arrival at their hotel, Mrs Xuan, a local friend, greeted and took them to the Haochi Street on Bayi Road for their first cuisine tasting. After three-hour of food exploration, Mrs Xuan was so full while Ms Gunadi was still ordering food. “Both of them only took two bites at each dish! My poor stomach!” said Mrs Xuan with a happy tone.

“Both my father and grandfather were experienced chefs, and they were good at International food,” said Ms. Gunadi. “I majored in Food Science and Technology in one of Australian Universities, and have been working in Australia, followed by Singapore since graduation. This year would be the 22th anniversary for my career. I can’t say that I’ve tasted dishes from all over the world, but I have tasted most of the famous ones. I began to study the tastes of Chinese food five years ago and I can’t stop thinking of a particular hot dish I had in Chongqing on my first trip two years ago.”

While in Chongqing, Ms Gunadi went to try the famous Sichuan dish “Qian Jiang Chicken Gizzard with pickled pepper.” As soon as she was seated, Ms Gunadi took a spoonful of soup from the bowl and took a deep smell. “It is still weak in aroma and taste. I cannot eat it yet.” After five minutes, she smelled it again and said, “Less pepper and the tallow is not strong.” Then she tasted the soup and said, “A bit sour and the sesame gave it a nice aroma.” After 20 minutes, she tasted the soup again and smiled. “Now the aroma comes out, and the smell of pepper covered the red oil,” she said.

Ms. Gunadi took notes of the tastes and ingredients while eating. And in order to prevent mixing the different tastes, she used five bowls to taste the dish at different times. According to Mrs Xuan, she tasted more than 70 dishes in five districts of Chongqing during her 40 hours’ stay. They also packaged seven boxes of dishes back to Singapore.
[Sidebar]

Three changes in taste preference of Chongqing dishes
Ms. Gunadi pointed out three interesting changes of Chongqing dishes in the past two years.
Change No.1 - Less beef tallow in the hot pot

The tallow contains saturated fatty acids which may make people fat. It is good news for the ladies who want to keep fit. But with the less use of tallow, the impact (mouthfeel) of the dishes has become less as before. “I want to create a flavor which has a nice tallowy taste as well as being healthy,” said Ms Gunadi.
Change No.2 - Fresh green Sichuan peppercorn replaces dried ones

Two years ago, people preferred dried Sichuan pepper. Now fresh green Sichuan pepper is commonly used, not only in hot pot, but also in fried dishes. Fresh green pepper can add color and bring fresh taste to the dishes. As a result, the hot pot now has a less strong taste compared to two years ago.

Change No.3 - From “Hot” and “Spicy” to “Aromatic,” “Sour,” “Oily” and “Spicy”

Hot and spicy are no longer the only characters of Chongqing food. Clever Chongqing people have created richer tastes. For instance, they use pickled pepper to make the sour and spicy taste. They use fried shrimps to get an aromatic and spicy flavor in the oily and spicy hot pot. “Aromatic,” “Sour, “Oily” and “Spicy” are the new Hot and Spicy.

Related News: Foreign tourists come for Chongqing Spicy

According to Mr Dai Lu Hua, the vice president of the Chongqing food industry committee, more and more foreigners are attracted to Chongqing for the “Hot” and “Spicy” food. They especially add spicy food to their tourist to-do list.

New words: Flavorist

A flavorist is a person who uses ingredients to create flavors or tastes. They are required to have a sharp sense of smell and taste, a good balance of left and right brain and solid knowledge of chemistry. Ms Gunadi said, “A flavorist is like a sketcher who can get the accurate profile of a taste and re-create the profile, then shows his or her work to the world.”

Mint News

2010-02-22T12:53:00.000-05:00

Our own Catherine Hogan marketing manager for sweet and dairy, was quoted in Beverage Industry Magazine on our recent collection of new Mint Flavors. We've worked with this line of flavors and are thrilled with its performance in a variety of applications. The US team created a Moroccan snack mix that used the mint flavors in a traditional blend of flavors for a non-traditional snack. The verdict? Outstanding!

To the Future!

2010-02-21T19:44:00.002-05:00

We were heartbroken at the news that El Bulli's sabatical may be permanent, but were touched and inspired at this post in the New York Times by Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago.

2010-02-09T11:29:00.002-05:00

We love Italian food. (Okay, we love all food, but we're talking Italian at the moment) It's comforting, indulgent, healthy (think Mediterranean diet) and gorgeous. And it's not just the food itself - it's the Italian approach to food. Ingredients are fresh and seasonal and meals are made to be savored. So those of us near to New York City are more than a little pleased that Eataly, an Italian artisanal food import, will be landing here by year's end. Estimated to be twice as big as the Turin original, we will be counting the days...

Making Space on Our Bookshelves!

2010-02-04T10:59:00.000-05:00

We are huge fans of Ferran Adria and were thrilled to see that he has a new book available through the CRC Press. Few chefs have had the singular influence on the way we look at food and we anticipate that his influence will be felt in the culinary world for years to come.

Gotham Gigs

2010-01-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

Photo: Buck Ennis

Our very own Hedy Kulka was featured in Crain's New York this week under Gotham Gigs! Way to go, Hedy!

Pupusas, You Say?

2010-01-11T11:32:00.000-05:00

We've been eating pupusas for years -- those delicious stuffed and griddled patties of masa harina from El Salvador -- at Brooklyn's Red Hook Ball Fields. We've stood on those crazy lines for hours just waiting for two piping hot and meltingly delicious babies, always accompanied by that incredible red slaw. So imagine our surprise when we saw no less than Martha Stewart feature the recipe by Reina Soler of the Red Hook Ball Fields on a recent episode.

Wish We Were There...

2010-01-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

Okenagan Winter Festival of Wine

From Russia, With Love

2010-01-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

We're sure you've heard about our new office in Moscow, but if not, you should know it is spectacular! We are lucky to have an exceptional team in place.

We're all excited about finding a permanent and beautiful home in this fascinating region and look forward to supporting our team there.

The view from the Snack Lab...

CU@RCA

2010-01-10T11:14:00.001-05:00

The Research Chefs Association Annual Meeting is always a high spot for us. A lot of time and effort goes into creating amazing small bites, sweets, and beverages that visitors to our booth love. And we love the chance to meet with our fellow chefs, customers, and the press.

What's in store for Phoenix this year? We're not telling, but we can promise it will be delicious! Check back here for details on where to find us at this year's RCA Annual Meeting, taking place March 17-20.

Our New Favorite Site

2010-01-10T09:36:00.000-05:00

is Tastespotting .com.

Spectacular Beef!

2010-01-08T15:48:00.000-05:00

I know you are probably all aware of the Beef flavors we all worked so hard on last year. What you probably don't know is that we continue to develop and add new and more specialized beef flavors to the existing portfolio. Chefs Florian and Kevin have created and recreated new gold standards to make sure our flavorists are hitting the marks.

And not only do we test and compare all the best possible cooking techniques, we go all the way back to the farm, selecting the breeds that deliver the best flavors possible and balancing that information with what we know consumers love the most. Is this tricky? Absolutely! Is it worth it? Without a doubt!

We'd stake our toques on those side-by-side tastings between gold standards and our CulinEssence line of flavors!

Bread and Gravy

2010-01-08T15:03:00.000-05:00

It's fascinating to see the "no-knead" bread revolution taking over. We're seeing lots of new books on the topic, not to mention the various bloggers adding to the conversation. The current need/desire to do it yourself combined with the relative ease of this fast way of making homemade bread (not to mention the great smells that fill the home) have turned a whole new generation into breadbakers!