Robert Bauer and Josef Reiterer make a series of vinegars in Germany all of them from French wine made from the fruit: in this case black currants (crème de cassis). It is my all time favorite vinegar for mixing with club soda in the summer. Just a splash in soda turns the whole drink into a pink sweet summer spritzer!

Blackcurrants were banned from the United States in the early 1900s because they carried a disease that affected the pine logging industry. The federal ban was lifted in 1966, but several states still outlaw its cultivation.

The color of this almost forgotten fruit is dark and intense. The flavor of the vinegar is complex and unique – sweetness comes through as does the small bite from the acidic acid. You can use the vinegar in your soda, to deglaze a pan, on top of a chicken salad, or with fresh peaches!

My favorite thing about working with such a prestigious grouping of olive oils on a daily basis is revealing to guests how unique in flavor each oil is. They respectively compete for most grassy, most peppery, most buttery, most intense. In the midst of so many heavy-hitters, Nicholas Alziari’s olive oil, a perennial favorite from the Provence region of France, immediately stands out for its soothing softness and delicate nuance.

More than that, like so many of my favorite items at the deli, the Alziari oil has a transportive quality. The initial sensation is light and bright with fresh and sweet notes of spring grasses and clover. It quickly conjures up mental imagery of Provence: warming sunshine, vast stretches of lavender and field upon field of sunflowers. Next I imagine relaxing with friends in a shady olive grove dining on salad nicoise drizzled with olive oil and loaves of crusty french bread and plates pooled with olive oil for dipping. The colorful, floral tins (reminscent of the beautiful provincal table linens) in which Alziari packages their oil visually completes this fantasy of the French countryside. Ahhhhhhhhhh…

There are certain foods that are so elemental to the way I eat that I rarely take time to really appreciate them. French baguettes from Zingerman’s Bakehouse had been one of those products for a while, until I recently had an aha! moment and realized that I seriously look forward to every single bite. Our French baguettes are so good that I always bring one to meetings as an accompaniment, even if the pairing is with another type of bread. I could eat one every day for the rest of my life and never get sick of them. They ARE my desert island food. The bakehouse has been hand-rolling them for a while now, and they’ve got it down perfectly. Bakehouse baguettes: a thin crispy crust with a good chew, a perfectly airy interior, slightly sweet, and pointy ends that you could use as a weapon in a dark alley. From 4 simple ingredients they become the backbone to any picnic, appetizer, or sandwich. It’s easy to think of as a background food, something to hold up a piece of salami or cheese, but a baguette all on its own will help you recognize it as the pillar of civilization it is. Our baguettes are so good they make me break out in extreme hyperbole.

In this month’s Saveur magazine there is a great article on paella. It suggests using vialone nano rice instead of the traditional bomba rice. I’ve tried it with both. The bomba (grown in Calaspara, Spain) will give you the delicious crispy edges, whereas the vialone nano (grown in the Veneto region of Italy & traditionally used for risotto) makes a softer, moister version. I suggest you try a version of each to decide for yourself. We’ve got traditional pans made of carbon steel that serve 2-3, 4-6 and 8-10 people.

As soon as I picked this book up, I knew it was dangerous. The cover photograph is vivid and enticing, and the oversized format—not to mention the solid weight of the book—is already teasing that if you open it up, you won’t be able to close it. And its right.

Salumi begins with a history of the Columbus Salame Company out in San Francisco , and then continues with a concise history of salame and cured meats, and even does us the favor of sharing the production techniques behind many of them. Why Columbus Salame Company? Two reasons: (1) Columbus is making some of the very best artisanal salame in the United States , and (2) they’re the ones writing this book. Fortunately for us, they know what they’re doing and boy do they know how to do it.

If the first third of the book is fascinating history, the other three quarters are pure revelation. What do you do with salami? I have to admit, before picking up Salumi, I had a pretty limited imagination when it came to using any sort of salami in recipes. But here we find page after page of delicious recipe ideas. Does panini with goat cheese, arugula, roasted red peppers, and salame sound good? How about chicken with prosciutto and sage, or spinach salad with warm pancetta vinaigrette? If you’ve got a hankering for pie, you could try a specialty from the town of Teramo in the Abruzzi region of Italy : the dish is called pastuccia, a delectable polenta pie baked with sausages and raisins. And if you’re not sure about any of them, just take a gander at the sumptuous photographs the Columbus folks have included for each dish.

Put simply, this is a gorgeous book, handsomely bound and bursting with mouth-watering recipes of all kinds. It’s a perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook, and essential reading for anyone who salame and prosciutto lovers.

This is your chance to stock up on olive oil, on your favorites, and some new flavors that’ll no doubt expand the horizon of your taste buds. The majority of our olive oils will be available for 10% off for one, 20% off for two, or 30% off for three or more. Look for the Spring Oil 1-2-3 sticker and save on great tasting olive oils.

Carm originates in the same region of the Portugal that brings us Madeira. We started carrying Carm over the summer and could barely keep this organic gem on the shelves.

Carm is unique because the Portuguese seldom export their oils – it is the only Portuguese oil we carry. The estate is very old and follows the traditional practices for harvesting and milling the olives. Olives are removed from the trees and often milled that same day, ensuring minimal bruising and deterioration that could effect flavor.

The oil starts very buttery and smooth, hits its stride with a slight flush of spring green, jumps in with a high note of pepper right as you swallow, and then finishes with a lingering fullness of butter – circling you back to where you started.

This classic northern Italian olive oil is made from Taggiasca olives. Grown in the hilly terrain of Liguria, it is light and delicate with a hint of sweet olives. Perfect for pesto, a must for every cupboard!