SFFS16 Reviews Part 3: Oils and Syrups and Cheese, oh my!

So part three is coming to you from the beach, but I wanted to get through more fabulousness that I experienced at the show before the glitter wore off. But who am I kidding? The glitter will never wear off of SFFS because it was just the best foodie experience I’ve ever had. There were so many different categories and so many different vendors in each category. For this third part (hopefully you’ve enjoyed the first two parts), it is a little scattered, but I’ll try to keep birds of a feather together!

Oils… One my faves in the oil category (there were so many!!!!) was an extra virgin avocado oil by Primal Kitchen. 

This tasted truer to an avocado than any I’ve ever tasted before. I love avocados – who doesn’t – and this was like squeezing one into your mouth. Delish!!! http://www.primalkitchen.com. Another stand-out here was a butter company (butter is close enough to oil to fit here, right?). Epicurean Butter. The black and white truffle butters were smoothly delightful. Just the spoonful, no bread, please!  I LOVE butter. Even saying the word butter feels good in the mouth. Once I dared someone to do butter shots with me. We never actually did it, but still, I think that would be fun!  Mmm, butter. http://www.epicureanbutter.com.  There was truffle oil everywhere at the show and even when I started to glaze over and couldn’t taste another thing, if it said truffle, I still tried it.  I can’t pick a fave here – it’d be like picking your favorite child. 

Syrups… I had two fabulous syrup experiences, both in the smoked variety. Runamok’s Pecan Wood Smoked was heavenly and the first to make it into my cooking when I got home. 

It is a lighter maple syrup and very clean and smooth. The smoke flavor in this one is mild, and mellowed even more when I cooked with it; in the sautée pan, it turned into like a creme brûlée glaze.  Yum!! I need to try it by itself with some salty bacon dipping into it. My mouth waters just thinking about it!! The packaging is also beautiful. http://www.runamokmaple.com.  Also delectably delicious in this same category was Sugar Bob’s Finest Kind Smoked Maple Syrup. 

This one was thicker and smokier and would be great brushed on just about anything grilled. Can’t wait to try it out when I play grill master soon!! http://www.sugarbobsfinestkind.com.  Both hail from Vermont. Are there any noteworthy maple syrups not from Vermont??  Good stuff up there!!!

Ok, the next syrup is not from Vermont, but then it’s not maple syrup, it’s simple syrup. Tippleman’s. The burnt sugar syrup tasted like a toasted marshmallow, like when you let it catch fire just a little bit.  So amazingly good, I can’t want to try this out at home on anything. Like just a spoon!! http://www.tipplemans.com. 

Honey isn’t quite syrup, but this is the right category for it. Even though the honey by Bushwick Kitchen is in its own category of creative nectar with their salted honey. 

This was so interesting and creative and delicious. I think it could go on virtually anything from chicken to cocktails. Now that’s versatile!  www.buskwickkitchen.com. 

There was no less than a metric ton of cheese at the show. And that was just in the cheese pavilion. Cheese was everywhere, as it should be. I’ve said that I could have a blog entirely devoted to cheese. Maybe someday when Cheers has run its course, I’ll start a Fraiser. But the cheese at SFFS was bountiful and heavenly and satisfying. I have to go back to my favorite cheese maker who I knew would be there, Cypress Grove, for the best in show. Their Humboldt Fog and Truffle Tremor are like no others. 

When I’ve had a rough day, Humboldt Fog makes it ok. When you’re down and troubled, Truffle Tremor will pick you up. I cannot say enough good things about these cheeses except that they’ve gotten me through more than one cheese emergency. You know when you haven’t had an artisanal cheese in a while and must fill that void?  This is your cheese. http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com. 

The final food delight I’d like to write about (I know I said four parts for my reviews, but I’m gonna wrap in three with A LOT of “to be continued’s” for some of the products I need to play with more) is what I heard about when I first decided I HAD to go to SFFS.  It was the duck liver mousse with cognac by Alexian. 

The duck mousse in the little tiny waffle cone nearly brought a tear to my eye. And I’m not a crier. It was mousse bliss. It was pure heaven and just the gentlest kiss of cognac to leave a sweet taste on your tongue. Their other products were delicious as well, but this duck mousse took the cake. Thank you Alexian for being everything I dreamed of and for letting me experience your splendor!! http://www.alexianpate.com. 

And that’s a wrap!! Stay tuned for a ton more blogging about how I’m using all of these fabulous products I learned about at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2016!!!