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GOURMET NEWS MAY 2017 www.gourmetnews.com SUPPLIER NEWS 1 4 Salute Sante! Grapeseed Oil Offers Nutritional and Culinary Benefits BY LORRIE BAUMANN Valentin Humer, the co-Founder and co- Owner of Food & Vine along with his wife Nanette, has come up with a way to cold press the seeds left over after wine grapes have been crushed to produce an oil high in linoleic acid, an Omega 6 fatty acid that's been shown to elevate high density lipopro- tein cholesterol, the good cholesterol, and to decrease triglycerides and low density lipoprotein cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. The oil, Food & Vine's Salute Sante! Grape- seed Oil, is also certified green and verified non-GMO, and it has other valuable culi- nary characteristics – mild flavors that don't compete with other foods and a high smoke point for sauteing, searing and even frying. Salute Sante! Grapeseed Oil has almost 10 times more linoleic acid than olive oil, ac- cording to Valentin Humer. "It's the only food that can effectively raise HDL choles- terol without a change in diet or lifestyle," he said. "It lowers LDL and triglycerides." "This is a fruit oil. It's not a vegetable oil," adds Nanette. "It has its own amazing health benefits, with almost half the satu- rated fat of olive oil." Valentin Humer, an Austrian-trained chef and hotelier, came to the U.S. in 1988 with the intention of bringing to the Amer- ican market the grapeseed oil that he and other European chefs already loved. "I put my career on the hook because I was so ex- cited about this product," he said. "I wanted to make it here in California and wanted to make it cold-pressed.... It took us 15 years to create a press that was strong enough to cold-press the grapeseed oil, which we have now running 24/7 in Napa. Grape seeds are hard as a rock." Food & Vine has been pressing California grape seeds for Salute Sante! Extra Virgin Cold Press Grapeseed Oil since 2010. Before that, the company had been importing grapeseed oil from the key wine-producing countries in Europe since 1994 and selling it on the American market, where it was en- thusiastically embraced by classically trained chefs, who valued it for its flavors, its 485-degree smoke point that allows high-temperature applications and the emulsifying power that means that it incor- porates easily into salad dressings that can be stored in the refrigerator and then used directly from cold storage because the oil doesn't begin to solidify at normal refriger- ator temperatures. "Grapeseed oil makes dressings that don't congeal in the refriger- ator. It stays nice and creamy," Valentin said. All of the Salute Sante! oils are 100 per- cent grapeseed oil rather than a blend of oils, which guarantees that the Salute Sante! oils have the linoleic acid content that's a key to their health benefits. "We have third-party certification to show that what comes out of the grape seed is what's in the can," Nanette said. "I need to be able to sleep," Valentin added. "My quality level is always the best, and the oil is pure." While he developed the American mar- ket for his imported Salute Sante! grape- seed oil in the years since 1994, Humer kept working on the designs for his presses until he developed a new press that could press the oil from very hard grape seeds. By 2010, he'd finally cracked that seed in time to introduce Salute Sante! Extra Virgin Cold Press Grapeseed Oil, made in Napa, California, in 2011. The oils are made from the seeds that are left over after wine grapes are crushed. "We don't use new land or new water to get our products, so we're not contributing to waste," Nanette said. "Why ship this stuff all over the world when we can make it here with zero carbon footprint?" Several varieties of wine grapes are grown in the Napa Valley region, so that, in addi- tion to the Extra Virgin Cold Pressed Grape- seed Oil, the Salute Sante! product range now also includes many ultra-premium oils made from specific grape varietals: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Riesling, Zinfandel, Viognier, San- giovese, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. Fine restaurant chefs have adopted these va- rietal oils for use as finishing oils in dishes that pair well with the wines fermented from the same variety of grapes. They can be drizzled on seafood, salads or cheeses or used as dipping oils for bread or crackers. "It takes the marriage of food and wine to a whole new level," Valentin said. "Grapeseed oil is much more versatile than olive oil. As a professional chef, I think of them like salt and pepper. Grapeseed oil can be used for any cuisine, while olive oil is more suitable for Mediterranean cuisine." The Salute Sante! product range also in- cludes five flavor-infused finishing oils: Roasted Garlic, Lemon, Basil, Chili and Rosemary. They find use in salad dressings, for drizzling over cooked meats and vegeta- bles and for marinating. The Humers believe that Americans' growing interest in grapeseed oil and the success of their own product line can be at- tributed to growing sophistication among American consumers who care about their health and the food they're putting into their bodies. "Consumers are getting more and more leery about what's in their food. Baby Boomers and Generation X are doing their homework, and they want to know that the people behind these brands have integrity," Valentin said. "It's necessary to look for something that's pure, and we're third-party- certified 100 percent pure. Sometimes price isn't everything. What they're getting with Salute Sante! is pure good stuff – not adul- terated with something else." GN Melinda's Sweeps Ketchup Category at Scovie Awards The 2017 Scovie Awards judging panel of top culinary experts honored Melinda's with five awards at its annual competition recognizing the best spicy and savory food products in the business. The Scovie Awards (the Academy Awards for all things spicy) ranked Melinda's spicy ketchups first, second and third place. Melinda's Ghost Ketchup claimed the top spot, followed by Habanero and Jalapeño. "It's a shame they didn't award fourth and fifth places too, because our Chipotle and Black Pepper Ketchups feel left out!" said David Figueroa, Melinda's Co-founder and Head of Brand Marketing. The accolades didn't stop there. Melinda's Mango Habanero Hot Sauce took top honors in the all-natural hot sauce cat- egory, followed by Melinda's Garlic Ha- banero in second place. "We knew we were taking a bit of a risk putting Melinda's up against all the new and trendy craft brands that have been popping up everywhere, but we were confident that our perfect balance of heat and flavor would be rewarded," said Figueroa. "Sweeping the ketchup awards, and nearly doing the same in the all-natural hot sauce categories, is such a tremendous honor. We cleaned up!" Dave DeWitt, founder of the Scovie Awards and the National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show, noted that 131 total com- panies from 34 states and five countries (USA, Canada, Hungary, Croatia and Aus- tralia) entered the 2017 competition. Melinda's spicy ketchup product line was first introduced to the market in 1998. Its recipes combine fresh chile peppers and real cane sugar instead of the high fructose corn syrup favored by the mass-market brands. Melinda's ketchups are kosher-cer- tified and contain no artificial preservatives or colors, zero gluten and no GMOs. Melinda's hot sauces are derived from vegetables and fruits – unlike most sauces that are primarily vinegar – and expertly crafted to perfectly balance heat and flavor. Melinda's packs the heat at four different levels – X for Hot, double X for Extra Hot, triple X for XXXtra Hot and four X for the XXXX Reserve – giving fans the options that are best for them and what they're cooking. The company's extensive product line features Passionately Crafted Pepper Sauces™ with exotic ingredients from around the world. Flavors range from tangy and mild – like Garlic Habanero and Mango Habanero – to downright incendi- ary, including Red Savina, Ghost Pepper, Naga Jolokia Pepper and Scorpion Pepper. Melinda's upside-down squeeze ketchups are available at Central Market and Wal- mart stores, and are expanding rapidly at retailers nationwide. Melinda's pepper sauces are served at thousands of restau- rants and retailers from coast to coast, in- cluding Whole Foods, Kroger, Albertsons, Central Market, H-E-B and Walmart. GN Bring Home the Beef Bacon: Certified Angus Beef Brand Schmacon Chefs and retailers can now source bacon made with premium beef and having no added nitrates and nitrites. Certified Angus Beef ® brand Schmacon™ delivers smoky, sweet, beefy flavor, and crisps fast for a fla- vorful and satisfying fit for today's food trends. "This beef bacon really hits the mark on quality, flavor, texture and crispness," says Howard Bender, creator of Schmacon. "Hands down, Certified Angus Beef brand Schmacon belongs on breakfast menus and excels any time of day." These hearty strips of beef start with carefully trimmed, whole-muscle Certified Angus Beef brand cuts. Ten exacting stan- dards ensure the brand's outstanding flavor and are the foundation of the beef bacon's signature quality. "The Certified Angus Beef brand was simply the ultimate match for delivering exceptional quality and flavor," Bender adds. "Working with the chefs and beef ex- perts with the brand, we've created an ex- clusive flavor profile with our unique process." Bender's chef-inspired spices impart boldly sweet and smoky flavors through a patent-pending proprietary formulation and process that results in exceptional crisping and curling. The product is gluten free, contains no fillers and has no added nitrites or nitrates, except those naturally occurring in sea salt and celery powder. The product is also certified halal, making it appealing to people who do not eat pork, those who love bacon and beef, adventur- ous eaters and creative cooks. "There is a growing market for new pro- teins for breakfast, lunch and dinner appli- cations," says Chef Peter Rosenberg, Corporate Chef for the Certified Angus Beef brand. "This smoky, mildly salty and slightly sweet beef is very appealing. This grass-roots company spent more than four years getting it just right. The texture is dis- tinctly different and makes a great alterna- tive to regular pork bacon." Rosenberg recommends Certified Angus Beef brand Schmacon as an ingredient in menu items such as beef bacon lardons or diced beef bacon carbonara-style with angel hair pasta and creamy cracked black peppercorn sauce. Schmacon's smoky, sweet and beefy de- liciousness inspires creative uses for at- home meals, too, lending itself to countless applications for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A 12-ounce package retails for about $6.00. GN

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