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SWEETS & TREATS SHOW EXTRA www.gourmetnews.com n MAY 2017 n GOURMET NEWS S T 3 0 Quintessential Offers Hand-Crafted Liquid-Center Chocolates An interview with Lecia Duke, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Quintessential Chocolates Inc. GN: Tell our readers about what makes your company's products so special. LD: We use a centuries-old art form of casting 'Liqueur Praliné' for our European-style liquid- center chocolates. It's a hand-crafted art that starts by encapsulating liquid in a sugar crust, and then coating it in chocolate. The process we use is more than 200 years old, and to our knowledge, we are still the only manufacturer of this specialty confection in America. GN: Why is this process so unique? LD: The sugar crystals literally lock to- gether, forming a crystalline shell that's only a few sugar crystals thick. This forms an ed- ible moisture barrier between the chocolate on the outside and the liquid center. Because of this, you truly do have a large volume of liquid inside a very thin chocolate shell. You must place the entire product within your mouth or your chin may have all the fun! GN: Are the results as delicious as they sound? LD: Yes! The other exciting aspect of this sugar shell is the way it actually enhances the flavor within and protects the identity of the flavor profile. Just as sugar on sliced straw- berries will bring out the flavor, this sugar shell intensifies the liquid flavor. The iden- tity of a liquor is carried in the volatile essences, which normally oxidize, evaporate or migrate through chocolate. The sugar shell becomes an edible moisture barrier that captures those essences, so that the identity remains intact and sus- pended until you crush the shell. It is so good at this that you can do a taste test between two straight bourbons, where both are hand- made, small-batch bourbons, and you can taste the difference between the two! GN: Besides bourbon, what other sorts of liquids do you use for the center? LD: Europeans primarily make brandy-filled chocolates. Since Americans do not typically drink Kirschwasser as a rule, we created liq- uid center chocolates filled with premium spirits, wines, coffees and fruit nectars – fla- vors that cater to American tastes. We also create specialized flavors for customers with a private labeling program. We can put your chosen liquid into the chocolates and have a specialized label created just for you. GN: What's the most unusual flavor request you've received? LD: A man wearing a Stetson and a gun walked in and inquired whether we could put anything into chocolate. I asked what he had in mind, and his re- sponse was, 'Sheep Dip!' When I said, 'Sir, I don't believe that's edible!' he ex- plained Sheep Dip was the name of a single- malt scotch from Scotland. GN: It sounds like your customers do a good job getting the word out about Quintessential Chocolates. LD: It is great fun to watch our customers bring friends and family in, and then proceed to repeat our 'schpiel' about our chocolates, right in front of our own salespeople. Often they do such a great job, we just let them continue! For more information, call 800.842.3382, email chocolat.tx@gmail.com or visit www.liquidchocolates.com. Plant-based, Gluten-free, Grain-free Cookies from Against The Grain Against The Grain, a premier gluten-free brand known for its high-quality, farm-fresh ingredients and clean label, recently intro- duced its first plant-based products to the market. Like its other products, Against The Grain intends to transform the plant-based food space with its new cookies that contain simple, non-industrialized ingredients. For 10 years, Against The Grain has been going against the trend towards food indus- trialization. Now that it is entering the plant- based space, it is taking the same approach: combining the highest quality, whole ingre- dients in unique ways to produce naturally gluten- and grain-free, minimally-processed products. "What we offer is a very satisfying, re- sponsible indulgence that is easier on the planet," says Nancy Cain, who manages the company's new product development. "These are the highest-qual- ity, best-tasting cookies for everyone, regardless of their dietary restrictions or prefer- ences." Against The Grain Gour- met is a celiac family-owned wholesale manufacturer of frozen gluten-free bread, pizza and cookie products located in Brattleboro, Vermont. It is also the only national gluten-free and grain-free bakery. For 10 years, the company has been making products with a minimal number of ingredients and no preservatives or additives in its dedicated gluten-free and nut-free facility. It prides itself on paying its pro- duction staff the highest wages and offering the best benefits package in the industry. Always going Against The Grain, the company created the super premium pizza category with its best-selling Three Cheese Pizza. The company also was the first to offer a 12-inch, family-sized gluten-free pizza and the first to offer a gluten-free baguette. Its new cookie products are also a first: gluten-free, grain- free, nut-free and vegan cookies. Hand-Crafted Cheeses from Rogue Creamery Founded in 1933, Rogue Creamery is located in the beautiful Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon, and over the last 60 years, it has in- troduced a flight of nine distinctive varieties of hand-crafted artisan blue cheeses and a variety of gourmet cheddars. Its blue cheese was honored with two 1st Place Awards at the 2016 Good Food Awards, Super Gold at the 2014 World Cheese Awards, "Best of Show" at both the 2011 and 2009 American Cheese Society Competition and "Best Blue Cheese" at the World Cheese Awards in Lon- don, England. Rogue Creamery's USDA Certified Or- ganic handmade cheese is made using old world sustainable practices with flavors in- fluenced by new world terroir and innovation of tradition; it's produced from Certified Or- ganic milk. Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental health, ani- mal welfare and social and economic equity. Stewardship of natural, environmental, herd and human resources is of prime importance at the creamery. Rogue Creamery ensures a consistently delicious and healthful experience through its commitment to holistic, or- ganic, biodynamic and sustain- able food safety processes which are third party certified. Rogue Creamery's organic dairy, cheesemaking processes and ingredients are certified or- ganic by Oregon Tilth and food safety pro- cedures and HACCP's by ASI Food Safety. In 2014, Rogue Creamery registered as the first Oregon B Company, a company organ- ized for social benefit, and in 2016 was awarded certifica- tion as a B Corporation by the non-profit B Lab organization. Its people are dedicated to sus- tainability, service and the art and tradition of creating the world's finest handmade cheese. For more information, contact Francis Plow- man, Marketing Director at fplowman@rogue- creamery.com, call 541.665.1155 x123 or 541.531.1765, or go to www.facebook.com/ roguecreamery, www.twitter.com/rogue_ creamery or www.roguecreamery.com. Green Mountain Gringo Salsa and Tortilla Strips In 1989, Christine and Dave Hume pro- duced the first jar of Green Mountain Gringo ® Salsa in the kitchen of their farm in Chester, Vermont. It was created using fresh ingredients, chopped by hand, cooked with care and ladled into jars. Today, it starts with the freshest of vegeta- bles that are picked at the peak of ripeness, and as a result, the company con- tinues to produce the freshest jarred salsa on the market. Garner Foods Company's Green Moun- tain Gringo Salsa is prepared from ripe tomatoes, onions, tomatillos and jalapeños, as well as pasilla peppers, apple cider vine- gar, cilantro, parsley, garlic, sea salt and spices. Green Mountain Gringo uses high- quality, all-natural ingredients that would require extra time and money to make from scratch. Green Mountain Gringo Salsa was se- lected as America's "Best Tasting Salsa" in May 2013 by epicurious.com, one of the country's most respected culinary electronic publications. With an increasing awareness of health and nutrition issues, salsas have risen in popular- ity because they are low in cholesterol, fat and calories, and because they provide a great way to add depth and flavor to any dish or just that extra zip to a sauce. Green Mountain Gringo has no trans fats, no preserv- atives and is Non-GMO Project Verified, meaning that it has been independ- ently tested and verified to demonstrate best practices for avoidance of genetically modified ingredients by The Non-GMO Project. All of its products are lower in salt than similar products, as well. Green Mountain Gringo also offers the per- fect complement to salsa – its consistently high-quality tortilla strips. Pairing Green Mountain Gringo Tortilla Strips with Green Mountain Gringo Salsa on the shelf is a great way to increase brand recogni- tion, which can lead to more sales. Green Mountain Gringo sal- sas are available in five vari- eties: Hot, Medium, Mild, Roasted Chile and Roasted Garlic. The tortilla strips come in Original, Blue Corn and White Corn varieties. Green Mountain Gringo salsas and tortilla strips are sold in natural, health and specialty food stores, as well as in grocery stores and on the company website at www.green- mountaingringo.com. Green Mountain Gringo is part of Garner Foods, a family-owned business in Winston- Salem, North Carolina, that has been com- mitted to producing quality products since 1929.