'Tis The Seasoning

When it comes to cooking, seasonings are a chef's best friend. A simple dish can be drastically changed with the addition of spices, and there are hundreds of varieties in the world to help make that happen. Spices can help bring out the potential of a a dish by giving it an aromatic flare as well as adding that special flavor needed to seal the deal for the best meal ever. Italy is home to some of the most sought after seasonings, and Ariosto is the top Italian producer in creating some of the most memorable blends in the market. This post will go into detail about Ariosto, a general overview of Italian seasoning & food and some suggested recipes on how to use these excellent spice blends.

Risotto: The Marriage Of Rice & Italian Cuisine

Among the staple foods enjoyed world wide, rice is one of the most widely popular and highly consumed cereal grain. By way of trade and exportation through many centuries, rice is now common in many cultures and cuisines throughout the world. Although the majority of rice grown come from Asian countries, it can be relatively easily grown anywhere, especially in areas with high rainfall since rice cultivation requires an extensive amount of water. Risotto rice is a northern Italian rice dish cooked in broth ending up with a creamy consistency, and it is the most common way of cooking rice in the country. The Italian company Riso Bello is a leading producer of the top risottos you can find thanks to their extensive background and experience in this field. In this blog post, we will describe Riso Bello, the growing of rice, how to make risotto, and the different Italian risottos.

Putting Your Eggs In The Basket

There's no doubt that noodles are an internationally renowned staple of food. From Asian cuisine like ramen and chow mein to the classic Western spaghetti and penne, noodles come in all shapes, types, and forms from all around the world. This leads us to the legendary noodle type, pasta, whose origination is first referenced in Italy. In this post, we will be taking a look at the unique Italian egg pasta type courtesy from our supplier La Pasta di Aldo. Keep on reading below as we cover the company La Pasta di Aldo, keywords in pasta ingredients, what makes egg pasta special, and some cooking & tasting suggestions.

Aged Before Beauty

In the world of gourmet foods, there is one particular factor that most food enthusiasts look at (depending on the item), and that is how much it has aged. The most well known and popular ones that would come to mind for most people are cheeses and wine. To some people the stinkier the cheese is, the better it tastes. When wine is aged considerably, changes in their aroma, taste, and color take place surpassing even its original incarnation. Balsamic vinegar can also be aged, and it's a bigger deal than you probably even realize. Just like with aged wine, getting a product to achieve the status as a true, aged balsamic vinegar has strict processes and requirements set by European standards. We at the Gourmet Import Shop have been importing such products from our Italian supplier, Mussini, who are experts in this field and have great knowledge in this industry.

In this post, we will go over a brief summary of who Mussini is, some Balsamic Vinegar 101, the meaning of IGP/DOP, Mussini's Coin System, and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale versus Condimento. Grab some cheese & wine and head past the break to read more about aged Italian balsamic vinegar.

Panettone: The Hot Item This Coming Season!

Italian Panettone, Mussini Style

Note: Mussini Panettone will now be only available on a special order basis only. Minimum amount required will be a pallet's worth. Please contact us directly if interested.

Have you heard about panettone? Unless you are knowledgeable about gourmet foods or Italian cuisine, you probably may not have heard about this gem....and that's where this blog post comes in! The Gourmet Import Shop is going to be importing this directly from our Italian supplier, Mussini, in preparation for the holiday season this year. Read on to learn more about Mussini, the history of panettone, and more down below.

All Live For Olive!

     When you think of Italy, what things would first come to mind? The more common answers would most likely be along the lines of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, their amazing food, and even wine. But there is another dark horse that many people may not even realize is an essential product in Italian gourmet foods: olive oil. Believe it or not, olive oil is BIG in Italy. Some may even consider ranking it high up there with wine and balsamic vinegar. This leads us up to this month's Gourmet Gab topic which focuses on our Gradassi brand of olive oil from Italy.

Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil

     In this post, we'll cover various topics which include terms you may have heard but did not quite understand what they mean, the Gradassi and C.U.FR.OL brand, and more in depth information of our Gradassi products. Head on past the break to read on. (Note: Images with product in it are clickable links to our Gourmet Import Shop online store where you can buy them directly)

 

Eat To Your "Red Hearts" Content!

Happy Valentine's Day!

And welcome to The Gourmet Import Shops blog! Our goal with this blog is to bring as much information as we can to the readers. Education in the world of gourmet foods is something we believe should to be shared to those seeking it. If you are one of these people, you came to the right place! Keep coming back to find out what goodies we have to share.

Since Valentine's Day is today, we wanted to highlight one of our products which was a big hit the weeks leading up to the legendary special day. If you haven't seen this yet, take a look at this beauty:

How's that for creativeness? This is our special seasonal Donne Del Grano Red Hearts pasta imported straight from Italy, and this easily became our top seller for late January/early February. This pasta is an artisanally hand made pasta with natural ingredients. There is no artificial coloring used for the bold red you see, but instead consists of tomatoes and/or chili pepper powders.

As mentioned earlier, this is a seasonal pasta and is currently available while supplies last. But hey, it doesn't have to be limited to only Valentine's Day right? There's still special days like birthdays, wedding anniversaries (take note of this husbands!),  or simple get-together parties.

We'd love to hear feedback or questions about this particular item. If this pasta inspired the creative chef in you to make an inventive dish or even something simple, we're always happy to hear from you. Feel free to comment, email, post or whichever is your preferred method of communication (handwritten letters are always nice too). We've got our retail website which you can find by clicking here which shows all the imported gourmet products we carry. And for a little teaser, we've got some new products from Italy on its way to join our growing lineup of products. Stay tuned!