fÑxv|tÄàç Newsletter

Volume 25 January 15, 2016

Don't fall victim to olive

oil fraud

Did you catch the 60 Minutes’ piece on Italian

Extra Virgin Olive Oil? Here is an segment from

the show.

60 Minutes producer Guy Campanile offers shoppers some tips on finding true Italian extra-virgin olive oil amid a sea of fakes

January 3, 2016

Visit any American supermarket and you'll likely find rows of golden-hued olive oils, many with picturesque labels declaring them Italian extra-virgin. But as 60 Minutes explores this week, Italy's olive oil business has been corrupted by the Mafia, which is making big bucks tampering with Italian food products in ways that could affect American consumers. The Italians call it "Agromafia" and it's estimated to be a $16-billion per year enter-prise. One result: Much of the olive oil we import isn't as pure as it seems.

Guy Campanile, the story's Italian-American producer, had never been to Italy during olive oil harvest before and says he has a new appreciation of true extra-virgin oil. "When you walk into the mill, you are just hit with this extraordinary aroma of olive oil that is just so pleasing, it makes the hair on the back of your neck kind of stand up," he tells Overtime editor Ann Silvio in the video on-line. "I don't know what it is, but it's almost primeval how wonderful it is." Continued on page 3...

The other reason to salt pasta water

Hopefully, we all know that seasoning pasta water will add more flavor to your dish. How much salt should you add to your pasta water? A common opinion is that the water should taste like salt wa-ter, or 1.5 tablespoons of salt to 1 pound of pasta. This will ensure your pasta is seasoned throughout and needs less add-ed salt at the end.

The other reason for seasoning the pasta is to help reduce the gelation of the starch. The starch in pasta is the form of microscopic grains. When these grains come into contact with cold or luke-warm water, they become trapped (think cornstarch in cold water), but when the water is hot, they swell up like balloons and merge with each other...giving you starch gelation. Continued on page 2...

Super Bowl 50 is right around the corner...let’s not fumble the ball. Get your party orders in

early to ensure we can fulfill your catering needs in time for the BIG GAME!

RSVP online! Over

70 exhibitors—

come experience

new imported &

artisanal products

& menu ideas!

2

New items now in stock!

#84926 Grain Quinoa Tri-Color Peru 2/5 lb Roland Case

#93856. Cheese Mozz Fresh SLICED 3/8th” (16 slices) 8/1 lb Belgioioso Case

#21002 Choc Coating Dark Wafer 25 lb Ghirardelli Case

#91669 Cheese “Purple Moon” Cabernet Soaked Cheddar 2/5 lb Fiscalini Case

#285302 Indiv EV Olive Portion Cup (20 ml) 360 ct Star Case

#285303 Indiv Vinaigrette Portion Cup (20 ml) 360 ct Star Case

#208503 Noodles Soba Chuka Dry (Ramen) 50/8 oz Shirakiku Case

#208505 Noodles Soba Buckwheat Dry Maiko, Japan 30/10.5 oz Kanesa Case

#363015 Olive Oil EV, Catalonia, Spain (new size) 12/750 ml L’Estornell/VEA Each

pasta water from on page 1

Does salt help with cooking time? Really, no. You would need to add a lot of salt (20% !) to make even a marginal difference of just a few degrees. What type of salt should you use? Anything except iodized salt be-cause it can give off a metallic taste.

Some chefs believe you should salt boiling water only. Why? One, because the salt dissolves completely and thoroughly versus it being put into cold water and not dissolving completely. And secondly, salt corrodes met-al so the longer the salt is in the pot, it might tarnish the finish.

So while you are seasoning your pasta water, you might

want to add some acid (lemon or cream of tartar) to

your pasta water too! Tap water in most cities is made

alkaline (including the Bay area), which increases the

starch loss from the pasta to the water, making the pas-

ta stickier. Most tap water leans to the alkaline side of

the chart. Adding some vinegar or lemon juice to water

to raise its acidity will keep the pasta from sticking.

How much? You'll have to experiment.

Resources cooking.stackexchange.com & huffingtonpost.com.

Clever idea! Single serve cups of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette now in

stock!

For about the same cost of buying containers and oil, you now can have these! And, you have zero waste and no labor...so you will actually come out

ahead. Plus—

• Prevents cross-contamination

• Eliminates leakage & spills

• No refrigeration need

• 2 year shelf life

The presentation is nice and the product is good! This passed our “snob” test with winning colors. There is no other oil portion cup like this out

there in the market.

Star’s real Extra Virgin Olive Oil is sourced from Spain and has a nice golden green color and fruity taste. The 20ml portion is more than enough for a

single serve salad.

So, say good by to all those messy salad

dressing cups!

Ask your sales rep for samples to-

day!

3

olive oil fraud Continued from page 1

True extra-virgin olive oil comes exclusively from the first pressing of the olive harvest and contains no additives. "You know, when you see it there [in Italy], it's this almost luminescent green," Campanile says. "It looks like nothing you've seen before, and tastes like nothing you've tasted before."

Unfortunately, by the time this heavenly liquid reaches American shores, much of it has lost its luster, often due to improper storage or tampering. Journalist Tom Mueller, who has researched the industry (author of “Extra Virginity”), estimates that half the oil sold as extra-virgin in Italy and 75-80 percent of the oil sold in the U.S. does not meet the legal grades for extra-virgin oil.

The most common type of fraud, Campanile explains, is mixing Italian extra-virgin with lower quality olive oils from North Africa and around the Mediterranean. In other cases, a bottle labeled "extra-virgin olive oil" may not be olive oil at all, just a seed oil like sunflower made to look and smell like olive oil with a few drops of chlorophyll and beta-carotene. Major Sergio Tirro of the Italian Carabinieri police, one of the top investigators of food fraud in Europe, showed 60 Minutes' Bill Whitaker just how easy it is to make a realistic-looking fake.

"Olive oil fraud has gone on for the better part of four millennia," Cam-panile says. "The difference now is that the food supply chain is so vast, so global, and so lucrative that it's easy for the bad guys to either intro-duce adulterated olive oils or mix in lower quality olive oils with extra-virgin olive oil."

So, what's a foodie to do? Campanile has some suggestions. For start-ers, he says, look closely at the label. It may have a pretty Italian land-scape, but was the oil actually produced in Italy? If so, where? Campa-nile says he's encouraged when it's from a city in Sicily or Puglia known for producing olive oil.

Since freshness matters, Campanile says, you may want to consider ex-tra-virgin olive oil from California, which can be pressed and shipped more quickly. But if it's Italian you crave, expect to pay more for the real deal. "If you're paying seven bucks or eight bucks for a bottle of Italian extra virgin olive oil," he says, "it's probably not Italian extra-virgin."

For more information and the complete clip, go to http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-overtime-how-to-buy-olive-oil/

See your Sales Rep for a complete list of California EV

Olive Oils from California Olive Ranch and CORTO, as

well as our line of authentic EV Olive Oils from De Car-

lo in Puglia, Italy.

Valentine’s Day TRIVIA!!

The most popular theory about Valentine's Day

origin is that Emperor Claudius II didn't want

Roman men to marry during wartime. Bishop

Valentine went against his wishes and performed

secret weddings. For this, Valentine was jailed

and executed. While in jail he wrote a note to

the jailor's daughter signing it "from your Valen-

tine".—from list25.com

We would love to help with your holi-

day menu! From mushroom truffles, foie gras and escargot, to chocolate

tulip cups and tart shells—just let us know how we can help!

Are you a member

of our BiRite Bonus

program?

If not, it is easy to sign

up! You can use your

customer loyalty points

based of your everyday

purchases to reward

yourself, your staff or your business! Points

don’t expire and you can redeem them any-

time!

Find out more by going to our website and

Check out our online

resources! Just click on the

“resources” tab at the top of the page.

There is information regarding Manufactur-

ers Rebates, booking our Test Kitchen,

ServeSafe training courses and of course,

past Specialty Newsletters and Guides like

our CHEESE BOARD and ESSENTIAL

PASTRY guides!

Coming soon...a new Specialty

GROCERY ESSENTIAL

guide with pictures & no ads!

4

Suggestions & Comments? Cecily Costa, Gourmet Brand Specialist at ccosta@birite.com or (415) 656-0187 x428

NOTE: Any prices quoted in this newsletter are for NEW purchases (outside of 90 days) and not available to contract customers, which may or may not have a lower price. Ask your rep for details.

Thanks to my Editors this month—Jennifer Wilder-Smith, Director of Marketing & Julianna Roth, Marketing Coordinator

Ancho (dried Poblano)—not to be confused with Pasilla below. Smoky, rich flavor with low heat.

Arbol (aka Chile de Arbol)—small red chile that is spicy with heat that builds. Nice earthy flavor. As fla-

vorful as a habanero but with a fraction of the heat. Does not require rehydration.

California (aka Anaheim)—very mild. Good sub are New Mexico chiles which are a bit hotter.

Guajillo—smooth, shiny and reddish-brown in color. Very tough skin so they need to be soaked longer than

other chiles. Used in salsa and pastes. Heat can vary from medium to hot.

Habanero—super hot. Notes of tropical fruits with berry undertones.

New Mexico (aka New Mexico Red)—earthy. Similar to California (aka Anaheim) but hotter and more

flavorful.

Pasilla (aka Chile Negro—dried Chilaca)—Black color and deep flavor like a spicy prune. Long, narrow

and mild. Standard ingredient in Mole sauces. Great with pork or beef.

Chile Pepper 101 (Dried Whole Pods)

Item Pack Size Brand Description Sold By

990738** 1 1 lb Packer Spice Chile Pepper Ancho Pasilla (Poblano) Pods** Case

590653 1 5 lb A&B Spice Chile Pepper Ancho Pasilla (Poblano) Pods Case

518403 1 5 lb Torn & Glasser Spice Chile Pepper Ancho Pasilla (Poblano) Pods Case

991003** 1 1 lb Packer Spice Chile Pepper Arbol Pods** Case

518406 1 5 lb Torn & Glasser Spice Chile Pepper Arbol Pods Case

988794** 1 1 lb Packer Spice Chile Pepper California (aka Anaheim) Pods** Case

590651 1 5 lb A&B Spice Chile Pepper California (aka Anaheim) Pods Case

987077** 1 25 lb Torn & Glasser Spice Chile Pepper California (aka Anaheim) Pods** Case

990715** 1 1 lb Packer Spice Chile Pepper Guajillo Pods** Case

590652 1 5 lb A&B Spice Chile Pepper Guajillo Pods Case

991846** 1 25 lb Torn & Glasser Spice Chile Pepper Guajillo Pods** Case

991765** 1 5 lb Torn & Glasser Spice Chile Pepper Habanero Pods** Case

988793** 1 1 lb Packer Spice Chile Pepper New Mexico Pods** Case

590351 1 5 lb A&B Spice Chile Pepper New Mexico Pods Case

980144** 1 120 gr Chiquilin Spice Chile Pepper Nora (Spanish) Pods** Case

**special order Most dried chilies need to be rehydrated. Dried chiles are hotter than fresh and have a deeper, richer

flavor. To decrease the heat of a pepper, remove the seeds & white ribs. Chili vs chile = spice blend vs whole pod.