Early in 2002, in our old wood warehouse, we lined up on our longest table eight different sauces from three countries. It was a blind taste test. The similarities that the sauces shared were in name only. Yes, they were all salty - but that was about it. Some were, as words best describe them, sharp. Some were crunch-your-eyes-closed salty. Some were bitter, or sweet. Most did not taste great. There was no clear winner; everyone picked a different favorite sauce.
(By the way, we sample everything we carry by tasting it "plain Jane" - straight out of the bottle or jar with just a spoon. We find this to be the best way to compare one food with another. Just as we sample in our store, vinegars and oils are tasted on a spoon so that the food is pure and unadorned.)
Years later, we did a much smaller sampling of the same product and found that, no matter how you tried it, the flavor was less than "refreshing" - until now. Though still overwhelmingly strong in the flavor, the one thing that this sauce has above all the others is a clean finish. No after taste when you are done. Pretty impressive, when the whole idea is to enhance the flavor of other dishes, without making its personality be the dominate figure.
As you probably have guessed by now, we are talking about soy sauce. Soy sauce has been around for close to 2500 years. Made everywhere in Asia, with the most familiar varieties from China, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia. Soy sauce is considered a "crucial" ingredient. Not only does quality soy sauce enhance flavors while contributing its earthy flavor to whatever dish you are preparing, but traditional, artisan-produced, dark soy sauce also contains 10 times the antioxidants of red wine and helps with the prevention of cardiovascular diseases!
There is reason to be concerned about what type of soy sauce you use. Read on to understand the health differences.
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 Last week we drove out to Eastern Washington to visit Tom Batch. This time we took the road to the east of the lake instead of the left, just for a change of scenery. Perhaps this time we were more aware, but it sure seemed like there were cherry orchards everywhere! Washington State is expected to produce 200,000 tons of sweet cherries this year - just over 50% of the nation's cherry crop. New York, by comparison, will produce 1000 tons of cherries.
As always, our visit with Tom was relaxing and informative. Tom always makes one feel comfortable and welcome. We talked cherries, the weather (and how it is effecting the cherries this year,) packing ideas, Greg (his son,) and, as always, the logistics of getting the cherries to you in a timely fashion.
Given the weather this spring (this weekend had a few warm days and more are coming,) and the altitude of Tom's orchards, he is expecting to pick our cherries on the 12th of July. We'll keep you updated as best we can.
It's not to late to order any of Batch's Best Cherries. Order now!
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What's coming this summer
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We'll soon have all the garlic up that is available for 2009 very soon from Anselmo's. Watch the site and the newsletter - some varieties will be extremely limited and will sell out quickly!
And we might have some amazing reed avocados this summer - the details are still to be worked out.
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Special Offer
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No fillers or big packaging with lots of air here. Just wholesome, yummy (and I never use this word lightly!) for your tummy foods and ingredients. All of the products we sell here are the best of the very best - and we are pretty sure once you try 'em you'll be hooked on them for life! Read the fine print.
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