Cherry season brings on many feelings – excitement about being the one to have the first cherry bite of the whole season, and the dread of driving the 7 hours over the mountains and back to have the privilege.

Today I’m driving east over the pass to pick up the Early Robins, and I’m looking forward to taking that first bite.

On the drive I listen to food and business podcasts, and I know exactly when to put the visor down before I round the bend as the rising sun will blind you otherwise.

I always stop at my favorite independent gas station to use the restroom, get gas and find a new junk food - or a familiar one that I haven’t had in years. This trip I got Bugles. The taste memory was immediate, and it will be another 40 years before I try them again. I always get Boston Baked Beans (the candy), mostly because I can’t find NECCO wafers anymore on this coast.

I guess I really do look forward to these road trip snacks...and take note that the flavor sensations I crave are two preservatives: sugar and salt. Why, I don’t know? I am sure there is some bad behavior on my part that brings this on.

Sugar, beyond the processed white stuff, has a wide variety of forms and flavors. I currently have 9 different sugars on my counter that I am experimenting with. It is pretty fun to test them and discover how wildly different sugar cane can be.

Salt – as no one says – is as old as the sea. As a flavor enhancer, salt is most likely the most popular and commonly-used seasoning in the world.

Salt has a mystical history and is invoked in writings, poems, rhymes and superstition. You need salt for good health, and salt is used for purification and healing. Salt is so common in our lives that we often don’t even notice it.

Salt, like sugar, and not surprisingly, has its own flavor and personality. All salts do not taste the same. Some are sweet, and some are super-salty. And if you know the body of water a salt comes from, it may actually taste familiar. I once tasted a sea salt from the state of Maine, and it tasted just like the water I used to drown in when I was a child. Large mouthfuls of salt water create a lasting memory.

Finding a sea salt that tastes really good has been a lot harder than it used to be when we started, some 20 years ago. Back then, every salt we tried tasted good, and we chose based on the uniqueness of the salt’s character.

Today we choose based on taste first. We want a salt that is salty without imposing an unknown taste.

We tasted a ton of salt in our pursuit of an everyday sea salt, and we have chosen this salt from Sardinia.

It fits the bill for everyday use for a number of reasons. Argei Le Fattorie Renolia Sale has a good, clean flavor, not leaning one way or another, and there are 4 different grinds to choose from. What this means is that all 4 come from the same salt beds and have identical flavor profiles, so if you enjoy the profile, you can use any of them and be pleased with the results.

And keep in mind that salt is good for keeping evil spirits away. It is Buddhist folk tradition to throw salt over your shoulder before entering your home to ward off any evil spirits that may be clinging to your back after a funeral. And if you are Christian, tossing salt over your left shoulder is a general way to keep them at bay.

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It is not about making a salty fish and more about keeping the moisture and the aroma captured inside for the fish to cook itself. It looks so cool and it is super easy to do. And with the salt encasement the herbs will infuse all of the fish nicely.

Depending on the fish and the herbs and flavorings you choose can overpower the fish flavor. So lean to less is more.

See the Salt-Baked Whole Fish Recipe here!

Smaller than the giant ones, they are the normal big size. Use for show, when you need a little less show or when you want to salt your pasta water. Remember, a handful of these crystals is less salt than a fine grind.

This is a good size for your salt grinder. Less moisture for the amount of salt and thus, less clogging of the grinding mechanism.

Shop now for Sardinian Sale Marino Sea Salt - Coarse!

I have really been enjoying making bacon and eggs with toast for the past couple of months. Nothing like comfort food in the morning these days.

The making of each element of the plate is simple, yet a challenge to make it just right. The best thing is that each part can be made differently every morning, in effect making a different experience with each bite!

The bacon can be soft and gentle or burned and crispy. The eggs can be right-side up, upside down, over easy, over hard or scrambled. And the toast can be lightly toasted, or crispy toasted and somewhere in between...buttered or not. In the end, it is the toast and the jam you put on the bread that ties the whole morning together.

Toast can be hot, warm or cold, for me it is the jam on top. I am proud to say that I have narrowed my selection down to fewer than 30 now, and I have a new rule; only one jar open at a time...well maybe no more than three.

Today, I opened this Apricot Rhubarb jam and this is what I found inside.

From the outside can you see color, a bit of rhubarb-green and little bits of apricot streaks.

Open it up and it’s not a smooth surface on top, instead it is glossy with bits and pieces sticking up. The spoon enters easily without any resistance.

To the nose, you don’t get much smell. To the mouth, it’s smooth. Even though everything looks like it might be a speed-bump it is a gently smooth and the lumps disappear with just a whisper.

The flavor is apricot and rhubarb together in glorious harmony. It is quite delicious and definitely sweet.

Spoonful after spoonful is a reward. Not just for toast, this jam goes well with pastries of all kinds and in the other things you make. If you like sweet mixes, be sure to keep the lid nearby or you might end up spooning and eating half the jar before you know it, like I did.

Shop now for La Trinquelinette Apricot Rhubarb Jam!

Having a chutney standing by in the pantry for those unexpected moments in life is a good plan and this chutney is the perfect choice.

This is Maria's and Mark's very first creation of goodness in a jar!

They took the classics and made them friendly and personal. Instead of harsh and in-your-face vinegar, they mellowed the acid and made a chutney that has personality and punch and is not offensive to you or your palate.

Chutney is something we need here in our lives, like ketchup and mustard, sugar and spice, hot dogs and buns, meat and potatoes, and chutney and rarebit!

The daddy of all chutneys, this is a very traditional, dark fruity chutney. It goes with everything from cheese and cold meats to Shepherd’s Pie; no cheese sandwich should be allowed to go without Hawkshead Westmorland Chutney.

We think this is one fancy-dancy chutney to use every day. Deep, rich, flavorful, perfection for meats and cheeses of all kinds. This is a condiment worth having, always!

Shop now for Hawkshead Westmorland Chutney!

Traditional farfalle (bowtie) pasta - drawn through bronze, so that the surface is rough, and ready to take whatever sauce you throw at it. Just like when you were a kid - but way, way better. Made with certified Italian Grown Durum wheat.

This is a wonderful pasta shape to have in your essential pantry. It will always bring a smile when you see it.

Shop now for Sgambaro Farfalle Bowtie Pasta!

Delicate without adding a flavor, rice bran oil just may be the world's healthiest edible oil. Rice bran oil comes from the most nutritious part of the rice grain, loaded with monounsaturated fats & polyunsaturated fats, as well as vitamin E. These are the good fats that help your body lose weight.

Which means that Non-GMO rice bran oil is not only nutritious, but a superior salad, cooking, baking and frying oil that leaves no lingering aftertaste.

Extremely versatile, rice bran oil is an excellent choice for baking as well as just about any cooking method, from deep-frying to pan-frying, sautéing to stir-frying, baking to grilling.

Shop now for Rice Bran Oil here!

No fancy packaging here, this commercial tub of Mandelin premium almond paste is the real deal. You can shape this white treat into little animals for your next birthday cake. Or, into leaves for the top of an apple pie. Shape and eat! OR just eat it. It's that good.

This is a professional quality, premium almond paste that is made with 66% almonds, whereas most almond paste is made with 50% or less almonds. Our almond paste contains bitter almond oil for an extra boost of almond flavor, a flavor the Europeans are known for.

Did you know that most of the almond paste used in countries like Switzerland and France is made from almonds grown in California, including some that are exported back here to the USA!

Shop now for Almond Paste