The 2010 Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City once again proved to be fun but exhausting! Over 180,000 foods & beverages from around the world, it is just overwhelming.
A full day of tasting but overall we felt very few products really stood out. The show was inundated with new "drinks": flavored waters, vitamin drinks. Another new trend seemed to be the fruit/veggie natural chips. Thankfully, the bacon in everything trend seems to be dying down! Below are the items that caught our eye and taste buds! We can't sample everything, so hopefully in the next few weeks we will be sampling items that we saw but we unable to sample that day. If we uncover additional winners we will report via twitter and in our blog on the Food411 website.
Justin's Nut Butter
Small batch nut butters (peanut, hazelnut & almond). We love the small squeeze packs – perfect as an alternative to "energy" bars – also great for portion control when snacking or making a sandwich. We sampled the almond/chocolate which was heavenly!
rick's picks
We sampled their original line years ago and rick's picks became a Food411 pick immediately! At this year's show we stopped by to taste a few of their more recent pickled offerings - hand-packed, all natural, made in season with produce from local farmers: these picked vegetables are all winners!
Siggi's Icelandic style skyr non-fat yogurt
When we first discovered siggi's we immediately "tweeted" about this yogurt – it is a real standout. A bit thicker than many of the Greek yogurts on the market, they offer interesting flavors with very little sweetener (they use raw organic agave nectar). Highly recommended for a true tart yogurt lover. The one downside – price! Depending on where you purchase it will cost you 1.79 – 3.29 a 6 oz container. Big fans of their graphic design/packaging also – absolutely beautiful.
Davidson's Tulsi 'Holy Basil" -
Tried a sample of this tea and just loved the flavor. With so many teas to try at the Fancy Food show, this tea at one of the smaller booths really stood out. Tulsi, a type of basil plant ( also know as "Holy Basil") is a cornerstone of Ayurvedic medicine. It promotes wellness by enhancing the body's immune system.
Activate
One of the big trends at this years show is "drinks" - booth after booth was showcasing waters, energy drink, etc. Activate first caught our attention with its unique bottle cap design, we sampled the "workout" version in Lime. The flavor was excellent, sublte not too sweet. These waters have the added vitamins stored in the cap – you twist and the vitamins spill into the water. A clever idea and terrific execution. Only a few calories a bottle they are an excellent addition to the drink market.
Slow Cow
Also joining this expansive beverage market is "slow cow" by the name you might think it is a dairy product but it is carbonated drink (zero calories) with Chamomile, Passiflora, Valerian, Linden, Hops,Sodium & Potassium. Dubbed as an " acupuncture session" in a can. A relaxation beverage that "helps in the improvement of concentration, memory and learning capacity without causing sleepiness". We just enjoyed the beverage!
Eclat Hot Chocolate Sticks
Create a decadent, hot chocolate treat with these creative cocoa sticks. Simply stir the cocoa stick in hot milk for one minute and enjoy. Made in 6 flavors including white chocolate & dark with spices. Such a great idea, especially since they are made with very high quality chocolate.
Pure Dark
Premium artisanal minimally processed dark chocolate slabs, Barks packed with fruits and nuts. We taste a lot of chocolate for the Food411 directory...this stands out. A very intense, earthy chocolate experience.
Danielle
Crispy Fruit and Veggie Chips. Very different and very delicious. These chips are cooked using a vacuum-frying method. They are lightly sprayed with a mist of heated oil rather than deep fried, so they contain much less fat, much more flavor and they stay very crunchy longer than traditional chips.
The Savannah Bee Company's Everyday Honey line
This new line of honey was created to enhance grilling, cheese, and beverages. For example, the cheese honey is 100% pure raw honey selected to pair with a wide range of fine cheeses. Softly sweet honey flavors tame the tang of a creamy blue and brightly complement salty Manchego or an aged nutty Gouda. You can also purchase a wonderful pump accessory for the bottles. Making the dispensing of this everyday honey a breeze!
