Fancy Foods Show 2015

Yesterday was the last of the three day Fancy Foods Show at the Javits Center, since I wanted to see what kosher products were being shown – and being an addicted foodie – I had to find out what it was about. Needless to say, it was packed with people….

There were quite a few kosher products, while I didn’t get to visit every kosher exhibitor I did see and speak to a few. The first booth I stopped by was part of the Uruguayan Pavillion…

…where I spoke to Levi Shemtov – the son of the Lubavitch sheliach in Montevideo, Uruguay. Levi’s been busy running the famed Brooklyn Pizza in the Punta Del Este summer resort. Together with Juan Manuel Lopez, from TALAR Ltd, he will be marketing two cholov Yisroel cheese types (Mozzarella and Danbo, with more types coming later) and a cholov Yisroel Dulce de Leche, they expect to have these products in the US, by the beginning of 2016.

I found the Mozzarella a bit more subtle and softer in texture than what what we are used to in the US, but it brought back some great memories of yesteryear… I had never tasted a Danbo type cheese before, in fact I had never heard of it, so I had to inquire what it was. It’s a Danish semihard cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk, the smooth, supple interior has a scattering of eyes and a mild, buttery flavor. I found it a perfect choice for sandwiches!

As for the Dulce de Leche, I used to be able to get an Argentinian product in Boro Park, but it unfortunately is no longer cholov Yisroel. Having grown on my mother’s version of it (made by cooking a can of condensed milk for hours (while immersed in a huge pot filled with water) and acquires a deep golden (actually it’s more like ochre) color. In the US what is normally called Dulce de Leche is really a variation of caramel rather than the real thing. I can’t wait to get indulge my habit again, I’ve been going cold turkey for too long!!!

Next I went to the Pereg booth…

Pereg has a very large selection of spices, rice, couscous and a brand new Quinoa Flour.

Then I passed by the White Coffee Corp. They make all types of flavored coffee, including my favorite Keurig cup: Hazelnut with an OU hechsher, as are all their coffees. They also make a very popular Chocolate Donut (yes I got a 10 oz pack from them!) under the Entenmann‘s label…

Koppers manufactures over 450 types of chocolates…

Since the 1920’s they’ve been producing kosher chocolates, they were the first company to make Rum Cordials which I always liked, BUT… my new favorite is their New York Expresso Mix.

Next week we will broadcast some of the pre-taped interviews we did at the show, we will announce the time here.

CS