Το παρακάτω άρθρο εντοπίσαμε στο διαδίκτυο και στην ιστοσελίδα της εφημερίδας Wassington times όπου στις προτάσεις για δώρα στη γιορτή της Μητέρας περιλαμβάνεται το mastihashop!
Exotic gifts will thrill with love
By Marlena Spieler
TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
May 9, 2007
By Marlena Spieler
TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
May 9, 2007
Heritage Coconut Palm Sugar (Tribune Media Services)
A Mother’s Day gift is a token of affection for a life devoted to nurturing, whether it be a handmade but loving gesture or an expensive indulgence. While the saying, “It’s the thought that counts,” is certainly appropriate for Mother’s Day, we all — child and mother alike — know the happiness-inducing power of a great gift.
As my daughter was growing up, she warmed my heart with hand-scribbled cards, clay formed into a vase complete with scraggly flowers picked from the neighborhood, a papier-mache blue-striped cat that for years has watched over me from my office shelf. But oh, when she realized that foodie gifts — Greek olive oil, rose petal preserves, salt-caramel chocolates, white truffle paste — were the way to her mom’s heart and that mom was willing to share — we started having some serious culinary fun that continues.
Thinking of my delight at her tasty gifts, I had a trawl through San Francisco’s January Fancy Food Show, searching for edible Mother’s Day presents. The newest and most exciting goodies are launched at the show. My mission was to search the aisles of endlessly varied cookies and crackers, rainbows of chutneys and pestos, olives and salami, and end up with a selection of munchies that would make any mom feel special. Ready to nosh, I hit the stands.
I found my first Mother’s Day must within moments: Heritage Coconut Palm Sugar from Big Tree Farms in Bali, Indonesia. Mother and son owners, Christina and Ben Ripple, were offering samples of their unique golden sugar grains that have a whiff of smoke and depth of caramel flavor.
How can sugar be so chic or so tasty? “It’s harvested from the swaying coconut palms,” Mr. Ripple said, “boiled up in a sugar shack until thick and sweet, then dried and crushed into granules.” Meanwhile, his mom was spooning me a taste. Nothing like the ordinary white powder one adds to coffee or tea — though it would be blissful in either — this stuff is sophisticated, fragrant and only slightly sweet, and perfect for gift-giving in its rustic wooden canisters.
I had a difficult time choosing between the turmeric or ginger sugar, each so hauntingly delicious. They would be memorable sprinkled onto French toast for a Mother’s Day brunch. Heritage coconut palm sugars sell for $8.99 per 8.5-ounce canister and are generally available across the United States.
Big Tree Farm also sells artisanal ingredients from Bali that you’re not likely to find elsewhere. Among their offerings are exceptionally fragrant and unusual peppercorns, pyramid-shaped salts, and honey from the island of Java. (The coffee-steeped honey is so yummy I had to close my eyes as I sucked on a spoonful.) For information, visit www.bigtreebali.com.
As my daughter was growing up, she warmed my heart with hand-scribbled cards, clay formed into a vase complete with scraggly flowers picked from the neighborhood, a papier-mache blue-striped cat that for years has watched over me from my office shelf. But oh, when she realized that foodie gifts — Greek olive oil, rose petal preserves, salt-caramel chocolates, white truffle paste — were the way to her mom’s heart and that mom was willing to share — we started having some serious culinary fun that continues.
Thinking of my delight at her tasty gifts, I had a trawl through San Francisco’s January Fancy Food Show, searching for edible Mother’s Day presents. The newest and most exciting goodies are launched at the show. My mission was to search the aisles of endlessly varied cookies and crackers, rainbows of chutneys and pestos, olives and salami, and end up with a selection of munchies that would make any mom feel special. Ready to nosh, I hit the stands.
I found my first Mother’s Day must within moments: Heritage Coconut Palm Sugar from Big Tree Farms in Bali, Indonesia. Mother and son owners, Christina and Ben Ripple, were offering samples of their unique golden sugar grains that have a whiff of smoke and depth of caramel flavor.
How can sugar be so chic or so tasty? “It’s harvested from the swaying coconut palms,” Mr. Ripple said, “boiled up in a sugar shack until thick and sweet, then dried and crushed into granules.” Meanwhile, his mom was spooning me a taste. Nothing like the ordinary white powder one adds to coffee or tea — though it would be blissful in either — this stuff is sophisticated, fragrant and only slightly sweet, and perfect for gift-giving in its rustic wooden canisters.
I had a difficult time choosing between the turmeric or ginger sugar, each so hauntingly delicious. They would be memorable sprinkled onto French toast for a Mother’s Day brunch. Heritage coconut palm sugars sell for $8.99 per 8.5-ounce canister and are generally available across the United States.
Big Tree Farm also sells artisanal ingredients from Bali that you’re not likely to find elsewhere. Among their offerings are exceptionally fragrant and unusual peppercorns, pyramid-shaped salts, and honey from the island of Java. (The coffee-steeped honey is so yummy I had to close my eyes as I sucked on a spoonful.) For information, visit www.bigtreebali.com.
Another island delicacy, although an island on the other side of the world from Bali, is mastiha, or mastic from Greece. Mastic is the resin of a bush related to the pistachio tree, which only produces the aromatic resin on the southern part of the Greek island of Chios, near Turkey.
It is an ancient ingredient whose fragrance is subtle yet memorable, which not only has the ability to add flavor and fragrance, but also has healing properties, according to many modern studies. For its myriad of uses, it has long been famed throughout the Middle East and is just now entering the U.S. market in a more significant way.
Mastic turns almost rubbery when chewed. In fact, it is used to flavor Greece’s favorite gum. As an ingredient, mastic has the ability to enhance whatever it is added to and amplify it with a certain air of mystery.
The island’s traditional farmers have organized a collection of products and chic shops, Mastihashops, which sell such diverse fare as mastiha liquor, Turkish delight flavored with mastiha, cookies, candies and even spaghetti sauce flavored with mastiha.
Its soothing properties make mastiha a natural for health and beauty products from eye cream to facial masks to toothpaste. The toothpaste especially gives your mouth a natural, clean feeling, and I’m positive that the eye cream made even my wrinkles disappear. For information, visit www.mastihashop.com.
It is an ancient ingredient whose fragrance is subtle yet memorable, which not only has the ability to add flavor and fragrance, but also has healing properties, according to many modern studies. For its myriad of uses, it has long been famed throughout the Middle East and is just now entering the U.S. market in a more significant way.
Mastic turns almost rubbery when chewed. In fact, it is used to flavor Greece’s favorite gum. As an ingredient, mastic has the ability to enhance whatever it is added to and amplify it with a certain air of mystery.
The island’s traditional farmers have organized a collection of products and chic shops, Mastihashops, which sell such diverse fare as mastiha liquor, Turkish delight flavored with mastiha, cookies, candies and even spaghetti sauce flavored with mastiha.
Its soothing properties make mastiha a natural for health and beauty products from eye cream to facial masks to toothpaste. The toothpaste especially gives your mouth a natural, clean feeling, and I’m positive that the eye cream made even my wrinkles disappear. For information, visit www.mastihashop.com.
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