Corti Brothers Newsletter for Summer 2008   

 Penna California Olives 

Maurice Penna is probably California’s most innovative olive processor. His products have been featured in these pages before. Now he has come up with several new products which I would like to make you aware of.

Olivasecca is a new, pitted dry olive that is perfect for nibbling on. Its culinary and snacking possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Produced from dry grown, fully ripe manzanillo olives, fermented, pitted, then dehydrated, Olivasecca does not have the intense salty taste of traditional salt cured dry olives. Macerated in good oil, herbs and spices, they are wonderful with aperitifs. Adding Olivasecca to stews gives a flavor lift and provides depth to the sauce. Eaten out of hand, Olivasecca has a meaty, savory flavor, that is more-ish.

Penna varietal olives like Kalamon, take their flavor from the traditional curing process. The Penna Kalamon olives are cured like the Greek original, have the same taste, but are Californian through and through. (They cannot be called Kalamata, a place in Greece, but are called by their varietal name, Kalamon.) As far as I know, these are unique in California. Give a California twist to a “Greek” Salad with Penna’s Kalamon olives.

The Spicy Black Ripe Olives are large, naturally ripe manzanillo olives, fermented, then pitted and spiced with peppers and garlic. Put a bowl of these on the table and watch them disappear.

Besides olives Maurice Penna has begun to make other hors d’oeuvres preparations, enticing anytime, but splendid for summer entertaining. His Asiago and Parmesan Dip is one of these with others on the way. Here Asiago and Parmesan cheeses are grated together, spiced and mixed with olive oil for a cheesy, savory, but not pungent spread, that only needs good bread to be spread on. Crostini made with this spread could not be easier to make.

(N.B. According to Maurice, the olive crop in the upper Sacramento Valley at Orland and vicinity has been hit hard by a freeze in April, just before flowering. In some orchards there will be no crop on manzanillo and sevillano trees. This will definitely have its effect on olive availability and prices.)

Penna Olivasecca Olives $4.39 8oz jar (#2100) $47.00 case/12 (#2100C)

Penna Kalamon Olives $5.99 10 oz jar (#2101) $64.00 case/12 (#2101C)

Penna Spicy Black Ripe Olives pitted $3.99 8 oz jar (#2102) $43.00 cs/12 (#2102C)

Penna Asiago and Parmesan Dip $6.69 9oz jar (#2103) $72.00 cs/12 (#2103C)

It might seem strange to speak of olive groves in cold Berkeley. They are not in Berkeley but in Oroville, Butte County. This is the name of a project started in 1913 by a group of 28 young University of California professors –none in agriculture–as a retirement scheme. Four hundred acres of orchard were planted to mission trees, then popular. It worked well, and by 1922 was in full swing. It fell into dis-use about 1960. A unique agricultural enterprise even for California, it has now been reactivated.

In 2004, as a motion picture and real estate development dropout, Darro Grieco and his wife Olivia, purchase the original property for environmental considerations and his incipient interest in olive oil. Not having been used for some years, the orchard was considered for redevelopment, but was coveted for its certified organic situation. Darro Grieco showed me some samples from the 2007 production and one lot of only 13 gallons I found to be an exceptional Mission oil. This we bought and had labeled as selected by Corti Brothers.

Mission is the “native” variety in California. It was planted at the Missions, hence its name, and has a very narrow window for the production of fine, balanced oil. Picked early, it is very bitter; picked late it is flat. The Berkeley Olive Grove 1913 Mission oil we offer is a wonderful example of well made Mission oil with medium fruitiness, some pungency and a light bitterness with a harmonious finish. It is perfect for summer tomatoes.

This is a very good introduction to Mission oil. If you want to create a mental data base of oil characteristics, the Berkeley Olive Grove 1913 Mission would be the proper place to begin.

Berkeley Olive Grove 1913 Mission Extra Virgin Olive Oil $15.99 500ml (#2104) $86.00 cs/6 (#2104C)

The last production of Ardoino Biancardo was in 2005. This very late harvest oil, almost opalescent in color and very soft in flavor, is highly prized on the Ligurian Riviera. Historically, it was always sold to the demanding gourmets of neighboring France. The only producer left who makes this oil style is Ardoino. In the almost 30 years Corti Brothers has offered Ardoino oils, we have been able to offer Biancardo only 12 times. It is very special and not for everyone.

Harvested from high growing Taggiasca trees almost at the top of the Ligurian Alps, the mountains which separate Liguria from its neighboring region of Piemonte, it must be a special growing season where Nature does not cause the olives to fall from the trees during winter. Harvested from dead ripe fruit, this is not your everyday oil. It is an oil for using when pungent extra virgin olive oil character is not desired, but the silky, smooth character of oil is required. We have customers who are great fans of Biancardo. If you have not yet experienced Biancardo, you owe it to yourself to try it at least once. Since it is not produced every year, it would be better to say you have tried it than not. This is an “anointing” oil rather than a “flavoring” one.

Ardoino Biancardo 2008 $49.99 500ml bottle (#2105) $269.00 case/6 (#2105C)

Leah Garchik, the noted columnist of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote on 20 June 2008:

“P.S.: A social insider, familiar with trends in gifts and party favors says olive oil is the new wine.”

If true, you should have enough hostess gifts with this newsletter for a whole season!

Corti Brothers packs for sale some very fine shredded coconut which I think is by far and away the best of its type. Produced from selected coconuts in the Philippines, one of the three largest coconut producing countries–the other two are India and Indonesia–very little thought is given to this product. It should be more popular and once was. Having found this source for tasty, high quality, white coconut meat, I decided to offer it to our customers.

Originally written “cocoanut,” due to a lapsus in Dr. Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, coconut seems not to be recorded in western cookery until the mid 1800s. It appears commercially in the US in the 1890s from the Franklin Baker Company of Philadelphia. For about 90 years, shredded coconut is very much a regional or specific product in the American diet. In the South, Ambrosia, a salad of sliced fresh oranges, sprinkled with shredded coconut, was a special winter dessert. A new take on Ambrosia--definitely to be tried--is found in the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, (2006, Norton) which is a delicious starter salad, but not the canonical recipe. The laconic comment by Marion Cunningham in her revision of the Fanny Farmer cookbook (1979), states, “(Sliced bananas may be added at the last, but then it is not strictly ambrosia.)”

Before our interest in all cuisines from Asia and southeastern Asia, shredded coconut was a basic ingredient in American baking and dessert making. Remember Baker’s German’s Chocolate cake, coconut macaroons, even the movie theater staple, the Mounds Bar? All tickled our fancy. Now you can try some of these dishes again. Even Ambrosia is a delicious, refreshing change of pace. Unfortunately, its elements are perhaps too common place for us now. But sometimes, it is just this “commonplace-ness” which makes a dish tasty. We could do worse in our cooking

Coconut cream pie, coconut pudding, coconut shrimp are all made with shredded coconut. Certainly fresh coconuts are now more available, but there is almost an atavistic feeling about the taste and texture of shredded coconut. A familiar exotic ingredient!

The three styles of V. Alisios Coconut which Corti Brothers packs are: Unsweetened Medium Shred; Unsweetened Fancy shred; Sweetened Large shred. These are all packed in re-sealable, 8 oz. stand up pouch bags. Once opened, please store cool or freeze.

V. Alisios Unsweetened Medium Shred ( 1/4 inch long pieces) $2.99 per bag (#2106)

V. Alisios Unsweetened Fancy Shred (3/4 to 1 inch long) $2.99 per bag (#2107)

V. Alisios Sweetened Large Shred (1/4 to ½ inch wide) $2.99 per bag (#2108)

Pizzuta d'Avola is the most famous almond in Sicily, consequently Italy. It is rarely seen, since it is used mainly in high quality pastries in Italy. Here is your chance to taste a remarkable nut. This is not your normal almond. It is very large in size, up to 1-1/2 inches in length, over ½ inch wide, with rust colored skin. Its taste is an intense milky flavor with a light, pleasant bitter note. Pizzuta d’Avola has about 1% amigdalin in it, which accounts for its “almondy” taste.

Grown near Noto, in south eastern Sicily, this variety is very early, flowering mid winter. It is also a low producer. Picking these almonds is done before the almonds start to fall. The hull is removed and the nuts are dried under Sicily’s August sun. Drying takes 3-4 days, until you can hear the meat rattle in the shell. When shelled, the nut meats are screened both mechanically and manually to separate the sizes. This almond’s size means that it cannot be eaten as our Californian almonds are, but must be bitten into several pieces. Its delicious flavor, more intense than what we produce in California, allows it to be used for many preparations. The Pizzuta can be lightly roasted or fried in oil, but its best characteristic is serving it “au naturel,” for snacking on or as something smooth and delicious at the end of dinner. Its flavor is very long and accompanies dry sparkling wines very well. Good tawny port, lightly chilled, is another suggestion.

If you bake with almonds, then the Pizzuta is perfect for you. It has a more intense flavor. A pleasant after dinner exercise would be to taste the Pizzuta with other raw almond varieties such as California’s Nonpareil, shelled Marconas and Larguetas from Spain. Their differences will be immediately apparent. Not all almonds are equal!

Pizzuta d'Avola Almonds $7.99 8.5oz re-sealable bag (#2109)

Frantoi Celletti is the name of a selection of single variety oils offered by Gino Celletti, an oil merchant and restaurateur in Milano who has made his mark offering spectacular oils from mono cultivars both in his restaurant and to others. He is now embarking on a venture in Beijing where he will have a 1,500 square meter restaurant using his mono varietal oils with dishes that reflect the Italian regions where the oils are produced. It will open for the Olympics. Gino is also the chief judge at the Oil China olive oil tasting in Beijing. His oils have also won several Best of Show prizes at the Los Angeles International Olive Oil competition at Pomona.

Single variety olive oils are pretty much a new concept in oil production. It is now thought that perhaps the finest oils will be mono cultivars rather than field blends as is traditional. However looked at, Frantoi Celletti oils are special and are from some special cultivars, rarely seen here. I have selected seven as this initial offering: Bianchera from Friuli Triestino; Bosana from Sardinia; Brisighella from Emilia Romagna; Tonda Iblea from Sicily; Razzola from Liguria; Casaliva from Trentino; and Caninese from Lazio. Italy alone has some 715 varieties of olives. This promises a lot of new tastes in Italian oil!

Frantoi Celletti Bianchera Olive Oil, Friuli Triestino, green banana aroma, light bitterness; use raw on risotto, pasta, and soups. $49.99 500ml (#2110) $134.00 cs/3 (#2110C) LIMITED

Frantoi Celletti Bosana Olive Oil, Sardinia (Alghero), aroma of raw artichoke and bitterness; use on grilled fish. $46.99 500ml (#2111) $126.00 cs/3 (#2111C)

Frantoi Celletti Tonda Iblea Olive Oil, Sicily, tomato leaf aroma and a touch of basil; use on steamed fish, plain cooked rice or pasta. $48.99 500ml (#2112) $132.00 cs/3 (#2112C)

Frantoi Celletti Brisighella Olive Oil, Emilia (Ravenna), aroma of green grass, pungent; use on salads, grilled meats or salsa verde. $49.99 500 ml (#2113) $134.00 cs/3 (#2113C)

Frantoi Celletti Razzòla Olive Oil, Liguria, a Frantoio clone, different from Taggiasca; green character, light body, delicate flavor. $49.99 500ml (#2114) $134.00 cs/3 (#2114C)

Frantoi Celletti Casaliva Olive Oil, Trentino, the northernmost production; green character, medium fruity, use on delicate pasta/fish. $49.99 500ml (#2115) $134.00 cs/3 (#2115C)

Frantoi Celletti Caninese Olive Oil, Lazio, green flavor, apple and tomato; use with summer produce, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. $49.99 500ml (#2116) $134.00 cs/3 (#2116C)

Barney Rhodes died on March 31, 2008. Leaving us, the couple known as “The Rhodes” in the Napa Valley have passed into history. Part of what created the wine community of Napa Valley, Ivabelle and Bernard Rhodes, for more than forty years, taught, tasted, and appreciated much of what are now considered the “grand crus” of Napa Valley. Both in wine and food, they were formidable, yet appreciating and appreciated by whomever came in contact with them. In wine circles, even in England, if you knew the Rhodes, you were in.

Bernard Rhodes in particular was consulted for his palate. A formidable taster, when and if he gave his nod to a wine, the producer knew he was on the right track. If Bernard bought the wine, its reputation and that of the producer was established. A good number of wineries and producers in Napa Valley would not be there if it were not for “The Rhodes.” They were the sparks that ignited and inflamed passions for wine in California.

I am greatly indebted to them for the forty years of tasting experiences we have shared-- marvelous old vintages (sometimes a number of times,) wonderful food, and the sheer pleasure of their company in many countries.

Ave Atque Vale.

Noceto is the name of a wine estate in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley owned by Jim and Suzy Gullet. Its name means “walnut orchard” since a walnut orchard was pulled out to plant grapes. It is also practically a single variety winery; its focus on sangiovese. I think Noceto produces a top class example of the varietal.

Just recently, at a tasting in Amador County of wines from an appellation just to the east of Shenandoah Valley, Fiddletown, I tasted this delicious red wine blend which was entered as a sangiovese barbera blend. The majority of the grapes had to come from Fiddletown. Thus, most of the sangiovese and all of the barbera comes from that appellation. Fiddletown is slightly higher in altitude than Amador’s Shenandoah Valley and consequently grapes have a slightly higher acidity. The brilliant taste of barbera with the fuller character of sangiovese produces a scented, crisp flavored red wine without a lot of alcohol and tannin but with the fruitiness that encourages it to be served cool (cold), especially during the summer. This is a wonderful barbeque or grilled meat wine. It is a revelation! Its name, “Tutti I Giorni” means every day. “Nutz,” well, you get the point!

Amador County is renown for its zinfandel. Other varieties, barbera at the top, can produce lovely wines in the region. Rhone varieties, other Italian varieties, and some new ones from other countries, have broadened the viticultural palette of the County and for the better.

Noceto Tutti I Giorni Nutz 2006 Wine (13.9%) $8.99 750ml (#2117) $97.00 cs/12 (#2117C)

Yes, I know, you don’t drink rose because it’s sweet. Humbug! Semeli 2007 is a delicious rose that could pass as a light red wine to be served cold. Produced at Semeli Estate at Nemea in Greece’s Peloponnese from the agiorgitiko variety, it is named for the mother of Dionysus. Grown at Koutsi at 700 meters, it only has a regional appellation--that of Corinth, the closest famous city. Semeli Rose 2007 has excellent color with a light purple tone; great fragrancy, excellent acidity and a fragrant flavor with the follow through of a light red. It is shockingly good.

Xinomavro (kseenó-mahvro) looks like an unpronounceable word. It means “sour-black.” It is also one of the two most important authocthonous red varietals of Greece. The other is agiorgitiko or St. George. Naoussa is the major red appellation of Greek Macedonia, produced from xinomavro. Most of the time, xinomavro produces a tough red, that can be impressive. The Katogi-Stofilia version is charming, sui-generis in that it shows the more elegant side of the variety. Rather than being black in color, it is a good color, not inky; scented with a scented flavor follow through; mature tasting, rounded, not all sharp edges; an austere, flavorful, delicious glass of wine. This version is one of the best balanced Naoussa I’ve tasted.

We are offering two vintages, 2004 and 2005. The 2004 is what I tasted originally and liked. The 2005 is equally delicious, perhaps just a bit fruitier. Both are well worth your attention.

Semeli Rose 2007 Wine (13%) $15.99 750ml (#2118) $172.00cs/12 (#2118C)

Katogi-Strofilia Xinomavro 2004 Wine (13%) $17.99 750ml (#21192004) $194.00 cs/12 (#21192004C)

Katogi-Strofilia Xinomavro 2005 Wine (13%) $17.99 750ml (#21192005) $194.00 cs/12 (#21192005C)

Summer is when one likes to think as little as possible about cooking, or at least having to turn on the stove. What better than having some already to eat products which can be put with summer’s bounty of vegetables and eaten without cooking? Tuna is surely one of these.

I would just like to remind you of Consorcio, the “gold standard” of tuna which we offer exclusively, and two particular products: Entremés de bonito and filetti of bonito in jars. The entremés de bonito is a delicious pâté made from bonito, capers, tomato and spices. It only has to be chilled and opened and served with crackers or some toasted bread for a very quick hors d’oeuvres or mixed with a bit of mayonnaise for an even quicker sandwich filling. Added to stuffed eggs, it will satisfy the most exigent gourmet.

The bonito filetti are three, pale pink, almost triangular pieces of tuna packed in olive oil, in a jar. This tuna is what you must have for making a salade niçoise. Added to sliced, ripe tomatoes, with or without slices of fresh sweet onion, a few torn basil leaves and a dressing of one of our excellent extra virgin oils in this newsletter, salt and pepper, good bread, and a bottle of chilled rosé, you have a hot weather meal that cannot be beat.

For a more substantial dish, try cooking in the early morning some of our Caponi di Sartocchio beans, draining them and then adding the Consorcio bonito filetti and chopped sweet onion, good oil; chill until evening. Served cool, this is a satisfying dish–fagioli al tonno–that needs nothing further than a cooled glass of red wine. Either way, Consorcio tuna serves its purpose of being delicious and easy to prepare.

If you want to spare no expense, use Ventresca or tuna belly. It is not your everyday tuna.

Consorcio Entremés de Bonito Pâté of White Tuna $4.99 115g tin (#2120) $53.89 cs/12 (#2120C)

Consorcio Bonito Del Norte Filetti (Loins) $13.49 230g jar (#2121) $96.99 cs/8 (#2121C)

Consorcio Bonito Del Norte Ventresca $15.59 115g tin (#2122) $168.29 cs/12 (#2122C)

Consorcio Atun (yellowfin) Ventresca $8.99 112g tin (#2123) $96.99 cs/12 (#2123C)

Talking about mustard is probably like talking about sex and politics: It will start an argument. However, for a full flavored, grainy style, delicious mustard to be used as a condiment, one of the finest American ones I’ve tasted is Boetje. Pronounced “boat-chee,” it is an all natural mustard produced at Rock Island, Illinois, solely from Canadian brown mustard seeds, water, vinegar, sugar, and salt. The ingredients are blended, aged in wooden vats, then stone ground to blend all the flavors, and bottled. As a summer (or winter) condiment it has no peer.

The company was founded in 1889 by the Boetje family; the current owners are the Kropp family, only the third owners in 119 years. They continue to follow the same Dutch recipe and technique. Well known in the Midwest, Boetje is rarely seen in California or the West. If you like excellent mustard, Boetje is for you. Since outdoor eating cries out for forceful flavors, Boetje is perfect in stuffed eggs and sandwiches; with hot dogs and hamburgers, or just with pretzels and a cold beer. Cold roast chicken or ham warm up to Boetje very well. This is not a “designer” mustard, just an exceptional one.

Boetje Stone Ground Dutch Style Mustard $3.69 8.5oz jar (#2124) $39.00 cs/12 (#2124C)

Nocino is the traditional green walnut liqueur made from young, green walnuts, harvested at mid summer before they have a chance to form a hard shell. Typically made in Italy’s Emilia Romagna region with a little in Tuscany, now it is made in Napa Valley. And it is very good!

Not so much a nut liqueur like, say, amaretto or Fra Angelico, it is the maceration in high proof alcohol of cut up tender walnuts where the extraction is of the walnut hull, not the nut meat. Dark black in color, the addition of several spices and other woody elements plus sugar syrup makes this an unusual, yet delicious liqueur. In Italy it is normally homemade and households vie to see which produces the best. There is even an official tasting of Nocino.

Rarely seen here, it took the Aceto Balsamico revolution to generate interest in Nocino. The more people visited the Emilia Romagna, the more Nocino was seen. A young Californian, George Monteverdi, has just begun producing a traditional Nocino in canonical style, that leaves some Italian products in the lurch. It takes time to produce Nocino–Nocino della Cristina is 17 months in production before release. Generally aged in bottle for several years to let its flavor meld, once open it remains delicious until the bottle is finished. Aging some will allow you to have a better product in the end.

Wonderful with coffee, it is perfect for lingering at table on lazy summer evenings. Its slightly bitter-sweet taste makes it the perfect digestivo. Serve cool or with an ice cube.

Nocino Della Cristina Green Walnut Liqueur (30%) $23.99 200ml (#2125)

This coffee is selectively picked, ripe coffee cherries, from Caturra, Catimor, and Cataui cultivars of arabica strain coffee trees grown in the vicinity of Doi Chang, in Chiang Rai province of northern Thailand. Grown under the shade of fruit and nut trees, at 3600 to 4800 feet elevation, it is completely organic. Since late 1970, the Akha tribe, of about 800 families, one of the hill tribes of the “Golden Triangle” where opium poppies were previously grown, now grows these arabica coffee plants which produce this peaberry coffee.

Corti Brothers has offered Sigri estate peaberry from Papua New Guinea in a previous newsletter and now we have this truly limited production, small batch, Thai coffee which has never been offered before in the U.S. We are pleased to make this exclusive, small production coffee available to our customers.

Doi Chaang aged peaberry is a hand picked (only ripe cherries), wet processed, sun dried coffee. Peaberry means that in grading coffee, the bean resulting from the “mis-development” of two beans in the coffee cherry, a single bean, oval in shape rather than flat, is separated. These beans are then aged as green beans which changes their acidity and body. Peaberries produce a different, sometimes better, cup than normal beans. Piko is the name of the founding father of Doi Chaang coffee. The roast level is Full City.

We recommend using a French press to make this coffee. It has a soft, low tone flavor, with spicy, chocolate hints. A juicy, almost tart initial taste gives over to cedar and leather notes with a long deep finish. This is a coffee for someone who can be attentive to his coffee. It is a “meditation” coffee rather than a jolting one.

Doi Chaang Aged Piko Peaberry Coffee $12.99 12 oz bag (#2126)

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