Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
- July 12, 2006 Wednesday
- Craig LaBan
- Inquirer Restaurant Critic

The Cheese Stood Tall (not alone)

NEW YORK Good cheese has always been one of the pillars that propped up the circus tent of the gastronomic extravaganza that is the annual Fancy Food Show. But rarely has it been a central theme in so many of the show's prizewinning products.

The popularity of fine cheese has extended beyond the cheese board into mass production: in appetizers, desserts and biscuits - even a Hollywood promotion.

The show's grand prize for Outstanding New Product was an extraordinary cheesecake with a pecan-shortbread crust (and a $45 online price tag) from Artisanal, one of Manhattan's premier cheese emporiums.

And Philadelphia's own cheese mecca, Di Bruno Bros., was honored as one of the nation's five Outstanding Retailers of 2005. It was a major award from Di Bruno's peers at the 52d annual food show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, which ended yesterday.

An estimated 160,000 products from 71 countries vied, with an ever-evolving blend of indulgence and innovation, for the attention of buyers for roughly 26,000 stores.

Whether you're looking for the latest superfruit (Himalayan goji berries), an obscure ethnic find (Harvest Song's candied Armenian walnuts), the drink du jour (Belagio's intense sipping chocolate), or the newest cooking gimmick (flavor skewers that season food from the inside out), this is the place to find it.

But cheese kept popping up as a recurring theme. Cream cheese gave a moist puff to the 72-layer ready-to-bake biscuits that won Outstanding Baked Good for Maine's Michel Gagne. Blue cheese and pears filed the phyllo-star hors d'oeuvres from Good Wives (Best Seller). Oregon's Rogue Creamery won Outstanding Product Line for its masterful variations on blue cheese.

There was exquisite Picolit wine jelly from Italy's Livio Pesle, and fruity plum-and-grape paste from Australia's Bio-Grape - both destined for cheese-platter garnish glory.

In one of the odder marriages of cheesy craft and commercialism, there were even single-serving sticks of aged Parmigiano-Reggiano that had been cross-branded for a boat race with Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. Aaargh!

Superb artisan American cheese-makers such as Connecticut's Cato Corner Farm made a strong showing with pungent offerings like Hooligan alongside creamy and subtle Euro classics such as La Roccheta from the Piedmont region of Italy, which won Outstanding Cheese.

An intriguing extension of the European-inspired American farmstead-food movement (with its artisanal cheese and beer) has been the emergence of splendid domestic cured meats. Virginia's S. Wallace Edwards has begun slicing thin its 11-month-old WigWam country hams and selling the ham raw as "Serrano style" - albeit with a sweet kiss of hickory smoke. The prosciutto made from Berkshire pigs by Iowa's La Quercia was among the best things I tasted during the entire show - its deep, plum-colored flesh reminiscent of Spain's coveted black-footed Iberian pig.

The flavors of Spain remained among the hottest international influences. The Outstanding Confection was a box of chocolate-coated Spanish figs from Extremadura stuffed with brandied truffles called Rabitos Royale. Harvest Song took the prize for Outstanding Jam with amazingly pure apricot preserves from Armenia. Palapa Azul's frozen desserts inspired by Mexico offered some of the show's most origina combinations - ice creams flavored with sweet corn ice cream and flan; popsicles made of watermelon and chile-cucumber.

This year's show, more than others, featured novel twists on old ideas. The marinade, in particular, is getting a remake with start ing new techniques, such as skewers from Callisons that are infused with seasonings (Indian mango curry; citrus rosemary; Thai curry) that quickly flavor meats from the inside out when heated on the grill. Bryn Mawr's Real Chef was featuring slightly less potent Flavor Magic sheets, which apply blended seasonings like contact paper to meats.

And tea companies never stop trying to reinvent the tea bag - as evidenced by the infuser bags from Ineekathat come with fold-out paper wings that suspend a bag over the cup.

Such innovations may find their first wide exposure at this trade show, often taking weeks, if not months, to make it onto retail shelves.

Melding convenience with quality, of course, remains the Holy Grail of specialty foods, whether it's a sweet and spicy

South African peppadew sauce in a bag from Walnut Ridge, a surprisingly zippy green chile chicken boxed soup from Comida Loca, or simply a good jar of fresh marinara like the one from Jerry's Homemade.

The Outstanding Food Gift winner from Bella Cucina is so complete - a jar of artichoke pesto and an olive-wood spreader packaged in a handsome baking dish - that all you need are party guests. And maybe a little extra cheese to gratinee on top when you bake the crock of pesto in the oven.

At this year's Fancy Food Show, there was no shortage of that.

Copyright 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer