Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
- July 12, 2006 Wednesday
- EDWARD B. KASSELMAN

Annual food show digs deep for the next big thing

The numbers are staggering: 2,000 exhibiting companies, 180,000 specialty food products from 73 countries trying to get your attention under one very large roof (322,000 square feet) at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York. The just-completed three- day trade show for the specialty food products industry was the largest in its 52-year history.

Some exhibitors captured attention with alluring food samples. Others relied on scantily clad models or outrageous costumes, like the foot-high banana hats worn by fruit smoothie purveyors or the angel-winged starlet passing out "heavenly" butter cookies.

Searching for the next hot new product or trend means walking past acres of olive oils, spice rubs, cookies and vacuum packed convenience foods, most of which have been discovered and reinvented countless times.

But there are surprises to be had. Here are some of the best- and-worst products -- in no particular order -- offered at the 52nd Summer Fancy Food Show:

Callison's Seasoned Skewers. My favorite discovery at the show. Ash wood grilling skewers infused with natural herbal extracts and oils impart great flavors like Thai Coconut Lime, Honey Bourbon, Mexico Fiesta and Indian Mango Curry from the inside out. Works with meat, fish, poultry or veggies on the grill or in the oven. Soak in water or beer for 10 minutes before skewering food. Available at Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, or online at www.napastyle.com.

VinLiz Lychee Wine. Impress your friends with a Lychee Mo jito, or a Lychee Martini. This Chinese wine (brought to the United States by a retired nuclear physicist and distributed in New Jersey by FedWay Associates) is 100 percent lychee, no sulfites added, 13 percent alcohol, crisp, refreshing and sweet.

Sweetriot. A downtown New York start-up company offering lightly roasted cacao bits covered in 50 percent, 60 percent or 70 percent chocolate. In cute little tins, these are not too sweet and very addictive. Available at Whole Foods or online at sweetriot.com.

Livio Pesle. Wine jellies and sauces. This retired Italian shipping executive pursues his passion for pure and complex wine- based jellies made with 400 natural herbs and spices. These might be the most interesting and complicated foods at the show. Try the Chimichurri jelly with any roast meat, Bishoff jelly with smoked meats and fish, and Ver duzzo wine jelly with robust and aromatic cheese. His universal balsamic sauce is also exceptional. Healthy apple-pectin is the gel, and each jar contains al most no calories or fat. Online at liviopesle.com or from Astar Inc., (781) 235-8624.

Rachel Ray Olive Oil. Fagor America Inc. in Lyndhurst is the U.S. affiliate of a Spanish cookware company. They put this perky Food Network star's picture on bottles of mediocre, greasy Spanish olive oil and sell it for 30 percent over market value. Why bother?

Sport Beans Energizing Jelly Beans by Jelly Belly. This distinguished candy maker gets a vote for silliest and most unnecessary product at the show. Weekend warriors and endurance athletes, put down yourbottles of Gatorade or other sports drinks and eat a one-ounce bag of jelly beans with "electrolytes and Vitamin C" (and 19 grams of sugar). You must, of course, drink one to two cups of water with each one-ounce bag. Four goofy flavors. One dumb idea.

Yellingbo Gold Extra Virgin Olive Oil. If Australia can make world class wine, why not olive oil? This tiny, family-run company makes incredible olive oil from a blend of four olives, hand picked, cold-pressed and unfil tered. Rich and creamy, with hints of apple and almonds. This is a limited release item, just pressed into bottles in June. On line at: yellingbogold.com.au.

Dukkah. This intriguing and delicious ancient blend of coarsely ground almonds, macadamias, pistachios, sesame, cumin and sea salt began in Egypt and circulated throughout the world. It has many uses, at all three meals, and is a healthy "secret ingredient" that's very inexpensive. Dukkah-lekkerfoods.com or call (317) 570-9747.

Big Acres Gourmet Sauces from Melanie's Fine Foods Inc. Melanie and Kurt Yink of San Carlos, Calif., are dot-com dropouts with a knack for bottling great barbecue sauces. Preservative- and MSG-free. Best as a marinade, or brushed on meat and fish during last 10 minutes of cooking. Standouts are the Milagro Mole and the Chipotle Peanut Sauce. The mole has Mexican chocolate, bananas, raisins, two chilies, peanuts and more. Great on chicken, pork or eggplant. Gourmet stores or on line at bigacres.com.

Maharishi Honey. Pure, organic honey from Brazil. Delicious, if not exceptional. Company is owned by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who invented Transcendental Meditation and taught the Beatles and others in the late'60s to gain inner peace. The company claims special health benefits from "Vedic (natural law-based) Farming Technologies" and close attention to the "12 specific nourishing qualities of the Sun." On line at MaharishiHoney.com.

Color-A-Cookie. A small New York company licensed to stencil images of characters like Scooby Doo, Curious George, Batman and Sponge Bob. They've patented food coloring pens and package them with dry sugar cookies covered with a hard white sugar frosting. Kids are supposed to be excited about coloring the cartoon images on their cookies with their special pens. Maybe this is fun, but the cookies have to be handled a lot to be colored, and they don't taste very good when they're done. Online at coloracookie.com

Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. At its best, Maine lobster is uniquely sweet and briny, and this family business captures that quality, while taking the hassle out of eating lobster; just heat and eat. Cundy's Harbor, Maine, is a lob stering village of 500 people and Hancock's home since 2000. Products ship overnight. Try the smoked scallop lobster bisque and the Pemaquid Point Lobster Pot Pies. Online at Hancock GourmetLobster.com or call (800) 552-0142.

Republic of Tea. Brilliant marketing and packaging, especially their new wellness teas. Bright and colorful creations by the California Ministers of Tea. Fascinating catalogs and Web site. The teas themselves, particularly their latest bottled iced tea flavors, like Pomegranate/Green Tea, taste diluted like flavored vitamin water. Gourmet shops and online at republicoftea.com.

© 2006 The Star Ledger