makers

Askinosie
Mouth Team, April 12, 2019

Shawn Askinosie was a criminal defense attorney in the city of Springfield, Missouri, and he was good at his job......

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{"id":30637064226,"title":"Askinosie","created_at":"2019-04-12T13:27:34-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003eShawn Askinosie was a criminal defense attorney in the city of Springfield, Missouri, and he was good at his job... some might’ve even said notoriously so. But he knew one thing. If he continued at the high-stress job, it was going to lead him to keel over someday.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe didn’t really have any hobbies or interests outside of the courtroom (besides taking his teenage daughter to see the Backstreet Boys). His was a case that he simply couldn’t crack. One day, driving under the bright blue Missouri sky, a thought struck him, as he says “dropping right into [his] head.” He needed to make chocolate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis realization led to some grounds for hesitation. Shawn knew absolutely nothing about chocolate, beyond the fact that he loved eating it. But he was motivated by his newfound passion, quit his job and applied his lawyer-ly knack for research and analysis to chocolate. He buried himself in chocolate: where it comes from, its history, how it’s made and how to craft a unique chocolate offering. Within a few months, he found himself in the Amazon rainforest, trailing cocoa farmers to observe the techniques up close.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack home, he found a countertop grinder and started making chocolate directly from the beans. Appealing to his wife Caron, they worked together to throw parties where they surreptitiously focus-group tested their initial experiments. It wasn’t long before their fervent passion led them to purchase a building for production along with a 6,000-pound granite \u003cem\u003emelanguer\u003c\/em\u003e (a big step up from his at-home chocolate grinder) from Europe... and this was only two years after he left the courtroom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThose cocoa farmers he met early on in his quest became the central defining feature of Askinosie. Shawn has always been committed to sourcing the beans and building relationships with the growers, not only personally but financially as he set up a system to share Askinosie profits with them. They are equal parties in his eyes, treated with fairness, dignity, and respect and he’s built business relationships spanning four continents. Two of his sources include farms in Tanzania and the Philippines, where he has sponsored food programs that nourish 1,600 children per day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnd business practices aren’t the only thing that are incredible about Askinosie—their chocolates have earned three Good Food Awards, six silver awards from the Specialty Food Association, and seven International Chocolate Awards. A chocolate that satisfies your taste buds and your soul.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur verdict? Criminally delicious.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Mouth Team","user_id":48867525,"published_at":"2019-04-12T13:27:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-12T13:27:39-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"askinosie","tags":"Askinosie, chocolate, chocolate maker, Chocolate shop, chocolatier, Gourmet chocolate, maker bio, Maker Bios, Springfield maker","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-12T13:27:34-04:00","alt":"","width":570,"height":380,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/Askinosie.jpg?v=1555090054"}}
The Matzo Project
Mouth Team, April 12, 2019

Passover is a miraculous time of year. Yes, for the careful observation of religious tradition, of course, but also for...

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{"id":30021812258,"title":"The Matzo Project","created_at":"2019-03-22T10:33:31-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003ePassover is a miraculous time of year. Yes, for the careful observation of religious tradition, of course, but also for the Manischewitz wine and, of course, Streit’s matzo. Because let’s face it—the domination of these brands over the holiday is nothing short of miraculous. Ashley Albert, founder of the Matzo Project, \u003cspan\u003ethought it was high time that the brittle and flavorless unleavened bread got a desperate update. \u003c\/span\u003eThe aha moment hit her right outside the New York Streit’s factory where she was walking with her mom. Peeking through the windows to watch the bakers, a worker noticed them and passed over a fresh matzo right from the oven. She recalls, “It was the freshest matzo I’d ever encountered and, amazingly, it still managed to taste stale!”\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eShe soon tapped her old Jewish summer camp buddy, Kevin Rodriguez, to be her business partner and help her on the mission to free everyone from the same ol’ matzo. They launched the Matzo Project, baking off hand-rolled crackers one at a time and sprinkling them with innovative toppings like Himalayan sea salt, cinnamon sugar and “everything” seasoning (a riff on another Jewish classic!). And while flavor might be the most noticeable difference from grandma’s matzo, the texture is wildly different too – snappy and sturdy, able to withstand some heavy dipping sauces. (As you well know, Streit’s crumbles under even the least chunky of haroset.)\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe bag sports the company mascot, a Jewish bubbe with heavy glasses, joking, “Would it kill you to try something new?” Clearly their goal is to move matzo out of the dusty ethnic food aisle and into the modern snack space. With a product like this, we don’t think it’ll be all too long. But call your mother, will you?\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNote: Matzo Project matzo is indeed kosher (thank G-d), but not Kosher for Passover. Yet.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Mouth Team","user_id":48867525,"published_at":"2019-04-12T11:15:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-12T11:15:52-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"the-matzo-project","tags":"Ashley Albert, Kevin Rodriguez, matzo project, New York artisan, New York Makers, New York matzo, Passover matzo, Streit's Matzo","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-12T11:15:52-04:00","alt":"","width":2400,"height":1600,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/Matzo_Project_LR.jpg?v=1555082152"}}
Cult Crackers
Mouth Team, April 8, 2019

As a child growing up in Malmö, Sweden, Birgitta Durell took her daily knäckerbröd for granted. The earthy, dense, and...

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{"id":30459363362,"title":"Cult Crackers","created_at":"2019-04-05T13:07:02-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/CultCrackersCrop_large.jpg?v=1554735447\" alt=\"Cult Crackers\"\u003eAs a child growing up in Malmö, Sweden, Birgitta Durell took her daily \u003cem\u003eknäckerbröd\u003c\/em\u003e for granted. The earthy, dense, and sour-bitter rye crackers are everywhere in the country, lining supermarket aisles and fresh-baked in more traditional homes.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eBut then she moved to California. It was only a matter of weeks before Birgitta wrote to a friend back in Europe, begging for a recipe that would satisfy her craving. What she received in response was very different from her memories, using corn flour and a healthier mix of seeds. She tried it, liked it, and began baking it on the regular.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eFor a while, she baked just for herself – she didn’t think the crackers would appeal to American tastes. However, as a salesperson for her brother’s line of high-end Swedish cookware, she would bring \u003cem\u003eknäckerbröd\u003c\/em\u003e samples to trade shows, adding a little taste of Sweden alongside the wares. Prospective customers would eye the cookware but then clearly try to snag extra cracker samples.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThe tipping point came through a lucky meeting. The Durells had the Dar family over for dinner at their Berkeley home, after they met through their school-aged daughters. The table, as was the family’s custom, was set with the beloved crackers. When Birgitta’s husband commented that he’d been trying to get her to turn the cracker into a business, Dianna (mouth full of cracker) immediately volunteered to help.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike most crackers that have a base recipe and introduce different flavors through herbs and spices, Birgitta and Dianna’s crackers feature the flour. The \u003cem\u003eflour\u003c\/em\u003e IS the flavor. Her mixture of six seeds (sunflower, sesame, flax, hemp, chia, and pumpkin) never changes, but the binding flour can be one of three: original corn, cassava, or buckwheat. The two still hand-mix the batter pan by pan in West Berkeley, but Birgitta has dreams of her crackers gaining a cultish following... just like in Sweden.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eUnderbar!\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Mouth Team","user_id":48867525,"published_at":"2019-04-08T10:57:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T10:57:59-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"cult-crackers","tags":"California Makers, Crackers, Cult Crackers, maker, Makers","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-08T10:57:59-04:00","alt":"","width":863,"height":575,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/CultCrackersCrop.jpg?v=1554735479"}}
2 Queens Honey
Mouth Team, April 8, 2019

Artist and designer Charles Wilkin was ready for a change, something to bring his New York life some “danger.” Immediately,...

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{"id":30459592738,"title":"2 Queens Honey","created_at":"2019-04-05T13:10:29-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/2QueensHoneyCrop_large.jpg?v=1554735391\" alt=\"2 Queens Honey\"\u003eArtist and designer Charles Wilkin was ready for a change, something to bring his New York life some “danger.” Immediately, his mind went to skydiving... but when he asked his partner and friends if they’d join him on the adventure, not one was interested. He went back to the drawing board and came up with the idea of beekeeping. Bees are dangerous, right?\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHe now chuckles at his naivety, “I quickly discovered that bees are not dangerous at all, but incredibly gentle creatures that are so important to the world.” Danger or not, his interest was piqued. Instead of diving right in (as he might’ve off a plane), he started slow and took a beekeeping class in the city. He quickly learned about the declining numbers of honeybees and how this negatively impacts agriculture and our environment on the whole. This newfound knowledge inspired him to make it his bee-siness to change the plight of the honeybee, even in a small way.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLuckily, he and his partner had a property upstate in Narrowburg near the Catskill Mountains, perfect for cultivating a young hive... or so he thought. The first hive was a “dismal failure” (his words) due to a harsh winter, but Charles was determined. He took a more academic approach to the project, learning that there were three key components to a successful colony: plentiful water, open fields, and seasonal plant varieties. He chose strategic locations for his bee yards, stationing 15 new ones on his property and others on neighboring farms.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eLike the queen bee maintaining her hive, his work keeping his colonies healthy is never done. He is constantly, ahem, buzzing between his hives and is committed to producing 100% raw honey and spreading his knowledge about the importance of the honeybee to our world.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAs for the name of the company... Charles glances over at his partner and winks. Oh, \u003cem\u003ehunny\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Mouth Team","user_id":48867525,"published_at":"2019-04-08T10:56:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T10:56:58-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"2-queens-honey","tags":"2 Queens Honey, maker, Makers, New York Makers","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-08T10:56:58-04:00","alt":"","width":1138,"height":759,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/2QueensHoneyCrop.jpg?v=1554735418"}}
V Smiley Preserves
Matt Powell, April 8, 2019

The kitchen was always the center where everything else revolved for V Smiley. Born to two 1970s back-to-the-landers, her earliest...

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{"id":30459789346,"title":"V Smiley Preserves","created_at":"2019-04-05T13:17:41-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/VSmileyPreservesGroupCrop_large.jpg?v=1554735078\" alt=\"V Smiley Team\"\u003eThe kitchen was always the center where everything else revolved for V Smiley. Born to two 1970s back-to-the-landers, her earliest memories are of them diligently tending what was affectionately called the Lil To Do Smiley family farm in New Haven, Vermont. Mom milked cows and made yogurt on the kitchen stove. Dad fixed fences and turned grassland to hay. Her childhood was filled with old school mandatory chores of mulching, weeding, wood-hauling and storing hay. Labor came first, then play. And though she didn’t like it or perhaps realize it at the time, she was learning to have absolute comfort in the kitchen and developing a deep, life-long appreciation for food.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eShe flew the coup once she was old enough, but didn’t stray far from the food world. From the backcountry of Vermont, she landed in Los Angeles and slowly worked her way up the West Coast for nine years, working for chefs such as Seattle’s Renee Erickson and Matt Dillon. In a restaurant kitchen, she soon realized that it was too easy to get “caught up in doing the right thing,” the acceptable way to do each thing. For professionals, refined white sugar was the gold standard of traditional technique. But V didn’t buy it. Instead, she bought honey.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWherever she went, she spread her belief that honey was a far superior sweetener for flavor and for health. Outside of those bustling professional kitchens, V learned the practice of making fruit preserves through Rachel Saunder’s \u003cem\u003eThe Blue Chair Jam Cookbook\u003c\/em\u003e, and adapted the recipes to incorporate her favorite sweetener. The patient and slow-moving process of preservation was a welcome respite from work.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWhen the Lil To Do Farm called her home, she found a changed landscape. Her father had passed away. The pasture had filled with honeysuckle, and the fruit trees were overgrown. With the help of her mother and partner, she took on the task of restoring the farm to full working order. As the family brought currants, elderberries, apples, rhubarb, gooseberries, raspberries and tomatoes back to the land, V captured the fruits of the earth in her jars, always using honey. The preserves are unlike any we’ve ever had, rich and sticky and v delicious. We’re convinced that honey is the \u003cem\u003eonly\u003c\/em\u003e way jam should be made.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWith just as much vigor as her parents, if not more, she, too, came back to the land.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Matt Powell","user_id":26976452642,"published_at":"2019-04-08T10:51:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T10:52:05-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"v-smiley-preserves","tags":"Jam, Jelly, maker, maker bio, V Smiley, V Smiley Preserves, Vermont Makers","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-08T10:52:05-04:00","alt":"","width":1337,"height":891,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/VSmileyPreservesGroupCrop.jpg?v=1554735125"}}
Banner Road Baking Company
Matt Powell, April 8, 2019

Banner Road is a straight-as-an-arrow pathway between State Highway 152 and Interstate 40 in west-central Oklahoma. It wasn’t paved until...

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{"id":30459985954,"title":"Banner Road Baking Company","created_at":"2019-04-05T13:20:05-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/BannerRoadAnneCroyCrop_large.jpg?v=1554735004\" alt=\"Banner Road Baking Company, Anne Croy\"\u003eBanner Road is a straight-as-an-arrow pathway between State Highway 152 and Interstate 40 in west-central Oklahoma. It wasn’t paved until recent years, and for generations, small family farms have called the road their own. One of those plots belonged to the Croy family. As a young woman, Anne Croy remembers the family activity on the farm, harvesting fields of ripened grain, tending a small herd of livestock, growing the vegetable gardens and fruit orchard. The farm was a network of interlocking efforts to bring food to market and to the their own kitchen table. It was a simple life that fed the Croy extended family, and it fed Anne’s love affair with food and with the earth. For real.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnne’s road to becoming a chef was not quite so straight-as-an-arrow. She left home to study fine arts in college, and worked in the restaurant industry to make spare change. Upon graduation, she worked in the furniture and design industry where she climbed up the ladder until reaching the status of art director. But she found herself thinking less about form and function and more about fruits and vegetables.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnne busted a move, left her design job and went to work in the pastry kitchen of St. Louis’s Gerard Craft’s Pastaria. She developed their gelato and classic Italian dessert program, but even in a professional kitchen, her mind kept wandering back to Banner Road, specifically memories of harvesting oats and grains. It was this love that led her to granola. She wanted to make a product that highlighted the fruits (and grains) of Banner Hill, taking both health and taste into account.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eHer granolas wouldn’t be called straight-forward, with ingredients like dried banana chips and Askinosie chocolate (another Mouth favorite). But sometimes you need some deviations from the straight-and-narrow.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Matt Powell","user_id":26976452642,"published_at":"2019-04-08T10:50:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T10:50:42-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"banner-road-baking-company","tags":"","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-08T10:50:42-04:00","alt":"","width":1000,"height":667,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/BannerRoadAnneCroyCrop.jpg?v=1554735042"}}
Li-Lac Chocolates
Mouth Team, April 8, 2019

In a time before big chain supermarkets, cities were sprinkled with small producers from butchers to bakers and yes, even...

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{"id":29935435810,"title":"Li-Lac Chocolates","created_at":"2019-03-20T14:43:34-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/LilacChocolatesVintage_large.jpg?v=1554734913\" alt=\"Li-Lac Chocolates Christopher Street\"\u003eIn a time before big chain supermarkets, cities were sprinkled with small producers from butchers to bakers and yes, even candlestick makers. On the way home from work or school, one might stop in to a variety of specialty producers for the evening’s dinner ingredients. For many residents of New York’s West Village, an every-now-and-then indulgence along the way was Li-Lac Chocolates. The oldest chocolate house in Manhattan, it was originally opened in \u003cspan\u003e1923 by Greek chocolatier George Demetrious \u003c\/span\u003ein a small space on Christopher Street. Passersby would catch glimpses of marble tabletops, glittering copper kettles, and the delicately detailed chocolates through the windows. Truly quaint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo how does a quaint chocolate shop survive a nearly 100-year history in ever-changing New York City? Demetrious was a man steeped in tradition, shunning automation and trend. And it’s just that dedication to the old way of doing things that the company credits for its longevity. Not only are many of the recipes the same as they were in the 20s, but some of the marble tables and large copper pieces from the original location are still proudly part of chocolate production, holding court to tempering and making the company’s famous fudge, respectively.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOf course, some things have changed. The company is in its fifth iteration, now jointly operated by Anthony Cirone (himself a frequent customer of the Christopher Street shop before its closure in 2005), Anwar Khoder (a chocolatier for the shop since 1989), and Christopher Taylor (the finance guru of the lot—hey, someone has to read the spreadsheets). Storefronts have expanded to five across New York City, including a Brooklyn chocolate factory where people can still peer at the Willy Wonka-esque activity through oversize windows. But one thing is assured never to change—Li-Lac’s commitment to old-school chocolate making. Cirone remarks, “People tell us all the time about how Li-Lac was always part of their life in the Village.” Now, more people can be part of the Li-Lac tradition, dating back to a time when small makers were the only makers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Mouth Team","user_id":48867525,"published_at":"2019-04-08T10:49:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-08T10:49:18-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"li-lac-chocolates-1","tags":"Brooklyn, Brooklyn chocolate, Brooklyn chocolate factory, Brooklyn chocolatier, Brooklyn makers, Li-Lac Chocolates, Li-Lac chocolatiers, New York City, New York City chocolate, New York City chocolatiers, New York makers, New York oldest chocolate shop, New York oldest chocolatier, oldest chocolatier in New York","image":{"created_at":"2019-04-08T10:49:07-04:00","alt":"","width":868,"height":579,"src":"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/articles\/LilacChocolatesVintage.jpg?v=1554734947"}}
Olympia Provisions
Brent Bailey, April 3, 2019

Started by Michelle Cairo, Tyler Gaston, Nate Tilden, Martin Schwartz and Elias Cairo back in 2009, Olympia Provisions is one...

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{"id":6466858,"title":"Olympia Provisions","created_at":"2012-08-23T09:43:58-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/OlympicProvisions_medium.jpg?28790\"\u003eStarted by Michelle Cairo, Tyler Gaston, Nate Tilden, Martin Schwartz and Elias Cairo back in 2009, Olympia Provisions is one of the nation's few USDA-approved salumerias. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eElias calls himself a “Salumist,” meaning he crafts American Charcuterie using local (Oregon and Washington-sourced) meats for wholesale to grocery stores, restaurants and wine bars around the country. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWorking within the mediums of pork fat and the delicate craft of meat fermentation, Cairo is a true artist. Many of his fat-marbled, lovingly aged works are inspired by time spent in Europe during his early days of chefdom. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA greek-inspired salami is flecked with garlic, cumin and a touch of orange zest, while a garlic-and-pepper spiked saussicon sec tastes of pure French bistro, begging for a glass of vin du table to wash down its indulgent richness. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll of their fantastically inspired salumi is prepared and aged in their one-of-a-kind meat curing facility, which is located in the historic Olympic Mills Commerce Center, a beautifully restored cereal mill and a landmark in a Southeast industrial neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMaker Website: \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/www.olympiaprovisions.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003eolympiaprovisions.com\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2019-04-03T18:25:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-03T18:25:25-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"6466858-olympia-provisions","tags":""}
Ish Premium Horseradish
Nancy Cohen, April 3, 2019

Every holiday has its traditions. For Thanksgiving, the table always has turkey and cranberry. Christmas bears gingerbread cookies and peppermint....

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{"id":6418322,"title":"Ish Premium Horseradish","created_at":"2012-08-13T22:34:12-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/IshMYMcrop600_medium.jpg?28634\"\u003eEvery holiday has its traditions. For Thanksgiving, the table always has turkey and cranberry. Christmas bears gingerbread cookies and peppermint. And in the Sherman household in Chicago, Passover meant horseradish. Larry Sherman, financier during the rest of the year, was determined to find a beet horseradish that he deemed worthy of his mother-in-law’s handmade gefilte fish, and when nothing was sufficient, he took to making his own. The kids remember him dedicatedly marching out to the Randolph Street Market, coming home laden with pounds of horseradish and beet roots as well as a bagful of “secret ingredients.” Secret to the point that the kids were never told.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThen, the real work would start. Sherman senior would hand grate the roots, wearing an Israeli gas mask to protect from the gaseous fumes. (Yes, ski goggles were not sufficient.) The kids recall being unable to enter the kitchen due to the difficulty seeing or breathing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Sherman horseradish became the stuff of Chicago legend. People vied to get on the “horseradish list,” and it wasn’t long before Larry was making, jarring, labeling and delivering over 200 jars of his handmade condiment. Finally, when the kids were adults and Larry turned a spry 80, they sat down at the behest of daughter Carolyn Sherman Gutierrez and talked about taking the tradition to the next level. Dad didn’t bite, but he gave his blessing to Carolyn start what would become Ish Premium.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the family legacy and her background in advertising, Carolyn ran with the legendary condiment. Launching at the Brooklyn Smorgasbord and local specialty stores, she introduced three new flavors: citrus, ginger, and garlic. Even under the careful scrutiny of the New York market, she was delighted to hear people exclaim that Ish was the best horseradish they ever tasted. Just as it happened with her dad, word traveled fast, and Carolyn left her advertising job to go “full Ish.” From the looks of it, Ish is set to be a part of many more family traditions.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Nancy Cohen","user_id":1523042,"published_at":"2019-04-03T18:25:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-03T18:25:11-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"6418322-ish-premium-horseradish","tags":""}
Charlito's Cocina
Brent Bailey, April 3, 2019

Charlito is Charles Wekselbaum, but the nickname given by Spanish-speaking friends and family has long eclipsed his birth name. He...

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{"id":6316228,"title":"Charlito's Cocina","created_at":"2012-07-23T13:29:31-04:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/Charlitos.jpg?56504\"\u003eCharlito is Charles Wekselbaum, but the nickname given by Spanish-speaking friends and family has long eclipsed his birth name. He was working at his Cuban-born father's hardware store by day, and moonlighting as a culinary student by night. Studying under a master charcutier at New York City's French Culinary Institute, he was able to dive deep into the old world wonders of cured meat to discover a real passion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter graduation, instead of a more typical externship, Charlito headed to Spain to stay with familly in Salamanca and Extremadur – known to cured-meat lovers as the promised land, the land of Serrano ham and the (until recently) forbidden fruit, the one and only, Jamón Iberico. “My cousins are really old school country mountain men. They cure their own olives, chorizo, make their own wine in their own home, just as the family has been doing for generations.” Charlito learned technique, process, and the importance of paying attention to every last detail when making these old family recipes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHow Wekselbaum managed to pull himself away from all that gustatory bliss, we’ll never know. But we’re glad he did, because he clearly inherited the family gift. He wasted no time – Charlito’s Cocina was up and running by early 2011. “I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be cool someday to have a little inn or restaurant that followed the business model of a microbrewery – bar in the front, wholesale business in the back. Wouldn’t that be awesome to do that with charcuterie?” Did we mention how happy we are that he returned to the states? \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe business runs out of Long Island City, though Charles makes sausage itself in a larger facility in St. Louis, MO. The 100% pasture-raised, heritage-breed Berkshire Pig is mixed with \u003cspan\u003ehand-harvested fleur de sel and other spices in small 200-pound batches (larger producers uses industrial machinery that mix 500-1000 pound minimums). Then, it is stuffed by hand into all natural beef casings and tied one at a time before hanging up to dry for a minimum of 6 weeks.\u003c\/span\u003e For the vegetarians, Charlito's also created a very special 'sausage' of dried black mission figs that holds its own on any cheese plate. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote: The name Wekselbaum might sound familiar to you if you've been reading our Meet Your Maker series thoroughly! Charlito's mother is none other than Nancy Wekselbaum of The Gracious Gourmet. So, if you pair Charlito's sausage, some cheese and The Gracious Gourmet's Spiced Sour Cherry Spread or Artichoke Tapenade on a big platter, it's a true family affair.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eMaker Website: \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/charlitoscocina.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003echarlitoscocina.com\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2019-04-03T18:25:00-04:00","updated_at":"2019-04-03T18:25:46-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"6316228-charlitos-cocina","tags":""}
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