Inspired by the Saveur 100 list, pierino started a lively discussion on the FOOD52 Hotline about your favorite food-related finds of 2011. We had a lengthy staff email chain that was pretty similar. So we took the highlights from both, tallied things up and put together a list of our own.
We didn't end up with exactly 100 items but we have a lucky number around here (can you guess what it is?), so we went with it. And here it is: The FOOD52 "52"
1. Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
2. California Olive Ranch Olive Oil
3. Evernote: If I adapt or use a recipe in a cookbook that I like well enough to make again - it goes straight into Evernote with my notes attached. Digital cooking has changed the way I cook, and the way I eat in many respects. -BurntOfferings
4. Mark Kurlansky's Translation of The Belly of Paris
5. Canal House: The books, the daily emails (Canal House Cooks Lunch), we love everything these ladies do.
6. An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler: She set out to write a modern day How to Cook a Wolf and she did a fantastic job. Nothing has inspired me to cook more. - Linzarella
7. Foodily
8. The Meadow: A specialty shop in Portland and New York which carries all manner of salts, bitters, and chocolate. -hardlikearmour
9. Patrick Roger's Chocolate: The BARS, folks! Not sure they're available outside Paris, but they're unbelievably wonderful (and I am not a chocoholic). -ChefJune
10. Craft Coffee: A subscription coffee service. They do an excellent job all around -- interesting sources, thoughtfully assembled -- and I really enjoy the element of surprise every month. -amanda
12. Lucky Peach
13. Michael Ruhlman Books: Started with "Twenty" and worked backwards - they are all amazing! -cookshootblog
14. Warren Pears from Frog Hollow Farm: They're very dear at almost $4/pound, but totally worth the splurge. I can't imagine eating them any way but straight up. They're perfect. -vvvanessa
16. Modernist Cuisine: The ultimate food geek's treasure. If you've gotten your hands on a copy, you know why.
17. Penguin's Great Food Series: Classic food writing in exciting little packages. The book designs make you want to buy them all, and why shouldn't you?
18. Remedy Quarterly: A small and sweet quarterly filled with lively writing and "recipes for feeling good."
19. Eataly: Yes, we're fans. The chocolate hazelnut truffles are a daily indulgence at our office. And lunch wouldn't be the same without Eataly nearby.
20. Carciofini Selvatici Torre Saracena from Zingerman's
21. Pasta di Gragnano: The dried pasta from Italy's first dried-pasta factory is pressed through rough bronze forms and dried in the cool mountain air of Graganano outside Naples. The result: homey, toothsome pasta primed to cling to any kind of sauce.
22. Bulleit's Rye
23. Gotham Greens: We love local produce, and these delicate lettuces and beautiful herbs are grown right in Brooklyn.
24. Eat Your Books: No more rifling through 300 cookbooks looking for that recipe you vaguely recall loving. -peartart
25. Five Acre Farms Local Milk: Positively local. We're happy to be within this farm-to-table company's 275-mile radius.
26. Green Wind Farms Maple Syrup
27. Sustainable Kosher Meat: Thanks to sources like EcoGlatt, KOL Foods, and Grow and Behold sustainlable meat is more accessible to all households.
28. Red quinoa
29. American Cheesemongers: Something exciting is going on in the domestic cheese world. Artisanal raw milk cheeses are being produced right under our noses, and while we love a great import, we're thrilled to support the cheesemakers next door.
30. Domestic Bean-to-Bar Chocolatiers: From the Mast Brothers in New York to Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, we can't get enough of the domestic chocolate that's being produced.
31. Benton's Bacon: Everything you wished bacon could be: thick, porky, and oh-so-smoky. It's the favorite of many chefs, and you can get it sent to your door.
32. Freekeh
33. Popped Sorghum: It looks like mouse popcorn! -amanda
34. NOMA: There's no denying that the restaurant, the chef, and the book were all major talking points in 2011.
35. The FOOD52 Cookbook: Cheers to our community for making this happen!
36. Home Made by Yvette Van Boven: We love the idea here -- make more things at home -- and we're doing our best to take on more DIY projects in our kitchens.
38. Baking competitions at Omnivore Books in San Francisco: Lucky you, if you live in San Francisco!
39. Oaxaca al Gusto by Diana Kennedy
40. Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin
41. Rye Flour from Anson Mills: Be sure to stick your nose in the bag right when it arrives. Smells nutty, complex, and so fresh. -Rivka
42. Eagle Rare Bourbon: In fact, any bourbon; personally I'd never tried it before 2011. (thanks f52!). -creamtea
45. Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton
46. Tableware from CB2: Don't be surprized if you see a few pieces from here in upcoming FOOD52 photos.
47. Bellocq Teas’ The White Duke: We're smitten with Bellocq's packaging. So far their 'The White Duke' blend is our favorite.
48. Zite: It's a magazine that you customize to your interests, and it has a food and cooking section... Food news, recipes, articles all in one space. -drbabs
49. Soda Stream: Remember when Amanda got one? These things are life-changing.
50. Fuzzy Logic Rice Maker: I had no idea that I was living like a wild animal. Thought that dried out or soggy rice with a burnt bottom was the only option. -Niknud
51. L.A. Burdick's almond madeleines & Milk Hot Chocolate Mix
52. Saveur's Garlic Peeling Video (see below): This video (and the method) has already become a classic.
-
Kmucci
Some past articles from this author you'll love:
Oktoberfest!
Cook This: Dinner Tonight
Cook This: A Spanish Dinner Party Plan
wow-love number 52-totally awesome!
This is an amazing list -- and already a life changer for me! For the last 15 years I have tried to figure out a way to list all the recipes I want to try, where are the ones I've tried and loved, and avoid all the little pieces of paper stuck in magazines and cookbooks. I tried scanning indexes, using an excel spread sheet -- all to no avail. I am so in love with Eat Your Books -- it is heaven!!! thanks, nt
This is an amazing list -- and already a life changer for me! For the last 15 years I have tried to figure out a way to list all the recipes I want to try, where are the ones I've tried and loved, and avoid all the little pieces of paper stuck in magazines and cookbooks. I tried scanning indexes, using an excel spread sheet -- all to no avail. I am so in love with Eat Your Books -- it is heaven!!! thanks, nt
This is a great list! I am more excited about this one than about the Saveur 100 because most of the list is accessible! Evernote may change my over-stuffed 3-ring binder method of keeping track of recipes (currently bursting out of 3 binders). Thanks!
I LOVE this list! Now I have to go find that olive oil. It sounds fabulous.
Thanks for publishing this! So fun. How super fantastic is the Hamilton family? Love Blood, Bones & Butter, Canal House, and of course Prune.
I happened to purchase the Hario coffee mill for my boyfriend for Christmas, and I wouldn't dare go back to my "coffee grinder" (more like coffee destroyer) now.
Must go find Belly of Paris now.
I bought the Hario myself, but I actually use it for grinding spices; cumin seed, fennel seed etc. Be sure to grind in the clockwise direction only or you can damage the ceramic burrs.
The great thing about the Kurlansky translation of Belly of Paris is that his annotations give you the historical back drop to France during the Second Empire. If you like this you want to read his own non-fiction works; COD and A BASQUE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.
SodaStream is a settlement product. It is illegal and should not be on your list. Please remove SodaStream from this list, not my comments. www.codepink.org/boycottsodastream
Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.
added 23 days agoKristen, this is not the appropriate place for you to express your political views. There are plenty of other places online where you can express these views -- and we will continue to remove any inappropriate comments. You just joined food52 today, and the only participation you've had in our community is to make politically-charged comments. That's not how this community works.
I support Kristen because it is the truth, not a political view! The Sodastream problem is a huge human rights situation. You guys are responsible for the products you endorse and should know the full story before endorsing something. When you endorse products made in a war zone, you should know or at least be able to defend your pick. There are plenty of other home carbonation systems out there that are not made with the blood of innocent people. You guys have the privilege of being heard by thousands of people, you need to take the responsibility that comes with that. Please do your research before endorsing a company that is making fraudulent claims.
Wow! Thank you so much for the kind mention of our extra virgin olive oils from California Olive Ranch. We are so very honored to be in such incredible company. Thank you, Food 52 and fans!
Warmly,
Kirsten
Luckily for me I live in Paso Robles and can buy California Olive Ranch products at my local supermarket. I love the Arbequina.
I love your Olive Oil. Yaaaaay for local oil.
Thanks
I took a class with Todd Coleman (Gujerati Vegetarian Cuisine) at ICE. He demonstrated that garlic peeling technique. It's genius and he's a great teacher. That class was so much fun.
Finally made it to Eataly from Chicago, and I'm a believer. Try the gluten-free pasta they have there; it tastes like "real" pasta, not gummy or oddly textured.
Found it! P.O.S.H.!! Love that store! www.poshchicago.com
Anyone remember the name of the store in Chicago that was in the old Food52 shop. They would often have great finds from Paris. I loved "window shopping" on that website.
What fun! I'm going to be on the lookout for California Olive Ranch. and thirschfeld, I thought cheddar-bucket water sounded sorta interesting....
Great list! Much to check out! I would add to it French Broad Chocolates. Their truffles are amazing! http://frenchbroadchocolates.com/
This is such a great list with both things I know and love, and things I will need to check out.
-Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker-- just got one and happy so far
-Lucky Peach-- of course it's fun and interesting, but it also the only food magazine I have to hide from my kids for bad language
-Soda Stream-- I've been tempted for a long time. If Amanda says it's life-changing...
-Freekeh-- need to try it, because I sure like to say it
-Remedy Quarterly-- because it is lovely and I am so excited to be included in the next issue, coming soon!
Soda Stream is being made in illegally occupied land in Palestine and fraudulently labeled as "Made in Israel". iSi makes a great home carbonation system without taking stolen land and ruining innocent lives.
Speaking of popped sorghum.. it makes for a wonderful snack coated in caramel and shaped into balls. (look for them under the name Rajgira chikki in India grocery stores)
sorry.. got my cereals wrong...Rajgira is actually popped amaranth.. they make the popped sorghum look like Capybara popcorn!
The Canal House ladies are my heroes, anything from Anson Mills rocks, try their farro and sea island red peas and their rye flour fortunately they let you buy the stuff by the 10 pound bag. Got a soda stream for Christmas and it is a game changer. I have yet to make soda, probably won't, but the variations you can create on sparkly water are amazing. Try aging you water in a cheddar bucket before carbonating it.
that should say cedar bucket
Great list, and I'm glad to see the Meadow up there! I really love that store, more than I suspect is natural or healthy!
Genius! Particularly love:
Ms. Hamilton
Canal House
Emile Henry
Foodily
Eat Your Books
Would also add Amanda's Essential NYT Cookbook (even though it was 2010)! I used it heavily in 2011.
I can personally endorse!
- Blood, Bones and Butter
- California Olive Range Olive Oil
- Evernote
- Lucky Peach
- Michael Rulhman books
- Bulleit's Rye
- American Cheesemongers
- Nespresso Machines
- Penguin's Great Food Series (except many of these are available from the public domain)
- Zite
- SodaStream
I can't wait to say I can endorse
- Eagle Burbon
and I wish I saw the book
- Mission Street Food
on the list.
LOVE THE LIST. . . .I can't wait to explore all the items as many are foreign to me.
Very excited.
Seriously, does that work to peel garlic? This is going to CHANGE MY LIFE.
Very happy California Olive Ranch made your list. I champion it every chance I get, along with pierino, who is pretty distinguished company. Lovely list, nicely done.
Which one do you like Boulangere? We only have the Everyday Olive Oil variety at my store.
As for myself, I really like the arbequina and Miller's Blend from California Olive Ranch.
I love this list! I now have so many things to add to my wishlist...
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