Discover our articles
Trends for 2015, as seen at San Francisco’s Fancy Food Show
Every year in January, Favuzzi reps fly to San Francisco to attend the Fancy Food Show, the West Coast’s largest specialty food and drink trade fair. Over 80,000 trendy products among the best in their category – confectionery, cheese, coffee, snacks, spices, ethnic or organic products and many more – were showcased by more than 1,300 exhibitors from across the United States as well as 35 other countries and regions. We go there not only to meet our Californian, American and European vendors who are promoting ...
A disappointing harvest
This year, in many of the Mediterranean’s olive-growing regions, producers spent more time shedding tears than bottling oil as they experienced one of the worst harvests in a long time.
The lack of sun, coupled with heavy rains, created favourable conditions for the olive’s greatest enemy: Bactrocera oleae, the olive fly. Laid on the olive trees, this parasite’s larvae feed on the fruit. The infested olives fall to the ground, leaving the trees bare. In other regions, the trees were attacked by the bacteria Xilella fastidiosa. The only way to fight it was to chop them down and burn them.
Loredana Muzzi, the queen of panettones
Based in Folignio, in Italy’s Umbria region, the Muzzi company was founded in 1795 by Mastro Tommaso di Filippo Muzzi, a baker specializing in small aniseed pastries. Generation later, it is Loredana Muzzi Farrese, mother of three and grandmother of nine, who heads the board of directors of a business which exports its products to the best gourmet food stores in the world and comprises several other panettone brands acquired over the years.
It’s harvest time
In all the Mediterranean countries as well as California, the olive harvest occurs between mid-October and late-December, depending on the variety and the degree of ripeness desired by the grower. As the harvest is about to begin, we asked each of our producers what they expect this year. Here are their impressions.
Mas d’en Gil celebrates a thousand years of wine growing at the Priorat
This year, Spain’s Priorat region is celebrating a thousand years of wine growing as well as the 60th anniversary of its protected designation of origin. It was at the beginning of the last century that Mr. Francesc Gil, first owner to take over the estate from the religious order, introduced his oil at the Paris and Vienna world fairs.
Two new oils from Planeta
These two new oils from Planeta are made from pitted olives, resulting in a slightly higher polyphenol (antioxidant) content was well as lower acidity and peroxide levels. The Biancolilla stands out with delicate aromatic notes of hazelnut and fresh herbs, as well as a hint of lime, dried tomato and bergamot. As for the Nocellara, it features thyme and green apple aromas with hints of carob (spice), almond and white pepper.