Kitchenware News • September 2020

KITCHENWARE Housewares NEWS& Review Vol. 26 • Issue 5 September 2020 • $7.00

Tactical Knives for the Culinary Warrior

See page 6

JK Adams Store Feeds the Need to Bake

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

When the COVID-19 pandemic sent Americans home to their kitchens to bake away some of their stress, The Kitchen Store at JK Adams was ready for them with stock that includes not only JK Adams rolling pins and chopping boards but also the baking pans specialty baking ingredients to go along with them, according to Jessi Kerner, JK Adams’ Director of Ecommerce and Danielle Smith, who manages the store that’s located on the premises of JK Adams’ headquarters plant in Dorset, Vermont.

JK Adams is marking 75 years in business this year, and 2020 was supposed to be a year of celebration for the company founded on December 31, 1944.

Instead, it has turned out to be the year of the pandemic.

Vermont Governor Phil Scott issued a “Stay Home, Stay Safe” emergency order that declared that, “Effective March 25, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., all businesses and not-for-profit entities not expressly exempted in the order must suspend all in-person Cont. on page 8

Regal Ware Celebrates 75th Anniversary

News.....................................6 Ad Index.............................22

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Fudge Sales Offer a Sweet Note in a Tough Time

See page 8

August 6, 2020 marked the 75th anniversary for Regal Ware, an American owned marketing and manufacturing company anchored in the food and beverage industry, bringing premium products to families since 1945.

The Regal Ware history is a long story of family, craftsmanship, entrepreneurialism and opportunity. Regal Ware founder J.O. Reigle started the company in 1945 out of a desire to build “the finest plant with the finest equipment to produce and sell the world’s finest cooking ware.”

As a business owner, salesman, philanthropist and family man, J.O. Reigle embodied the selfreliance, core values, innovation and resolve that have become the cornerstone of Regal Ware. With both third and fourth generations of the Reigle family and countless other multi-generational families working for Regal Ware, J.O. Reigle built more than a company, he created a legacy of excellence that continues to live on today.

“Something our founders Cont. on page 12

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Greetings!

As I write this letter, I’ve just started the interviewing and writing for the fall edition of the Gourmet News Cheese Guide. The process is complicated by the impossibility of travel, but I am really enjoying catching up with a few cheesemakers that I haven’t talked to for a while and meeting over the telephone others that I would love to be able to meet for the first time in person.

That, coupled with Joe Biden’s announcement the other day that he’d selected Kamala Harris as his running mate this fall, has me thinking about something that happened to me while I was working on the last Cheese Guide. I went to visit three cheesemakers who live and work within about a 60-mile radius of Baltimore, Maryland, and all went well and I had a lovely time talking cheese and cows until my flight out of Baltimore ran into nasty weather as we were approaching Dallas. That’s where I was supposed to change planes and head on home to Tucson.

But it was storming over Dallas, flights were stacked up waiting to land, and our pilot was instructed to circle for a while. We could see lightning around us, and we were feeling some turbulence. I yanked my seatbelt tighter.

A little while later, our pilot announced that he’d told air traffic control that he was running low on fuel, and so we were being diverted to San Antonio. Once we got there, we were held on the taxiway for a few hours. The flight crew advised us that, due to FAA regulations, they were required to let us off the plane, but if we did leave, the airline would consider its obligations to us met, and we wouldn’t be allowed back onto the plane for the continuation of our flight into Dallas. About an hour and a half later, we were notified that all flights into Dallas had now been canceled, and we would be going to the gate to disembark and pick up our baggage. The airline had rescheduled the remainder of our flight into Dallas for 5 a.m. the next morning.

I called the airline to rebook while I was waiting in line for a gate agent, and after some rapid clicking that I could hear over the phone, the agent told me that she wasn’t going to be able to get me all the way to Tucson the next day. “I can get you into Phoenix,” she offered. I’d still be more than a hundred miles from home but still a whole lot closer than San Antonio, so I told her I’d take it and figure out the rest once I got to Arizona.

So far, this is just the routine hazards of air travel. The real drama started the next day.

My flight to Phoenix didn’t leave until 4 p.m., so I got a good night’s sleep that started just a little bit after midnight and ended around 10 the next morning. My plan at that point was to take a walk over to a restaurant I’d noticed a few doors down from the hotel, have a nice lunch, come back to the hotel to pick up my baggage and then grab a cab back to the airport. All good.

Then, on that short walk back to the restaurant, I tripped over an uneven sidewalk and landed square on my nose, breaking it. The thought crossed my mind that maybe I’d better go to the nearest emergency room, but my second thought was that I just wanted to get home – and then if I still needed an emergency room, I knew where to find one in Tucson. So I picked myself off the concrete, went into the restaurant, asked for the ladies room and cleaned myself up a bit before I asked for a table. I got very good service, and the shrimp and grits I ordered were tasty and didn’t require the chewing that I couldn’t do. By the time I got back to the hotel to pick up my baggage, my face had stopped bleeding, I had a couple of black eyes and a swollen cheek, but I was as presentable as possible under the circumstances. I just looked like maybe I’d gotten the worst of it in a fistfight.

The cab driver who picked me up for the ride to the airport was a Nigerian immigrant who told me that he’d visited Tucson for our annual Gem & Mineral Show, and the two of us worked out that I’d probably actually met him there the previous year. I described his booth to him.

Then he asked me if “they” were going to let me on the plane like that. I guess I wasn’t as presentable as I’d hoped.

“There won’t be a problem,” I assured him. “I have white privilege.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

I explained to him that white privilege meant that because I’m a white woman, the assumption that would be made about my appearance would be that I had had an accident and needed help. If anyone doubted that, they’d ask me about it, and I’d explain what had happened to me, and I’d be believed. “So there’s no question but that they’ll let me on the plane,” I said. “This is nothing to do with me personally, so I claim no credit for the privilege – I just wish that you had it, too.”

He nodded, and when we got to the terminal, I checked my baggage, went to a Hudson’s store and bought some ibuprofen, downed it with a Bloody Mary and, eventually, boarded my plane.

I am happy to report that once I got to Phoenix, I found a bus service to take me the rest of the way to Tucson, and then an Uber driver picked me up at the bus stop and drove me to the airport parking lot where my car was parked. When I got home and looked in the mirror, I noticed that I still looked like I’d maybe been in a fistfight, but the good thing was that it was Friday, and I’d have a couple more days to recover before I had to show my face in the office.

What I wish for me now is that it was safe to get onto a plane so that I could see some of you in person. I miss you all. And what I wish for all of you is that you also could all have the confidence that if you got to an airport looking like you’d been beaten, the assumption that would be made about you is that you’d had a rough time, so people should be extra-nice to you. KN

from the

editor

— Lorrie Baumann Editorial Director

KITCHENWARE Housewares NEWS & Review PUBLISHER

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Kitchenware News & Housewares Review is a publication of Oser Communications Group Inc. 1877 N. Kolb Road • Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 www.kitchenwarenews.com www.oser.com

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Fissler’s New German-Made

Pure-Profi Collection

The new Fissler Pure-Profi Collection embodies design innovation and elevates the stovetop cooking experience. Made in Germany, this upscale collection includes 11 essential open-stock items and a 9Piece Set. The original Fissler Profi collection is the world’s most successful premium cookware line, with over 10 million items sold and a 40-year history of continuous improvement. The new Pure-Profi Collection builds on this legacy with a new trend-forward design.

The cookware is made of high-quality 18/10 stainless steel. The look is striking

and modern, a harmonious combination of highly polished and matte features. A distinctive and subtle dot design adds personality to the flanges around the handles.

The large stay-cool handles are angled for ergonomic comfort. Heat will not transfer from the pan to the handles on the stovetop. The angular shape of the base, pouring rim and lid rim add style and practicality.

The extra-wide pouring rim facilitates accurate pouring and prevents dripping.

Inside the pan, there is an integrated, laseretched measuring markings for quarts and liters, for simple measuring without the

need for a measuring cup.

The perfectly flat cookstar ® all-stove base comes in a new design for optimum thermal control on any stovetop. PureProfi performs on all stovetops, including induction, and it is ovenproof up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius).

The set includes four casseroles with lids in multiple sizes and a saucepan. Open stock items include a saucepan, casseroles, stock pots, serving pan, wok and round roaster with high-dome lid.

The Fissler Pure-Profi Collection is dishwasher safe and easy to clean. It comes gift-boxed, with color photography that

adds appetite appeal to the sales proposition. Demonstrating Fissler’s commitment and confidence in quality, the Pure-Profi Collection is backed by a 10year warranty.

Available for immediate shipment, the Pure-Profi Collection has a suggested retail price range of $65 to $140.

Fissler is a family-owned housewares company founded in 1845, known throughout the world for its distinctive premium cookware, pressure cookers and more. For more information, visit www.fissler.com, call 704.842.9608 or email cs@fisslerusa.com. KN

DFACKTO

shop, offered at a price point that would tempt those shoppers to pick it up and take it home as a relatively unplanned purchase that would eventually live in the fishing cabin, sit next to the grill at a tailgating event or be tucked into the chuckbox for the next camping trip. “They want knives that are not their wife’s knives or their girlfriend’s knives,” Salamon said.

“We want people to feel ruggedly unapologetic when they cut their steak.”

“I know a lot of guys who are not necessarily your Michelin chefs who have been buying these knives, and it turns out that these are their favorite knives because of the grip and the styling,” he continued. “As we expand, we see ourselves in specialty barbecue retailers, camping stores and outdoor outfitter stores across the U.S....

We’re not making cutlery for the person who’s hiking in the Himalayas.

We’re producing knives for people who are pulling up to their campsite with their family or who want a set of knives for their hunting cabin, but they don’t want to leave a $200 knife there.”

The knives are imported from China

and feature blades made from high-carbon stainless steel acid-treated to create a stable oxide barrier that increases their overall durability and rust resistance. They achieve a 56 to 57 score on the Rockwell Hardness Scale, so they’re not likely to chip and they’ll hold an edge. They’re sharp out of the box with a 20 degree blade angle.

They’re made with full-tang construction and have handles made from G10 fiber resin – a high-end material that’s been embraced by chefs for its durability

gripping a larger knife. A lanyard hole at the back of the handle allows it to be carried, in its sheath, attached to a belt or to a backpack.

After the line’s successful online launch last year, DFACKTO has expanded the line and overcome initial production delays due to the impacts of the coronavirus and is now ready to launch into the brick-andmortar retail market. The top-of-the-line nine-piece set includes a honing steel and bag, 10-inch butcher knife, 8-inch chef knife, 7.5-inch fillet knife, 6.5-inch Santoku, 6-inch semi-flexible boning knife, 6-inch serrated utility and a 3.5-inch paring knife.

The set is rounded out with a thermoplastic sheath for each knife.

The set retails for $225.

Ten open stock knives and the honing steel have retail prices that range from under $40. One of the most popular is a 6-inch light pry knife with a serrated edge and a flat tip that’s widely used, according to Salamon, for prying apart frozen meat patties or slicing frozen bagels. “It’ll get in between frozen proteins or breads and pop them apart without destroying them,” he said.

For more information, email cs@dfackto .com or visit www.dfackto.com. KN

Continued from page 1

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

DFACKTO is a line of culinary knives designed to appeal to a very specific demographic, the male outdoor enthusiast, with features that include high-carbon steel, full-tang blades, G-10 fiber resin handles, a black stone-wash finish and an affordable price point. The line launched last year and is expanding this year with a new nine-piece set that will retail for $225.

DFACKTO Knives was founded last year by Mathias Salamon, who has a background in market analysis for the housewares industry. That background led him to explore the market for a gap that might profitably be served by a new brand.

“We wanted to stay away from appliances and stick to what works and what interests people,” Salamon said.

Once he started looking for products that might be of particular interest to the 25- to 50-year-old male – a demographic that’s historically been underrepresented among housewares consumers, Salamon started noticing the knife displays on the counters next to the cash registers in shops across the country. “One of the interesting facts is that the highest-revenue item in every single mom and pop gun store is the basic tactical style knife that sits on the counter next to the cash register,” Salamon said. “These guys like buying knives.”

Salamon decided to create a line of culinary knives that might appeal to that audience – a line of knives that wouldn’t look out of place on the counter at a gun

and grippiness even in wet kitchen conditions. The DFACKTO handles enhance that grippiness further with finger indentations that make the knives easy to hold even for those with smaller hands who might otherwise have a problem

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FUDGE SALES Continued from page 1

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Calico Cottage offers turn-key fudge programs and has more than a half-century of experience in helping brick-and-mortar retailers attract new customers as well as those who return to explore new flavors of an indulgent treat. “We invented the on-premise, small-space fudgemaking program,” said Dan Russo, Vice President of Sales for Calico Cottage. “We’ve been around since 1964, and we’ve worked tirelessly to become the gold standard in retail solution programs, both for quality and an unwavering commitment to retailer success.”

Calico Cottage is a familyowned business founded by Leonard Wurzel and now operated by Mark and Larry Wurzel, who took over in 1992.

“In 2008, Mark’s son Max got involved,” Russo said. Over those years, Calico Cottage has seen a lot of changes in the retail landscape, with some retail profits predicting the death of retail as we know it, but it’s not retail that’s dying, it’s boring retail, Russo said. Fudge provides an antidote for consumer boredom, even in times of recession, he added. “We’ve focused on the in-store inexperience and how to drive engagement in-store,” Russo

JK ADAMS Continued from page 1 business operations. Operations that can be conducted online or by phone, or sales that can be facilitated with curbside pickup or delivery only, can continue.”

The Kitchen Store was allowed to continue operations, with curbside pickup, as an essential business, since it sells, in addition to its kitchenware, those baking ingredients and other specialty foods, including products from Nitty Gritty Grain, Co., single-source, small-batch grain products from a seventh-generation Vermont farming family. “One of the biggest items that we sold during the height of the pandemic was flour,” Kerner said. With 3,500 square feet of space on three floors of the JK Adams factory facility, The Kitchen Store has plenty of room for a range of specialty pantry items that includes Dorset Maple Reserve’s Pure Vermont Maple Syrup to go with Halladay’s Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Granny Blossom’s Corn Relish and Smokey Apple BBQ Sauce, multiple varieties of Castleton Crackers, pickle kits from Pearl and Johnny, Ajiri teas and coffees and a wide selection of products from Stonewall Kitchen, a fellow New England company. “Vermont is probably the first thing we’re looking at, and then we’ll carry something that’s hard to find in the grocery stores,” Kerner said. “We’re pretty remote and rural.”

The Kitchen Store also offers, in addition to the entire JK Adams product line, cutlery from WUSTHOF and

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

said. “Fudge sales are still doing really, really well.”

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is certainly changing how retailers operate and will continue to do that for some time to come, Russo believes that fudge sales still offer retailers an opportunity to connect with customers. “Even though people may not be traveling by plane right now, they’re still looking for ways to feel

good,” he said. “Fudge is a feel-good item.”

Calico Cottage, based in Amityville, New York, is currently working with about 3,000 retailers across the country. Over the years, fudge retailers have shared their hands-on knowledge and years of expertise to help Calico develop and hone best practices. “We’re constantly learning from our retailers,” Russo said. “We act as a feedback loop, taking information from our customers and sharing with others so

that they can be successful.” Calico Cottage also acts as an innovation resource for its retailers, staying on top of annual flavor trends and developing new fudge recipes.

“We do the work so our retailers can stay on trend and remain relevant,” Russo said.

Although retailers may have to limit traffic and perhaps merchandise edible products a little differently than they might have done in the past, including adoption of new precautions around sampling, fudge sales can still offer a means of connecting customers with their memories of happier times, associating the store where they found the fudge with some of that emotional glow, according to Russo.

“People are still gravitating toward the fudge,” he said. “We’re all looking for that escape. We’re looking to get out, and we’re looking for reasons to feel good.”

Calico Cottage works like a franchise but doesn’t involve franchise fees, and once the company and a retailer come to an agreement to work together, Calico Cottage can provide all the equipment and know-how that are needed for success with a plan that’s customized to the retailer’s particular circumstances, according to

Russo. “We talk you through what the best practices are, and we make sure that you’re able to execute and commit on those things.... You follow the steps,” Russo said.

“Once we’re ready, and we agree together to move forward, we literally have everything you need to get started: equipment, ingredients, packaging, glass for your display. We’ve got you covered; we have it all.”

With a range of programs designed to match the retailer’s particular circumstances, independent retailers have historically done very well with Calico Cottage. Stores in tourist destinations have been especially successful, as have specialty grocers and cheese shops, according to Russo. “Fudge does better in nontraditional retail environments and stands out a bit more,” he said. “In tourist destinations, fudge becomes an edible souvenir. People buy it to take home with them.”

Calico Cottage also recently began offering a nut program to complement fudge sales and help to compensate for a shorter sales year, Russo said. “That just complements the fudge enormously,” he said. “The fudge is visually appealing, but when you’re roasting nuts in store, you’ve got this fantastic aroma that just draws people into the store. It’s been an exciting launch thus far, even in the midst of these times.”

For more information, visit www .calicocottage.com. KN

Hammerstahl, a large gadget wall and marble cheese boards made from marble quarried in Vermont. “Our marble quarries is where most of New York’s marble comes from,” Kerner said. “For our customers here, it really does mean something.”

That range of products as well as the ample space to allow for social distancing helped make the shop something of a local headquarters for cabin-fevered local residents as well as urban-dwellers with second homes in Vermont once the shop reopened in June following the May 15 expiration of the state’s stay-at-home order.

“Retail opportunities have been very limited,” Kerner said. “They feel comfortable coming into our store.”

“There are browsers for sure. People have been missing that,” Smith added.

“This is one of those stores that people come to on a weekly basis because they want to see what’s new.”

Sanitation had to take a step up throughout the factory as well as the store, with employees required to enter through one door to answer questions about possible exposure and have their temperatures checked. In the store, employees encourage social distancing and sanitize their counter every time they ring up a sale, Kerner said.

“We don’t have piles of goods on the counter. We’re watching how we’re packing,” she said. “We can’t buy regular hand sanitizer, but, fortunately, a number of the distilleries in our area are now making hand sanitizer. We’re basically rubbing ourselves down with hand sanitizer.”

In response to the pandemic shoppers who were buying up flour as well as bench

scrapers, big boards for kneading and bowls for proofing dough, JK Adams experimented by adding more baking mixes, some butters and brown sugar, according to Kerner and Smith. “I’d love to get my hands on some yeast,” Kerner said. “It was one of those things for people that weren’t going to the grocery store very often. Once people started doing it, they realized that it wasn’t as hard or complicated as they’d thought it was. I think that it will continue – the baking will slow down a little bit in the summer months.... Since they’ve done it, I think they’ll be inclined to keep doing it. Baking and cooking is a stress reliever for some people.”

“Fresh-baked bread definitely offers that,” Smith added. “The taste, the smell of the warm baked bread with the fresh lump of butter.”

JK Adams products are merchandised throughout the store to highlight how the products might fit into shoppers’ cooking and baking plans and into their home décor. “We really are in that entertaining, tablescape space as well,” Kerner said. “The first floor is the pretty floor, with Polish pottery, Casafina and a lot of linen as well.”

“We try to set it up so people can see how it’s used,” added Smith. “It’s much more involved than just casually setting a rolling pin down next to some baking pans.”

The intentional merchandising helps add items to the customers’ shopping baskets, according to Kerner. “Customers often buy a couple of items off a display rather than just the one,” she said. “It’s a good way for us to have more items per

transaction.... That’s how the website is too – JKAdams.com sells the whole JK Adams line plus additional items. We’re looking for items not widely sold on Amazon, things that would add value to their purchase of a JK Adams item.”

That retail experience, both online and in the brick-and-mortar store, come into play in the company’s design process, said Kerner and Smith. “It’s definitely a dialog.

We’re not involved in day-to-day product developments, but as they talk about longrange plans, when they’re looking at packaging, they come out onto the floor and ask how it might be merchandised,” Kerner said. “Our pastry board is a takeoff of something we had in our line 12 years ago. We just had people keep asking for it.”

“A lot of times we get questions. I pass those requests along to the design team so they can keep track of them,” Smith added. “We kind of pushed them to let them know that this is something for which we see a demand.”

The retail experience in the factory store comes into play again as Kerner assists JK Adams’ National Sales Manager set up the company’s trade show booths and talk to the retailers who visit the booth to see what’s new at JK Adams. “We know how it’s working in our retail store,” Kerner said. “They understand what we’re talking about, and it gives them a little more value to the product. There are a lot of choices out there, and we know that – it’s really a partnership.”

For more information, visit www.jkadams.com. KN

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

date night at home New Ciabatta Baker From Emile Henry

Delicate and flavorful Ciabatta, a rustic Italian bread with a crisp and a chewy crust and an airy, honeycomb-holed interior, is easy to make at home with the new Emile Henry Ciabatta baker. This ceramic baker is designed specially to achieve ciabatta’s unique crumb structure.

The magic offered by this new bread baker is in how it captures humidity. This pan creates the ideal environment for baking bread dough, transforming regular ovens into bread ovens. Cooks no longer need to add steam to a hot oven to get a good crust because the domed lid and ceramic walls trap the humidity released from the baking dough, resulting in fully expanded loaves with crackling exteriors. Made in France of Burgundy clay, this new baking mold makes two 14-inch long loaves at a time. Recipes are included, and it retails for $130. For more information, visit www.emilehenryusa.com.

Anolon Chrome Plated Manual Pasta Maker

This classically styled culinary tool is easy on the wallet and will inspire pasta-loving cooks to get creative in the kitchen. The durable steel construction ensures it will hold up, while the gleaming chrome plating is so attractive that it can live on a counter for added kitchen style. The smooth gear manual hand crank is easy to operate so cranking is a breeze, even for novices. This pasta maker easily attaches to any size table or counter, and there are seven different width settings, plus two separate cutters for the two most popular dishes—spaghetti and fettuccine. Suggested retail price is $39.99. For more information, visit www.anolon.com.

Duralex Picardie Tumblers

Duralex introduced its classic French Picardie tumbler in black at the 2019 International Home + Housewares Show. This black, 8-3/4 ounce beauty is called Soft Touch, and the outside of the glass is a smooth, matte black while the inside is a high-gloss, shiny black. The contrast in texture adds dimension to the glass and plays with the ambient light.

It’s a classic shape that can be held securely and is comfortable on the lip. Even though it’s made in France, Picardie is a wonderful choice in which to serve a red country wine to accompany a casual pizza or lasagna. For more information, visit www.duralexusa.com.

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www.kitchenwarenews.com • SEPTEMBER 2020 • KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW

Anolon 2-Piece 10-inch Pizza Peel and Pizza Cutter, Teakwood

This duo tools set includes a 20x14-inch size tapered teak wood pizza peel and a durable, stainless steel blade pizza cutter with matching teakwood handle. The well-designed peel is ideal for slipping medium and large size pies into the oven with ease, and it can also double as a cheese and charcuterie board. The sharp cutter can tackle any toppings while maintaining a clean slice. The set retails for $69.99. For more information, visit www.anolon.com.

FROMA Cheese Knives

Expanding its cheese tools category, Prodyne adds sets with polished white and black marble, white ceramic, and stained wood handles to the FROMA™ line of finely finished 18/10 stainless steel cheese knives. The FROMA set includes four sturdy, yet elegant, knives designed to cut, crumble, and serve fine hard cheese. Each set is packaged in a clear window box for easy visualization of the handsome knife set.

Suggested retail prices for the sets range from $12.99 to $24.99, depending on handle material. For more information, call Prodyne at 909.484.1212 or visit www.prodyne.com.

Ayesha 4-in-1 Metal Cocktail Shaker

Bialetti Moka Express

The Original Moka Express from Bialetti produces a rich, authentic espresso in just minutes. The aluminum pot features the brand’s distinctive eight-sided shape, which allows it to diffuse heat to enhance the aroma of the coffee. The Moka Express is Italy’s top-selling stovetop coffee maker and is available in one-, three-, six-, nine- and 12-cup sizes as well as a six-cup size that’s red and a three-cup size that’s red and green.

Retail prices range from $29.99 to $69.99. For more information, visit www.bialetti.us.

Rabbit Wooden Muddler + Reamer

The Rabbit Wooden Muddler + Reamer is the optimal tool for a mojito, caipirinha or other refreshing cocktail. This solid Acacia wood muddler with a rounded base is perfect for muddling herbs, citrus and other ingredients. Unscrew the cap on the opposite end to use the built-in citrus reamer. Suggested retail price is $15.00. For more information, visit Lifetime Brands at www.rabbitwine.com.

The innovative Ayesha 4-in-1 Metal Cocktail Shaker from Meyer Corporation, U.S. conveniently combines measuring, juicing, shaking and straining with one easy-to-use and cleverly styled tool. The top of the lid detaches to serve as a 1-ounce jigger, and a citrus reamer is built into the inside of the lid to juice lemons, limes and other citrus fruit. The lid securely fits into the base to prevent leaks when shaking, and the shaker also strains the cocktail without requiring a separate tool. Suggested retail price is $24.99. For more information, visit www.potsandpans.com/product/cocktailshaker-stainless-steel.

Stonewall Home Candle Collections

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Hestan CopperBond Essential Pan

Stonewall Home, a Stonewall Kitchen brand, has introduced a new line of handtrimmed candles from Maine.

They’re crafted with a luxurious soy blend and scented with a range of scents that includes Tea Rose, Balsam Woods, Fresh Linen, Winter White, Rainy Days, Lavender Fields, Apple Orchard, Sea Mist and more.

They’re offered in multiple sizes, and retail prices range from $4.95 to $22. Visit www.stonewallkitchen.com.

Hestan’s 3.5-quart CopperBond™ Essential Pan is perfect for simmering a ragu. It’s part of an ultra-premium collection that modernizes the look, function, durability and versatility of traditional copper pots and pans. Hestan also offers the original, ultrapremium NanoBond® with highly resilient molecular-titanium technology, and recently introduced, premium ProBond™ with one-of-a-kind cold forged stainless steel technology.

Not your grandma’s copper cookware, Hestan CopperBond distinguishes itself with a supremely elegant design that smartly combines gleaming copper with an innovative, wrap-around, magnetic stainless steel base for enhanced durability, induction use and easier cleaning. Completing CopperBond’s contemporary, jewel-like styling is a chic collar rim of highly polished stainless steel, and matching stainless steel lids, handles and fittings. For more information, visit www.hestanculinary.com.

Dreamfarm Fledge

Dreamfarm has released the Fledge collection of double-sided cutting boards designed for cutting, pouring off meat juices and then serving. The boards feature a flip-up edge to hold juices on the board. The edge flips down to allow juices to pour off the board or for scraping vegetables off the board and into a salad bowl. The edge stays down when the board is used for serving. Designed to be an everyday board, Fledge has food-gripping, knife-friendly patterns on both sides and won’t warp in the dishwasher. It’s offered in two sizes in either plastic or bamboo, with the suggested retail prices depending on size and material. The Fledge retails for $15.95 in plastic or $19.95 in bamboo. Big Fledge retails for $29.95 in plastic and $34.95 in bamboo. Visit www.dreamfarm.com.

Marcato Ravioli Stamps

Marcato offers a variety of ravioli stamps imported from Italy and in both round and square shapes as well as one flower shape. Made of brass and aluminum with wood handles, the stamps will easily imprint a decorative edge on pasta or other firm dough and are great for making springerle and shortbread cookies, so they’re perfect for your customers who’ve either fallen in love with baking or who are bored with the cooking routines they’ve depended on during the pandemic shutdowns. They’re available exclusively through Harold Import Company.

For more information, call 732.367.2800 or visit www.haroldimport.com.

REGAL WARE Continued from page 1 instilled in our company culture, all those years ago, is that everybody matters and that success comes from empowering and supporting those around us,” remarked company President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Reigle. “We have achieved this 75-year milestone through the collaboration, ingenuity and dedication of our employees. We know that it’s not just our passion for our customers that has

boosted us to the top; it’s our emphasis on delivering superior quality in everything we do, our pledge to maintain integrity in all business practices and our dedication to innovation and continuous improvement.

It’s our exceptionally skilled and talented staff, our commitment to workplace diversity and our long history of treating everyone with dignity and respect. And it’s our connection to our local community, where our employees donate countless hours of service and where we direct much of our financial support. We heartily

recognize that the success of our company comes directly from the success of our customers, our business partners and our employees.

“Today, our people still make the difference in how we do business. It is the entrepreneurial spirit and active collaboration in a diverse environment that creates those meaningful products and services that make us differentiated and valuable to our partners and consumers.

We are in business for and because of our customers. We proudly conduct business

in 45-plus countries. The products we make every day make a difference in the world and in people’s lives. Not just because of sales, but because of how they help people maximize the nutrition in their foods.”

Regal Ware is also devoted to supporting the growth and success of the entire cookware industry as long-standing members of the Direct Selling Association, the Cookware Manufacturers’ Association and the International Housewares Association. KN

SEPTEMBER 2020

KITCHENWARE NEWS

SUPPLEMENT TO

& Housewares Review

the

gourmet pantry

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

HOUSEHOLD AIR PURIFIER/HUMIDIFIER

Depending on your needs, the BONECO HYBRID H400 Humidifier and Air Purifier can help you achieve healthy air. It provides the ideal humidity within your four walls. At the same time, the innovative, integrated filter cleans the room air and alleviates the discomfort for people with allergies. An extra-long operating time is ensured, thanks to the large water tank. The integrated sensor measures the humidity in real-time and adjusts the evaporator performance automatically.

The H400 is Bluetooth enabled and allows you to control the device with the BONECO app. It doesn’t matter what you wish for: higher humidity in the colder winter months or purified air during the pollen season or both – the H400 can provide exactly what you need. Thanks to the integrated aroma compartment, you can fill your home with your favorite aroma. In addition to making the unit convenient to operate, the designers also made sure it is easy to clean – whether by hand or with mechanical support. Most of the parts can just be placed in the dishwasher or washing machine.

Boneco NASales@boneco.com www.boneco.us/h400

SAFE, SEALED AND SUSTAINABLE WATER IN A BOX

Built on the belief that sustainability matters, Boxed Water is committed to improving the planet through each facet of the company and has provided people with an alternative to plastic bottles since 2009. By producing pure water in recyclable cartons, Boxed Water has become the most sustainable brand in the category, with 92 percent plantbased packaging and innovative plant-based plastic cap.

Through a multi-faceted sustainability approach from design to production to shipping, Boxed Water has produced enough boxes to offset its CO2 production three times in one year. Beyond its product, Boxed Water supports critical reforestation efforts in partnership with the National Forest Foundation, planting trees in forests affected by natural causes. Together, Boxed Water and the NFF have achieved their long-held goal of planting more than 1,000,000 trees.

Boxed Water Is Better www.boxedwaterisbetter.com

EXCELSTEEL LIGHTWEIGHT CAST IRON CHINESE WOK

Lightweight cast iron cookware from Cook Pro offers excellent heat distribution and responsive temperature control without the weight and discomfort of traditional cast iron cookware. With it, the home cook will be able to cook a wide selection of foods in the kitchen and experience the advantages of cooking with cast iron.

This wok allows food to cook faster, maintain superior heat retention and adds another layer of quality to meals. For added convenience, this cast iron wok comes pre-seasoned so it’s ready for cooking immediately. With proper maintenance and care of the cast iron work, the purchaser will be able to extend the lifespan and use and turn it into a reliable kitchen companion.

Cook Pro Inc. 951.686.8282 www.cook-pro.com

ARCTIC ZONE DEBUTS SUPER CHUG WITH MICROBAN PROTECTION

Arctic Zone by California Innovations, the world’s leading provider of soft-sided insulated coolers and lunch packs, is debuting Super Chug™, the first stackable, space-saving tumbler and lid combination.

The advanced new tumbler has an easy to use flip-cap and a leak proof, removable drinking spout that features Microban® protection against bacterial odors and stains.

The “no glug” Arctic Zone Super Chug also has a vented lid design that delivers a smooth liquid flow and a wide mouth opening that makes it easy to fill and clean. It comes in two stackable sizes, 16 and 20 ounces, and two finishes, silicone or stainless steel. The dishwasher safe tumbler is available at select retailers nationwide and on www.arctic zone.com. The suggested retail price is $9.99 to $14.99.

Arctic Zone products are high performance and feature rich. The portfolio includes Titan coolers and lunch packs, Food Pro food transport products, and Interlockers Food Storage Solutions. Sister products include Columbia and Dabney Lee. Arctic Zone enjoys vast penetration in all retail channels with a strong presence in big box retailers ranging from Costco and Target to Kohl’s, Kroger and Walgreens.

PARCHMENT LEAVES OFFER TABLESCAPE OPTIONS

California Innovations www.californiainnovations.com

Sisson Distribution LLC 941.214.5373 www.harvestleaves.com

Gourmet Kitchenworks LLC 417.736.9619 www.gourmetkitchenworks.com

Harvest Leaves from Sisson Distribution are made in the USA and come from the sole provider of parchment paper leaves in this country. For more than 33 years, these unique, food-grade, parchment paper designs inspired by the French tradition of turning to nature for decoration have been used under cheese, fresh fruit or home baked breads or used as coasters under glasses and bottles.

They are fanciful enough to be used in a table decoration, written on or used as place markers or in any way or place your imagination leads you.

Formerly known as Sisson Leaves, Paper Leaves, Parchment Leaves, Cheese Leaves and Deco Leaves, the product is now known exclusively as Harvest Leaves. Packaging has been updated to use natural, unbleached Kraftpaper which is both attractive and eco-friendly.

GEFU CONSCIO COFFEE CAPSULES

The GEFU Conscio Coffee Capsules for espresso machines are stainless steel, made to be used indefinitely and perfect for inclusion as part of your coffee offering. In addition to being eco-friendly, the capsules allow consumers to use their favorite coffee varieties and experiment with their own mixes.

This is one of many products designed by GEFU to combine craftsmanship with the idea of making life easier for the home cook. Other ecofriendly products from GEFU include eco-friendly fruit and vegetable nets in a variety of sizes, and GEFU’s popular glass straws now come in a package of 25. GEFU has also introduced dishwasher baskets especially designed for the reusable straw. The dishwasher baskets come in two sizes, one for 25 pieces and one for four straws.

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OVAL WINE COOLERS FROM FRANMARA

Great for wine, champagne or other beverages, these wine coolers are made from 100 percent BPA-free durable acrylic and feature easy-to-carry handles. They’re available in two sizes and colors.

These two contemporary buckets are created with a modern profile and intriguing curves for a memorable presentation. The 9077 model weighs just under two pounds and will hold up to two bottles of wine chilled and ready for service, while the 9079 model, which weighs just under three pounds, will hold up to four bottles. Both have thick sidewalls and are available in black or white, perfect for wineries, restaurants and catered events. The 9077 model is 7-7/8 inches high by 7-17/8 inches wide and is 10-5/8 inches across the top. It retails for $23.99. The 9079 is built for banquet as well as home use. It’s 10-1/8 inches high by 10-1/8 inches wide and measures 14 inches across the top. It retails for $48.99.

Any Franmara Oval Wine Bucket can be customized with a logo, monogram, graphic or message with laser engraving, full color doming or screen printing.

Franmara 800.432.5855 viewer.zoomcatalog.com/franmara-2020-no-pricing

SIMIX CLEANERS EFFECTIVE ON CORONAVIRUS

A new study done by Situ Biosciences Microbial Product Test Laboratory shows that Simix Cleaner/Degreaser/Sanitizer removes 99.94 percent of coronavirus and 99.74 percent of norovirus from non-porous surfaces.

Simix Cleaner/Degreaser/Sanitizer is non-toxic, inexpensive and easy to use in commercial kitchens. It can be used to clean floors, ovens, stainless steel, tables, walls, laundry, carpets and all restroom surfaces. It is a superior option when it comes to protecting the public and your employees from the spread of coronavirus.

Simix leaves surfaces squeaky clean.

In the newly released study, glazed ceramic tiles were coated with Simix Ceramic Coatings, then contaminated with coronavirus FIPV-1146, P20 (VR 2126) and norovirus surrogate Feline Calicivirus (F-9). Then the surfaces were sprayed with Simix Cleaner/Degreaser/Sanitizer, wiped once, then sprayed and wiped once more after a 10-minute interval.

Simix Cleaner/Degreaser/Sanitizer is a powder that dissolves easily in water to create more than 136 gallons of cleaner and degreaser per $64 bag. Simix is non-toxic and has no volatile organic compounds. It is safe for people and pets. It is proven to be hypoallergenic and does not irritate the hands or lungs.

In all the tests on Simix-coated surfaces, Simix Cleaner/Degreaser/Sanitizer also removed more than 99 percent of the viruses. Simix Cleaner/Degreaser/Sanitizer was also used on a glazed tile that had not been coated with a Simix Ceramic Coating, and the surface proved to be more than 99 percent effective in removing coronavirus and norovirus.

Simix 262.705.2585 www.simixusa.com

COOKCRAFT BY CANDACE 3-QUART SAUCE PAN

The tri-ply 3-quart sauce pan with patented glass latch lid from the Candace Cameron Bure collection provides the durability of stainless steel with the excellent heat conduction properties of an aluminum core. This energy-efficient pan is best working with low to medium heat and is compatible on all stovetops.

All of the pots and pans in the collection feature silicone handles and are backed by a 10-year warranty from CookCraft.

CookCraft 847.551.5629 shannon@gospmarketing.com www.cookcraftco.com

THE SPYDERCO GALLEY-V KNIFE SHARPENER

Spyderco’s Galley-V sharpener is an easy-to-use system that quickly sharpens all types of kitchen knives, even those with serrated edges. Intended as a permanent or semipermanent fixture in serious kitchens, it is designed to be clamped or screwed to a solid surface, so it is always available for quick touch ups to keep knives at maximum sharpness.

The Galley-V consists of an injection-molded base and two 12-inch ceramic rods that have a “cat’s eye” cross-sectional shape. Placing the rods in holes in the base positions them at a pre-set 20-degree angle—the optimal edge angle for high-performance cutlery. Keeping the plane of the blade vertical, the blade is simply drawn along each rod from heel to tip, alternating from side to side, to hone the perfect edge. For plain-edged knives, use the convex surfaces of the stones. For serrated knives, use the edges of the stones, which reach down between the serration teeth to sharpen the entire cutting edge.

Always ready and extremely simple to use, the Galley-V does not require any electricity, oil, water or complicated clamps or fixtures. Its ceramic rods are also easily cleaned with household cleanser, so they’ll last a lifetime.

Spyderco www.spyderco.com

ENERGY-EFFICIENT REFRIGERATED MERCHANDISER

The TOM-48UC-W(B)-N open display merchandiser from Turbo Air can be used as a drop-in or a standalone unit. With a low profile and solid side panel, it maintains the highest product visibility and aesthetics.

Turbo Air’s patented technology, the Self-Cleaning Condenser, comes equipped at no additional cost. It operates on hydrocarbon refrigerants designed to meet U.S. Department of Energy energy conservation standards set in 2017 and to use Environmental Protection Agency SNAP Program-approved HC refrigerants.

Perforated interior back wall and open top improve airflow for effective cooling.

The interior is stainless steel for the utmost cleanliness and durability. LED interior lighting illuminates and highlights products. The solar-powered digital thermometer displays accurate temperature readings. Digital electronic thermostat with defrost control is user friendly. The energy-saving night curtain is tucked away on the top of the unit.

The unit is a simple plug-in installation with no plumbing required. There are two standard colors, white and black, with a stainless steel option at an additional cost. This series comes in four length sizes: 36 inches, 48 inches, 60 inches and 72 inches.

Turbo Air 800.627.0032 contact@turboairinc.com www.turboairinc.com

TEFLON PLATINUM PLUS NONSTICK

Teflon™ nonstick coating systems last longer than pans with ceramic or silicone coatings and are dishwasher and metal utensil safe.

Chemours ensures durability by providing a nonstick coating that is not only abrasion and scratch resistant, but also helps protect against adhesion and corrosion. It’s this balance of properties that keeps these nonstick coatings performing like new, year after year, so there’s little erosion to the wallet. That’s because high-quality Teflon coatings have been perfected over 50 years. Teflon nonstick coatings are the finest nonstick, with a variety of products to meet the variety of cooking needs. All Teflon products are quality tested to live up to the Teflon brand promise: easier cooking and cleanup, time after time.

Teflon Platinum Plus nonstick is the most scratch- and abrasion-resistant Teflon-branded nonstick finish to date.

Chemours Company 866.205.1664 www.chemours.com

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KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

The Pantry SNACKABLE CHEESE BITES FROM WISCONSIN

Just the Cheese® is 100 percent Wisconsin cheese baked into bars and mini bites. They are naturally low in carbs, gluten-free and only 75 calories per bar. While most “cheese crisps” are air-dried, Just the Cheese is oven baked, caramelizing the cheese which results in a cheesier flavor and crunchier texture. Perfect for a portable snack on the go, which all ages will love. Just the Cheese is available as bars and as mini bites. The bars are available in Aged Cheddar, Grilled Cheese, Jalapeno Cheese and Mild Cheddar flavors. Just the Cheese Minis are available in White Cheddar, Grilled Cheese, Jalapeno Cheese and Garlic & Chive flavors as well as Wisconsin Cheddar flavor, which was a first-place winner at the 2020 World Championship Cheese Contest.

Just the Cheese 800.367.1711 info@justthecheese.com www.justthecheese.com

MR. LEE’S NOODLES

Mr. Lee’s Noodles is making its launch into the American market this month.

Four varieties offer freeze-dried proteins and vegetables, air-dried rice noodles and authentic Asian flavor. They include no palm oil and no hydrogenated fats.

Depending on the variety, the protein component is comprised of generous chunks of 100 percent chicken breast, cubed beef and whole shrimps. Just add hot water to a cup of Coconut Chicken Curry, Hong Kong Street-Style Beef, Tai Chi Chicken or Zen Garden Vegetable soup that’s ready to eat in three minutes. Whole Foods is the launch partner for this introduction.

Mr. Lee’s Noodles www.mrleesnoodles.com

WORLD FLAVORS

NEW RAMEN SOUP CUPS FROM LOTUS FOODS Lotus Foods Ramen Soup Cups are now launching with two classic flavors, Garlicky Veggie and Hot & Sour. These soup cups are made with organic rice noodles and a freeze-dried soup cube with gourmet spices and veggies like spinach, mushrooms, day lilies and bamboo shoots. They’re shelf-stable and delicious with vegetables that spring back to their full size, flavor and aroma in boiling water. The soup cups retail for $2.99 and are available to ship now.

Lotus Foods 510.525.3137 (118) www.lotusfoods.com

SHELF-STABLE GNOCCHI FROM NOCCA

Nocca®, founded in 2018, has launched shelf-stable gnocchi into the American market. The gnocchi come in several flavors, including Truffle, Pesto and Original as well as Gluten Free and Whole Wheat varieties. The Truffle flavor is infused in truffles and porcini mushrooms; the Pesto flavor is made with basil and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

All varieties except the Pesto flavor are vegan. The potato-based Italian dumplings are packaged in 7-ounce bags that serve two people, and it’s ready two minutes after dropping into boiling water, or the gnocchi can be heated directly in sauce for an Italian meal that’s ready for the table in less time than it takes to make pre-packaged dried noodles.

Nocca www.nocca.co

NEW ORGANIC CRACKERS FROM RW GARCIA

RW Garcia, a family-owned national brand of better-for-you chips and crackers, released two new organic cracker varieties – Organic Kale and Organic Everything – offering clean eaters a new snack that aligns with their lifestyle, yet doesn’t sacrifice on great flavor and crunch.

Organic Kale is made with stone ground white corn, kale, flaxseed, chia seed and black sesame seed. Organic Everything also features stone ground corn, plus poppy and sesame seeds, onion, garlic and sea salt.

Like all RW Garcia snacks, the new organic crackers are certified by the Non-GMO Project, certified gluten free, cholesterol free, kosher and free of trans fats.

RW Garcia 408.287.4616 www.rwgarcia.com

SWEET BLACK GARLIC MISO MAYO

Slow, low heat for up to 90 days produces garlic cloves that are exotic black in color with a uniquely sweet, caramelized flavor and that are rich in antioxidants for Sweet Black Garlic Miso Mayo, which won a Good Food Award this year in the pantry category. Subtly sweet and savory, Sweet Black Garlic Miso Mayo is a premium condiment made with artisanal black garlic, and the newest addition to the So Good Food line of plant-based, vegan and Non-GMO Project verified condiments.

All Miso Mayo is Non-GMO Project verified and has been made in small batches since 1990, when So Good Food Owner Janet Smith and her So Good gourmet food truck first served the vegan condiments in Los Angeles.

So Good Food info@misomayo.com www.misomayo.com

PASILLA CHILI PORK RINDS FROM SOUTHERN RECIPE SMALL BATCH

Southern Recipe Small Batch’s new Pasilla Chili Cheese pork rinds deliver the rich taste of Pasilla chiles paired with the indulgent and comforting flavor of chili cheese. Keto-friendly, low carb, high protein and low sugar, new Pasilla Chili Cheese pork rinds are elevating the perception of the humble pork rind.

Rudolph Foods 419.648.3611 msingleton@rudolphfoods.com www.rudolphfoods.com

SKIPJACK AND PETITE TONNO WILD TUNA IN GLASS JARS

Wild Planet Foods has expanded its line of ultra-premium wild tuna with the release of its new Skipjack Wild Tuna in Pure Olive Oil and Petite Tonno Wild Tuna in Pure Olive Oil. They’re hand-packed in pure olive oil, with 170 calories per 3-ounce serving for the Petite Tonno and 200 calories per 3-ounce serving for the Skipjack. Both are gluten free and certified by the NonGMO Project.

The Skipjack Wild Tuna is sustainably pole and line caught near Cape Verde, and the Petite Tonno Wild Tuna is sourced in the same region by purse seine fishing vessels that do not use FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices).

Both products are available in 6.7-ounce glass jars with 1.5 servings per jar (drained). Each has a suggested retail price of $6.99.

Wild Planet Foods www.wildplanetfoods.com

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Comfortable Choices in Plant-Based Proteins

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

UNCUT is a line of plant-based meat alternatives from Before the Butcher that offers consumers familiar, but guilt-free, choices in their grocer’s freezer case.

UNCUT is currently offered in four formats that mimic meat protein choices that consumers already know how to fit into their meal menus: the UNCUT Plant-Based Burger, the UNCUT PlantBased Savory Chicken Burger, UNCUT Plant-based Roasted Turkey Burger and UNCUT Plant-Based Breakfast Sausage.

The company has previously introduced these four products for food service use and is now launching them in retail packaging. They’re all certified 100 percent plant-based and GMO free, and they’re high in protein from soy and gluten free.

“We try to be as transparent as possible,” said Danny O’Malley, President and Founder of Before the Butcher. “The base of the products is non-GMO soy.... We make sure that everything is visible all the way down to the micro-ingredients that are in our natural flavors.”

“Comfort is everything,” he continued.

“The description of how to cook is that you’re going to cook it like a burger but a little quicker. Comfort is a very, very big thing.”

UNCUT is also unusually low in sodium, compared to other plant-based burgers. “We’re really proud,” O’Malley

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

Condiments with Fermented Zing and Umami Bang

said. “If you look at the UNCUT Burger specifically, you’ll notice that we only have 260 mg of sodium... We have an incredible product, and we have at least 30 percent less sodium than the competitors of our burger.”

The UNCUT products offer consumers a variety of choices in plant-based protein that’s not matched by competitors who have focused intensely on the burger. “It was getting close to feeling like the beefbased plant-burger market was getting saturated,” O’Malley said. “Consumers are interested in more.”

UNCUT is preparing to extend that variety with other products that Before the Butcher had intended to introduce to the market at this year’s Natural Products Expo West, which had been expected to occur in March before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest products also build on the company’s experience with products that had already been adopted by the foodservice industry and include UNCUT Ground, UNCUT Sausage Ground, UNCUT Italian Ground, UNCUT Taco Ground and UNCUT Breakfast Ground. Those products are due to Cont. on page 22

Dried Fruit Snacks with a-Peel

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Some of us had grandmothers who handed out home-baked cookies left and right.

Others of us had fore-mothers who urged us to eat our vegetables because they’re good for us.

Matt Weiss had a great-grandmother, Helen Seitner, who ran a health food store and urged him to eat his fruits whole – apple peels, peach skins, watermelon rinds and all. “She was one of those people I would go to visit in Phoenix when I was a little boy,” he recalls. “She actually opened up her own natural foods store in the 1920s, Helen Seitner’s Stay-Well Health Shop. This was well before kale was cool.”

That little store was about 800 to 1,000 square feet of sales floor where you could buy a sack of carrots or whole-grain flour or the oats for your breakfast, but you’d never find either white rice or refined cereals. “She was a trailblazer as a woman in the ‘20s, and in her focus on wellness in a meat and potatoes world.... She was brimming with vitality up to 100 years of age. She had an orange tint to her skin from an excess of beta-carotene. Never walked with a cane,” he said. “That was the seed of the idea when I was thinking about my interest in the snack space – and in the healthy snack space in particular.”

Weiss remembers that his greatgrandmother used to tell him that if he

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Miso Mayo is a range of plant-based condiments with the versatility to elevate a simple bean or grain bowl, dress a burger of any sort or sauce up a plate of sushi, roasted vegetables or French fries. With the texture and squeezebottle squirtability of a mayonnaise, they’re also relatively stable, so they’re a handy household staple. “Miso Mayo is sold as a refrigerated item, found in the dairy/cold case,” said Janet Smith, Owner of So Good Food, the product’s maker. “It is stable for nationwide shipping because of the vinegar and fermented ingredients.”

Smith invented Miso Mayo as a condiment for the food truck she was operating in Los Angeles, California, in the early 1990s. “I started with a food truck to help people eat good food if they can’t get away from their desks,” she said. Smith’s Four Wheel Cafe

grew a business that expanded from lunchtime catering outside local businesses to serving lunches five days a week for high schools and middle schools that didn’t have onsite kitchens. Her miso-based condiment came into frequent use as a sandwich dressing then, and after she retired from the food truck, she decided to bottle it up and offer it to retail grocers.

She started selling to Mrs. Gooch’s Natural Foods Market, which became part of Foods Whole Market in 1993.

“We were lucky to find a place on the shelf before people were even thinking of plant-based condiments,” Smith said. “I’m grateful for support from the retail buyers who were able to see the value of this quirky item.”

Miso Mayo is based on fermented soybean paste, so it offers the probiotic benefits that go along with that. It’s also vegan and keto-friendly. It’s offered in four flavors: the Original flavor from food truck Cont. on page 22

Superfoods and Fun in a Tasty Bite

ate a piece of fruit, he should eat all of it – roots, rinds, stems and seeds, he said.

She believed – and she told her greatgrandson from the time he was eight or 10 years old – that the parts of the fruit that most people discarded had their own nutritional properties that his body needed, and he shouldn’t just throw those away.

When he grew up past the years when his great-grandmother’s strictures just made him all the more eager for the highly processed and individually packaged items his friends were bringing to school in their lunchboxes, he found that some of his great-grandmother’s lessons had just been waiting for him to mature. And when he started thinking about traveling his own path to bring food to the people, he found himself thinking that, especially when it came to dried fruit, his greatgrandmother’s ideas had something to them.

As he thought about dried fruit, it occurred to him that it’s a sleepy category – over the past few decades, the companies that have been making dried fruit snacks have mostly been processing them pretty much the same way and with the same fruits to make prunes, raisins, dried apricots and dried figs. When there was change, that often meant adding more sugar. “It’s Cont. on page 22

BY LORRIE BAUMANN

Keetz Plant Bites are tasty little snack bites for consumers who are serious about their nutrition but don’t want it at the price of tasting something that’s less than delicious. They come from a former pastry chef who got serious about her own nutrition after she became aware of how much sugar and highly processed wheat flour she was eating herself in the course of her job. “The minute that I stopped eating it, and when I started regularly taking probiotics – I’m not vegan, but once I aligned my lifestyle to that, it was literally night and day,” said Katy Peetz, the Founder and Owner of Keetz. “I grew up on beef and potatoes and a lot of processed foods. Processed snacks, even ones that labeled healthy were the norm. I don’t think you can blame just one thing; it’s a mixture of things, but mostly it’s processed foods, and mostly processed sugar.”

Her focus on her own nutrition and its effect on her health in general turned her

attention to the idea of creating a food that would make people feel good, she said. “I noticed that there was a lack of truly healthy foods in grocery stores, even in health-oriented groceries,” she said. “I noticed a lot of products that had a lot of added sugars and also included ‘natural flavors,’ which we know is not real food.”

She started out by creating a plantbased energy bar, but that format became energy bites as she experimented to achieve a format that was friendlier for friends who wanted snacks that they could toss into their bags and go. “I discovered that a lot of people weren’t buying health bars on the market,” she said. “I was solving a problem, and there’s a whole market of people who weren’t buying health bars because they know they’re not actually that good for them.”

Cont. on page 22

22

UNCUT Continued from page 20 start appearing in 14-ounce packages in grocers’ cases at the end of this month.

“We’ve had a lot of interest there – some of it generated by the retailers themselves,” O’Malley said. “We were already in development, but we pushed forward much

MISO MAYO Continued from page 20 days; Garlic ‘N’ Dill to deliver tang to roasted potatoes or a broiled salmon fillet; Spicy Red Pepper, delightful on a fish taco; and Sweet Black Garlic, which won a Good Food Award this year. “They go well in a lunchbox – they won’t spoil like a mayonnaise,” Smith said. “They all have

RIND SNACKS Continued from page 20 largely pumped full of sulfur dioxide,” Weiss said. “Oftentimes, it’s hit with added sugar, when it’s the last thing that fruit needs. When you remove the moisture, you’re concentrating those natural sugars.”

Weiss found himself thinking about the category the way his great-grandmother would have, he said. “When I took a fresh look at this category, I got really excited about bringing new edgier, cleaner attributes to a category from which those were missing,” he said. “As a way of paying homage to her, I started the business around the nutrient density in the part of the fruit that’s usually discarded.”

The result of Weiss’ thinking about his own experience and his greatgrandmother’s wisdom is RIND, a line of dried fruit snacks that currently comprises four SKUs – three fruit blends and a fourth product that’s all chewy slices of skin-on dried California kiwi. The packaging for all four varieties urges their consumers to “Keep it real. Eat the peel.”

“The secret ingredient in our fruit snacks is not something we add, but rather something we don’t subtract – the peel!”

Weiss said. “All that power is in the peel, and we’re trying to let the natural integrity of the fruit shine through.”

In addition to Tangy Kiwi, the line includes Tropical Blend, a mixture of dried

KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW • SEPTEMBER 2020 • www.kitchenwarenews.com

faster knowing that we had interest....

They’re ingredients based on comfort foods.... People go, ‘I know what that is.’

Even though it’s plant-based, there’s a comfort there.”

While the UNCUT products are aimed at the consumer who doesn’t mind paying a premium price for a premium plantbased product, Before the Butcher also has

its eyes on consumers who are more valueconscious but still interested in including plant-based products into their meal rotation with a product that O’Malley says will retail for a price that’s very comparable to the price of conventional ground beef.

“It’s going to be competitive on a level like we’ve never seen before for plantbased meats,” O’Malley said. “My thought,

and I always end these by saying that all of us working together will make a difference on this Earth, and the big thing to remember is the health of the planet. It affects our own health and the health of the other animals on the Earth. It starts there and works its way down.” more information, visit For www.btbfoods.com. KN

that rich umami from the miso, and we’re getting this double umami bang with the black garlic.”

The Sweet Black Garlic Miso Mayo is the latest addition to the line, and it had its origin in an ordinary grocery shopping trip for Smith, who saw the black garlic in the produce department of her Whole Foods Market about seven years ago. “I just thought, I have to turn that into a

new flavor,” she said. “I just couldn’t help myself... It paired so nicely with what Miso Mayo was.”

“I just started messing around with it,” she added. “The sweetness and the depth of it – I just knew it was going to make something. It’s fabulous on any kind of vegetable... I get a lot of people sending me their taco pictures. It’s got so much depth that it enhances anything you put

it on.”

Miso Mayo is offered in 9-ounce plastic squeeze bottles. The Sweet Black Garlic variety retails for $7.49 while the other flavors usually retail for $6.49. All are certified non-GMO, and distribution is available nationally.

For more information, visit www.misomayo.com, where the products are also sold online. KN

orange, pineapple and kiwi slices; Orchard Blend, which has dried persimmon, apple and peach slices; and Straw-Peary Blend, which is a mixture of apple, Bosc pear and strawberry slices. “It sounds trite, but it’s

getting with the rind, by keeping the rind on, is significantly higher fiber content – up to three times.... It’s a single-ingredient, high-fiber snack that fills you up.”

This summer RIND will add a fifth

nature’s candy – the ultimate portable snack,” Weiss said. The fruit slices are unprocessed other than being gently dried, the slices are chewy, and the flavors are bright and tangy. “I don’t want my kids to grow up addicted to a fruit gummy and think that’s fruit. I want them to have a whole slice of a blood orange or a kiwi,” Weiss said. “It should look like fruit. It’s bringing the fruit snack category back to its roots.”

Because RIND is fruit, it contains all the natural sugars characteristic of fruits, but because those sugars haven’t been separated from the fruit’s fibers, the body tends to absorb the sugars more slowly, so although it’s not a keto snack, it’s also not candy. “It’s a much more satisfying snack that fills you up,” Weiss said. “The North Star for us is fiber. More than any other nutritional property, what you are really

variety to its lineup: Coco-Melon, a threeingredient dried fruit blend that Weiss describes as “a taste of summer in a bag.”

It’ll contain coconut, which is high in calcium and iron; watermelon with its inner rind still attached; and cantaloupe, also still with its inner rind. “What we’re trying to showcase is bringing to market a snack in this category that is evocative of sweet summer fruits, but without any of the added sugar or sulfites that people associate with summer-flavored candies,” he said. “It’s more nutritious, with more vitamins and minerals because of the way we process it. There’s no dried watermelon currently on the market, and when you do find it, it’s sweetened with added sugar and treated like candy, which is the opposite of what we’re doing.”

RIND is packaged in 3-ounce resealable pouches that retail for a suggested $5.99.

Distribution is widely available along the East Coast, and national distribution is in process. With its long shelf life, it’s a product that’s well suited to an ecommerce strategy, as indicated by its success in RIND’s online store, where sales have seen a ten-fold increase since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Weiss said.

“We’ve become a nation of snackers and grazers, which speaks to the interest in variety and newness and snacks for different occasions, and I think RIND fits well into that new normal,” Weiss said. “It’s a snack that doesn’t require a lot of education. This is not something totally new or novel – it’s a new twist on a snack food classic.

We’re bringing it into a modern pantry.”

For more information, visit www.rind.com. KN

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KEETZ Continued from page 20 There are three flavors: Turmeric, Cacao and Maca. Each flavor is a superfood.

Three Keetz Plant Bites are packaged into a pouch decorated with Peetz’s brachiosaurus logo that retails for $6 to $7. “They’re a little chewy, and they have a really nice, subtle sweetness from the dates and they’re a little creamy from coldpressed pumpkin seed butter. I tell people that they’re a little less sweet than they’re used to,” Peetz said. “I wanted it to be fun and relatable to people beyond health and wellness. It’s for everyone who’s trying to eat healthier on the go, looking for snacks

to fuel them through the day.”

Keetz Plant Bites are made with seeds and plant protein powders boosted with spirulina and loaded with minerals and antioxidants. They’re sweetened with dates, but they’re not as sweet as many other energy bars – they contain about 30 percent less dates than many of the energy bars on the market. They’re sold from a refrigerated case as a chilled item, and Peetz feels that while she might have been a little early on the market for a super energy-dense energy bite, this is now a product that’s found its time as the COVID-19 outbreak has prompted more consumers to pay attention to their own health and their immune systems. “It’s not

a cure for anything, but I feel like the better we take care of ourselves, the better our chances,” she said. “The whole purpose of me starting this company was out of this innate passion to care and nurture people with food, and I don’t have to shift anything in my message about that. People are really responding to that now, which is amazing.”

Keetz Plant Bites are currently being drop-shipped from New York, but Peetz is hoping to have a distributor this summer.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for me to handle this,” she said.

For more information, visit www.keetzco.com and reach out through the contact page on the website. KN

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