RECIPE: Savory Chocolate Crustini with Maldon Sea Salt Crystals

Salt is salt, right?  Wrong.  The right salt can make all the difference.  Just ask Chef John of Food Wishes fame, seen here using Maldon Salt to perfect an elegant snack:

 

Burnt Sugar wins 2008 Awards

Congratulations to Burnt Sugar, Winner: BEST CONFECTIONERY – The Grocer 2008 Branded Awards, and SOFI Awards 2008 Finalist!

Click here to see Belgravia’s entire line of Burnt Sugar products!

Tracklements 2007 Specialty Producer of the Year

 

Tracklements was thrilled to be named 2007 Speciality Producer of the Year by The Guild of Fine Food.  

According to Charlottte Evans, the entire staff is pleased ”to see Tracklements going from strength to strength. The recent award of the Specialist Producer of the Year has also made us very proud and is apt recognition for everybody’s hard work over the years and of our quest to make the best possible products.”

 

 

Olitos

Olitos, a Mediterranean secret with a twist of love.

Olitos Sweet Olive Jam

Olives in all their multihued goodness were once relegated to toothpicks and spirited drinks, or adding color to rice dishes.

Ounce by delicious ounce, Olitos’ decadent products, made with handpicked olives mixed with earthy mountain herbs, spices and honey, have turned the world of olives on its head.

The Olitos story began during a 1999 weekend in Barcelona when a repast of olive tapas sparked a desire to pursue the reinvention of the olive.  Jaunts around the world, from Andalucia, Spain to North America’s Napa Valley and locations inbetween, transformed this newfound passion into Olitos’ landmark line of products.

Olitos has taken Mediterranean recipes and added an international flair to create a luxurious flavor that is an excellent companion or base for both savory and sweet dishes.  This penchant for globe trotting has extended to the Olitos website, where you can log on and tell the world about your culinary inventions for, and uses of, their olive jam.  Experiment with tried-and-true recipes such as grilled goat‘s cheese salad with Olitos Sweet Olive Jam.

Taste our entire line of Olitos Products, including their:

• Sweet Olive Jam, a delectable combination of hand-picked olives, apple juice, rosemary mountain honey, herbs and spices and a dash of lemon. 
• Black Olive Tapenade made from handpicked Aragon black olives, crushed and mixed with fresh mountain herbs and extra virgin olive oil
• A Potful of Quince made in rural Cataluyna from the sweet, fragrant quince fruit. The locals usually eat this jam with Manchego cheese but it goes wonderfully with cold meats, venison and firm, strong-flavored cheeses

Belgravia Imports invites you to journey with us to Andalucia, Spain for the grand reinvention of the humble olive, and the irrestible taste of quince sweetness.

Maldon Crystal Salt Company

One of the oldest towns in the County of Essex, Maldon is situated at the head of the Blackwater estuary (the Blackwater derives its name from the word ‘brackwater’ meaning salty water).  

 

The first documentary evidence of salt production in Essex was in the great Domesday survey of 1086. This lists no fewer than 45 salt pans in the Maldon area, four of which were said to have belonged to Edward the Confessor. 

For hundreds of years salt continued to be skillfully harvested from the sea but in the 19th century the industry in Essex started to decline. The Essex Salt Traders slowly disappeared, and to this day only a single company carrying out this age-old tradition has survived - The Maldon Crystal Salt Company.

Maldon is the proud maker of Maldon Sea Salt, Organic Black Peppercorns, and Smoked Sea Salt, and Tidman’s Bath Salts and Natural Rock Salt.

Water for making Maldon Crystal Salt is gathered following a spell of dry weather called the ’spring tides,’ when the concentration of salt is at its highest. The salt water is transferred to huge holding tanks where it is allowed to settle. After carefully filtering the salt water, it is then drawn off to fill the saltpans. They are mounted on a system of brick flues that heat the saltwater. 

 

‘Drawing the pans’ – The ancient craft of hand-harvesting, using the traditional long handled rakes, is still practiced today.

 

The furnaces initially burned coal (which was shipped from northern England), and they were fired by hand. It required considerable skill to maintain temperatures at a proper level during the boiling process.  Today, the furnaces are burned by natural gas.   As the seawater evaporates, salt crystals begin to form on the surface of the water, forming the tiny pyramids unique to Maldon Crystal Salt.  Eventually, the crystals become heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the salt pan. 

The saltpans cool overnight and are then drawn by using long handled rakes that rake the salt and put it into drainage bins before being dried and packaged. 

Time-tested and gourmet-approved, Maldon’s soft, flaky white crystals are the quintessential seasoning experience.

Dragonfly Tea

Dragonfly Tea Company

For well over 100 years, family-owned Dragonfly Tea has been brewing extraordinary teas to perfection.

Benjamin Ginsberg

Dragonfly’s signature tea is the famous Rooibos, discovered by company founder, Benjamin Ginsberg. Ginsberg ran across a bushman brewing a local African brew and tasted it, finding it extraordinary and not too bitter.  He knew he could use traditional Chinese tea-curing methods to perfect the tea, which he did in the 1800’s in South America.  He named the tea Rooibos, which became the staple tea of this company.

Dragonfly offers teas from all parts of the globe. Each tea is tested for the utmost in flavor and aroma.  Click here to see Belgravia’s full line of Dragonfly Teas.

Dragonfly’s Moroccan Mint Green Tea is made in the traditional Moroccan manner, combining the brisk taste of Chinese gunpowder tea with the refreshing taste of spearmint.

Moroccan Mint Green Tea

Dragonfly’s Rooibos Breakfast Blend is robust, yet caffeine-free.  It tastes great alone or with milk, sugar, or lemon. 

Rooibos Breakfast Tea

The Rooibos Earl Grey blends Rooibos with Oil of Bergamot, found in the peels of bitter oranges from Italy, while Dragonfly’s Rooibos Vanilla is a smooth, creamy blend with a fresh accent of real Bourbon Vanilla out of Madagascar. 

Every tea has been carefully blended for optimal flavor and uses only the finest ingredients the world has to offer.  Each tea has unique origins and is unlike any other tea you’ll experience. 

 

 

 

WORLDFOODS

Would you love to whip up a phenomenal Pad Thai for an exotic Sunday brunch, or reconstruct the complex flavors of the curry you recently enjoyed at your favorite Indian restaurant? Maybe you just don’t have the time, or you can’t find the ingredients at your local stores.

WORLDFOODS promises that you’ll be able to stir up the most enticing dishes quickly and easily when cooking with their all natural Asian products. The savory, mouth watering flavors and ingredients that you know and love are infused into ready-made sauces, chutneys, marinades and dressings specifically to meet the needs of young, urban professionals and 21st century families who crave healthy, home-cooked meals despite hectic schedules.

WORLDFOODS products deliver delicious Far East flavors from fresh ingredients and authentic cooking methods.  They prove that ready-made is neither boring nor unhealthy. WORLDFOODS products do not contain artificial preservatives, coloring, flavoring, MSG, gluten or genetically modified ingredients and they are suitable for vegetarians, vegans and those suffering from Celiac disease.

Are you ready to become known as the East-West Fusion chef among your family, friends and co-workers?  It’s easy. Take a serving of your favorite American or ethnic dish, add a WORLDFOODS Asian-Indian twist, and you’ll have fusion magic on-the-go and with time to spare for the next appointment on your calendar.

Cambodian Chili Lime Dressing

Can you smell it? 

…the sweet, enticing scent of lemongrass in the Malaysian Vegetable Curry Sauce?                       

…the bold presence of garlic in the Thai Chili Garlic Dressing?                                                   
…the zing of succulent pineapple and hint of ginger in the Indian Pineapple Chutney?                                                  

Experience the innumerable culinary possibilities of healthy, home-cooked meals as WORLDFOODS takes you back to the days when family dinners were the norm, work was left at the office, and spending time with good friends took precedence over other pursuits.

Explore WORLDFOODS 51 (and growing) reasons to serve a different dish for every meal of the month, from seafood to duck, from appetizers to decadent desserts. Which ingredients most inspire your inner chef?

Belgravia Imports invites you to journey with us to Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Burma, Cambodia and Singapore, for gourmet cooking at your fingertips and a wondrous, irresistible fusion of flavors.

 

Tracklements

After almost four decades, Tracklements is still crafting its fine mustard the way they always have — by grinding and cooking mustard seeds in small batches.

In 1970, William Tullberg was seeking an alternative to the ubiquitous yellow and brown mustard.

He made the first wholegrain English mustard recipe after reading John Evelyn’s diaries where mention was made of ancient methods of mustard making. Soon enough, as he served his concoction at “Saturday morning sausage and mash parties,” Tullberg began to receive requests to make extra for those who attended.

Offering a sample to a local pub, the orders soon came flooding in. The name Tracklements came from Tullberg’s memory of his grandmother referring to meat accompaniments by the same name.

Today, Tracklements is committed to using all natural and organic ingredients to create the best tasting products in small batches as one would at home. Their product lines include tangy mustards and ketchups, savory specialty condiments and relishes, velvety sauces, and uncompromising jellies.

Tracklements prides itself on its environmentally friendly policies, including:

• Use of a heat exchange process to reuse the hot air formed in the production process, reducing reliance on the building’s heating system
• Low-energy, high-efficiency lighting with automatic shut-off
• Recycling, and safe, responsible disposal of waste that cannot be recycled
• Ongoing investment in products and processes that increase efficiency and use less energy

Tracklement’s dedication to the environment is matched by its dedication to people. The company provides financial support to community causes such as the Farm Crisis Network which provides practical assistance for farmers during times of crisis.

If you have a craving for “simple flavors and clean, clear classic tastes,” if you have a passion for mouthwatering condiments and eating ‘green,’ Belgravia Imports invites you to journey with us to the United Kingdom for a taste of Tracklements.

Sweet Botanicals

You have stumbled upon confectionary heaven – all-natural, organic candies made in small batches to exacting standards.

Sweet Botanicals is a family-owned company dedicated to the art of traditional candy-making. The astonishing breadth and uncompromising quality of the Sweet Botanicals candy lines is a testament to their passion for this time-honored culinary art.

Sweet Botanicals creates three distinct lines of candy:

• The Apothecary’s Garden™, boasting 53 unique flavors divided into three distinct flavor collections: the Herbal Collection, Fruit Collection, and Classic Country;
• Sweet Organics™, a collection of organic candies including nougat, candy sticks, lollipops and fruit flavored pectin jellies – the first all-natural candy line to be introduced to the retail market; and
• Discreet Sweets™, a line of miniature candies designed to tuck safely (and secretly) into a pocket.

Sweet Botanicals creates only the finest in sweet indulgences, leaving behind artificial sweeteners, artificial colors and other unnecessary additives.

Enjoy a confection for every season. Welcome spring with the berry and tangy citrus flavors of the Fruit Collection. Cool summer’s heat with luscious lavender drops or lemon balm candies. Celebrate fall’s bounty with the flavors of gingerbread, cinnamon and cloves, and mulled wine. Send winter sniffles packing with the cold-fighting, throat-soothing power of licorice and honey or peppermint. Just for the pure joy of it, grab energy-boosting ginseng, or mind-sharpening ginkgo biloba.

Sweet Botanicals brings the fruit orchard, the herb garden and the spice rack to snack time by redefining candy for the sophisticated palate. Luxuriate in the complex pleasure of innovative new flavors as Sweet Botanicals craftily blends the health benefits of organic fruits, herbs, spices and chocolate into eminently palatable and satisfying treats.

Belgravia Imports invites you to journey with us to Great Britain for the sweetness of candy without compromise. Come and experience nature’s sweet success.

Parameswaran Pepper

Parameswaran Pepper

A rich aromatic pepper, the Parameswaran pepper is grown in the Wynad district in Kerala, long known for the production of the finest pepper in India.  Vines grow on a host tree and peppercorns are selected for their pungent flavor and quality.  The berries are picked when ripe on the vine and are grown without any artificial chemicals or fertilizers. 

Belgravia Imports is proud to offer both the Parameswaran Special Wynad Black Pepper and the Special Wynad White Pepper. 

The Parameswaran Special Wynad pepper is grown on a small plantation in the Wynad Plateau.  Wynad is a lovely valley, known for its elephants and the rare tiger sighting. 

Unlike other peppers which are picked green, the Wynad pepper is picked only when fully ripe. After drying and cleaning, it is vacuum packed to promote the best possible flavor.

Parameswaran’s white pepper is sourced from the same vines as the black pepper. The difference is that the ripe berries have been soaked over twenty days in at least twenty changes of pure spring water.  After this process is completed, the outer portion of the berry is removed and the inner core is dried and packaged in vacuum packages.   White pepper tends to be much spicier and hotter than black pepper, and its flavor is less subtle.  Chefs use it in foods in which the color of the black pepper would interfere with the appearance of the dish, or when more spice is desired. 

In the Wynad area, a few families will pick some peppercorns for their own use but Parameswaran Pepper is otherwise produced by a single plantation and marketed all over the world.  Men climb bamboo poles that have notches in them for support, and aboriginals make up the bulk of the workers.  They pick the fully ripe berries, which are dried and cleaned before ultimately being packaged. They are packaged in unbleached cotton bags made in a nearby district. Only whole fresh peppercorns are used and sold by the company.

The taste of Parameswaran pepper is indescribable, and among the finest pepper the world has to offer.