Specialty Newsletter
Volume 35
November 15, 2016
Exclusive!
Healthy Eating Department
Are your eggs happy?
Just in time for the holidays—We are so excited
As of January 2, 2015 all egg-laying hens raised in California must be
able to stand-up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their
wings…this translates to a 10.5” x 16.5” space or 1.20 square
feet. That is a little more than a sheet of legal paper or this
opened Newsletter. These eggs can be called “cage free”, this is
double the amount of space from 2014. Some people argue that
hens like to be conformed to small spaces because they feel safe. I
say, imagine yourself in a crowded bar on Friday night...would you
really want to be there 24-7? Cage free is the new standard, and
the standard is not that high. Welcome, the happy egg co.
to be the first foodservice distributor in the Bay Area to have a foodservice size of gluten free 100%
butter frozen pastry dough sheets!
Better Bakeries in San Francisco’s Dog Patch
(formerly Leadbetter’s Bake Shop) is a Certified Gluten Free and allergen sensitive wholesale bakery.
Jameson Leadbetter is a 4th generation baker, now
dedicated to only allergen sensitive food production.
Made from organic alternative flours and 100% pure
butter, these pastry sheets are ideal for sweet and
Happy eggs are “free range” and have 21.8 square feet per
hen! They can roam outdoors everyday on 8 acres of open pasture savory recipes such as pie, turnovers, tarte tatin,
galettes, quiches, pot pies and tarts!
(about the same size as 6 football fields). These hens can party with
their friends in the barn AND go out and exercise, breath in fresh
air and be, well, happy. In addition to eating organic grains, these
hens can forage for wild plants and insects. “Pasture raised” hens,
on the other hand, are on a rotation based system and only have
access to 20% of the farm at any given time (see diagram on page
4).
There are 10 frozen sheets per case (1/2 sheet size,
11.25” x 16”, 8.85 lbs). Each sheet is large enough
for 2 large pies/tarts, or 6 small ones. Dough thaws
in about 10 minutes and can be used just as you
would a regular pie dough.
Though there is no gluten in
this dough, Better Bakeries
has perfected a recipe that
creates flakey, light layers!
Shelf life is up to 12 months
when product is frozen. For
best results, prepare product and let rest refrigeratSafety first! All happy eggs are tested for Salmonella (small local
farms with less than 3000 hens do not need to be tested for Salmo- ed overnight to allow for some shrinkage. Bake to a
golden brown color for best texture and flavor.
nella). None of Happy Eggs were effected by last year’s bird flu.
Ever wonder about the color of the egg? The color of the egg shell
has nothing to do with the egg’s nutritional value, quality or flavor.
Hens with white feathers and white ear lobes lay white eggs; hens
with red feathers and red ear lobes lay brown eggs.
And, the happy egg co. was the first egg company to be American
Humane Certified!
BiRite #72862
Organic FREE RANGE Large Loose 15 doz
continued on page 4…
BiRite #16630
Gluten Free 100% Butter 1/2
Sheet Pastry Dough
continued on page 3...
NEW SIZE—DeCarlo “Classico” EVOO from Italy, in bulk!
We have just switched over from the 9/1 liter tin can to the new 5 liter bag-in-a-box. The
new cost is about 35% less making it competitive to California Olive Ranch, Corto and L’Estornell extra virgin olive oils in bulk. This is a true grown and bottled in Italy olive oil, and a
Slow Food Italy award winner for “Best Value for the Money”.
DeCarlo “Classico” is made from olives harvested in the Bitritto countryside (Conca Barese,
Bari, Puglia), by carefully selected farmers who have worked with the DeCarlo family for
generations. This oil is a blend between Ogliarola and Coratina olives, harvested straight
from the tree and processed within 24 hours at the DeCarlo estate.
continued on page 4….
2
New—Now in Stock
Cream Cheese Bulk
Dough Frozen 100% Butter Gluten-Free
Fish Sauce 40N Gluten Free BULK
Eggs Organic FREE RANGE Brown Loose
Olive Oil Ex Virgin “Classico” Bulk Italy
Puree Black Currant Frozen
Puree Lychee Frozen
Salmon Smoked Nova Style Sliced
Tempeh Frozen Organic
#91855
#16630
#209999
#72862
#368522
#234622
#234632
#458024
Raskas
Better Bakeries
Red Boat
Happy Eggs
DeCarlo
Ravifruit
Ravifruit
Santa Barbara Smokehouse
Coastal Harbor Label
#74525 Alive & Healing Tempeh
30 lb
10 half sheets
6/2 liter plastic
15 doz
3/5 liter BIB
5/1 kg tub
5/1 kg tub
15/3 lb CW
Case
Case
Each
Case
Each
Each
Each
Each
Domestic
San Francisco, CA
Vietnam
USA
Puglia, Italy
France
France
Santa Barbara, CA
12/16 oz packs
Case
Sonoma County, CA
Green Bean Casserole: The Thanksgiving Staple We
Love — Or Loathe (Commentary from Peggy Lowe, All Things Considered on
NPR, November 24, 2015)
Move over, turkey. Step aside, stuffing. Green Bean Casserole, an iconic Thanksgiving dish, turns 60 years old this
year, and it's as popular as ever.
Love it or loathe it, the classic Midwestern casserole has come to mean more than just a mashup of processed food sitting
next to the mashed potatoes. "Green Bean Casserole in the Midwest seems to be, in many contexts, an unintentional performance of identity, but at other times a very purposeful expression of local identity," says Lucy Long, a folklorist, Bowling
Green State University research associate and director of the nonprofit Center for Food and Culture.
Long, originally from the South, moved to Ohio 30 years ago and began noticing that the dish appeared on most Thanksgiving menus — crossing ethnic, religious and socioeconomic differences. She reported her findings in a 2007 academic paper,
"Green Bean Casserole and Midwestern Identity: A Regional Foodways Aesthetic and Ethos." Green Bean Casserole is part
of the Midwest's "culinary universe," Long wrote, reflecting industrial agriculture, the bland food of our European ancestors
and a fear of Mother Nature.
"You can't romanticize nature out here," she says. "Nature is not necessarily your friend, particularly if you are a farmer. If
you don't constantly keep your guard up, it can destroy everything." I can't remember a time when my mom didn't serve
Green Bean Casserole at Thanksgiving.
The recipe is simple — "open cans, mix, bake," as Long describes it. It can be found online, or on the back of products that
sell like crazy at the holidays — canned cream of mushroom soup, canned green beans and yes, canned, fried onions. I love
the dish, but not everyone does. My sister, Paula Kellner, lives in Nebraska and hosts our family's Thanksgiving every year.
Green Bean Casserole is always on the menu, but when I asked Paula if she liked it, she was succinct: "Ick. No. Gross."
Despite its status as Midwest holiday table staple, Green Bean Casserole didn't originate in the Midwest. Dorcas Reilly, a now
-retired home economist in the Campbell's Soup Co. test kitchen in New Jersey, created it in 1955 after an Associated Press
reporter called, asking for a vegetable side dish, said Jane Freiman, director of the Campbell's Consumer Test Kitchens.
The original recipe shows that Reilly considered using corn, peas and even lima beans. She finally settled on "Green Bean
Bake”. Reilly, who still lives in New Jersey, said in a Campbell's promotional video that she created it with home cooks in
mind. "We worked in the kitchen with things that were most likely to be in most homes," she said. "It's so easy. And it's not
an expensive thing to make, too."
The dish is now served in 30 million homes on Thanksgiving, and gets 70 percent of traffic on Campbell's website, Freiman
says. "It's a universally loved American tradition," she says. Cathy Swanson, cookbook editor for Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, expects a half-million hits online this week, most looking for classic Green Bean Casserole.
continued on page 3...
3
NEW in Stock!
Artisan tempeh from Alive & Healing
Tempeh in Sonoma County! What is tempeh and how is it different
from tofu?
Tempeh is fermented whole soy beans
and has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.
Alive & Healing Tempeh is unpasteurized so it retains its natural, tender texture as well as active cultures.
Tempeh has a chunky, dense texture
too . It out performs tofu nutritionally and offers a wider variety of
menu options than tofu. Alive & Healing Tempeh has 20 grams of
complete protein compared to tofu’s 8 grams. It also exceeds tofu in
fiber, potassium, magnesium, manganese and is also one of the ONLY vegetarian sources of Vitamin B12 (one serving has 50% of daily
needs).
Because it is fermented, it is easier to digest too! Tempeh is really
easy to work with—slice it for grilling or chop it for sautéing, frying
or baking! It absorbs flavors more thoroughly and is easier to work
with than tofu because of its delicate mycelial structure. Tempeh
can be marinated prior to cooking, seasoned while in the pan or
drizzled with sauce afterwards.
Alive & Healing Tempeh comes frozen with 12 individual wrapped
(double wrapped) 16 oz packages. It has excellent shelf life (6 mos
in the freezer) and is Non-GMO, gluten-free, vegan and 100% certified organic. Just thaw and cook within 1 week. BiRite #74525.
Want menu ideas for putting tempeh on your menu?
Gluten Free Pastry Dough Sheets
continued from page 1…
With over 3+ million Americans
with Celiac and over 18 million on
a gluten free diet, now you can
be easily prepared for a glutenfree menu option.
The cost of Better Bakeries Gluten Free Pastry Dough is not that
much more than regular butter
puff pastry, and you can easily
pass those costs on to your customers. People with food allergies are more concerned with not
being contaminated and rank
taste as their #1 priority. Also,
persons with restrictive diets are
more concerned with portion
control versus food “value”.
Need a sample! Just ask!!
Visit AliveandHealing.com/Recipes!
Green Bean Casserole, continued from page 2…
"I think we have 30 versions of the
Green Bean Casserole," Swanson
said. "We have ones that use frozen
green beans, or fresh green beans.
We have recipes that are done in
the slow cooker. We have a cheesy
version and a gluten-free version." I
even found a recipe for a paleo version. Most of the dozen people I
asked about Green Bean Casserole laughed at the dish's enduring popularity. And some said their foodie families would never stand for such
processed food on their plate.
Much like Paula, my other sister, Ann Mausbach, also hates Green
Bean Casserole and prefers to roast fresh green beans. Yet Ann says
she still loves the idea of that communal casserole. "It reminds you of
home," Ann said. "I would associate it with Mom and, well, my family.
I don't make it myself." So when she sees a casserole on the table, she
says, "it's a good sign — like, 'Oh, I'm going to be with people I love.' "
As for my investigation, the dish came out much like the recipe said it
would, "hot and bubbly". It was also creamy and comforting and a
little crunchy. So take that, roasted root vegetables and cranberry chutney and all you other sophisticated side dishes. At 60 years old and
counting, Green Bean Casserole is here to stay.
We don’t eat
gluten, dairy,
meat, soy or nuts.
Ugh. #*@!!!
What do you
recommend
we get?
4
The happy egg co continued from page 1…
DeCarlo EVOO continued from page 1…
Just recently, the happy egg co. has been
awarded by Compassion in World Farming at
The Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards,
under the category of ‘Good Egg’, for its commitment to providing higher welfare free
range eggs to the U.S. market. As the first
U.S. egg brand to win the globally celebrated
award, the accolade recognizes the positive
impact the happy egg co. has had on the
U.S. market through its ethical leadership,
supply chain transparency and higher farm
animal welfare practices operated in the U.S
where battery caged eggs still dominate the
market.
Want help on POS or menu reprinting? The
happy egg co. can cover the cost of reprinting your menus with the addition of their logo!
See their website for details
www.thehappyeggco.com and your sales rep
DeCarlo “Classico” can be used as an everyday oil if you like something a little
more robust, or as a finishing oil. The color is green at pressing and evolving to
a beautiful straw yellow with green reflections as the oil matures. The aroma is
strong, with hints of artichokes and green almonds. The flavor is soft and balanced, with hints of fresh grass and sweet almonds. Acidity is no more than 3%.
BiRite #368522
DeCarlo “Classico” EVOO
3/5 liter BIB
Also, we have just received a new crop of their intensely green and robust “Torre
di Mossa”, 100% Coratina estate grown olive oil. This excellent finishing oil has
been awarded “Best Olive Oil in the World 2013” and “Best Farm in the World
2014” from Flos Olei.
BiRite #368159
DeCarlo “Torre di Mossa EVOO (DOP) 6/500 ml
Who is DeCarlo? One of the most respected names in Italian Olive Oil you have
never heard of. The DeCarlo family has been producing superb oils since the
1600’s and only since the 1980’s has been promoting their fine oils around the
world. Recognized by Slow Food as well as a member of the Presidio Slow
Food foundation in Italy.
Contact me directly for a tasting! If you have been looking for a TRUE Italian
extra virgin olive oil at a good price, this is it! Only at BiRite Foodservice!
Suggestions & Comments?
Cecily Costa, Gourmet Brand Specialist at [email protected] or (415) 656-0187 x428
NOTE: Any prices quoted in this newsletter are for NEW purchases (outside of 90 days) and not available to contract customers,
which may or may not have a lower price. Ask your rep for details.
Thanks to my Editors this month—Jennifer Wilder-Smith, Director of Marketing & Julianna Roth, Marketing Coordinator