I'd never been to Expo East, the trade show for all things organic and natural that you'd find in the grocery section of Whole Foods, until a couple weeks ago when work gave me the excuse I had been waiting for to check out the show in Boston.
Though our company had a booth, I spent a great deal of time walking the show, getting to know the competitors (and their products) and meeting people who were selling interesting (to me) products.
Past the casseroles filled with tikka masala and pad Thai, beyond the vegan marshmallow booth, across from one of the dozens of snack chip and functional water companies (think Vitamin Water, but all-natural and corn syrup-free), I found Scott Gryzbek (an ex-consumer packaged goods marketer MBA) and his wife Cathy (a geologist) selling their lacto-fermentedsalsas and relishes along with their company controller (ohh, nice title) Tonyalee at the Zukay booth.
Scott and Cathy:
Tonyalee and Cathy:
[For those who do not want to click the above lacto-fermentation link: What is lacto-fermentation? In a sentence, it is the fermentation that gives sauerkraut its sourness through growth of beneficial bacteria that, when consumed, promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in our digestive tracts. Lacto-fermentation creates dairy-free probiotics -- and who doesn't want more probiotics in their lives?]
"Zukay" is their Anglicization of the abbreviated Japanese word for pickled - "zuke" (vs otsukemono or tsuke). Although their products are not related to Japanese pickles, Zukay seemed a fitting name for their young company. Their products - two lacto-fermented salsas, one hot, one not and two relishes, one garlic dill one horseradish dill - are delicious and sour and healthy and unusual. By taking something familiar and putting a genuinely healthy spin on it, they're made something I've never seen before.
So while I danced around their booth with joy (I tend to get overenthusiastic about things I like) I asked them where their idea came from. As I had suspected, they too had fallen under the spell of Sally Fallon and the Weston A Price Foundation (which she founded) from reading her book Nourishing Traditions. Fallon promotes the consumption of traditional, real foods - processed foods with new or engineered ingredients have no place in her world. Fermented foods figure prominently in her recommendations and recipes. Anyone who likes kimchi or sauerkraut or kvass already knows how great these foods taste; the added probiotic benefits are less known outside of the cultures and countries where the unpasteurized versions (how can you tell? they must be refrigerated, or, at the very least, kept cool in a root cellar, to be raw and alive) are readily available and consumed on a regular basis.
But I am getting away from my main point - Zukay's products. I mentioned how tasty they were - the relishes are so good they can be eaten on their own instead of as a condiment. Sure, for now their products aren't organic, but the vegetables they use are grown locally in Lancaster County, PA, where the relishes and salsas are produced (they also have a ketchup, but they didn't bring any to the show. Sigh. I love ketchup). The hot salsa is actually hot - and sour. For those who dislike sourness, the flavor can be disguised a bit by the addition (at home) of a little fresh chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. The relishes are chock full o' cukes, have a good amount of garlic, and aren't too heavy on the dill (which works for me - I'm not a huge dill fan). The one with horseradish isn't too hot, either.
Attendees at the trade show also seemed to like Zukay's products - it was one of the top 5 innovative new products at the show. Though it didn't take top honors, it is one of the most inspiring new products I had. The day I arrived home, I went to the farmers' market and started fermenting my own treats - a hot pepper and carrot condiment, a celeriac slaw, and a traditional slaw with added turnips and kale. The house smells rather rank and will continue to until I finally am satisfied with them and store them in the refrigerator. For those wanting a less noisome experience at home, there's always Zukay.
Have you been able to find this stuff in Chicago yet? I'm intrigued...
Posted by: Deanna | November 17, 2008 at 12:59 PM