trends within a trend.

Oh, dear readers, we saw so many new & exciting products at the Fancy Food Show! Where to begin, where to begin…

Well, we “suffered” through both halls at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, and each hall was packed to the gills with exciting food vendors from all around the globe. As we walked the aisles, our feet grew sore, our shoulders were burdened under the weight of ALL THOSE SAMPLES, our stomachs became full with ALL THOSE SAMPLES, but our hearts lightened at the sight of so many GLUTEN-FREE-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS!

And here’s what we saw. There are three major players in the up & coming GF food trend: Gluten-free sauces/dips/dressing; products, especially chips, made from roots (like cassava, taro or sweet potatoes); and a wide range of yummy foods that just happen to be gluten-free.

Look for these sauces on your grocers’ shelves in the coming months:

Tamari sesame, tamari ginger, tamari peanut, szechuan, teriyaki, thai peanut, sweet & tangy and asian bbq sauces from San-J

Bayou creole, maui sunset and milano marinara sauces from Gourmet Mom’s

A whole slew of fun barbeque sauces and accoutrement by Bone Suckin’ Sauce

Honey grilling sauces from Honey Ridge Farms, where they make their own honey vinegar

Tamarind & garlic, tomato & chilies, cilantro & coconut, dates & tamarind, cashews & cream cooking sauces by Stonehouse 27

Pineapple ginger, honey dijon, truly teriyaki, lemon pesto and coconut peanut culinary sauces from Simply Boulder

And there were lots of yummy chip alternatives:

Baked lentil chips by The Mediterranean Snack Food Company, including flavors like rosemary & olive oil, sea salt, cucumber dill and sea salt & cracked pepper

Sweet potato crackers by Polka Dot Bake Shop

Hippie Chips by Rock ‘n’ Roll Gourmet, including flavors like white room cheddar, memphis blues barbeque, sea of love salt, lime is on my side cracked pepper, woodstock ranch, haight-ashberry jalapeño

Cassava chips by Joseph Banks, including flavors like sea salt, chili & kaffir lime, roasted tomato and cracked pepper

Seed crackers by Mary’s Gone Crackers, including flavors like original, caraway, black pepper, herb and onion

Sticks & Twigs by Mary’s Gone Crackers, including flavors like chipotle tomato, sea salt and curry

Other noteworthy products include:

Allergen-free baking mixes by Something Good (we tried the cupcakes and the bread mix and they certainly were SOMETHING GOOD!)

Fruit-filled ravioli cookies by Zix Cookies (local vendor alert for all you Sonoma County readers!)

Mesquite pod flour by Dowd & Rogers

Pound cake minis & challah muffins by New Harvest Naturals

Cabernet flour (that’s right, grape flour!) by Marché Noir Foods

Baking mixes & pasta by Hodgson Mill

GfG gluten substitute by Orgran (use 1 part to 5 parts flour to mimic the protein strand structure of actual gluten — please report back if you’ve used this!)

Gourmet cookies by Montana Monster Munchies (they grow and mill their own certified GF oats!)

GF ice cream cones by Let’s Do

. . .

We’ll continue to report as we taste and evaluate, and as we make further contact with the vendors. In the meantime, tell us if you have opinions about any of these exciting products!

About these ads