Gift Guide 2018: So Many Good Things...

When I have a few free moments nothing gives me more pleasure than trolling through the online catalog of Corti Brothers in Sacramento. The site is always filled with new and wonderful things to eat.

In the early seventies, when I moved to California, people in need of truffles, great olive oil, or the best Parmigiano, invariably called Darrell Corti who would send it off to them on a Greyhound bus. Darell was selling balsamic vinegar before anyone else in America had ever heard of it, and collecting California wines before most people understood how good they could be.  I still think he knows more about food and wine than anyone else in the country.  And the store is still importing foods you can't find anywhere else.

These Italian candied black cherries are a case in point. If you like real maraschino cherries, you'll like these wild cherries from the Adriatic coast even better. Any mixologist would be grateful to be introduced to this easy way of making an Old Fashioned something really special.

This sour cherry syrup would be a fantastic gift for someone who wants to dabble in Persian cuisine.

And if you know a soy sauce freak, they'll want to know about the line of fascinating variations Corti Brothers imports from Japan.  I'm particularly partial to this:

Mitsuboshi Saishikome Shoyu double fermented soy sauce, which has a smooth umami richness that sets it apart from other soy sauces.

But don't take my word for it: go to the website and look around. I'm willing to bet that you'll encounter a few products you've never seen before.