10 Product Innovations from Cibus Show

Cibus, a bi-annual exhbition highlighting authentic Italian foods and beverages, is taking place this week, May 7-10, in Parma, Italy.

New this year is Cibus Innovation Corner, a showcase of the top 100 product innovations on display, chosen from among the 3,100 total exhibitors by a panel of food industry retailers, journalists, academics, and marketing professionals.The products chosen for the Innovation Corner cover six trends: health, convenience, free-from and vegan, packaging, taste, and specialty. The judging panel noted that most align with the overarching trend of consumer concerns with wellness.

Following is a look at 10 of the innovations on display. While some are not yet available in the United States, they offer a look at global trends and product development. A winner for most innovative in each of the six categories will be revealed on May 10 at the end of the Cibus show.

Grateable Balsamic Vinegar Sphere. Made from a proprietary natural process of high-pressure cooling and heating from Acetaia Terra del Tuono, this solid sphere of Balsamic vinegar of Modena can be grated like cheese, sliced, or minced. It remains stable at room temperature and is meant for garnishing pasta, meat or fish dishes, vegetables, and desserts.

Pasta with Kimbo Coffee Flour. This distinctive pasta is the result of a collaboration between La Fabbrica della di Grangnano and Caffe Kimbo. The pasta is made with coffee flour that offers a subtle flavor, plus added caffeine and fiber content.  

Brodo Mio Vegetable Broth. This dried vegetable broth from Taflo allows consumers to prepare the broth same as they would make tea. Each bag is filled with organic dried vegetables and contains no salt, yeast, gluten, or preservatives.

Polenta Valsugana Express. This instant, microwaveable polenta from Bonomelli is cooked in its own cup by just adding water and is ready in less than three minutes. Available in three flavors: multi grain, porcini mushroom, and cheese. One packet works as a meal for one person or a side dish for two. 

Calabrian Spicy Nduja in a Squeezeable Pouch. Nduja Calabrese, a traditional red hot chile paste condiment, is conveniently packaged in a squeezeable pouch, allowing for precise application and portion control.

Sweet Quinoa and Fruit. A single-serve, conveniently packaged dessert of quinoa and fresh fruit sold under the Viru brand. Available in several varieties including mango and passion fruit and mango and blueberries.  

Organic Mung Bean Fusilli. This gluten-free, vegan pasta under the Felicia brand name is made from organic mung beans, which are rich in protein, fiber, zinc, iron, and other minerals.

Chickpea Couscous. On trend for consumers seeking plant protein, this couscous from Sipa International is made from chickpea flour and is reported to be high in protein and fiber.

Chef in Black Flour Blends. A line of flour blends from Molini Spigadoro are colored through fruits, vegetables, and botanicals like carrot, pumpkin, and hibiscus and allow both professional and home bakers to create vibrant recipes. 

Turmeric Flavored Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray. Compagnia Alimentare Italiana uses an infustion process to create its sprayable olive oil with turmeric, a spice associated with high antioxidant properties. 

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Fresh Strawberry Rose Pie

Fresh strawberry pie bursting with ripe spring berries and a hint of floral rose. The berries in this pie are not baked, just held together with a binder of sweet strawberry jam, making for a beautiful seasonal pie that is dressed to impress.

This is a pie truly worthy of celebrating the first strawberries of spring: ripe and juicy and bursting with flavor – characteristics that are preserved and enhanced here, rather than cooked away. Instead, fresh, whole strawberries are tossed with a quick jam made with a splash of rose water that really gives the pie an extra special hint of flavor.

I first tried fresh strawberry pie last summer during our family reunion in Northern California. While I was having disastrous results trying to make a bundt cake (high altitude baking is no joke, y’all!) my cousin Brooke and her family whipped up two amazing fruit desserts, including a rustic peach galette and a fresh strawberry pie that blew my mind (maybe the trick to high altitude baking is pie? lol).

Needless to say, I’ve been waiting ever so patiently since then for the local strawberries to ripen so I could recreate the pie that’s been haunting my dreams.

The recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen, and is basically just fresh strawberries tossed with a quick strawberry jam to bind it all together. I adapted the recipe to use Pomona’s Universal Pectin (the original uses low sugar Sure-Jell – instructions for both are below).

What I love about this recipe is that the strawberries themselves are not actually baked, and so each bite preserves the bright, fresh flavor of the berries that I simply adore.

I originally wanted to enhance the strawberries by infusing the flavor of rose geraniums. I am not entirely sure where this idea came from, I think I saw reference to a rose geranium strawberry jam years ago, and for whatever reason the combination just stuck with me. Alas, scented geraniums are not easy to come by locally (most people spring for the decorative kind so that’s what all the garden centers sell). I found a place online that sells them (I ordered some of the Old Fashioned Rose variety – they should arrive in a few weeks!) but my first bucket of spring strawberries wasn’t going to wait for that.

I’ll be honest I have no idea what rose geraniums smell or taste like. I imagine roses (makes sense, right? lol). So, in lieu of rose geraniums I turned to the most logical replacement: rose water.

I’ve combined strawberries and flowers before in jam recipes, both Strawberry Hibiscus and Sakura Strawberry. Strawberry rose seemed like another winning combo… and it only took one bite to confirm that hunch. I mean, WOW (don’t be surprised if you see this one turned into a jam at some point).

The rose flavor is subtle, not overpowering (too much of any strong floral scent and your pie would taste like grandma’s boudoir). And if you didn’t know it was there you might not even be able to identify what exactly that flavor is. It teases the palate, elevating the strawberries from “mmm that’s a really good strawberry” to “what is this wizardry?!”

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Clips & Quips: Head to Toe Edition

Taylor and I are headed off to Europe for two weeks, spending time in Venice (we loved it so much the first time we just had to go back!) and the Loire Valley in France, with a short stopover in Zurich. We’re traveling with a few members of my extended family, and, needless to say, we’re quite excited for this newest adventure. Be sure to follow me on Instagram as I’ll be posting plenty of Stories and delicious photos during our trip.

I’ve tried to get a few recipes scheduled to go up while we’re gone, but if it’s a bit quiet around here (or if I’m a little slow responding to comments/emails) it’s because I’m busy stuffing my face with gelato (no shame).

This will be our first time flying Aer Lingus, which has an unusually restrictive carryon baggage policy. Normally Taylor and I are pros at fitting 2 weeks worth of clothes, shoes, toiletries and essentials (and even a pretty robust first aid kit and a spare duffel for souvenirs) into a carry-on size roller. And the size isn’t the problem, it’s that Aer Lingus restricts by weight as well, 22 pounds to be exact.

Let this be a lesson to us all: always check the airline baggage requirements before heading to the airport! European airlines in particular tend to be extra restrictive. I’m glad I realized this limitation beforehand, otherwise I would’ve stuffed my carryon with whatever would fit, which would most definitely weight more than 22lbs.

One of the hardest parts of traveling light is figuring out which shoes to bring. Especially when weight limited, it means I can only bring 2 pairs of shoes, what’s on my feet and one other (preferably lightweight) pair (being able to alternate shoes gives my feet a rest and makes for a much more pleasant experience). I have such difficult feet (size 5/5.5 and sky high arches) that finding something comfortable that’s not ridiculously ugly is virtually impossible. I know I need arch support, but even more than that I need cushion, which rules out most of the most common ‘supportive’ shoe brands which have very hard footbeds.

It’s unfortunate that you can’t really know if a new pair of shoes is going to work out until you’ve walked (literally) a few miles in them. And at that point they are beyond returnable (like that pair of $100+ fancy arch support walking shoes I bought that seemed comfortable enough at first, but after an hour or two walking around the streets of Florence my feet were in such pain I was ready to throw the shoes in the trash.)

I think I’m good in the sneaker department for this trip (I recently got a pair of AllBirds [in the pale pink!] that are both cute and comfy. Score!) but the sandal is proving to be more difficult. I probably ordered 20 different pairs of shoes from Amazon and ended up sending them all back (I’m just waiting for Amazon to ban me from ordering any more shoes). So, it looks like I’ll be bringing my old standby Croc sandals, which are practically disintegrating, and they’ve since discontinued that style (and other styles I tried just aren’t as comfortable). But they’ve got at least one more trip in them. As for future trips, well, the search continues.

Am I the only one that has shoe woes like this? It’s borderline ridiculous. If anyone else has problematic feet like mine and has any suggestions for cushiony shoes that can withstand that much walking without being horribly ugly… well, I’m all ears.

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