Ingredient wise, it all boils down to the country of origin. Fish sauce is a principal cooking ingredient for curries, sauces, pastes and condiments in Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, and several other Southeast Asian countries.  It always includes some type of fermented fish, but the type of fish varies, as well as the ingredients and spices added to it. In general, most fish sauces are made of three simple ingredients:  fish, water, and salt.   Anchovies are the most common fish used in fish sauce.

Now we’re going to get Alton Brown style geeky with you.  Fish sauce, as well as aged cheeses and meats contain glutamates, the salts of the amino acid glutamic acid.  Glutamates are flavor enhancers, and are the essential component of the hard to describe savory flavor known as Umami.  So there is a scientific reason why fish sauce tastes good!

So, what brand of fish sauce is best? Of course that all depends on your personal tastes. Chef Ming Tsai recommends the Three Crabs brand, and Chowhounders here discuss several favorites, including:  Golden Boy and Tra Chang from Thailand, and Colatura di Alici from the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

Does it go bad? Listen, everything goes bad eventually, everything!  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Watch this video from Chow featuring Chef and Asian food expert Corinne Trang as she explains when it’s time to toss the sauce.

• Mango trees need a tropical, frost free environment to thrive.  Here in the US most of our mangos come from California, Florida, and Hawaii, and are of the Keitt variety, which remains green even when ripe.  There are 5 other main varieties, that typically come from Central and South America.
• A ripe mango is slightly soft to the touch, similar to a ripe peach.  You can purchase firmer, unripe mangos, but store them at room temperature for a few days until ripe, or put them in a paper bag to hasten the ripening.  Only refrigerate ripe mangos.
• Don’t discrimate by color!  Some mangos are green, some yellow, and some have a blush hue depending on variety.  Use the above tip to determine ripeness, regardless of color.
• There are several ways to cut a mango, and the National Mango Board has some great cutting tips including a video here.

Chef Merrick Schoenfeld

On to the recipes! First up, Chef Merrick Schoenfeld. Merrick is a personal friend and an insanely talented chef.  In the US, he has worked for several celebrity musicians such as Beyonce, Morrissey, and Eddie Vedder.  Currently he is the executive chef of Pura Suerte on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, a 40 acre organic farm with community garden and educational center, bamboo cabins, and restaurant.  He has authored the cookbook Jungle Fusion, simple yet exotic recipes featuring fresh tropical fruits and vegetables.  Here is favorite mango delight!

Caramelized Mango Pie

1 large flaky pie shell, cooked until golden, allow to cool
4 cups ripe, but not over ripe mangos, cut into med. sized cubes
1 vanilla bean, split, remove and reserve the seeds
4-5 T. water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups sweet whipped cream

Making sure the mangos are free of excess water, put them in a bowl with the vanilla seeds and using a large spoon carefully coat the mangos with the vanilla. Set aside. Place the water and sugar and the cinnamon stick in a large soup pot. Bring to boil and watch as liquid caramelized after a few minutes. This is kind of tricky and you can’t waste any time, but you must pour the mangos into the sugar mixture as soon as it becomes caramel in color. Stir well with a spoon and coat all the mangos. Immediately remove from heat and put the mangos onto a sheet pan to cool. They should not be cooked from the heat of the pan. You want them still fresh and firm. You are just looking to coat them in stringy, crunchy caramelized sugar.
Place the sheet pan of mangos into the refrigerator to cool.
When they are cold, fill your pie crust with the caramelized mangos including any liquid, remove the cinnamon stick. Allow the mangos to rest in the shell for a 1/2 hour and then top with cold sweet whipped cream and serve.

Chef Becky Selengut

Becky Selengut is a Seattle private chef, author, instructor, and blogger of Chef Reinvented.   She offered her recipe for Mango “Potluck Crack”, how could we refuse that?!   This spicy sweet and sour mango salad turned her friends into addicts!

Mango Salad With Tofu, Herbs And Sweet Chile Sauce

1 cup Coconut, Unsweetened, Flaked — reserve small amount for garnish
1 pound Tofu, Baked, cut into small cubes
1 Mango — peeled, cut into small dice (can use an under ripe or ripe mango)
½ cup Basil — rough chopped
1 tbsp Mint — rough chopped
½ cup Cilantro — rough chopped
½ cup Peanuts, Roasted, Salted — chopped
1 cup Cucumber — medium diced
1 Lime — zested, plus juice
1 cup Thai sweet chile sauce
Lettuce cups, Rice crackers or Shrimp Chips — to serve salad on

In a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast coconut until lightly brown. In a large bowl, add tofu, mango, herbs, peanuts, toasted coconut, cucumber, lime zest and juice and 1/2 C sweet chile sauce. Toss tofu into bowl and mix everything together well. Taste and add salt if needed. Add more sweet chile sauce to your liking. Garnish with coconut flakes. Serve with lettuce cups, rice crackers, or shrimp chips.

Chef Christoper Cina

Denver chef Christopher Cina joined in as well, sharing a Cuban Mango Habanero Mojo recipe.  He told us “A mojo is a Cuban sauce/marinade consisting primarily of citrus, usually sour orange and garlic with the addition of many different types of seasonings and spices. Use for marinating pork, chicken and seafood and finishing as a sauce. It is also traditionally served over potatoes as a condiment. This version is a little sweeter and a little spicier. It works great for grilled chicken and fish and roast pork, and can also be used as a dip for breads, especially a good chewy sourdough.” Thank you chef Christopher!

Mango Habanero Mojo

1# mangos (approximately3 each) peeled and deseeded
2 oz whole garlic cloves
½ habanero, you can use more if your brave
¾ cup sour orange juice ( you can substitute ½ cup orange juice and ¼ cup lime huice)
1 ½ tspn. Ground cumin seed, toasted
4 oz. champagne vinegar
4 oz. extra virgin olive oil
1 tspn kosher salt

1. Combine all in a blender except for the oil and salt and puree until smooth.
2. While the blender is spinning on low speed, slowly add the olive oil until fully incorporated.
3. Add the salt
4. Adjust seasonings as you need.

Chef Neal Foley

And last but not least is Chef Neal Foley, aka @podchef, the hardest working chef farmer and sustainability advocate in show business!

Neal is the host of the podcast and youtube channel “Gastrocast” a cooking show about food, farming, and the politics of what we eat.  Burly as he sounds, he actually makes cookies!  Here is his recipe for White Chocolate Macadamia Mango Cookies, gracias amigo.

Mangoed out yet?  Here are more of our favorite chef recipes featuring mangos, enjoy!

• Silken Tofu Mango Almond Pecan Walnut Parfait from Chef Yolanda Hawthorne of the Sports Club in DC
• Shrimp with Mango Sauce from Chef Arlene Weston of Maroons in NYC
• Chef John from Food Wishes goes Thai!  A Mango Dessert with Coconut Sticky Rice
• Trout with Mango Salsa from Chef Tory McPhail of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans
• Cheese Stuffed Poblano’s in a Tomato Mango Sauce , a family recipe from the late Chef Juan Diego Michel
• Cat Cora’s Spicy Chicken and Mango Stir Fry
• Mayan Papaya and Mango Smoothie from Chef Josu Cime of the Hacienda Chichen Resort
• Top Chef Master Michael Chiarello’s Mango Margaritas ,Grilled Mangos with Herbs, and Mango Fondue
• Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s Asian Seafood Stew with Mangos and Ginger
• Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Lime Scented Poppy Seed Rice Pudding with Mango

Win 2 boxes of delicious mangos, by entering the Mango Leftover Recipe Challenge here.

“Beef in Argentina is like wine in France,” he explains, “the style of butchering is distinctive, and the trade is highly respected.”  Working long hours as a student making chorizo and matambres (latin stuffed meats), Victor absorbed all that he could about beef culture, and then went on to culinary school.  Since then, he has been a chef at the 3 star Michelin restaurant Arpège, and Chef de Cuisine at Ceiba restaurant, and now is involved in his own ventures.

Join Chef Victor Albisu as he celebrates beef, and explains the basics, in these two videos. Cheers!

Ming discusses the typical way that soy sauce is produced, contrasts the differences between Chinese and Japanese soy sauces, as well as different textures and flavors of light and dark varieties.  He also states to use caution when purchasing Tamari, which is marketed as a wheat free soy sauce, but is not always wheat free.  Always read the labels!

View the quicktime movie here.

From the fields of Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Iran, saffron in history is know for it’s medicinal healing powers, as a medium and paint dye for artist’s paintings, as a makeup for Cleopatra, and ancient fragrant perfume. Alexander the Great was known to have used the magical spice to heal his troops battle wounds. Saffron has even provoked a 14 week long war in the 1300′s, provoked by a theft of a large shipment of the precious spice en route from Rhodes (Greece) to Northern Europe.

Saffron, continued to be cherished and coveted herb in the culinary world today, is used in cooking a multitude of recipes, from rice, paella, soups tea, and pastries, . The flavor? Described as haylike and slightly bitter, many culinary experts and chefs are at a loss for words when pressed to describe it. The reddish gold threads may be used in their entirety as threads, or ground at home, or bought as a powder. There are known stories of adulterated, unpure saffron on the market, both it thread and in powder form, so it is strongly advised to buy from a reputable source.

Watch the video as Margaret Rohmeder, a Swiss saffron expert, discusses the flower and the harvest.

Here are a few chef recipes featuring saffron to inspire you:

Dungeness Crab Cake with Saffron Aioli from SF chef Marc Dommen

Saffron Risotto from chef Anna Venturi

Saffron Shrimp-Leek Soup from chefs Marcel Biró and Shannon Kring Biró

Saffron Lasagnetta with Lobster Sauce from chef Mark Militello

If you have any favorite saffron recipes to share, please let us know in the comments below.

If Asiago had human personality traits, I would call it vibrant, outgoing, multifaceted, and cheerful, strong, and sincere. If you don’t know Asiago personally, consider befriending it, you may just fall in love.

Asiago is officially known and certified as Asiago D.O.P, which stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta, in english, Protected Designation of Origin. By European law, the certified cheese is only produced in specific areas of Italy, which are the provinces of Trento and Vicenza, and the town of Asiago. Asiago is made with cow’s milk, and raw unpasteurized milk is typically preferred among cheese enthusiasts, as it tends to have a deeper, more complex flavor. Asiago is know as a mountain cheese, (as are Emmentaler and Gruyere), and the high alpine meadows upon which the milk cows graze contain specific grasses, plants, and flowers, all which contribute to the distinct flavor of certified Asiago cheese.

Asiago has two main varieties, fresh and ripened. The Asiago “Pressato” is the fresh variety, is made with whole milk, and aged for 20-40 days. Pressato has a softer, sweeter, nuttier taste than its older relative, “d’Allevo”. The more mature, ripened Asiago d’Allevo is produced with skim milk, and aged for up to two years. Asiago d’Allevo is firmer and slightly granular in texture, and has a stronger, more acidic, savory flavor.

When purchasing Asiago, look for the D.O.P designation, and choose cheese that is amber rather than brown in color. The presence of small holes is an indicator of a top quality Asiago.

In the following film clip, Lou DiPalo of DiPalo Selects, an online supplier of Italian specialty foods, visits master cheesemakers in the town of Asiago Italy, and they discuss the qualities of the superior DOP cheeses, and observe the making of Asiago Pressato. Give it a view!

We are thrilled to honor the delicious truffle in our first ingredient spotlight post.

Known as “the diamond of the kitchen”, the truffle is a highly coveted and sought after gem. They are a subterranean fungi known as a tuber. Because they are difficult to cultivate and are found underground, they are often hunted for with specially trained dogs, and occasionally female pigs. The scent of the truffle has is know to have a compound that is similar to the male pig pheromone’s, hence the female pig attraction. Because pigs tend to eat the truffles, the dogs are a more favored choice.

The highly prized nature of the truffle and labor intensive hunting has driven truffle prices into the sky. The most expensive known truffle sale to date has been the sale of 3.3 lb white truffle found near Pisa in Tuscany, Italy, which sold at auction to a Macau casino owner for $330,000. Another impressive sale involved a 2lb and 10oz Italian white alba truffle, which sold for 95,000 Euros (approximately $140,000) in 2005.

In this video, Australian celebrity chef Benjamin Christie hunts for black truffles with dogs at a truffle farm outside of Camberra, and they find a few diamonds!

Visit Chef Benjamin and watch more of his videos here.

Looking for recipes including truffles or truffle oil? Here are several:

Truffled Egg Toast with Fontina Cheese from Inoteca restaurant in NYC
Truffled Macaroni and Cheese from NYC Chef Patrick Vaccariello
The World’s Most Expensive Grilled Cheese from Gilt Restaurant in the Palace Hotel NYC