Sial Canada 2019 - Food innovation

SIAL CANADA 2019

https://sialcanada.com/en/article/sial-toronto-kick-off-2019-edition/

I had the privilege of attending this year's Sial Canada Show at the Enercare Centre in Toronto.  I attended the 3 day Food Industry trade show on May 2nd, 2019.  Sorry for taking so long to get to this post but there was so much there that I took loads of pics and have lots to write about here.

Samples,  there are so many samples that I have to strategically choose what I want to try because I can't possibly try it all.  I learned after the 1st year when I stuffed my face on the massive quantities of cheese available from mostly the Quebec region and after the cheese indulgence I had no room to try anything else.  So now I try and look for things I haven't tried before or things I can't resist.  The 2 items above fall into the things I couldn't resist category.  The spinach Spanokopita were so light and flaky if there weren't a thousand other things to try I would have ate a whole lot more of the.  The arancini on the right were gooey cheesy rice goodness.  These 2 things are the kind of things I would buy myself to keep in my freezer for guests and for myself for time saving snacks.  Both Spanokopita and Arancini are labour and time intensive and these were as good as homemade.

And here's Chuck...... Chuck Hughes is now a Brand.  He has a new line of products like Antipasto's, oils,  and a few other products.  I have tried the oil before and it's great, it's from Greece I believe.  I tried the antipasto at the show before having a great chat with Chuck about his new APTN show about Indigenous cooking traditions.  Looking forward to seeing that soon.

After chatting with Chuck we went over to the Chef Demo stage where we sat through 3 demos which familiar Chefs like Chuck who was with his sidekick Tracy Winkworth who does most of the prep work while Chuck does his stand up routine in front of her then he adds the finishing touches and everyone claps.  Yes Chuck is the fun but Tracy brings the food.

Brad Long is the owner of Cafe Belong at the Brickworks and he has also spent many years cooking for Elite Chefs for MLSE organization.  Now he has a new book about butter so of course he was making a dish that featured butter so we caught most of the demo and my friend Jenny was chatting up the woman next to her and it turns out she was the maker of the butter that was featured by Brad.  After the demo she gave my friend, myself and our other blogger friend Carol some of her Thornloe butter.  We were all very excited about that because it's great butter and really expensive too.

It was also good to see Emily Richards who made an Onion soup and a crostini dish.

The unique thing about this show is the Sial Innovation Award for the best new products.  One of the ones that I loved was the ICE coffee which won one of the awards.  I also took home a container of the tofu spread.  It does not taste like tofu.  I didn't try all of the Innovation Award nominees,  just too many things but I tried a bunch of them.  The other interesting one was the Yummy doh.  Pre mixed cookie dough. 

I also enjoyed this Pear hazelnut spread,  definitely an elevated dessert spread. I think I remember them saying they were from Quebec as well.

I didn't try this but this Cauliflower quick meal looked kind of interesting.

I tried this Iceberg water.  I admit that packaging gets my attention and I liked the bottle and of course the Water was very good too.

There was LOTS of meats this year,  With Keto going strong Meat is back.  There were lots of cured hams,  massive steaks and more.

I also had to stop and take a photo of this guy from Bad Dad Tea.  He gave me a nice little sample pack and I told him I loved the branding.  It stands out from most of the tea brands.

I don't know what this thing is called but it was pan fried kind of like shreds of phyllo with pistacio's on top.  I think it's a Persian dish kind of like a Baklava type of thing.  Because I was in a hurry I just blew by as much as I could and didn't take the time to find out more about it unfortunately.

Chef Stefano Failto also entered the product market with his line of sauces.  I wanted to try these but by this time I just didn't have time to wait for a sample and was really full but I hope to get a chance to try these in the stores soon.

The one product that had myself and fellow blogger Carol Nelson Brown stop dead in our tracks were these flavour spheres.  The grapefruit one on the left was a game changer.  I took home a honey one.  These things have the texture of fish roe and just burst with fruit flavour or honey when they hit your tongue.  This would make your appetizers literally POP.

I missed so much because I was only able to go to 1 day of the 3 day massive show and would have loved to have more time to explore more.  I found out later that my friend Vicky was representing another Sial Innovation product the UnBun.  I passed the booth but didn't see her and didn't stop to check it out because it was the end of the show.

You really have to have time and a strategy at this show.  If you are in the food industry you focus on making connections and sales.  For myself and my blogger friends we try and see as much new food and chef demos as we can.   It's also great to run into people we know at the show after going a few times you become familiar with some of the people who do the show often.

It's not open to the public but I hope that I gave you a peek at what's coming to specialty food stores, grocery stores and restaurants in the future.  I hope to have more time next time to showcase a lot more products.

If you are a Food Industry Professional and would like to find out more about the show or would like to find out more about the products check out the website for more information:

https://sialcanada.com/en/article/sial-toronto-kick-off-2019-edition/

Food and Religion

As I write this post it is Easter Sunday and Passover is just after the 2 first nights of Seders..  For me it's a quiet day as I do not have any family plans or any other commitments today.  I have been thinking about this post for a long time and wanted to reflect on a few thoughts about food and religion and the traditions that are carried over for generations.

As I write this it is also the weekend of Suicide bombers in Sri Lanka who in a co-ordinated attack killed over 200 people and injured over 350 people at Churches and Hotels at what is the most sacred and busiest time of year.  Why?  Well because of Religion unfortunately.  I am not a religious person because I believe that religions mostly divide people in to groups that separate based on differences in religion.   But let's talk about the food connection.

Usually Food is the common thread that brings people together except for the time of religious holidays.  This year Passover and Easter fell at the time time on the calendar so many people are observing their holiday traditions which include feasts.  But that's the similarity of the two events,  there are other similarities which I will mention but because of religion the Jews follow the practices of 2 nights of Seders where they do not cook with wheat and there are other food rules that Orthodox Jews follow very strictly.  Whereas on Good Friday, Christians eat Fish and I would say the ones that don't cook will have Fish and Chips at a local restaurant.  The fish is battered with flour.  Jews are still eating fish at their Seders but it is Gefilte fish which is white fish that is made into a loaf and can be either sweet or savoury.  I prefer the sweet one.

The other similar food is the humble egg.  Jews use eggs as part of the Seder as a cleansing prayer.  Christians decorate eggs with dye's and somehow the eggs have evolved into a commercial venture turning into chocolate easter egg hunts.  I am not sure what Chocolate Easter eggs have to do with religious beliefs but I suppose it's the same thing with what Halloween has turned in to.

Let's talk potatoes.  This is the food everyone agrees on.  Whether it's fries or roasted potatoes it's pretty safe for any religion.  I guess that's why French Fries are eaten more than any other vegetable.

And the meat.  It is common to have Beef Brisket at a Seder dinner and sometimes Kosher chicken too.  For Christians they have Ham and probably Turkey.

I made chopped liver with caramelized onions to spread on my matzohs but I don't think there is an equivalent for Easter dinners.

I also made Charoset which is a mixture of nuts, dates, honey and apples that is used on the Seder plate.  I like to have it for breakfast on matzoh.  The seder plate has Charoset,  Bitter herbs (horseradish), lamb shank,  parsley,  an egg and lettuce.  They all have symbolic meanings and the bitter herb is supposed to address our ego's and perseverance over difficulties.

Desserts,  here is where the common thread is Chocolate.  Everyone can eat chocolate unless they are diabetic.  The only thing is that during Passover you can't use flour to make baked goods.  The new trend is to make a chocolate bark using Matzohs and it's called Matzoh crack.  It's not a thing with my family but younger people love it.

This year I made a religious free Flourless Chocolate Cake.  It's a pretty simple recipe that is almost like making a chocolate mousse but it's a cake.  You eliminate the flour by using eggs.  Anyone can eat this cake and it's delicious.  I also made Coconut Macaroons which are another thing that anyone can eat but not so popular with as many people.  My cake was a big hit at my families table so I am sure I will be making it again.

The Bread,  hot cross buns are a sign of the cross and Matzoh's are significant because the Israelites had to leave in a hurry and didn't have time for the bread to rise.  They are both bread but at this time of year you eat one or the other.   Last year I made Hot Cross Buns just to see what they were like to make them.  They were delicious and I wish that we could eat them whenever we want to.

What has me really puzzled is why we follow all of these religious food rules decades after our ancestors who followed these rules because of their circumstances and religious beliefs.

We now live in a modern society where we can get any kind of food from anywhere but we still follow these food rules.  My cousin told me that there was a certain Matzoh that cost $40 a box.  Why does it cost so much and why do people buy it?

Personally my thoughts are the steadfast religious beliefs that separate religious families into separate groups is not good for the World we live in at this time.  We are a global generation and people can spread hate throughout the world with one tweet and it could start with a family going to a Church and planning to have a large feast afterward.

What can we do to stop the hate between religions?  Will it take the abandonment of the strict traditions and practices for things to change?  When we see others as different we do not see the similarities as in the food I have mentioned.   We are different but ultimately we all want the same things,  we want health, happiness, love, respect and basic necessities of life. 

Maybe it's time to welcome everyone to the table and see how similar we all are and when people see other's as family and not the enemy maybe the suicide bombers will change their beliefs and follow a different path to heaven.

*Most of the recipes can be found on my previous blog posts about Passover and Easter.

Green Living Show 2019

#GLS19

@greenlivingshow

March 22-24

Metro Convention Centre Toronto

I have been going to the Green Living Show for a few years now and I am always on the look out for new and smart products that will sustain us in the future.

This show really is the one show that is for everyone.  It covers products for moms, kids, families, people with busy lives and busy business people.

The show is very interactive and not only is it about purchasing sustainable products it's about learning about ways you can make choices in your every day life that will have a global impact.

This year there was a large presence of Sustainable clothing made from everything from rubber to water bottles and accessories from leaves even.

 

 There was the Eco Car of the year once again in an eye catching bright green color.

There is an age restricted Canabis section where I got a free 10 minute chair massage event.  There were lots of canabis related products including books.

The thing I am always striving for is to reduce my waste and save money so I was happy to see a store based in Scarborough with a booth at the show that you could purchase recycled jars that you could fill up with things like shampoo and dish soap and they had a bunch of other really cool products that I plan on going back to pick up today.

There are interactive booths like the Electric Car simulator to tai chi and kids play areas.

Green Peace was on hand with this thought provoking display and it's clear that a lot of booths were concerned about plastic in our Oceans.

Don't forget about the food.  That's what I was there for after all.

Besides the Local Sustainable foods that are flavours from around the world and also the attached beverage area there are also lots of products to sample and purchase.

Some things I liked included the Keto coffee and there is great vegan cheese and the La Dee Da ladies created snack products in compostable packages and great sauces.

There are loads of products in Mason Jars which I love because it goes back to the time before plastic products took over the world and our oceans.

This product got my attention because I don't think I have seen it before and because I am an Ox the label got me curious.  I tried the Strawberry Mint flavour.  It would be a fast way to make a great salad dressing for a spinach salad even though this stuff is made for cocktails it's also great for other things.

So that's my quick overview of the show.   I got a bunch of stuff like cleaning products, snacks and a bunch of other things in a swag back but I picked up these 3 things and I plan on going back today for a couple of other things like some bamboo sheets I can't stop thinking about.

Why I picked up these three things.   The Cupanion water bottle is about the size of a regular water bottle with a wide lid easy to clean and everytime you fill it up and scan a card water is provided to someone somewhere else in the world.  That's smart.   The Keto Coffee is a delicious way to get an easy and healthy coffee wherever you can boil water.  I also liked this pumpkin spread that I picked up at the Organic Garage booth, always my favourite place to stop by and get samples.  I am thinking it will make a great chicken dish or spread for bagels.

Well that's it for me... I am planning on gong back for a couple of hours today to pick up a few more things.  Hope to see you there...and look out for these things in stores soon.

www.greenlivingshow.ca