MARKET NEWS September 20, 2017 CHEESE TRENDS Gruyere Season My Personal Favorites SPECIALTY INSIGHTS FUTURAMA (pt.1) The good, the bad and the ugly of our advancement in the food and beverage industry FROM OUR CUT SHOPS Beef Market Update Strips on the decline The Big Holiday Freeze The science and value around freezing beef for the holidays Fish Market Update Canadian Short-Trip Swordfish a good buy for next 2 weeks Fresh Spotlight North Carolina Fresh Crab
BEEF MARKET NEWS 9.20.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Beef Market News MARKET UPDATE Tenderloin: Increasing Ribeye: Increasing Strips: Decreasing Ground Beef: Steady HIGHLIGHT: THE BIG HOLIDAY FREEZE The Holidays are fast approaching and beef pricing will start to reflect it. Ribeye s can run up as much as 26% between now and the end of the year. Thanks to freezer technology, we have the ability to buy extra beef when the price is low and freeze it to use later when prices go up. When done properly, frozen beef can perform as well if not better than fresh. On the next page is a fact sheet on the procedure for and science behind freezing and thawing beef. If you are looking for a consistent price in a possibly volatile market you should talk to your Account Manager about buying in and freezing enough inventory to get you through the season. Whether you want it frozen in whole primal form, or as pre-cut steaks that you can order as needed for all of your holiday parties all season long, we can help you prepare now for the one of the most successful holiday seasons you ve ever had! Beef market news provided by: Chris Casey CAB /Protein Specialist ccasey@southernfoods.com
Freezing and Thawing The Bottom Line While not a fit for every distributor and customer, freezing product can have a positive impact on your bottom line. When properly done, freezing allows you to capitalize on seasonally predictable market fluctuations, ultimately helping manage inventory and providing price stability for both you and your customer. Studies show little or no change in product quality between fresh and frozen product; however, poor practices can affect flavor, tenderness and yield, potentially negating any cost benefit and leaving customers with a bad impression. Freezing meats for storage: Beef freezes at 28 o F; however, more rapid blast freezing (10 o F or less with high velocity air flow) will better maintain product quality and palatability while minimizing purge loss. Product must be properly aged prior to freezing. Once frozen, the enzymes responsible for tenderization become permanently inactive. For best results, use tight-fitting vacuum packaging with stability at low temperatures. Thawing fundamentals: Thawing should take place at temperatures below 40 o F in order to maintain product quality and food safety. Be sure to factor thaw time when pulling product for use, as it can be significant and varies greatly depending on method (whole pallet 5-7 days, large packer box 2-4 days, small steak box 1-2 days, individual steaks 1 day). Potential Q&A: Q: How long can product be held in a frozen state? A: Under proper freezing conditions, product can perform for up to one year. Q: How much shelf life do I have once product is thawed? A: Freezing should be considered a time out on shelf life. Total shelf life should be calculated from the product s original pack date, minus the time spent in a frozen state. Q: Can water baths be used to accelerate the thawing process? A: While more labor intensive, submerging vacuum sealed subprimals or steaks in water (< 40 o F) will accelerate heat transfer in the thawing process. Q: Can I refreeze product once it has gone through a freeze/thaw cycle? A: Refreezing product is not recommended due to increased risk of off flavors and colors due to temperature stress, as well as potential food safety risk. Define your application and customer needs: Freezing whole subprimals, then thawing and shipping to customer in subprimal form Freezing whole subprimals, then thawing and portioning steaks in cut shop Portioning steaks, then freezing and shipping to customers in frozen form to thaw in back of house (relies on proper thawing methods at store level) Warner Bratzler Shear Force (kg) Over for Chart After Harvest Days of Age Questions? Contact Certified Angus Beef LLC at 330-345-2333. 2012 Certified Angus Beef LLC. All rights reserved. #6204 6/27 Item #91-818
SEAFOOD MARKET NEWS 9.20.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Seafood Market News Hurricane Irma did not help the seafood supply this week. From Florida to VA, boats are tied up due to rough weather and murky water. The inshore guys did get out this week, so we have Founder, Fresh Crab, Red and Black Drum, and Triggerfish in our local catch. We are hopeful to see Fresh Shrimp early next week once the seas finally calm down. GROUPER (Mexican) Supply is good with plenty of big fish landed from the Gulf of Mexico and the Carolinas. Pricing is down slightly from last week. ALASKAN HALIBUT Alaskan Halibut looks great and pricing remains steady. Whole fish are running 10-20lbs each and fillets are 2-4lbs each. It s a great menu option until the fishery closes in November. BRONZINI We are now offering a new cut for bronzini - a tail-on butterfly fillet: SCALLOPS Fresh North Atlantic Dry Pack Scallops look great in supply and will be a great buy for the immediate future. Expect U-10 s to soften in price and 10-20 s to remain steady. This will be a great item to have on your fall and winter menus. SWORDFISH Catches have been great for the Canadian short-trip Sword fishery lately. High fat content, tight red bloodline and lower cost make sword a great buy for the next 2 weeks. TUNA Yellowfin Fresh Tuna is looking good this week, both 2+ and 2G fish are both down in price. SALMON Canadian - Pricing is up from last week. There has been large demand on Canadian producers this week since Chile was unable to fly product into Miami (thanks Hurricane Irma!). Pricing will move downward next week as shipments into Miami increase. NC CATCH The local acatch features a mix of Flounder, Red Drum, Black Drum, Cobia, Triggerfish, and Fresh Crab. Local Spotlight: Fresh NC Crab NC catches have been looking great lately! All Pamilco Sound caught and NC picked. We offer Jumbo Lump, Lump, and Claw, all stocked in-house and fresh daily. The season will run until Thanksgiving and pricing will be steady until then. It s a great time of year to add NC crab cakes to the menu! Seafood market news provided by: Dave Forcinito Fishmonger dforcinito@southernfoods.com
ARTISANAL CHEESE TRENDS 9.20.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Artisanal Cheese Trends My Personal Favorites for GRUYERE SEASON Known by family and close friends as Michu, Michael Spycher is a Master Cheesemaker in Switzerland who lives next door to Fritzenhaus Mountain Dairy with his wife Monika and their four children. Farmers deliver fresh milk twice a day, all from within 2.5 miles of the dairy. The milk is pristine, and full of nutrients from the flowering meadows where the cows graze. Michu has built a serious reputation for making and aging Gruyère at the dairy which won the World Champion title at the World Cheese Awards in Madison, Wisconsin. All Gruyère is excellent and must be technically perfect to get the label and be sold under the name. However, Gruyere cheeses have different defining characteristics depending on where, when, and by whom it is made. You may find it very worthwhile to try this out. Coming soon, his 6- and 12-month aged Gruyere cheeses will be available from the Southern Foods Cheese Cut Shop, hand cut from whole wheels. Gruyère 6-Month (Green label) Tastes like a glass of fresh milk right from the meadow. For the next six months you can expect a clean, focused profile with a delicate nuttiness and floral notes suspended in a mouthful of fresh cream. This will give sauces a noticeable lift. Gruyère 12-Month Surchoix (Red Label) Expect a more pronounced nutty taste balanced with noticeable fruitiness for the coming months. Perfect for cheese boards, melted over soups, or with potatoes and onions. In addition to Gruyère, Michu makes a cheese called Hornbacher, named after a river which runs behind the dairy. This cheese will either make you fall in love on the spot, or it will broaden your palate and you will fill fall in love with it sooner or later. This cheese packs a savory punch. It will make you wonder how one bite of cheese has so much flavor! This is like tasting the seared edge of a steak, the skin of a buttered baked potato, and wilted greens all in one bite - the perfect pre-dinner Amuse-Bouche. Artisanal cheese trends provided by: Sasha Shreders, ACS CCP Cheesemonger sshreders@southernfoods.com
LOCAL & SPECIALTY INSIGHTS 9.20.17 Greensboro, NC 336.545.3800 www.southernfoods.com
Local & Specialty Insights FUTURAMA Our industry for hundreds, maybe thousands of years has been deep-rooted in the legacy and lessons of those before us. If you are a chef and over the age of 45 or so, the first lesson was that innovation had no place in a kitchen, stick to the rules! Hollandaise was made in a double boiler stovetop always, and all sauces came from 5 mother sauces, period, exclamation point. What was that guy s name again.escoffier? The future of food is rapidly turning away from tradition and history in every way, from the methods we use to grow and harvest food all the way to the final monetary transaction. We are moving at lightning speed in search of greater profits, consistent quality, and new ways to demonstrate what historically was the simplest of concepts, the dinner table. Over the next several weeks I will explore the good, the bad and the ugly of our thirst for advancement in the food and beverage industry. To be honest, I am equally as excited and inspired as I am numb with fear. Pt. 1 FARMING Without question there has long been a need for advancement in the basic principles of food production. Within the last decade we have experienced a great resurgence of classic food and farming traditions with what some call the farm-to-fork movement and it felt good. Customers loved it! Stories of the trials and tribulations of chef and farmer echoed table-side and bless that chefs heart for caring enough to use local ingredients was the resounding response. But this may have been less impactful for the local farmer than you might think, as many of them have not exactly benefited from the growing number of chef s who embrace the romance of local only to be pulled back to commercially grown fruits and vegetables because of cost. These cost issues are a problem for the entire supply chain, so many are turning to technology. Hydroponic vertical farms are popping up everywhere sans the farmer. Read that part again. sans the farmer. Close your eyes and imagine this a thousand times over: Beneath one of NYC s best restaurants, down a hallway you could find only if you knew where to go, rows of heady, hydroponic herbs, sticky with residue, grow under LED lights. Vertical LED hydroponic farms are in many ways the new age Meez in hundreds of restaurants across the nation. Just ask Tom Colicchio, an investor in Bowery Farming, a sevenmonth-old hydroponic vertical farm. The chef calls the company the new paradigm for farming, one that he s really excited about.
Local & Specialty Insights US-based indoor agriculture group, AeroFarms. Photo courtesy of www.agfundernews.com Or ask Claus Meyer, an adviser at Brooklyn Navy Yard-based start-up Farmshelf, or Alex Guarnaschelli, who sources from newcomer Farm.One which has spaces at the Institute of Culinary Education and underneath the restaurant Atera in Tribeca. Each one of these chefs is a champion for the undeniable advantage of indoor farming: fresh, unique and local produce available all year round. Wait a sec. There may be a word here that doesn t fit..local? Local as implied here refers to not only a sense of location, but a sense of belonging exclusively to that location. My question is this, if you buy the trays, the seeds, the fertilizer and the lights from varying parts of the planet and grow food in a dark back room, is it truly local? Some may argue that all modern day farming methods rely on information and products from around the world. They are right, kinda. What the future of farming is missing to me, is the crooked smile, the soil under the fingernails, the Sunday dinner table and the surprise of harvest. On the future of farming, I have mixed feelings. I love innovation (I make hollandaise in a blender now) but this just feels a little empty to me. Cooking a meal is a partnership, not just between FOH and BOH but as a bridge between the farmer and the diner. Walking over to snip some bronze fennel tops off of a tray under blue lights just doesn t feel the same as tasting sweet potatoes that have been ditch cured with local hay in a hand dug trench. Local & specialty updates provided by: Bobby Zimmerman Southern Foods Brand Manager bzimmerman@southernfoods.com