Jakob's Bowl

Strange (Citrus) Fruit 2011

I hadn't intended to collect citrus oddities on my quick trip to San Francisco last weekend. I was perfectly content with the deliciously ripe, freshly picked Page Mandarins (aka, Page Tangelo) (small, round, and deep orange in the right image) I found at the Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market on Saturday. But then the young woman in the booth offered us a taste of a Tahitian variety of Pummelo (big and pale green in the right image). After that it was hard to stop...who could resist a Buddha's Hand citrus or an Indio Mandarinquat (both in the right image). Later that weekend, I stumbled upon some Palestine Sweet Limes and Cocktail Pummelo (aka, Cocktail Grapefruit) at the BiRite Market on 18th. More info and my tasting impressions on these oddities will follow shortly.

The Winner: One Small Austrian With Big Flavors

Just as I feared when I made the purchase the bottle of 2009 Vigneto Reiné Mataòssu (Lumassina) from Punta Crena was not showing nearly as well as the two bottles of 2008 I had sipped this past spring. I am hoping that it was a combination of the wine's relative youth and the recent ocean voyage that resulted in the disappointing tasting - oh, for just one more bottle of 2008. The bottom line is that the 2007 Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel Höh bested the 2009 Vigneto Reiné Mataòssu hands down late last week.

Here is what I was expecting based on my tasting of several bottles of the 2008 vintage last spring:

Straw colored with a definite greenish cast, the nose is loaded with yellow fruit with notes of flowers and clover honey. This is definitely a medium weight wine with an unusual structure that starts off with a yellow fruit richness compatible with its weight, but then moves into major amounts of citrus, from lemon to lemon peel, and then to grapefruit peel with the richness still at the core. Even with all of this citrus the Punta Cerna Mataòssu is about as far removed as you can get from those light-bodied wines that are all acid and slate. Subsequent sips revealed the long, long finish with pleasant notes of sea salt and citrus peel that seemed to linger on the tongue forever. - a different type of 'richness' indeed.

The nose on the 2009 was very, very shy, and even before I consulted my earlier notes, I didn't take this as a good sign. I opened and poured both the well-chilled wines at roughly the same time, so I let the glasses sit covered, at room temperature for about 40 minutes before approaching the Punta Crena again, and it was still shy. At best that evening and the next I got a modicum of citrus on the nose, and a hint of minerals, but little else - no honey or flowers. It was crisp and citrusy - mainly lemon - with grapefruit peel and slate at the core on the palate. The core of yellow fruit richness was not present as it was in the 2008, and this version struggled to reach middle weight and had a very short finish sans salt. It was more like the typical Ligurian indigenous whites, one dimensional citrus bombs. I will give it another chance later in the year with the hopes of it capturing even a fraction of the delight I received in the 2008.

Even in its well chilled state, one whiff of the Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel Höh 2007 triggered the memory of the body and complex palate from two previous bottles and suggested it was going to blow away the Punta Crena 2009...

Tasteless Noodling

One of the culinary pleasures during the formative and young adult years of my life was the frequent consumption of 'egg' noodles, mainly in soups, but also in dishes like Beef Stroganoff. I guess 'egg' noodles has always been a slight misnomer since it is the addition of egg yolks that gives flour and water noodles their yellow color, extra richness and superior mouth feel Back then it was easy to find homemade versions, but even the commercial versions had flavor that kept me coming back for more...and more. During most of the last two decades, I've had less opportunity and desire for these Eastern and Central European peasant pastas, so I haven't paid much attention to their genesis, that is, until I started relying stock made from real ingredients.

Over the last six months or so, I've become dissatisfied with even the imported versions - you know the 'authentic' ones! The packaging usually highlights the high number of egg yolks used as well the pristine nature of the flour and water. Of course, all of this comes with a high price tag. Most have disappointed, some severely so - it always seems that old yolky/eggy flavor is nowhere to be found. I've even gone to trawling supermarkets and ethnic groceries for kosher and 'old fashion' versions, with mainly the same results, and a lot more 'additives.' After being disappointed once again last evening, this time by a version from Hungary, the realization finally hit me...if commercially processed stock has no flavor because industrial chickens are now virtually flavorless, why should I expect commercially/industrially produced egg noodles to have any 'egg' flavor since industrially produced eggs are virtually flavorless!!! I guess this means it's time to start making my own...oh, bother.