Just in from Abruzzo - a delicious sweet green tomato and vanilla compote (composta di pomodori verdi e vaniglia).

A must try with soft or aged cheeses or as a complement to all kinds of Roasts. Gourmet cuisine at its very best!

Just in from Abruzzo - a refined and deliciously sweet combination of Italian red onions and balsamic vinegar (composta di cipolle rosse con aceto balsamico).

A must try with soft or aged cheeses, cured meats, as a starter in its own right or as a complement to all kinds of Roasts. Gourmet cuisine at its very best!

Il Bianco by Borgo del Balsamico. From their acclaimed Tinello series of artisan vinegars, il bianco is a high quality, traditional white wine vinegar from Modena and Reggio Emilia. It will brighten up hundreds of dishes - see below for just a few suggestions.

How to Spot a Good Wine Vinegar

A good wine vinegar adds a special dimension to all kinds of recipes and considering it has no calories, carbs, cholesterol, fat or salt it's a must-have ingredient for modern cooking. However, if you think just how much of a bearing it can have on the final taste of a dish, it's really worth the effort to find something decent.

The problem is, just like Balsamic vinegar, there are many wine vinegars on the market and it isn't always easy to know which one to buy. A good starting point is to look for vinegars produced from classic wine grapes that have fermented naturally over time (months or even years). NB Industrial wine vinegars (the most commonly available) are "created" at very high temperatures using forced-air and the entire process is over in a single day!

IL BIANCO - Traditional Italian White Wine Vinegar

This lovely white wine vinegar is prepared following the traditional artisan truciolo method: Oak chips (trucioli) are placed in the centre of a wooden cask and the wine is added. It remains here for months as it very slowly and naturally transforms into vinegar. It is then mellowed in stainless steel tanks and acquires a perfectly balanced acidity and great depth of flavour.

Il Bianco is decisive but never aggressive, possessing great smoothness and a harmonious rounded taste.

The beautiful, unspoilt national park area of Abruzzo is famed for its vineyards and one of Italy's classic wine grape varieties, the Montepulicano. The same grape also makes an outstanding jam which in local dialect is called "Scrucchijate".

D'Alessandro Confetture have been producing quality artisan jams for over half a century.

The company was started by Orazio D'Alessandro in the 1950s and is now run by his 3 children who, like their father refuse to compromise on quality. While most producers use fruit left over from other industries to make their jams, D'Alessandro use only the best, freshly picked local fruit in this outstanding range of fruit preserves.

The fruit is picked at the perfect ripeness when the natural sugar levels are at their highest and then literally crammed into the jars. For this reason the jams are visibly denser and less transparent than most. Their full-fruit flavour and lovely consistency means they are delicious on breakfast toast, for children's snacks or home-made cakes and desserts. Try them with fresh or aged cheeses as well.

They contain no added pectin, preservatives, flavourings or colourants. Well worth trying!

This is a single varietal extra virgin olive oil made from the wonderful Coratina olive which grows around the town of Corato in Puglia. Coratina olives are most often used as part of a blend with other olive oils while 100% Coratina oils like this are amongst the most important and highly regarded in Italy.

The Coratina olive is renowned for its very high levels of polyphenols antioxidant which make it extremely healthy and very stable with extended shelf life.

The olives selected by Granoro for this Dedicato (see below for more information on the special Dedicato range of products) olive oil are from a small farm in the hills surrounding Castel del Monte, one of the most prestigious olive growing areas in the Med. They are harvested by hand and immediately pressed to ensure the lowest levels of acidity. The frantoio (olive mill) still uses a traditional granite stone for pressing - this helps to transfer all the natural taste and goodness from olive to oil.

It has a striking golden-yellow colour with distinct green hues.

The Dedicato Range by Pastificio Atillio Mastromauro - Granoro

Puglia is a region of astonishing beauty and diversity but it also enjoys another distinction which perhaps isn't so well known in the UK; its outstanding farm produce.

The remarkable quality of vegetables, olives, cereals and legumes from Puglia is the tangible end result of an extraordinary terroir and centuries of farming tradition. The Dedicato Range of products celebrates the best Puglia has to offer - genuine products that are healthy and delicious. It also aims to help maintain sustainable farming in the area.

STRAIGHT FROM THE FARM

All the produce is cultivated in limited quantities on small farms in the region using traditional methods, then expertly transformed into the final product by a small group of local artisan companies. No supermarkets or large distributers are involved in what is an intimate process of bringing the consumer much closer to the producer.

The range includes pasta from select durum wheat varieties; wonderful cherry tomatoes and olive oil from Castel del Monte; Lentils and chickpeas from Altamura and the Alta Murgia National Park. They are all ancient varieties once commonly produced in the area until large-scale farming and industrial production meant the laborious working methods and small yields were no longer sustainable. Now thanks to projects like the Dedicato line, they are now making a comeback.

All the products carry a double seal of quality as they undergo regular and scrupulous quality checks by 2 independent bodies. They also have guaranteed traceable provenance.

Il Rosso by Borgo del Balsamico. From their acclaimed Tinello series of artisan vinegars, il Rosso is a high quality, traditional red wine vinegar from Modena and Reggio Emilia. It is perfect to accompany crudités or cooked vegetables and with roasted or braised meats. See below for some other suggestions.

How to Spot a Good Wine Vinegar

A good wine vinegar will add another dimension to all kinds of recipes and considering it has no calories, carbs, cholesterol, fat or salt it's a must-have ingredient for modern cooking. However, if you think just how much of a bearing it can have on the final taste of a dish, it's really worth the effort to find something decent.

The problem is, just like Balsamic vinegar, there are many wine vinegars on the market and it isn't always easy to know which one to buy. A good starting point is to look for vinegars produced from classic wine grape that have fermented naturally over time (months or even years). NB Industrial wine vinegars (the most commonly available) are "created" at very high temperatures using forced-air and the entire process is over in a single day!

IL ROSSO - Traditional Italian Red Wine Vinegar

This fine red wine vinegar is prepared following the traditional artisan truciolo method: Oak chips (trucioli) are placed in the centre of a wooden cask and the wine is added. It remains here for months as it very slowly and naturally transforms into vinegar without losing any of the original wine bouquet.

It is then mellowed in stainless steel tanks and bottled when it has reached the perfect acidity. The result is a well-balanced vinegar with a lovely ruby red colour, a full aroma and assertive yet rounded taste.

Satin by Il Borgo del Balsamico from Reggio Emilia is the closest ingredient you will find to the much more expensive Traditional Balsamic Vinegars of Modena or Reggio Emilia. It is an exclusive limited-edition balsamic condiment produced by the Crotti family at the Borgo and is a true expression of fine gourmet cuisine at its very best.

The aptly-named Satin is, as one would expect from a quality aged balsamic vinegar, dark, dense and smooth, but what sets it apart from others is its rounded intoxicating fragrance, its perfect balance of sweetness and underlying acidity and its stunning depth of flavour. It can't simply be tasted, it must be experienced. See below for some recommending pairings.

HOW IS IT MADE?

Satin is the older brother of our best-selling Red label balsamic condiment by Borgo. It is produced in limited quantities with longer aging and represents a further refinement of the Red label.

It is made from 100% grape must (juice & pulp after pressing) of the classic Trebbiano variety from the Reggio Emilia province. The grapes are left long on the vine until they are bursting with sweetness and flavour. The must is slowly cooked and then poured into small oak casks where it remains for years to age, mellow and reduce. Over time it develops its complex, refined flavours and an extraordinary natural density.

Satin comes in an attractive bottle with special presentation box. It makes a precious gift for anyone who deserves something special, including yourself of course!

These delicious and wholesome giant lentils are part of the Dedicato range (see below for description) by Granoro.

They are from an ancient lentil variety which thrives in the fertile soils and Mediterranean sunshine of the Alta Murgia National Park in Puglia. They are large, dark green and have a delightful nutty sweetness about them, with notes of grass and woody aftertaste. They also hold their shape and firmness superbly when cooking and are perfect for Italian and North African cuisine.

Lentils are a great source of protein and fibre. They are free of fat, cholesterol and gluten and hardly have any calories!

The Dedicato Range by Pastificio Atillio Mastromauro - Granoro

Puglia is a region of astonishing beauty and diversity but it also enjoys another distinction which perhaps isn't so well known in the UK; its outstanding farm produce.

The remarkable quality of vegetables, olives, cereals and legumes from Puglia is the tangible end result of an extraordinary terroir and centuries of farming tradition. The Dedicato Range of products celebrates the best Puglia has to offer - genuine products that are healthy and delicious. It also aims to help maintain sustainable farming in the area.

STRAIGHT FROM THE FARM

All the produce is cultivated in limited quantities on small farms in the region using traditional methods, then expertly transformed into the final product by a small group of local artisan companies. No supermarkets or large distributers are involved in what is an intimate process of bringing the consumer much closer to the producer.

The range includes pasta from select durum wheat varieties; wonderful cherry tomatoes and olive oil from Castel del Monte; Lentils and chickpeas from Altamura and the Alta Murgia National Park. They are all ancient varieties once commonly produced in the area until large-scale farming and industrial production meant the laborious working methods and small yields were no longer sustainable. Now thanks to projects like the Dedicato line, they are now making a comeback.

All the products carry a double seal of quality as they undergo regular and scrupulous quality checks by 2 independent bodies. They also have guaranteed traceable provenance.

DEDICATO LENTILS FROM THE ALTA MURGIA NATIONAL PARK, ALTAMURA

These special lentils are known as Altamura or Giant lentils. They were once the most sought after and cultivated in Italy and had a huge success in the US and Canada in the 1950s. However, from the 70s with the advent of industrial production and mass commercialisation, they were gradually replaced by more profitable, lower quality lentils and their cultivation practically vanished. It is now slowly making a comeback as more discerning consumers discover its taste and nutritional value is superior to most lentils on the market today.

Another aim of the Dedicato range of products is to help preserve the biodiversity of the land and safeguard its heritage of taste and tradition. For this reason farming is strictly controlled and only small sustainable areas are cultivated naturally with low environmental impact.

Classic green lasagna (Lasagne Verdi) made from quality durum wheat and spinach. The lasagna sheets are specially rolled to give them a rough surfave which really captures and holds the sauce and then they are slowly dried to conserve all their flavour and nutritional properties. Quality pasta like this is strong and resistant and will cook perfectly al dente every time.

The classic lasagna dish is the rich and creamy Lasagna Verdi alla Bolognese,  but there are literally thousands of recipes you can try. This green spinach lasagna is a firm favourite for vegetarian lasagna but you can use it for any dish that calls for standard durum wheat lasagna. See below for a few suggestions.

Easy and quick to use, it doesn't require any pre-cooking, so just pop it in the oven and it's ready to go!

Kids love it too (don't tell them about the spinach though!).

This is a truly lovely and memorable gift.

The gift set features a special bottle of quality Limoncello from the Petrone distillery in the Bay of Naples area and 2 authentic and handmade limoncello beakers. Perfect for sipping this wonderful liqueur. Check the pictures below!

The Limoncello is full of bright citrus notes and a sparkling fresh, invigorating taste.

Award winning Baci di Dama biscuits from Pasticceria Rippa in Piemonte.

In 1952, 13 year old Sergio Rippa began working under the Maestro Confectioner who invented the now world famous Baci di Dama biscuit at his bakery in Tortona, Piemonte. In 1958, Sergio and his brother opened their own Pasticceria just 5 miles down the road in Sale.

For over half a century they have been crafting hand-made confectionery of the very highest level. A combination of the techniques learnt from the Maestro, Sergio's own creativity and uncompromising use of the finest quality ingredients, the results today are as stunning as they always have been.

Baci di Dama (Ladies' Kisses) have a crunchy almond exterior with a rich chocolate centre. Delicious with tea or coffee and as an after dinner treat with liqueur.

If you've never tried them before, we highly recommend them.