Zingerman's Fall Buyer Guide Catalog 2023

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POLARIZING

Why do we love some foods and detest others?

By Val Neff-Rasmussen

What do you think of when I mention vanilla? How about when I mention coconut? Blue cheese? Anchovies?

My guess is you feel at least mildly positive about vanilla. But I bet you had a stronger reaction to at least one of the other foods. Maybe it’s a positive reaction (my husband can’t get enough blue cheese). Or maybe it’s negative (I avoid coconut at all costs). Why are some foods so polarizing?

Partly it’s genetic.

Humans have an innate preference for foods that are sweet over foods that are sour and bitter. Back when we were hunters and gatherers, sweet foods were a rare, high nutrient and high calorie find. On the flip side, sour or bitter flavors in wild plants can may indicate the presence of a poison.

There are also genetic differences among people. Cilantro is a famous example. There’s a particular gene that a small percentage of people have that makes cilantro unpalatable, making it taste soapy. But for others, cilantro is a beloved ingredient in everything from salsa to chana masala to zhug, the Yemeni hot sauce (read more about it on the facing page).

Partly it’s cultural.

We often have strong preferences for the foods we grew up with over unfamiliar foods. Fermented foods often are the most polarizing ones. For many folks who grew up in places without cheese, like much of East Asia, even a cheese as mild as mozzarella can be deeply off-putting. Conversely, many westerners don’t immediately love kimchi if they didn’t grow upwith it.

That said, just because you didn’t grow up loving a particular food doesn’t mean you couldn’t learn to love it. While someone with the soapy cilantro gene may never enjoy cilantro in their guacamole, many food preferences can change over time. Studies show that when people try a food they don’t know or they don’t like a dozen or so times, they often grow to like the food more.

Sometimes it’s just the food.

I used to hate anchovies. I’d only ever had cheap ones. They were always too mealy, too sharp, too fishy. Then I tried anchovies from Rizzoli (find them at zingermans.com). Suddenly I found a whole new world of these tiny fish: they were plump, and silky, and yes, still salty, but balanced with a meaty sweetness of the sea.

Sometimes the food changes. Brussels sprouts are a good example. In recent decades, new, less bitter varietals of Brussels sprouts have been developed. If you grew up detesting Brussels sprouts, you might want to give them another shot. No promises you’ll love them, though!

Val Neff-Rasmussen is a writer and food finder at Zingerman’s Mail Order. Her favorite breakfast is a couple of pieces of hot buttered toast. You can reach her to share your favorite toast ideas—or for any other reason—at vneff-rasmussen@zingermans.com.

Polarizing Pop-up

For a few weeks only, we’ve jam-packed our shelves with the foods we feel most passionately about: the ones we absolutely love or we just can’t stand. From cilantro to licorice to ancho vies to raisins to blue cheese, this collection of seriously delicious foods will be a godsend to the fanatics who can’t get enough of ‘em, and just might win the hearts of a few diehard haters. Quantities are limited and won’t last long.

Blue Cheese Opinion Changer

Bayley Hazen Blue Cheese

Bayley Hazen is a stellar farmstead blue cheese made on Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, Vermont that reminds me a bit of Stilton. The texture is something else. Maker Andy Kehler calls it “a cross between butter and chocolate,” and I don’t think he’s stretching it. Frankly, for blue cheese lovers, it’s irresistible. For blue cheese haters, it’s approachable enough that it just might win them over.

C-BYZ by the pound $40

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY WARM WEATHER CARE

The Real Umami Deal

White Truffle Salt

FALL ONLY

Truffles—peanut to fist-sized mushrooms that look something like knobbly potatoes—make for a mystical, magical flavor that for many is irresistable—and for others is unpalatable. Many of us have been turned off after experiencing bad, chemically derived imitations. Real truffles used sparingly can contribute an enormous amount of umami and complexity to a dish. Here, white winter truffles, picked in the late autumn and early winter, are dried and mixed with salt. As they spend time in the salt they infuse it with their rich, earthy aroma. Use just a little bit in dishes, adding it right before serving. Taken in small amounts, the truffle salt adds a great deal of depth and flavor to dishes.

P-TFS 3.5 oz jar $30

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Cilantro Showstopper

Zhug Cilantro Sauce

It seems like there’s no middle ground with cilantro: folks tend to adore it or abhor it. For my part, I can’t get enough. Zhug (pronounced kind of like “za-howk”) is a Yemenite spicy green sauce that showcases cilantro at its best. Bright, citrusy cilantro is combined with parsley, jalapeno, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil along with cardamom, cumin, and black pepper. It’s super aromatic and tastes fresh and zippy with lingering heat. For cilantro lovers, Zhug is a sure winner for falafel, chicken shawarma, or grilled lamb, but don’t stop there. Add a spoonful to marinades, drizzle it on pizza, or mix with labneh or yogurt for a dip.

P-ZUG 6 oz jar $16

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Two Much Detested Ingredients = One Great Treat

Omnom White Chocolate & Licorice Malt Balls

If anyone can make a stellar treat that showcases the best of both of these polarizing flavors, it’s Icelandic bean-to-bar chocolate company Omnom. Across Nordic countries, licorice (lakkrís in Icelandic) is ubiquitous and often paired with salt or chocolate to tame its strong bittersweet flavor. Omnom infuses both licorice powder and sea salt into the white chocolate coating of their crunchy malt balls. The creamy, sweet white chocolate doesn’t overpower the taste of licorice, but it does round out the harsh edges to more of a light, herbal anise. Gentle, accessibly, and undeniably delicious, they’re guaranteed to sway even the toughest licorice and white chocolate skeptics.

P-LWM 180 g bag $12

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Discover more polarizing foods in the Polarizing Pop Up Shop at zingermans.com

Boquerones White Anchovies

In most social circles it’s rarely appropriate to admit that you love anchovies. But when you hook up with great anchovies like these they can quickly become one of the most enjoyable parts of your eating routine. In Spain, where tinned fish is a national treasure, boquerones are beloved. Sometimes called white anchovies, these little fish are freshly filleted then marinated in vinegar, herbs and spices. Unlike salt-cured anchovies or the oil packed variety which can intensify the salty/briney notes of the fish, boquerones are tender, mild, even a bit delicate with a bright flavor. Store in the fridge and serve atop crusty bread with a drizzle of olive oil and a spritz of lemon.

P-BOQ 120 g tray $19

Anchovy’s Pickled Cousin Decidedly Not Awful Offal

Usinger’s Smoked Liverwurst

They’re Not Alive, OK?

Tinned Smoked Oysters

When it comes to raw oysters on the half shell, folks generally can’t wait to slurp them down, or can’t imagine wanting to eat them. These tinned smoked oysters from Willapa Bay in Washington State are a more approachable entry point for the oyster curious, and a treat for the oyster lover. Just after harvesting, the oysters are steamed, shucked and brined in small batches, then delicately smoked over maple wood. Amazingly, you can taste the briny oyster even with the infusion of smoke.

P-ESO 3 oz tin $20

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Liverwurst is one of those foods that too many people shy away from. Maybe it’s because when you put the words “liver” and “wurst” next to each other, the message comes across as unappetizing. Maybe people are just afraid of liver. Whatever the reason, I want to stand up and shout that this too often overlooked food is very good and deserves recognition, not to mention a place on your table. Usinger’s has been making sausages in Milwaukee since 1880. Their smoked liverwurst (braunschweiger) is exceptionally meaty and smooth. Slice and serve between two slices of Zingerman’s Jewish Rye (find it on page 26) for a great mid-week sandwich snack.

M-LWS 10-12 oz $12

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY WARM WEATHER CARE

GUARANTEE If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Pop-up

Raising My Raisin Expectations

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

I admit, I’m not always the biggest fan of raisins in baked goods. But here, the fat, juicy Red Flame raisins come together with the racy scent of Indonesian cinnamon and the tangy dough to make a bread that I can’t get enough of. Just lightly sweet from a hint of clover honey, it’s a chewy, substantial loaf that makes some of the best toast I’ve ever had. Excellent with goat cheese, a drizzle of honey, or just a pat of good salted butter.

B-CIN 1½ lb loaf $13 SHIPS

“Pretty Freaking Good”

Coconut Macaroons

After his first bite of one of our coconut macaroons, my coworker declared “As a charter member of the anti-coconut league, I have to admit this is pretty freaking good.” Traditionally made without any wheat, our coconut macaroons are slightly crunchy on the outside, rich and creamy on the inside. Simply put, they’re the best-tasting coconut macaroons I’ve ever had anywhere. Each box contains a dozen cookies total: half with Madagascar vanilla, half with Belgian chocolate.

A-MAC 6 vanilla, 6 chocolate, boxed $30

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Greek Schmear

Fire Roasted Eggplant Spread

I have two friends who independently told me “I like to eat pretty much everything... except eggplant.” If this spread isn’t for them, then more for me. It comes from Messinia, the remote, sun-drenched region at the southwesternmost tip of Greece. All summer farmers pick skinny Lagada eggplants and fire roast them the same day. Then the eggplants are peeled, crushed, and jarred with a pinch of salt and a smidge of citric acid—that’s it. The flavor is deep, roasty hinting at charred, a little tart, incredibly smooth. Messinians eat it smeared on fresh vegetables or crackers, spread on toast, or mixed into a salad with lemon juice, olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, parsley, and mint.

P-EGS 500 g jar $18

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Olives That Eat Like a Meal

Ascolana Olives

While extra virgin olive oil has become the darling fat of chefs and serious home cooks alike in recent decades, olives still have their skeptics. My theory is that many folks have just never had truly great olives. At Marina Colonna’s estate in the Molise region of Italy, most of the olives wind up in her excellent oil (find Marina’s Peranzana Olive Oil at zingermans.com), but some varieties are meant for munching, like these. Ascolanas are green and larger than your normal table olive, but not André the Giant huge. They eat like a meal; tender yet closer to the crunchier side of the spectrum than most olives you’ll find, with just a little bitterness in the finish. A great addition to any cheese board or as an afternoon snack.

P-ASO 320 g jar $18

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Aren’t They Adorable?

Pickled Brussels Sprouts

It’s hard to dislike Brussels sprouts when you think about how cute they are—they look like mini cabbages! But like their relatives cabbage and broccoli, they can wind up bitter and odorous when they’re not cooked properly. The good news is Pacific Pickle Works has taken all the cooking guesswork out of the equation so you can focus on enjoying the adorable deliciousness. Whole Brussels sprouts are tucked into a sweet and tangy brine with sliced onion, garlic, jalapenos, and spices. The earthy sprouts have a fresh, satisfying crunch with just a bit of heat. They’re fantastic served whole alongside pork chops or thinly sliced on a grilled cheese.

P-BSZ 16 oz jar $18

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Rosh Hashanah

Zingerman’s Babkas

Babka is a sweet loaf, both fluffy and rich, kind of like a light textured coffee cake with a dense filling swirled throughout. The master bakers at Zingerman’s Bakehouse make two flavors of babka. The first is a classic, swirled with chocolate and cinnamon and studded with juicy golden sultana raisins. The second is especially fitting for Rosh Hashanah, stuffed with pieces of roasted apple, toasted bits of walnuts, and a swirl of Michigan honey. Each comes wrapped in tissue and gift boxed, and serves 6–8.

G-BAB chocolate raisin babka $49

G-AHB apple honey walnut babka $49

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Rosh Hashanah Challahs

Each fall Zingerman’s Bakehouse releases special limited edition challahs for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It’s traditional for Eastern European Jews to bake challah in round, turban-like loaves to signify the desire for a full, complete year.

Each is baked to order by hand, arriving wrapped in plastic and paper. They’re gorgeous, the color of toasted saffron, and the flavors are rich and sweet—everything the New Year should be. Available to ship starting Monday, September 11.

Classic Turban Challah

Keeping with tradition, we sweeten all the egg and flour loaves with a healthy dose of Michigan clover honey.

B-TP2 1 lb round $12

B-TP1 2 lb round $20

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Raisin Turban Challah

On top of the clover honey we add a generous portion of extra-large Red Flame raisins and golden raisins soaked in Myers Dark Rum®

B-RT4 1 lb round with raisins $17

B-RT3 2 lb round with raisins $30

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Moroccan Style Challah

Braided—not round—brushed with honey and rolled in anise, poppy and sesame seeds. No raisins.

B-MOR 1 lb braid $14

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‘Ohi‘a Lehua Honey from Hawaii

Found throughout the Hawaiian islands, ‘Ohi‘a Lehua trees bloom everywhere from newly formed bare volcanic rocks to thickly rainforested mountaintops. When bees visit the flowers, the honey they make is sublime: a luscious, creamy, spreadable texture holds a sweetness akin to caramel with a soft yet bright burst in the finish. A true taste of paradise.

P-OLH 9 oz jar $19

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Tupelo Honey from Florida

The honey made famous by Van Morrison’s song, and in the film Ulee’s Gold starring Peter Fonda. It’s made exclusively in north Florida along the swampy Apalachicola River basin, where bees feed on the pale green flowers of the shrubby ogeechee tupelo tree. Clear, never crystalline, with an aroma of flowers and caramel and a flavor that’s deceptively light at first but grows to a crescendo of warmth.

P-ULE 9 oz jar $25 SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Buckwheat Honey Coffee Cake

Made with a long list of luscious ingredients including golden raisins, toasted almonds, fresh orange and lemon zest, Indonesian cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, plus a healthy helping of special buckwheat honey from Michigan. Buckwheat honey is the color of caramel with a bold, molasses-like flavor, making this a rich, deep, lovely cake. Serves 5–7, available starting Tuesday, September 5.

A-BWT-S in cartoon gift box $55

G-BWT-S in wooden gift crate $60 FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

Wood’s Apple Cider Jelly from Vermont

Cider jelly is a centuries-old traditional American food. Ours comes from Willis and Tina Wood, whose family has been pressing and boiling cider for over a century. They use only whole, hand-picked apples to make their cider, then cook it down over a wood fire with no sugar or other ingredients added. The cider forms a thick, sweet-tart, intense jelly that’s equally great on toast, with cheese, or alongside roast meats.

P-CID 8 oz jar $10

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Apple Cinnamon Preserves from Michigan

At American Spoon in Petoskey, Michigan, they start with apples grown nearby in Charlevoix, Michigan, then add a smidge of cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. It’s like eating grandma’s apple pie filling, just in a jar and ready for spreading on toast or crepes, or swirling into oatmeal and yogurt.

P-PLE 9 oz jar $19

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Halva is a confection made of ground sesame seeds—AKA tahini—plus sugar and extra flavorings. The result is this ethereal, airy, nutty, candyfloss-like paste that’s spreadable or spoonable or sliceable and just delicious. We offer two flavors from Hebel & Co. in Los Angeles. The first is chock full of toasty pistachios and nigella seeds, a complex, earthy spice. The second is double chocolate. Both are Kosher.

P-PTH 8 oz box pistachio $22

P-CHV 8 oz box chocolate $22

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Hebel Halva

Rosh Hashanah

Anellabee’s Lemon Honey Hard Candies

Danielle DeFiore introduced her daughter, Anella, to the family’s beehives when she was just a tiny tot. As Anella grew, so did her interest in honey. Together, Anella and Danielle began experimenting with honey-based candy recipes in their kitchen. Now with a few years of practice under their belts, their hard candies are some of the best I’ve tried. These lemon candies start with honey, organic cane sugar, and butter, then get a double dose of lemon with both lemon oil and lemon juice—but they’re not tart. With a sweetness that reminds me of a lemon gumdrop, they’re easy to enjoy while they melt slowly on your tongue.

3.8 oz box $15

Rugelach are the royalty of Jewish baked goods: tender, flaky, cream cheese pastry, dressed in cinnamon sugar. You take a couple bites, a shower of sugar and cinnamon coats your fingers and you’re done... until you reach for another. We offer three gift boxes. The most popular is half classic toasted walnut with currants, and half apricot. For chocoholics, there’s half chocolate, half raspberry. Or for the fruit fiends, try half

8 walnut/currant & 8 apricot $35

8 chocolate & 8 raspberry $35

8 apricot & 8 raspberry $35

NEW FINDS FOR A NEW YEAR

Apple Pie Snacks

Joanne Krueger became enamored with apples when she and her husband bought a house in the middle of an apple orchard in Sonoma County, California. They have since found a variety of ways to feature their organic heirloom apples, including these autumnally-spiced dried apple slices, affectionately called apple pie snacks. When you open the bag, the nostalgic aroma of apple pie wafts out. Compared to other tough or crunchy dried apples, these have a pleasant chew and almost melt in your mouth. The cinnamon flavor lasts long after the final bite. They’re a perfect add-in for granola or trail mix, but would also be right at home on a cheese plate.

P-API 1.5 oz bag $11

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Sour Apple Caramels

The soft, chewy caramels from Little Apple Treats are plenty delicious on their own. They’re made with fresh pressed cider from organic heirloom apples along with local butter and cream. But these get an extra boost of flavor thanks to a trio of unique spices sourced from family farms by Burlap & Barrel. Dried hibiscus flowers impart a vibrant cranberry tartness and sun-dried black limes give a concentrated citrusy tang. Cinnamon tree leaves add a gently warm, sweet spice. All together, each bite has a bright pop of sour with lingering apple sweetness.

1.8 oz bag $9

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HIGH HOLY DAYS GIFTS

Yom Kippur Break the Fast Gift Collection

Yom Kippur is Judaism’s holiest holiday. It’s a solemn affair, spent repenting and atoning for the sins of the past year. It’s traditional to fast for the duration of Yom Kippur. At the end of the holiday (this year, Yom Kippur ends the evening of Monday, September 25), it’s common to break the fast with a spread of food shared among friends and family. Our break the fast collection includes a loaf of Roadhouse Bread, Zingerman’s Cream Cheese, Michigan Smoked Whitefish Spread, two Potato Knishes, and a Noodle Kugel with raisins. There’s enough food to serve 4-6 for one meal, or to keep one person noshing for a few days. Choose between having it packed in a wooden gift crate, or forgo the gift packaging and dig right into the food.

G-YOM-N break the fast collection, no gift packaging $115

G-YOM-C break the fast collection, gift crate $140

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING ON BOTH

Rosh Hashanah Gift Boxes

Ring in a sweet new year with challah, apple, and honey. Each collection of Rosh Hashanah treats comes packed in a colorful cartoon box and is available to ship starting Monday, September 11.

The Classic Rosh Hashanah Gift Box includes a plain round Challah, a jar of Coriander Honey from California, and a jar of Apple Cider Jelly from Vermont.

G-RHH classic box $65

The Deluxe Rosh Hashanah Gift Box includes everything in the classic box, plus a raisin-studded round Challah, a box of Apricot Rugelach, and a Buckwheat Honey Coffee Cake.

G-RHH-D deluxe box $125 FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Yom Kippur ends

Tinned Fish Is Having a Moment.

What’s behind it?

By Mo Frechette

Tinned fish might be having its biggest moment since Napoleon held the contest that created it. Maybe you didn’t hear that tale? Back at the turn of the 1800s Napoleon issued a challenge and the winner was Nicolas Appert. The problem Nicolas solved was an MRE for the military. The winning idea was tinned food.

The first food to find its way into a tin was sardines. For a couple of hundred years afterwards sardines held a similar place of regard that followed most foods invented for military convenience: a source of cheap sustenance. The same went for many other fish that got tinned, like tuna. We never grew up thinking it was special. But something has changed in the last decade. Tinned fish is popular. Coveted. Desired. There are the breathless headlines. There are restaurants putting it on menus, served straight from the tin. There are social media splurges. There are loads of new tinned fish brands popping up and sending us samples at Zingerman’s.

What’s behind all of it? Certainly flavor is part of it. Tinned fish, when it’s good, is absolutely delicious. Is it heresy for me to say some fish tastes better in a tin? It’s not a stretch to say ham is better cured than fresh. I think tuna is too—when it’s done right. I’d much rather have a tin of Ortiz tuna than a seared slab of yellowfin. I think tourism has something to do with it too. There are places where tinned fish has long

been held in high regard, made to taste great The European capitals of tinned fish, Portugal and Spain, are booming with visitors. There, tinned fish flourishes in window displays. It is listed on restaurant menus, often served straight from the can. It fills entire aisles in supermarkets. Many Americans have packed their suitcases with foreign fish finds and come home searching for more. And maybe they found Zingerman’s — I don’t count us out as one source of the surge. We’ve been pushing tinned fish as great eating for years.

But let’s not discount cuteness. Tinned fish packaging can be adorable. It’s certainly one of the reasons I buy it when I travel. But here’s a little secret. Within the cute boxes, a lot of the different packages hold the same fish. There are not that many tinned fish factories. But there are a lot of tinned fish brands who put their name on the packaging. That’s because most of the factories are happy to let companies rebrand their product.

We found out about that years ago and are guilty of it too. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Zingerman’s sardines are not tinned at Zingerman’s Cannery in Ann Arbor along the banks of the mighty Huron River. We work with a century old fish factory near Porto, Portugal. We use both their regular stock, and, once a year, we tin a selection of the fattest, best harvest for our Vintage Sardines.

Mo Frechette founded Zingerman’s Mail Order. His favorite snack food is popcorn. You can reach him to ask him about his favorite ways to season it—or anything else you’re wondering about—at moeats@zingermans.com.

Ortiz Tuna from the Bay of Biscay

Tuna is one of the most popular foods we sell. It may seem surprising because here in the U.S., tinned tuna is a low-end commodity usually sold in supermarkets. In Spain it’s at the complete opposite of the culinary spectrum. Tuna in tins, especially these from the fourth-generation family firm Ortiz, is one of the jewels in Spain's culinary crown. Ortiz's fish are all line caught—not netted—hand filleted at sea and quickly tinned by hand in good olive oil. The olive oil is key. It adds flavor and makes the texture silky over time, unlike water, which tends to leach flavors from the fish. We offer a few different options from Ortiz. First up is Bonito (AKA Albacore) loin, our best seller, with full flavor, silky texture, and lingering sweetness. Next is the Yellowfin

loin, which has a fuller, richer flavor. Or finally, for the richest, most sensual fish you can find in a tin, go for the Bonito ventresca (AKA belly), which is some of the richest, most sensual fish you can find in a tin.

Vintage Sardines, pre-pandemic era

Great tinned sardines get better with age, just like you. There’s a particularly delicious brand of magic that infuses this oily, rich, bony, saline fish when it hibernates for years in a wallet-sized metal cocoon. The fish we save as vintage come from the biggest, fattest catches of the year, the end of Portugal’s summer haul. A real treat for the seafood adventurer in your life.

P-SAR-2018 2018 vintage 125 g tin $10

P-SAR-2019 2019 vintage 120 g tin $10

P-SAR-2020 2020 vintage 125 g tin $10

10+ tins of any vintage sardines $7 each

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Bonito Loin

P-ORT 112 g tin $9 4 or more $7.50 each

Bonito Ventresca (Belly)

P-TUN 110 g tin $25 4 or more $20 each

Yellowfin Loin

P-YLL 220 g jar $20 4 or more $18 each

EACH OF THESE TUNAS SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Portuguese Sardines

Tuna is our top-selling tinned seafood, but sardines aren’t too far behind. It’s surprising to me since sardines are not a big part of the popular food scene in America. This is perhaps the classic case of tinned food seen as poor, low-quality food. Before college students ate 75 cent ramen, they ate 10 cent sardines. Forget that stereotype. Here, four or five tender, perfect sardines, come nested in a tin of olive oil, and their flavor is extraordinary—the prize of Portugal, revered there as a kind of national seafood treasure. We offer pure olive oil (classic style, illustrated) or extra virgin olive oil, which has the effect of making the flavor more buttery, less metallic; in a way it’s less fishy.

P-SAR 125 g classic (illustrated) $7

P-SAR-12 case of 12 classic $70

P-SEV 110 g extra virgin $9

P-SEV-10 case of 10 extra virgin $75

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Gelato vs Ice Cream

What’s the difference?

By Alex Hall-Ruiz

To start, let’s get one thing straight—gelato is just the Italian word for ice cream. Although there are differences between American ice cream and Italian-style gelato, they have a whole lot in common. Both begin as a base mixture of milk, cream, and sugar, sometimes with eggs. They are churned as the mixture is chilled. Churning incorporates air, which increases the volume and makes the texture creamy and scoopable, rather than a block of hard, icy dairy like you’d get if you put a gallon of milk straight into the freezer. Natural stabilizers like gums and carrageenan are often added to maintain that light, creamy texture over time. Without them, the ice cream would be icier and melt quicker.

What distinguishes ice cream and gelato? Differing churning methods and proportions of ingredients create different textures. Ice cream is fluffier and lighter. Gelato is richer and denser.

Ice cream has more cream than milk. Legally, ice cream must have at least 10% fat from milk. (The milk fat is important—other, non-ice cream frozen desserts may get their fats from oils or artificial fillers, which are less flavorful and may create sticky or tacky textures.) Ice cream is churned at a high speed, incorporating lots of air—so much air, in fact, that some ice creams contain as much air as ingredients. In other words, half a tub of ice cream can be air. In the ice cream industry, the air included is called “overrun.” The technical way to say an ice cream has as much air as ingredients is that the overrun is 100%. Since air is cheaper than cream or sugar, ice creams with higher overrun tend to cost less—but also to be less flavorful. Higher

quality ice creams tend to have overrun under 50%. Since they include more ingredients, they generally cost more—and have more flavor and a richer texture.

Gelato has more milk than cream, making it lower in fat than ice cream. Gelato is churned at a slower speed so less air is incorporated into the mixture, resulting in about 20-30% overrun. With less fat and air, gelato is dense straight out of the freezer and may take a little longer to warm up enough for easy scooping. It’s worth the wait—good gelato is rich, soft, and silky.

There are no rules to keep gelato from veering into ice cream territory or vice versa. Instead, the line between the two may be blurred depending on the maker’s goal for how the frozen treat should taste. For example, Go!’s chocolate peanut butter ice cream has less heavy cream than traditional ice cream, but that allows the deep dark chocolate flavor to really stand out.

When shopping the frozen aisle, your best bet for finding a great pint of gelato or ice cream is to look at the ingredient list. In general, the shorter the list and the more recognizable the ingredients, the better. The ingredient list won’t call out how much air was mixed in, but you may be able to feel the difference between pints if you pick up two and compare the weight. If you notice that one kind of ice cream costs twice as much as another, it could be that the less expensive one has more air so you’re getting half as much actual ingredients.

Alex Hall-Ruiz is a writer and food finder at Zingerman’s Mail Order. Her current favorite wine to sip on after a long day is Blaufränkisch. You can reach her to share your own favorite tip ples—or for any other reason—at ahallruiz@zingermans.com.

Frozen Treat Cheat Sheet

Sorbet - Made with water, fruit, and sugar, but no dairy (0% fat from milk). Churned with minimal overrun.

Frozen yogurt - Made with yogurt (2-6% fat from milk). Churned with overrun of 30%-60%.

Sherbet - Made with water, fruit, sugar, and a small amount of milk or cream (1-2% fat from milk). Churned with overrun of 25-50%

Gelato - Made with more milk than heavy cream (4-9% fat from milk). Churned slowly with overrun of 20-30%.

Ice cream - Made with more heavy cream than milk (10+% fat from milk). Churned at a higher speed with overrun of 30-100%.

Custom Gelato and Ice Cream Sampler

Thick, creamy, elegant, luscious. Eating a bowl of good ice cream or gelato is an event, a special occasion that borders on a religious experience for ice cream connoisseurs. At Zingerman’s Creamery, our gelato makers mix fresh milk from Calder Dairy—one of the last farmstead dairies in Michigan—with organic Demerara sugar and an array of other great ingredients to churn out this Italian-style ice cream with direct, intense flavors. And at Go! Ice Cream in Ypsilanti, Michigan, ice cream maker Rob and his team create flavors loaded with homemade ingredients like baked goods, fresh fruit filled swirls, luscious small-batch caramel and much more. Assemble a collection of five pints of your favorite flavors.

G-5GL 5 pints you choose $140

CHOOSE

Zingerman’s Vanilla Gelato

Zingerman’s Dark Chocolate Gelato

Zingerman’s Mint Chocolate Chip Gelato

Zingerman’s Michigan Raspberry Sorbet

Zingerman’s Triple Lemon Sorbet

Baked Goods Made Even Better Topped with a Scoop of Ice Cream

Cinnful Cinnamon Rolls

Almost anyone can make a cinnamon roll smell good while it’s baking, even among the cell phone kiosks at the mall. Unfortunately, most have little more than aroma to offer. You won’t taste much beyond sugar and cinnamon. The real challenge is to fashion a cinnamon roll that tastes as good as it smells. These fit the bill. Warm them up, break one open and put your nose up close. You’ll smell sweet butter, Indonesian cinnamon, real vanilla. But the real treat is next. Take one bite. That’s all you’ll need to forget the litany of cinnamon roll disappointments life has dealt you. Comes with serving instructions.

G-CIN ten roll tin in wooden crate $60

A-CIN ten roll tin in cartoon gift box $50

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Chocolate Cherry Bread

A chocolate lover’s fantasy come true—bean to bar Nicaraguan chocolate from French Broad Chocolates in North Carolina, plus dozens of dried Michigan cherries, all folded into a tangy bread. A few minutes in the oven, the chocolate chunks begin melting, the aroma of cocoa fills the air. Spread it with just a hint of sweet butter or set a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a warm slice. You’ll be sitting in front of the most decadent dessert you've had in years.

B-CHO 1¼ lb loaf $20 SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

Go! Strawberry Ice Cream

Go! Coffee & Cookies Ice Cream

Go! Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ice Cream

Go! Blueberry & Lemon Curd Ice Cream

Go! Michigan Honey Ice Cream

Go! Cookie Butter Ice Cream

Buyer’s Guide to Vinegar

By Brad Hedeman

Vinegar is more than a pantry staple; according to the Internet it’s a brand new life hack. Not only can it brighten a fresh salad with flavor, it can decalcify your showerhead, keep colds away all winter long, and turn dull pennies shiny again!

Great tasting vinegar takes lots of care and time to create. Large industrial vinegar producers shorten the process of vinegar making from months and years to days and hours by adding chemicals like sulfuric acid, nitric acid and muriatic acid. Use those vinegars to spiffy up your pennies.

Traditionally made vinegars have none of that nonsense. They take a long time to mature and can’t compete on price with industrial models. The right vinegar can accentuate and transform cuisine. Here’s a primer:

Wine Vinegar

You can’t create great vinegars from mediocre ingredients, and you can’t make wine vinegar without first making wine. Barrels are partially—but never fully—filled with wine, allowing air and bacteria to interact with the liquid. The bacteria converts the alcohol into water and acetic acid (vinegar) and the vinegar maker takes over from there, blending and aging the vinegar till the maker is happy with the flavor.

Flavors: bright, tangy, crisp Best uses: vinaigrettes, marinades, deglaze pans, soups, sautes, pickling

Fruit Vinegar

Covering ripe fruit with water and letting it ferment creates fruit vinegar in a matter of weeks. One kind of bacteria converts the sugars into alcohol, then a different bacteria converts the alcohol into vinegar. Months or years of aging then round out the flavors. Quicker, more industrial production methods involve steeping fruit in white vinegar and “infusing” the fruit’s flavors into the vinegar. Infused, industrial fruit vinegars are sharp, borderline harsh, with only a whisper of the fruit flavor they claim.

Flavors: soft, sweet, fruity

Best uses: vinaigrettes, marinades, deglaze pans, mixers & mocktails

Rice Wine Vinegar

Like wine vinegar production, except made from sake. Sake is made from fermented rice. The quality of the sake is related to how much the rice is “polished”—meaning the fats and proteins in the outer layers of the rice are removed. Most vinegar companies buy pre-made sake and convert it. The best make their own sake in order to make their own vinegar.

Flavors: mild, fruity, complex Best uses: vinaigrettes, marinades, sushi, delicate foods

Balsamic Vinegar

Malt Vinegar

Like wine vinegar production, only with beer. Grain—in this case barley—is germinated in water, then dried in a roaster after it begins to sprout. The process converts the starch in the barley into sugar, which changes into alcohol when fermented the first time, and then into vinegar after it ferments again. The longer it ages, the smoother it gets.

Flavors: nutty, a little earthy, slightly sweet

Best uses: pickling, sprinking as a condiment, marinades

Traditionally, grape must—AKA grape juice before it’s wine—is cooked down to half its original volume then stored in large wooden casks with “mother” vinegar to kickstart fermentation. After a year or so the young vinegar is blended into smaller barrels that hold older balsamic where it ages for years before bottling. Today, though, most balsamic is made of mostly wine vinegar with a small percentage of grape must, and aged for only months. The modern, industrial version is sweet but lacks the nuance and balance of a traditional aged balsamic. Flavors: rich, sweet, flavors of dark fruits like raisins or plums

Best uses: vinaigrettes, marinades, finishing grilled meats, strawberries, ice cream

Sherry Vinegar

From southern Spain, the juice of Palomino grapes is converted first into wine, then fortified with grape brandy to make sherry. Sherry vinegar is then made with the solera method: similar to making balsamic, the sherry is placed in oak barrels with “mother” vinegar, then aged and blended in barrels for years before bottling.

Flavors: sweet, crisp, light Best uses: vinaigrettes, sprinkled on seafood or roast vegetables, fruit salad

Brad Hedeman is a writer and food finder at Zingerman’s Mail Order. His favorite food is french fries topped with other foods. Reach him to bond over your favorite fry toppers—or about anything else—at bhedeman@zingermans.com.

OUR GUARANTEE If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

White Wine

Txakoli Vinegar from Spain

Txakoli (pronounced tchuh-KOH-lee) wine from Spanish Basque country is bright and fresh with hints of apricot and a dry finish. Made into vinegar, it’s light, lovely, lingering. It’s not sweet, and there’s an airiness to it that makes it refreshing, especially in salads or on fish.

V-TXA 250 ml bottle $18

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Red Wine

Rioja Vinegar from Spain

Light-red Rioja red wine from northern Spain is naturally converted then moved into old oak barrels, where it spends a solid two years mellowing, intensifying and developing a deep flavor hinting of raspberries, red grapes and oak. It’s excellent, versatile and affordable enough for your everyday eating, marinating, vinaigretting, and who-knows-whatting.

V-RIO-375 375 ml bottle $12

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Fruit

Raspberry Vinegar

In the Sandhills of Nebraska, the Johnson family makes exceptional vinegar from the bounty of their farm. For this raspberry vinegar, they make raspberry wine from 100% raspberries, then they convert the wine to vinegar, capturing all of the berry’s sweet, soft, tangy flavor in a subtle vinegar. Extraordinary. Use with diligence and appreciation.

V-RAS 100 ml bottle $30

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Rice Wine

Iio Jozo Premium Rice Vinegar from Japan

Since 1893, the Iio family in Miyazu, Japan have been making exceptional rice wine vinegar with a remarkably fruity and complex flavor. They start by making their own sake using locally sourced rice, then age the vinegar for about a year. Sprinkle it on sushi, but also try it in any recipe where you’d usually reach for a white wine vinegar.

V-IJR 500 ml bottle $55

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Malt

Malt Vinegar from Cornwall

A rare, artisan malt vinegar aged for months in oak barrels in Cornwall. The slow aging creates complex, deep flavor. The result is a savory, bright, nutty type of vinegar that’s great with waaaaay more than just a fry up.

V-MLT 250 ml bottle $16

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Balsamic

16 Year Aged Balsamic from Modena

The Tintori family’s sixteen year aged balsamic is blended to capture a balance between woody, earthy intensity, and a dose of lush sweetness, the kind you’ll find in much older balsamics. Its complexity, with rich flavors of oak, blackberry and dark fruit, is partly due to aging in very small batches. Highly recommended.

V-16Y 250 ml bottle $45

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Sherry

Sherry Vinegar

Sherry vinegar sits aging for years in oak barrels in southern Spain. Sanchez Romate draws upon 300 years of experience making sherry and sherry vinegar to create a sweet, soft, mouth-tingling flavor. Add a few drops to creamy tomato soup or mix it into a classic cocktail sauce and stand back for the fireworks.

V-25Y 750 ml bottle $30

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Buyer’s Guide to Dried Fruit

By Mo Frechette

Drying, salting and smoking are the trinity of ancient methods to preserve a harvest. Of the three, drying is the simplest. Here are a few quick tips to finding the best tasting dried fruit.

Was it grown where it was dried?

To get the most flavor out of your fruit you want to pick it ripe. But as we all know, ripe fruit is fragile. It doesn’t travel well. Once a ripe fruit is picked it rarely gets any better and far more likely gets worse. The best dried fruits are made where they are grown, with minimal travel and storage time between plucking and preserving.

Did they add anything to it?

You don’t need to add anything when you dry fruit. At the most, some producers might a bit of citrus or citrus extract to stop oxidization (browning), keep the color brighter, that kind of thing. Anything beyond that and you gotta ask: why? Why the smoked chipotle powder? Why the added sugar? Those of us who’ve spent a long time tasting foods are always suspect when companies start adding flavors to foods that should taste good on their own. Sometimes the new flavors work, that’s great. But often they’re there to make some marketing razzle dazzle or, at worst, cover up something that didn’t taste good to begin with.

Candied Fruit

If it was cut, how did they cut it?

Small fruits like grapes and mulberries can be dried whole, but bigger fruits like mangoes or guavas need to be cut up before drying. Cutting the fruit into smaller bits and shreds can allow you to discard any bruised or damaged bits of fruit, but it also often makes for tougher texture. To keep the fruit in larger pieces, you have to start with fruit that’s in excellent, unbruised condition. Larger, thicker pieces generally have a softer texture.

How far did they dry it?

This is the one that separates the good from the great. You can dry a little or you can dry a lot. A little and you’ve got a fruit that’s soft, plump, maybe even a little juicy. A lot and you’ve got chewy leather. It’s easiest to cut everything small, turn the oven up, walk away, and have it done—to dry it a lot. But fruits come in at different ripenesses, different water contents. They need TLC if you want to make something that tastes great and has a luscious texture.

There’s another way to preserve a fruit harvest: use sugar. You can cook fruits with sugar to make jam or compote. Or, if you’re feeling luxe and have a lot of sugar on hand, you can candy them. When you candy a fruit you basically soak it in a way where there parts of the fruit that can rot are replaced with sugar that is shelf stable. Historically, candying was an exorbitant treat because cane sugar cost an arm and a leg. That’s why we see so many candied fruits at Christmas—like Italy’s candied fruit-studded Panettone— when a splurge was in order.

Clementines in Syrup

At the Favella Masseria Ranch near Sibari in southern Italy, they soak whole, amazing Calabrian clementines in a constantly refreshed bath of simple syrup for three weeks. The sugar pulls sweetness into the fruit to balance the brightness. Top your gelato, garnish roast pork or chicken, or serve on a cheese tray before dinner.

P-CIS 390 g jar $16

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If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

5 Fantastic Dried Fruits

You May Never Have Eaten In Your Life

Dried Pearl Guava

Pearl Guava is a white-fleshed, pear-shaped tropical fruit. The fruit is specially harvested in the fall when it’s firmer and crunchier to ensure the ideal texture once it’s dried. Each guava is cut into thick strips and dried at low temperatures, which results in pieces that are chewy without being leathery. As soon as you open the bag, the floral aroma wafts out. And the flavor! It has a warm spiced quality that makes me think of clove, but there’s no spice added—that’s just the natural flavor of the fruit. Pair it with tea or serve it on a cheese board.

P-GVA 100 g $16

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Dried Irwin Mango

A far cry from the dessicated bits of dried mango you might find at the grocery, here each piece is one half of an Irwin mango grown by independent Taiwanese farmers. The thick slices are surprisingly plump and soft, and the sweet and tropical flavor is purely mango with no added sweeteners or preservatives. The best dried mango I’ve ever tasted by a landslide—and I’ve tasted my fair share of dried mangoes.

P-MNG 100 g $16

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Sun-Dried White Mulberries

These white mulberries grow wild in the foothills of the Hindu Kush mountains in northern Afghanistan. Locals sun dry the berries to concentrate their sweetness. Each berry is about the size of a large raisin, with a satisfying crunchy bite and a deep, honeyed sweetness that grows and grows as you nibble on them.

P-MBY 5.3 oz bag $16

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Kishmish Raisins

Sourced by our friends at Ziba Foods from the Kandahar Prov ince in southern Afghanistan, heirloom Shungul Khani grapes are big and green and long and sweet. Kishmish raisins are all those things with a flavor that’s even more intense thanks to being concentrated into raisin form. They’re a flavorful and pretty addition to any cheese board and are very easy to snack on when you need something sweet. And they are definintely sweet—without being cloying.

P-KMR 5.3 oz bag $16

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Rancho Meladuco Medjool Dates

Rancho Meladuco dates are a revelation. The flavor is richer, more nuanced, more caramelized, more deeply date-y than any other date I’d ever tried. And then there’s the texture: soft, tender, practically juicy. The best dates I’ve ever tried by a long shot.

P-MDJ 1 lb box, about 20 dates $24

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If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Charcuterie and Cheese Gift Box

With a larder like this, your recipient can lay out a devastatingly handsome spread of food so quickly it’ll seem like Harry Potter cast a spell. We pack a culinary collection in its own wooden “cupboard” that a lazy gourmand can stash until hunger—or desirable company—strikes. Includes Old Kiev Salami, Cornichon Pickles, Dutch Gouda and Zingerman’s Nor'easter Cabot Cheddar, Moroccan Olives, a loaf of Zingerman’s Sourdough Bread, Tempesta’s spicy 'Nduja Cured Meat Spread, Zingerman’s Virginia Peanuts and Rustic Bakery Olive Oil and Sea Salt Flatbreads. Serves ten for snacks, lasts for weeks when refrigerated.

G-CAC charcuterie & cheese gift box $190

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The Ultimate Gift Basket

Unequaled food glory. Includes a Pecan Blondie, a walnut-studded Magic Brownie, a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, Ginger Jump-Up Molasses Cookie, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, Holy Cow Beef Sticks, Zingerman’s whole bean High Flyer Coffee, Ann Arbor Tortilla Corn Chips, Fundidora Salsa, Coconut Taffy, Garlic & Pepper Pretzels, Marcona Almonds, Moroccan Olives, Zingerman’s Spiced Pecans, a box of four Mini Scones, Taralli Olive Oil Crackers, and Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips.

G-ULT ultimate basket $250

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This is a Zingerman’s classic and perennially our most popular gift: rich, moist Sour Cream Coffee Cake made with organic flour, loaded with Indonesian cinnamon and toasted walnuts, baked in a traditional bundt pan. It’s very impressive and extremely delicious. And it lasts. In theory, a week after delivery, wrapped, it’ll still be soft and scrumptious, melting in the mouths of a hungry crew. Personally, I’ve never seen one withstand the onslaught of the hungry for more than an hour.

A-SCC-L large serves 10–12 in cartoon box $65

G-SCC-L large in wooden gift crate $75

A-SCC-S small serves 5–7 in cartoon box $50

G-SCC-S small in wooden gift crate $55

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CUSTOM TRIPLE COFFEE CAKE CRATE

Choose any three of our nosher-sized cakes, we’ll nestle them in a wooden cheese crate. Find the full list of cakes to choose from at zingermans.com.

G-3CK 3 cakes in wooden crate $125

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Buyer’s Guide to Japanese Soy Sauce

By Val Neff-Rasmussen

batch after batch of soy sauce and are often in use for decades. Rather than imparting a woody flavor, they help propagate microbes from one batch of soy sauce to the next, much like how the pine boards in a cheese aging room contribute to the flavor of the cheeses. Today, only 26 soy sauce makers in Japan still use kioke; 99% of soy sauce is aged in humongous steel or concrete tanks.

How is Japanese soy sauce made?

First, steamed soybeans and crushed wheat are inoculated with koji. The koji provides much of the flavor for the finished sauce, just as cultures do for cheese. After allowing the koji to bloom for a few days, the soybeans and wheat are transferred to kioke or tanks and mixed with salt water brine. The mixture ferments for months or years, getting stirred frequently to keep the aerobic microbes active. After the fermentation is complete, the wet soybean paste is slowly pressed, squeezing out the soy sauce over hours or days. Then it’s bottled and ready to sell.

There are five main types of Japanese soy sauce

What exactly is soy sauce?

Soy sauce is a salty, umami liquid made from fermented soybeans. At a minimum, it is made with soybeans, salt, and fermented with a mold—typically Aspergillus oryzae—known in Japanese as koji.

In the 20th century the production of soy sauce was modernized. Today most soy sauce is made in giant batches at automated factories. Instead of whole soybeans, it is often made with acid-hydrolyzed soy protein—a processed, ground up soybean product. (This is what’s in the plastic packets of soy sauce handed out at many restaurants. It’s also what’s in a bottle of “liquid aminos.”) The modernizations produce soy sauce much more cheaply and quickly, reducing the time needed to ferment the sauce from years to months or even days. It also strips away the subtleties and depth of flavor that distinguish great traditional soy sauce.

What distinguishes traditional Japanese soy sauces from others?

In addition to the standard soybeans, salt, and koji, Japanese soy sauce—called shoyu in Japan—is typically also made with wheat and water. The wheat adds a subtle sweetness to the sauce, and helps to kickstart the fermentation.

Shoyu generally doesn’t contain other flavorings—or if it does, it’s called by another name, like ponzu, a soy sauce with citrus (find a great ponzu at zingermans.com). Soy sauces from other countries often contain a whole range of additional ingredients, from mushrooms to fish to palm sugar to licorice to pineapple.

Traditionally, Japanese soy sauce has been fermented in enormous cedar barrels called kioke, each about five feet across and eight feet deep. These barrels hold

1. Shiro — white soy sauce

2. Usukuchi — light soy sauce

3. Koikuchi — dark soy sauce

4. Saishikomi — double brewed soy sauce

5. Tamari

About 80% of the soy sauce used in Japan is koikuchi— dark soy sauce. This is the sauce you’ll find on tables at restaurants and in nearly every home.

How does Japanese soy sauce compare to Chinese soy sauce?

While Japanese soy sauces are neatly categorized, Chinese soy sauce has many more variations, and is called by many different names in different dialects across the country. In the US, many of the earliest Chinese immigrants came from the province of Guangdong (formerly Canton), so what we think of as “Chinese soy sauce” typically stems from Cantonese traditions. There, the common soy sauces are light and dark. If a Chinese-American recipe does not specify which soy sauce to use, light Chinese soy sauce is the standard.

Chinese light and dark soy sauces are not equivalent to Japanese light and dark sauces. If a Chinese recipe calls for light soy sauce, Japanese dark soy sauce is a good substitute. Chinese dark soy sauce is generally thicker and sweeter due to the addition of sugar or molasses. There isn’t a good Japanese equivalent.

How should soy sauce be stored?

Before a bottle is opened, it can be kept at room temperature. Once opened, soy sauce is best stored in the refrigerator and used within 6-12 months. It won’t spoil if you keep it longer or at room temperature, but over time the nuances that make it special will fade.

or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right.

Traditional Japanese soy sauce is aged in giant barrels and stirred by hand regularly

The 5 Types of Japanese Soy Sauce

Nitto Jozo Shiro White Tamari Soy Sauce

How shiro is unique: White soy sauce is a pale, straw-yellow color. When soybeans oxidize they become dark, so to make white soy sauce you use mostly wheat and only a little soy. How it tastes: More delicate in flavor than other soy sauces, it has a subtle sweetness to balance the salty notes.

How it’s used: A good choice for more delicate sashimi, Japanese egg custards, or for adding a subtle umami kick to everything from broths to tacos to vinaigrettes.

What makes this shiro special: To make the palest shiro they could, third-generation company Nitto Jozo skips the soybeans all together and uses 100% wheat. Since it doesn’t contain soy, it can’t be called “shoyu” so instead it bears the name “tamari.”

P-SRO 300 ml bottle $24

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Suehiro Usukuchi Light Soy Sauce

How usukuchi is unique: The second most common soy sauce in Japan, usukuchi is made with around 40% wheat, giving it a golden, caramel color.

How it tastes: Japanese light soy sauce is not light in flavor or sodium. It’s the saltiest tasting shoyu by far.

How it’s used: Best used as a seasoning while cooking, like salt. It’s great in broths, stews, and braises.

What makes this usukuchi special: From Suehiro, a company that’s been making soy sauce since 1879, this usukuchi packs a powerfully salty punch. It’s particularly good in broths—especially for ramen or soba noodles.

P-USU 500 ml bottle $22

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Yugeta Koikuchi Dark Soy Sauce

How koikuchi is unique: When we think of Japanese soy sauce, we generally think of koikuchi. It contains about 15% wheat, making for a very dark color.

How it tastes: Salty, savory, umami, a bit of a fruity sweetness.

How it’s used: The classic soy sauce used for dipping sushi or gyoza dumplings. Great in stir fries, marinades, and sauces. If a Japanese recipe calls for soy sauce without any extra detail, it almost certainly means koikuchi. If a Chinese recipe calls for light soy sauce, koikuchi is a good substitute.

What makes this koikuchi special: From Yugeta, a fourth-generation company, it’s aged for about a year in traditional cedar barrels called kioke. It has a subtle wine-y, fruity sweetness that helps balance the salt.

P-KOI 300 ml bottle $18

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Suehiro Saishikomi Double Brewed Dark Soy Sauce

How saishikomi is unique: To make saishikomi, first you brew a normal batch of soy sauce. Then you take new soybeans, wheat, and koji, and you make a new batch of soy sauce—but for the liquid, instead of water you use the first batch of soy sauce.

How it tastes: The extra aging gives saishikomi a thicker texture and a cleaner, rounder, less salty flavor.

How it’s used: Excellent for dipping sashimi and for more luxurious finishing touches. It can also be thinned out with equal parts saishikomi and water for use in sauces and cooking.

What makes this saishikomi special: From Suehiro, a firm that’s been making soy sauce since 1879. It’s great for sprinkling on richer dishes at the end of cooking.

P-SDB 150 ml bottle $16

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Ito Shoten Tamari

How tamari is unique: The process to make miso, a Japanese fermented soybean paste, also creates tamari. Thicker than regular soy sauce, it has great depth of flavor. In the US, tamari is often thought of as gluten free soy sauce. While tamari is generally made with less wheat than other soy sauces, it is not necessarily wheat free.

How it tastes: Complex, very salty, with an umami note like fish sauce or nori, and a long-lasting finish with a fruity quality that reminds me of raisin.

How it’s used: Try it as a dipping sauce, or brush it on roasted meats, fish, or potatoes.

What makes this tamari special: From eleventh-generation firm Ito Shoten, where they’ve been making miso for more than 200 years. Made with only soybeans, salt, koji, and water, each batch ages for three years in cedar barrels that have been in use for over 160 years.

P-TMR 200 ml bottle $29

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Shiro

Usukuchi

Saishikomi

Koikuchi

Tamari

Go-To

What’s Your Go-To Condiment?

Zingerman’s staffers (and one artificial intelligence language model) share their go-to condiments that they always keep on hand.

Brad’s Go-To Ari’s Go-To ex’s Go-To Pattie’s Go

Guava Katsu Sauce

What a fusion! This Japanese sauce with Hawaiian flair has won my heart. The guava is a sweet spin on the traditional katsu sauce giving it that island flavor that makes you imagine warm coastal breezes, open-air dining on the lanai, and the gentle strumming of a ukulele. Guava katsu closely resembles barbecue sauce. It’s commonly brushed on roasted pork, but I’ve used it as a basting sauce for chicken thighs on the grill, as a dipping sauce for potstickers, whisked it into a marinade, and used it as a base for vinaigrette for a sweet and savory flavor bomb to my dishes.

P-KSU 12 oz bottle $22

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OLV Olive Oil

Brad’s Go-To

As a professional food finder, it’s common for me to have five (or more) bottles of different olive oil in my pantry. They all have their unique flavors and uses, but one is my “every day” oil: OLV. It’s the one I grab when dishes need an extra punch. I drizzle it over pasta, grilled veggies, and steak or pork. Like salt & pepper, olive oil helps food taste more like itself. OLV is one of our lower priced oils, but it’s really big in fla vor. It might even be a little too intense for most folks, but I use it sparingly so it works for me. It makes dry bites become toothsome and gives punch and nuance to milder foods. But don’t tell anyone. I don’t want my secret to get out.

O-OBO 500 ml $25

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American Spoon Whole Seed Mustard

American Spoon’s Whole Seed Mustard is a must-have in my fridge. I use it again and again because it’s the complete package of looks, texture, and fla vor. The black and yellow mustard seeds are kept whole so they look fun on otherwise boring dishes of eggs and sausages, plus they have a satisfying pop as a crunchy component on potatoes or cheese boards. Sometimes mustard can be overwhelmingly horseradish spicy to me, but the Michigan sparkling wine adds sweetness so it’s bright and zingy without being too much. I haven’t found anything else quite like it!

P-ASM 8 oz jar $19

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Go-To Pattie’s Go-To Val’s Go-To ChatGpt ’s GoTo

Koeze Cream-Nut Peanut Butter

Ari’s Go-To

I have eaten Koeze peanut butter at least a few times a week now for years. It’s delicious on toast, whether a simple sourdough or something more dense and hearty like Zingerman’s 8 Grain 3 Seed Bread. A drizzle of honey or some jam on top of the peanut butter never hurts, either. I’m also a fan of stirring it into oatmeal with banana, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Or as a dip for fruit or crackers as an afternoon snack.

Artificial Intelligence

Brad’s Go-To

P-BUT 17 oz jar smooth $9

P-BUT-6 case of 6 smooth $40

P-CRU 16.5 oz jar crunchy $9

P-CRU-6 case of 6 crunchy $40

EACH SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Manager at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Web Marketer at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Founder of Zingermanʼs

Food Finder at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Founder Zingermanʼs

Food Finder at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Ari’s Go-To Alex’s

Print Marketer at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Manager at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Web Marketer at Zingermanʼs Mail Order Founder of Zingermanʼs

Matthew’s GoTo

Founder of Zingermanʼs

Food Finder at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Wholesale Specialist at Zingermanʼs Coffee Company Supervisor at Zingermanʼs Mail

Ari’s Go-To

A Trio of Terrific Pepper Spreads

Mother-in-Law Gochujang Korean Chile Paste

If there is one sauce that everyone is in love with at Miss Kim, the Korean restaurant I run, it’s the gochujang sauce. Gochujang is one of the three mother sauces of Korea. Its name says it all: gochu means chilies and jang means fermented. I particularly enjoy Mother In Law’s Classic Gochujang Chile Paste. Mother In Law was one of the very first Korean American owned artisanal food companies I came across. Their gochujang is great for making various sauces and marinades. My favorite thing to do is to take the paste and make it into a sauce with garlic, scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil and sugar. Initially the sauce was made as a marinade for grilled pork shoulder and chicken, but it was so good that now we use it for everything from bibimbob, to sauteed or roasted veggies, to a dipping sauce, to spreading it in wraps.

P-MIL-ORI 10 oz jar $16

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Matthew’s GoTo Brad’s Go-To

Harissa Spicy Tunisian Pepper Spread

I eagerly add the traditional Harissa from the Mahjoub family in Tunisia to almost everything. It’s made from a trio of different peppers, organically grown and sun-dried; tomatoes, organically grown and sun-dried; and extra virgin olive oil, all from Majid Mahjoub’s farm. It’s thick and intense. Add more or less depending on how spicy you like your food. Personally, I like a lot! It’s terrific spread on focaccia. I add a few tablespoons to plum tomatoes before I roast them for a wonderfully easy side dish or vegan main course. It’s delicious on scallops or chicken. It’s great on a sandwich, on a burger or used straight from the jar for punchy pasta sauce. And it’s an obvious, appropriate option for the Mahjoub’s excellent couscous.

P-MMH 185 g jar $18

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Lutenitsa Bulgarian Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Val’s Go-To

Ari’s Go-To Alex’s Go-To Pattie’s Go-To

I keep a jar or two of Lutenitsa on hand for the nights when my culinary creativity is low and I have no patience for cooking, but I still want something delicious. Lutenitsa is a Slavic staple: a thick spread of roasted red peppers, tomato, and roasted eggplant with a pinch of sugar, salt, and spices. It’s got an earthy sweetness from the roasted peppers that’s unbeatable smeared on crusty toasted bread and topped with a bit of feta cheese. I like to serve a spoonful of it alongside meatballs or falafel, or on top of a burger or sandwich. It even stands in as pasta sauce in a pinch.

P-LUT 18.2 oz jar $14

Val’s Go-To

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Pattie’s Go-To

To

Ketchup or mustard, probably?

As an Artificial Intelligence language model, I don’t eat food but based on popular choices, I think ketchup and mustard would be my go-to condiments. Ketchup for its sweet and tangy taste and mustard for its spicy kick.

Editor’s note: thanks for the useful insight, ChatGPT!

Founder of Zingermanʼs

Food Finder at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Wholesale Specialist at Zingermanʼs Coffee Company Supervisor Zingermanʼs

Chef & Managing Zingermanʼs

Chef & Managing Partner at Miss Kim, Zingermanʼs Korean Restaurant

Print Marketer at Zingermanʼs Mail Order Manager at Zingermanʼs Mail Order

Web Marketer at Zingermanʼs Mail Order Founder of Zingermanʼs

New Food Finds

Eat Your Tea Matcha Milk Jam

Matcha tea is made from dried green tea leaves finely ground into powder. Instead of steeping like other teas, matcha powder is whisked into hot water to make a frothy, creamy drink. This milk jam is like a lightly sweetened mug of matcha turned into a silky spread, reminiscent of Nutella but much more interesting. It’s vibrant green with a mildly grassy, earthy, nutty flavor. I’ve been eating it straight off a spoon, but it would also shine as a dip for fresh fruit, as a spread on toast or shortbread, or as a topping for ice cream.

P-MTJ 250 g jar $20

EACH SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Next Level Snackage Shar Original Trail Mix

Since Zingerman’s first opened our doors 41 years ago, we have stuck to the position that you make delicious food from delicious ingredients. Lucky for us, the team at Shar agrees. They spent years building relationships with farmers and testing recipes to assemble one of the most flavorful, snack-able mixes I’ve tried in years. It’s got nuts: almonds, pecans, cashews, and pistachios. It’s got dried fruit: wild blueberries, Montmorency cherries, and cranberries. And it’s got a few sweet treats: Guittard dark chocolate chips and coconut flakes. Enjoy before a workout, after a nap, on the road, with cocktails, at a picnic.

P-STM 3.7 oz tube $14

SHIPS

The Brownie You Can Lick Chocolate Lollipops

Adina St. John creates small batch confections out of The Blu Kitchen about 20 minutes from Ann Arbor. For these lollipops, she mixes cocoa powder with locally roasted organic coffee to deepen the chocolate flavor, plus a pinch of sea salt for balance. The real secret ingredient is Zingerman’s Peranzana olive oil, which adds a rich, silky texture. The result tastes like a decadent brownie in candy form, and is truly a handheld delight worth savoring. I have a personal stash in my car and my desk for those moments I need a little something sweet. Perfect for sweet-toothed adults and kids alike.

P-LCO box of 4 lollipops $6.50

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Picked Early for Bigger Flavor Temprano Olive Oil

From Jaen, in south-central Spain, comes this oil made exclusively from picual olives. Not only are picuals native to the area, they’re the most popular olive to turn into olive oil in the world. Finding an exceptional version can be tricky. It has to stand out amongst the crowd, so the folks at Tierra Callada decided to focus on harvesting early in the season. At the end of October/beginning of November they head to the groves and pick only green olives off the tree. The not-quite-ripe olives are big and bold and bitter and grassy in flavor and the sturdy, versatile oil reflects that. Use it where you want to add a bit of prickly boldness.

O-TRC 500 ml bottle $28

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

GUARANTEE If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Italy at Home

Tuscan’s Treat Gift Basket

Includes Zingerman’s Paesano Bread, Zingerman’s Travel Olive Oil from Tuscany, Vecchia Dispensa’s Aged Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, Antonio Mattei’s Almond Biscotti from Tuscany, Rustichella Pasta from Abruzzo, Il Mongetto Tomato Sauce from the Piedmont, Fig Preserves from the Piedmont, Caricato Black Olive Tapenade from Puglia, Italian-style Finocchiona Salami, and Taralli Olive Oil Crackers from Puglia.

G-TUS italian gift basket $200

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Rustic

Retreat Dinner Gift Box

A pasta dinner that’s not a cliché. This gift boxed set Italian slow-dried Spaghetti, Il Mongetto’s Tomato Sauce, a half pound of Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano, our Paesano Bread for ripping and dipping, and for dessert a pair of brownies: one walnut-studded Magic Brownie and one no-nut Black Magic Brownie.

pasta gift box, serves 2–4 $100

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Roi Olive Oil from Liguria

Roi extra virgin olive oil has been made in the mountain town of Badalucco in Liguria, Italy, by the Boeri family since 1900. The Boeris use an old stone mill to make the oil, the way all oils were made a century ago but practically none are today. This delicately flavored oil is great on freshly baked whole fish (half an hour at 350 degrees for a fish that weighs a pound), in delicate vinaigrettes, or anywhere you want good oil that’s not going to overpower a dish.

O-ROI 1 liter bottle $49

O-ROI-500 500 ml bottle $30

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Cravero’s Parmigiano Reggiano from Modena

Giorgio Cravero sources Parmigiano Reggiano from San Pietro dairy, located high in the hills above Modena. The diverse herbs and grasses at that high altitude makes for especially flavorful milk, which in turn makes for especially flavorful cheese. Giorgio ages the wheels to develop particularly soft, sweet flavors, good enough to eat all on its own (though it’s excellent for grating over pasta, too).

C-VER by the pound $35

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY WARM WEATHER CARE

Dario Cecchini’s Tuscan Salt

To season the stupendous meats he sells in his shop in Tuscany, butcher Dario Cecchini created a blended sea salt with local herbs: sage, lavender, thyme, rosemary, bay, fennel pollen, juniper. This is seriously aromatic. Drift handfuls of it onto chicken thighs, thick steaks from Cory Carman or Duroc pork chops from Greg Gunthorp (find them both at zingermans.com), and White Cat Popcorn (also sold at zingermans.com).

P-TSC 420 g jar $30

SHIPS FOR FLAT RATE

Breads

Bread by mail?

I know, it sounds crazy. It sounded nuts in 1992 when we started baking. Still does today. But we ship more bread than any other food we sell. We bake them with minimal ingredients, often just organic flour, water, salt, and natural sour starter. We take our time making them—up to 18 hours for tangy loaves like Sourdough. And we bake them in a stone hearth oven, which gives the bread a crisper, more flavorful crust. I guarantee you’ll love it. If you don’t, I’ll refund or re-ship, no questions asked.

Paesano

Our most popular bread. Spreading out like the cap of a wild mushroom, its thin, snow white crust surrounds a soft, savory crumb filled with lots of holes (we work hard to put the holes in). This is the traditional bread of Puglia—the heel of Italy’s boot—and the best one to eat alongside a pasta dinner. Recommended for ripping and dipping in olive oil.

B-PAE 1½ lb loaf $10

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

Farm

Imagine sitting around a French farmhouse table waiting for dinner. This would be the bread the family would serve. Like French pain au levain , it's a white-wheat mix made with a sour starter. Its crust is crisp, its flavor subtle and never tiring. The three pound round is my favorite. Cut into quarters and freeze what you don’t eat.

B-FRM-RND 3 lb round $20

B-FRM-LOF 1½ lb loaf $12

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

Sourdough

The crisp, crackly crust, moist honeycombed interior and that trademark sour tang will tickle your tongue. We ship them to San Franciscans across the country— even to some living near the Golden Gate.

B-SDR 1½ lb round $10

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

Parmesan Pepper

My Italian friends would probably think this bread is heresy, but that’s their loss. It’s a natural for me because I love bread, parmesan and good black pepper. There’s a heaping helping of Parmigiano Reggiano in every loaf, along with a load of cracked black peppercorns. Leaves your mouth pleasantly aroused from the heat of the pepper and salivating from the savory sweetness of the parmesan. It’s fantastic when heated.

B-PEP 1 lb loaf $20

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

Pecan Raisin

This bread has been like a chain reaction— someone serves it for brunch, and the next week their guests are calling us and buying it for themselves. Calling it dense is an understatement: a half pound of big, juicy Red Flame raisins and toasted pecans are baked into every loaf. The New York Times says our Pecan Raisin Bread "redefines the category."

B-PEC 1¼ lb loaf $20

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

Jewish Rye

This is rye like my grandparents ate in Eastern Europe, made with plenty of freshly milled rye flour (believe it or not, most “rye bread” sold in America contains very little rye flour), a natural sour rye starter (not the usual canned shortcuts) and lots of time to let the dough develop. The base bread for our reuben and many other sandwiches.

B-RYE 1½ lb loaf $10

SHIPS 2 BUSINESS DAY

If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Almost as Good as Grandma’s Gift Basket

This is one of our most popular baskets, a selection of some of the baked goods made by Zingerman’s Bakehouse presented in a wooden box emblazoned with the Zingerman’s name.

Deluxe (illustrated)

Cinnamon Raisin Bread, a Pecan Blondie, a walnut-studded Magic Brownie, a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, a Lemon Scone, a Currant Scone, an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, a Sky’s the Lemon Cookie, a Ginger Jump-Up

Molasses Cookie, Honey and Preserves.

G-GRA-1 deluxe $110

Ultimate

Includes double of all the pastries in the Deluxe along with Honey, Preserves, and a loaf each of Cinnamon Raisin and Chocolate Sourdough breads.

G-GRA-2 ultimate $180

Bread-Fest Gift Box

Toast ain’t just toast when it’s made from Zingerman’s Bakehouse bread. To that end, here’s two of our most popular breakfast breads (good any time of day, of course, even if they’re not toasted). This colorful, printed gift box selection includes a loaf each of Cinnamon Raisin and Sesame Semolina Bread, a Ginger Scone and a Lemon Scone to sweeten the deal, and a small jar each of Honey and Preserves.

G-FES bread-fest box $70

Custom Bread Boxes

Select three or six hearth-baked Zingerman’s Bakehouse breads from the list below: classic or creative, sweet or savory, or a mix of everything. We’ll pack them in our fun, cartooned gift box (for three breads) or our giant wooden crate (for six breads).

choose your loaves

Traditional Farm Loaf

Sourdough

Roadhouse

Sesame Semolina

8 Grain 3 Seed

Rye

Jewish Rye

Onion Rye

Pumpernickel

Sweet

Chocolate Sourdough

Chocolate Cherry

Pecan Raisin

Cinnamon Raisin

Savory

Chile Cheddar

Parmesan Pepper

Peppered Bacon

G-3BD 3 breads $75

IN A WOODEN CRATE

G-6BD 6 breads $145

Pastry Sampler

Our cartooned gift box includes a coconut macaroon-topped Black & White Brownie, a Ginger Jump Up Molasses Cookie, a mini Tea Cake, a raspberry-filled Patti Pocket hand pie, a Currant Scone, plus a pouch of crispy, all butter Palmiers.

G-ZBS serves 6–8 $70

Pastry Gifts

ry-filled Patti Pocket hand pie, six buttery Palmier Cookies, and our nosher-sized Lemon Poppyseed Coffee Cake.

G-BNZ serves 10–12 $110 FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

Sunday Brunch Bakery Basket

Keep the lazy weekend morning vibes going until mid-afternoon with pastries to please the whole gang. We stuff the gift basket with a loaf each of Sourdough Bread and Banana Bread, an almond and orange scented brioche Bostock, a Mini Tea Cake, an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, a raspberry-filled Patti Pocket hand pie, a box of Apricot Rugelach, and four Mini Scones.

G-SSV gift basket, serves 6–8 $150 FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Custom Pastry Boxes

Fill your own cartoon gift box or wooden crate with an assortment of Zingerman’s Bakehouse pastries. Choose your mix, pick your packaging, then give us a ring or hop on our site at zingermans.com where you can customize your box online. Your personal selection is hand packed to order.

choose your pastries

BROWNIES

Magic Brownie with walnuts

Black Magic Brownie without nuts

Black & White coconut macaroon-topped Brownie

Pecan Blondie

Gluten free Townie Brownie*

* not made in a gluten free facility.

TREATS

Orange & almond brioche Bostock

Raspberry Patti Pocket hand pie

COOKIES

Oatmeal Raisin

Ginger Jump-Up Molasses

Sky’s the Lemon

Vegan Almondinger with coconut

SCONES

Currant

Lemon Ginger

Country pecan & raisin

IN A CARTOON BOX

G-4PP 4 pastries $45

G-6PP 6 pastries $60

G-10P 10 pastries $85

G-15P 15 pastries $115

G-20P 20 pastries $145

G-30P 30 pastries $200

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

IN A CRATE

G-8CR 8 pastries $85

G-20C 20 pastries $160

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

OUR GUARANTEE If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Michigan Gifts

Great Lakes Artisan Gift Box

Peanut Butter from Koeze in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Red Haven Peach Preserves from American Spoon Preserves in Petoskey, Michigan, freshly roasted whole bean Zingerman’s Coffee, Mo’s Bacon Chocolate bar from Vosges in Chicago, Marieke Gouda from Thorp, Wisconsin, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Bacon from Wittenberg, Wisconsin, and our Cinnamon Raisin Bread.

G-GLA great lakes gift box $150

Zingerman's Artisan Gift Box

If you can’t come to Ann Arbor to visit Zingerman’s in person, this collection of Zingerman’s greatest hits lets you taste the food long distance. Our cartooned gift box includes a walnut-studded Magic Brownie and Roadhouse Bread from Zingerman’s Bakehouse, Pimento Cheese from Zingerman’s Creamery, whole bean High Flyer Coffee from Zingerman’s Coffee Company, a handmade Zzang! Candy Bar from Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory, a Potato Knish from Zingerman’s Deli, a bag of Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips, a bottle of Red Rage Barbecue Sauce, and a bag of Spiced Pecans.

G-ART zingerman’s artisan gift box $135

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Made in Michigan Basket

Guaranteed to cure the homesickness of a misplaced Michigander. This gift basket is stuffed with a jar of Sour Cherry Preserves from American Spoon in Petoskey, a jar of Koeze’s Cream-Nut Peanut Butter from Grand Rapids, a bag of Carosello Pasta from Dexter, and from here in Ann Arbor a bag of Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips, a bag of whole bean High Flyer Coffee, six buttery Palmier Cookies, an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, Zingerman’s Hot Cocoa Mix, and a loaf of Zingerman’s Sourdough Bread.

G-MIM gift basket $165

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Fishtown Whitefish Pate

Like eating lobster in Maine, Michiganders enjoy whitefish in all its splendor when we head “up north” for vacation. This smooth, creamy version from the tiny fishing village of Leland (aka Fishtown) is my favorite. We worked with the maker, Lori LaClair, to come up with a recipe we all think highlights the flavor of the fish and the art of the smoke. Made with fresh caught fillets of whitefish straight out of Lake Michigan, this spread is the perfect accompaniment with crackers, some fresh (or dried) cherries, and a crisp glass of cool wine.

P-WFS 7 oz tub $16 SHIPS 2

Gifts for special occasions

Midnight Feeding New Baby gift Box

You may not be able to send a full night’s sleep in a box, but at least you can help exhausted new parents be well fed. The Midnight Feeding Gift Box is filled with a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, crispy Palmier Cookies, Holy Cow Beef Sticks, Coconut Taffy, Garlic & Pepper Pretzels, Moroccan Spiced Tomato Soup, Spicy Pineapple Tamalitoz Hard Candies, a jar of White Cat Popcorn kernels, Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips, and a darn cute Zingerman's bib.

G-BBY new baby gift box $140

CONGRATULATIONS!

GIFT BOX

They just closed on their mortgage. They just graduated from college. They just landed their dream job. They just had their first anniversary—or their 31st anniversary. Whatever the occasion, say “congrats!!” deliciously with this colorful gift box stuffed with a Sour Cream Coffee Cake and eight assorted Brownie Bites, Kolsvart Elderflower Gummies, Butter Toasted Peanuts, John Macy’s Cheese Sticks, and a couple personal-sized bags of Zingerman’s potato chips.

G-CGT congratulations! gift box $100

Happiest Birthday Gift Box

If you can’t be there to sing off key, sending this box is the next best thing. Our colorful, cartooned gift box is filled with Cacciatore Salami, Taralli Olive Oil Crackers, Rosemary Maple Almonds, Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips, a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, a coconut macaroon-topped Black & White Brownie, Italian Fruit Jellies, and a Mini Tea Cake.

G-HBD birthday gift box $100

Get Well Gift Box

For your favorite person on the mend, our colorful, cartooned gift box includes Turmeric Ginger Tea from Rishi, Moroccan Spiced Tomato Soup, Cheddar Oyster Crackers, Ginger Chimes candies, a Ginger Scone, and a Lemon Scone. Sending to someone in good health? We can remove the identifying label.

G-GWG get well gift box $85

G-GWG-NL same contents, no label $85

If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Looking to fit a special diet? Find vegetarian, gluten free, and more versions of our bereavement and new baby gift boxes at zingermans.com

In Sympathy

Whenever someone loses a loved one, their house is usually besieged by grand floral arrangements. I usually send food, though, and often find it’s really appreciated—especially when they can enjoy the foods right out of the box.

Not sending in sympathy? We can remove the identifying label.

bereavement gift box

A not too perishable assortment of a nosher-sized Zingerman’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Old Kiev Salami, Antonio Mattei Almond Biscotti, Italian Fruit Jellies, John Macy’s Cheese Sticks, Zingerman’s Spiced Pecans, Virginia Diner Peanuts, and a bag of Zingerman’s Coffee, ground. It’s packed with class in our oval wooden crate with Zingerman’s printed on the lid.

G-BER bereavement gift box $165

G-BER-NL same contents, no label $165

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

sitting shiva gift box

A good choice for Shiva, the week-long mourning period in Judaism for close family members. Our wooden crate comes filled with a box of Apricot and Currant/Walnut Rugelach, a Chocolate and Raisin Babka, a pair of coconut macaroon-topped Black & White Brownies, Zingerman’s Peanut Brittle, and Pistachio Halva. Not Kosher.

G-SHV shiva gift box $165

G-SHV-NL same contents, no label $165

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

When’s the last time you sent a business gift and the recipient called you back to say how great it tasted? How they wanted more? How you must be the smartest, best-informed, most well-dressed gift giver they know? I promise at least one of those comments will come your way. Our food has that kind of effect. Call 866.260.6169 or email bizgifts@zingermans.com to get started.

Appreciation Gift Box

Hearing “thanks!” is nice. Eating “thanks!” is even better. Show your colleagues how much you appreciate them for that time they got all hands on deck to grab that low-hanging fruit, or for consistently circling back to thinking outside the box, or for their laser beam focus on herding all those cats with synergy. Our fun, colorful gift box comes stuffed with a coconut macaroon-topped Black & White Brownie and a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, plus three Mini Cookies: Oatmeal Raisin, Ginger Jump Up Molasses, and Sky’s the Lemon

G-APP gift box $35

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

The Snackboard Baskets

These have always been our most popular gift baskets. No heating, no cooking, just eating required.

Small

A loaf of Zingerman’s Farm Bread, and a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, Ann Arbor Tortilla Chips, Premium Salsa, Garlic & Pepper Pretzels, John Macy’s Cheese Sticks, Virginia Diner Peanuts.

G-SNA-S small $115

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Medium

All the food from the Small plus a Ginger Jump-Up Molasses Cookie, Holy Cow Beef Sticks, and Elderflower Gummies.

G-SNA-M medium $145

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Large

Includes all the food from the Small and Medium plus a Lemon Scone, Cornichon Pickles, and Zingerman’s Peanut Brittle.

G-SNA-L large $175

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Deluxe Filled with everything in the other three sizes plus Moroccan Olives, Apricot Rugelach, and Zingerman’s Spiced Pecans.

G-SNA-D deluxe $215

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

Tapas Gift Box

Packed by hand in our classic cartoon Zingerman's box, including: Spanish Manchego Cheese, Old Kiev Salami, Spanish Tortas with Anise and Olive Oil, Marcona Almonds, Cod-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers from Basque Country, and Portuguese Sardines.

G-TAP tapas gift box, serves 6–8 $115

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

The Weekender Gift Boxes

The Weekender Gift Boxes

Our best-selling all-purpose always-spot-on gift box. Built from foods you can snack on right out of the gate.

The Weekender

Hand assembled in our cartooned gift box with a loaf of Zingerman’s Farm Bread, a no-nut Black Magic Brownie, a Ginger Jump-Up Molasses Cookie, Holy Cow Beef Sticks, Zingerman’s Peanut Brittle, Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips, and a nosher-sized version of our extremely popular, extremely good Sour Cream Coffee Cake.

G-WEE weekender $110

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

The Long Weekender

Packed in a handsome wooden crate, includes all the items in the Weekender plus Zingerman’s Banana Bread, freshly roasted High Flyer Coffee, Cornichon Pickles, Garlic & Pepper Pretzels, Elderflower Gummies, and Spiced Pecans.

G-LWE long weekender $200

FREE 2 BUSINESS DAY SHIPPING

This is a solid collection for snacking.

OUR GUARANTEE If you experience a problem with one of our products, customer service, shipping, or you just don’t like how it tastes, please let us know. We’ll do whatever it takes to make it right, and we’ll never ask you to return anything.

Zingerman’s Food Clubs

Subscription gifts that remind them of how awesome you are every month. Choose your club, pay once and we’ll take care of the rest. Guaranteed to make you look like a gift genius..

ARTISAN CHEESE CLUB

Four Quarterly Shipments

G-CH-4 $325

Quarterly Artisan Cheese Club

Q1 Italy

Cave Aged Taleggio

Fontina Val d’Aosta

Parmigiano Reggiano

Q2 France

French Mountain

Mimolette

Fort St. Antoine Comté

Q3 Switzerland L’Etivaz

Antique Gruyère Aged Emmentaler

Q4 Spain

Farmhouse Mahon Aged Manchego Aged Zamorano

FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING

From dairy to cave to table. In this club we go country to country through four traditional cheese cultures. We taste cheeses subtle (like northern Italy’s cave aged Fontina Val d’Aosta, the truffle of the cheese world), cheeses emphatic (like Switzerland’s mountain cheese called L’Etivaz, made in eighty pound wheels) and cheeses rare (like the one-and-only Pleasant Ridge Reserve from Wisconsin, selected just for us). The tour is extensive but never tiring. These are the cheeses like you’ve never tasted before. Weighing in at over a pound and a half per shipment, they’ll last the recipient for weeks.

BREAD CLUB

One Loaf Per Month

Three Months

G-1-3 $80

Roadhouse Bread

Paesano

Chocolate Sourdough

Six Months

Bread of the Month Club

Our bread is magical. If you’re worried that someone will think you’re a little crazy for sending bread through the mail, it may reassure you to know that you’re not alone. We send thousands of loaves to bread lovers nationwide. It’s considered by many to be some of the finest bread made anywhere. A real treat.

G-1-6 $155

Includes first three months, plus:

Farm Bread

Sesame Semolina

Jewish Rye

Two Loaves Per Month

Three Months

G-2-3 $115

Roadhouse & Sourdough

Chile Cheddar & Paesano

Chocolate Sourdough & Farm Bread

Six Months

G-2-6 $225

Includes first three months, plus:

Sesame Semolina & Jewish Rye

8-Grain 3-Seed & Cinnamon Raisin

Pecan Raisin & Onion Rye

Bacon of the Month Club

Our bacon club has been lauded by chefs, sous chefs, home chefs, pork-o-philes and bacon freaks all over America. It’s our most popular food club by far and it’s not just the novelty of bacon-by-mail that makes it so loved. The bacons are downright amazing. It’s hard to find any of these bacons in most shops, let alone all of them. They represent the pinnacle of American bacon making and, let’s be honest, this is one food that no one in the world does better than us. Sorry Europe, it’s true. Your Parmigiano Reggiano and your Champagnes are great, but you can’t touch our bacon

BACON CLUB

Three Months

G-BAC-3 $130

Includes Pocket Book of Bacon, plus:

Nueske’s Applewood Smoked

Broadbent Hickory Smoked Arkansas Peppered

Six Months

G-BAC-6 $250

Includes first 3 months, plus:

Spencer’s Irish Style

Benton’s Dry Cured

Gunthorp’s Hickory Smoked Duroc

Twelve Months

G-BAC-12 $495

Includes first 6 months, plus:

Ferry Farms Berkshire

Burger’s Steak Bacon

Vande Rose Applewood Smoked

Spotted Trotter Sorghum Cured

Smoking Goose Jowl Bacon

Nueske’s Cherrywood Smoked

FREE 2 DAY SHIPPING

Custom Meat and Cheese Gifts

Build your own ultimate meat & cheese spread. Select cheeses— we’ll hand cut each half-pound wedge to order—and cured meats to pair with them. Then choose what you want to include with all those proteins: tangy Sourdough Bread, artisan Crackers, or a full party spread with Sesame Semolina Bread, Crackers, Cornichon Pickles and Virginia Diner Peanuts.

Choose your Meats and Cheeses

MEATS

Red Square Salami

Sacre Blue Saucisson Sec

Cacciatore Salami

Spicy Calabrian Salami

’Ndjua Spicy Pork Spread

Summer Sausage

Holy Cow Beef Sticks

CHEESES

Zingerman’s Nor’Easter Cheddar

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar

Parmigiano Reggiano

Marieke Gouda

Brabander Goat Gouda

French Mountain Cheese

Spanish Manchego

Piave Vecchio

Swiss Gruyère

Crybaby Swiss

Zingerman’s City Goat

Bayley Hazen Blue

WITH BREAD

4 meats & cheeses with sourdough

G-4MC $140

WITH CRACKERS

4 meats & cheeses with artisan crackers

G-N-4MC

PARTY SPREAD

4 meats & cheeses with full spread

G-4MP $185

Jewish Deli Care Kits

For the Jewish deli devotee stuck in The Land of No Decent Deli, send a taste of the most beloved deli favorites.

The Classic Jewish Deli Care Kit includes a loaf of Zingerman’s Jewish Rye, a pound of First Cut Corned Beef, a kit to make Matzo Ball Soup, Apricot Rugelach, and a Chocolate and Raisin Babka.

G-JDC classic deli care kit $135

The Deluxe Jewish Deli Care Kit includes everything in the Classic, plus extra deli love with two Potato Knishes, a Noodle Kugel, and a jar of Raye’s Downeast Schooner Yellow Mustard.

G-JDC-D deluxe deli care kit $190

Reuben Kits

Zingerman’s Reuben has been our top-selling sandwich since our doors opened on the corner of Detroit Street and Kingsley in 1982. It’s a soul-filling combination of corned beef, Swiss, homemade Russian dressing and sauerkraut that, when properly prepared at home, is a show-stopping meal. If you know someone who loves real deli fare, sending this gift will cement your status as the most clever, generous friend anyone could have. Some assembly is required, but considering it has been known to make adults weep in appreciation, we think it’s worth it.

CHOOSE YOUR SANDWICH

Corned Beef Reuben

G-SHE serves 8 $235

G-SHE-2 serves 3–4 $165

Pastrami Brooklyn Reuben

G-BIN serves 8 $235

G-BIN-2 serves 3–4 $165

Turkey Georgia Reuben

G-GEO serves 8 $235

G-GEO-2 serves 3–4 $165

Jenny's Fix Corned Beef & Pastrami Reuben

G-JJA serves 8 $235

Jewish Rye Bread (Pumpernickel in Pastrami Reuben)

Meat of your choice

Sliced Emmentaler Swiss Russian Dressing

Sauerkraut

Coleslaw

Garlicky Pickles

Zingerman’s Potato Chips

Magic & Black Magic

Brownie Bites

Professional Deli Instructions

WHAT’S INCLUDED SANDWICH BLISS

610 Phoenix Dr., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108

888.636.8162 • Text me sometime 734.436.2006

your customer number

key code

Back to School Gifts

The Munchies Collection

Shipped free to any home or campus, including those located in Lansing. Includes four Brownie Bites (2 with nuts and 2 without), Ann Arbor Tortilla Chips, Fundidora Salsa, Garlic & Pepper Pretzels, Butter Toasted Peanuts, and a personal-sized bag of Zingerman’s Sea Salt Potato Chips.

G-MUN munchies gift box $65

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

The Friendmaker Gift Box

Break the ice, win friends and influence people with food! When the recipient shares this hoard with their new dorm mates, their personal Yelp rating (not a real thing—yet) will soar. Includes Holy Cow Beef Sticks, Ann Arbor Tortilla Chips, Fundidora Salsa, Rick’s Picks People’s Pickles, John Macy’s Cheese Sticks, Spiced Pecans, two walnut-studded Magic Brownie Bites, two no-nut Black Magic Brownie Bites, and a Ginger Jump-Up Molasses Cookie.

G-FRD friendmaker gift box $110

FREE RELAXED SHIPPING

Zingerman’s Gift Cards

Supplement the dining hall meal plan with a little virtual food cash. Good for a midnight snack shopping spree online, an afternoon Reuben binge at the Delicatessen or a Tuesday evening burger at our Roadhouse. Gift cards are available in any amount, good at any Zingerman’s business. Mailed or electronic.

G-GIF mailed USPS for free, you choose the amount

E-GIF emailed instantly for free, you choose the amount