The mystery of flavor

This morning I started my day with a cup of tea and a bowl of Kashi cereal, the kind that tastes great with honey. The flavors of honey, milk, tea and a neutral cereal was pleasant. Each flavor was well balanced and complimented one another. What is the speed of flavor? Fast, slow, zig zag, or head on? In the frozen dessert business, flavor is the number one issue I consider everyday. Texture is a close second, but without the right balance, or intention, flavors can be slow, to fast, or wind up in a dead end. "Where do you go from there? No where." (Nigel Tufnel)
Today, one of my employees said he tried the Alphonso Mango gelato and did not favor it over the previous recipe. We began talking about flavor and how this mango gelato is different from the previous one. The Alphonso mango has a unique flavor. It is highly esteemed in the culinary world for it's texture and bold flavor. When you scoop into a pint of Madisono's Alphonso Mango gelato the full flavor of the fruit prevails. This new recipe is our neutral gelato mix(made from scratch at Madisono's) and Alphonso Mango. The simpler the better. But the flavor is different and I understand what he was saying. This flavor is fast by design and delivers a unique profile similar to a mango lassi. Try it with some cardamom on top, you will not be disappointed.
This weekend I am participating in the Findlay Market Fundraiser, Lunch on the Land. I have used Madison Ridgeview Farm blackberries to create a blackberry gelato. It will be served on a mini brioche from Skirtz and Johnston. I started by making a concentrated syrup from many pounds of frozen berries. The plan was to incorporate this pure syrup into the neutral gelato mix and process. The color of the syrup was a very deep purple and when mixed with the gelato mix turned a beautiful purple. Despite attempts to get this flavor into the fast lane it just refused to be hurried. I would classify this as a slow flavor, a single gear so to speak. Is this bad? My intention was to create a head on blast of blackberry, but the reality is that despite the volume of syrup added to the mix this will never happen. The use of all natural fruits and purees for flavoring gelato and sorbet is a challenge at times. So the solution is to embrace the reality of the flavor and accept it. What I decided to do was to process the blackberry gelato according to recipe design and then compliment it with puree as a swirl. The result is that I have a much more visually appealing gelato due to the marbling of the dark purple puree against a soft purple gelato. The puree adds a second gear to the flavor but does not corrupt the texture of the finished gelato. In the end I was pleased and I think that you will be as well. It will be available at Findlay Market this weekend while supplies last.
Thanks for supporting Madisono's
Matt

A beautiful Saturday at Findlay Market

When I woke up this morning and the breeze was blowing a cool 6o degrees or so through my window the birds were chirping, and the sun was beginning to shine. A good day for Findlay. I had a bowl of oatmeal, some mangos and a pressed coffee. I arrived to scoop gelato from 10 t0 2:30 and had blast! We offer over 15 flavors of gelato and sorbet at the dipping station and today was the official debut of Madisono's Mad Pops. The response to the Mad Pops was great. We had three flavors, Alphonso Mango with pineapple, Redraspberry with strawberry, and Blackberry lemon. My wife designed some great stickers and we started using the impulse heat sealer on some new bags. The packaging looks great. Thanks Margot!
Madisono's is excited to be the first to bring this unique treat to Cincinnati. Lately, I have been introduced to many new music groups. I am lucky in that, I can listen to music all day long as loud as I want. We generate lots of noise in the production facility with blenders, batch freezers, and compressors running everywhere. It doesn't pay extra, but the benefit of music all day is worth something. I always want to jump into Wikipedia, Myspace or websites to get more information on these bands but time does not always allow it. I find that flavors are like music. Complex or simple arrangements that have emotion, depth and purpose. There just is not enough time to explore the abyss of flavor. So what is there to do?
Take a breath and slow down. Rome was not built in a day. Some bands may break up but their music will last. It will be there. Flavors will be there too. They are not going anywhere. Sure there may be a season to wait but for the most part they are there like notes waiting for placement. The introduction of Madisono's Mad Pops will give us many more flavor notes to compose with. It is my hope to bring to all of you a sweet melody on a stick.
Here is a band that I have taken the time to look into. I hope you enjoy it. Mexican Elvis,

Thanks for supporting Madisono's

Madisono's Mad Pops debut at Findlay Market

Those of you who follow this blog know that posts do not show up regularly. I would like to say that I am working on doing a better at this. I hope to post at least once a week and maybe more. There are some great things happening at Madisono's and I love to talk about it.
What is a Mad Pop you ask? A Mad Pop is a frozen fruit pop, made with real fruits and madisono's sorbet. Imagine Alphonso mango sorbet with pineapple or Madiosno's lemon sorbet and blackberries, or red raspberry sorbet and fresh strawberries. Each fruit batch is made from scratch and then poured into the molds. Everything about this concept is done by hand and in very small batches. I think this would qualify as artisan. Once frozen they are removed and then packaged. This idea has been brewing for a long and I am finally able to introduce some initial products for people to try and get some input on them. I have been overwhelmed at flavor possibilities. So many flavors and so little time.
Pops are nothing new, we all had them as kids but they were just frozen juice, with fake food colors and artificial flavors. Even today they are still made with crappy ingredients. Mad Pops is offering something very different. There is so much fruit in these you can feel it. The lemon blackberry is made with blackberries from Madison's Ridgeview Farm in Adams County. We froze many pounds of berries just for Mad Pops. The inspiration for pops is found in the Mexican Paletas. My sister in law is from Panama and all through Latin America paletas are everywhere, made with real fruits and simple ingredients. Paleta shops are showing up in places around the country and now they are available here. We have some big plans for Mad Pops here in Cincinnati. More on that later. If you get to Findlay Market stop in to Madison's for a Mad Pop and let me know what you think. Have a good holiday weekend.
Thanks for supporting Madisono's Gelato
Matt

NPR Pitango Gelato Story

This morning I was snoozing through a 5:30 am wake up. I am not sure which cycle it was, maybe the first or second, but the alarm clock started up just as a story came on about Pitango Gelato. Steve Inskeep introduced the story and needless to say I was awake! Click on Pitango for the NPR story. At the end of the story something resonated with me. The venture capitol person being interviewed said that they are trying to figure out if artisan can become mainstream. The interviewer then follows up with a summary of the concept of whether or not high quality ingredients can be used and then sold at a high price.
Will artisan go mainstream? This poses an interesting argument. What is artisan and what is mainstream? I can think of several artisan companies that are in the mainstream. LaBrea breads from the west coast, and many of the fine cheeses produced domestically and abroad still maintain a method of production that is not much different from when they started out. The difference is that they just make more. There are many craft beers on the market today and many chocolate companies that use rustic techniques to produce their products. Small food companies make quality food using techniques that they have to use, because they can't afford the alternative. They may also believe that certain techniques produce the best quality product. Most of the time ingredients and technique are what make things taste better than the mass produced stuff. I am not sure that the issue is whether or not artisan can go mainstream or not it is whether or not the artist can produce enough to be in the mainstream.
The other issue brought up in the story was whether or not high quality ingredients can be used and then sold at a high price? Recently the New York Times ran an story from Julia Moskin on the price of artisan ice creams. How can they justify the $10.00 pint? Price is based on many factors. The use of high quality ingredients commands a higher price at the end. There is no other way about it. The issue is will people pay for it? When I ran a small shop I used to make cranberry chicken salad. People placed orders in advance for weddings and parties. It was very good. We used the highest quality ingredients available. When food reps would come in and notice that I was using Hellman's they would always offer their product for half the price with the slogan, "they will never know the difference." The other brand was cheaper and would increase my profits but it was not as good as Hellman's. And my customers could taste the difference. I had an offer to use already cut celery, and chopped onions, but in the end the cheaper foods would never amount to a better product, just a cheaper one. I never had to try these products because I already knew. You can't use cheap products and then charge a high price. Not many people run food costs at home or do the math on potion costs when they cook a meal. Bacos or bacon? I think we all know that you can't fake the real thing and it is worth every penny.
I got up, had my tea and breakfast then headed off to make more gelato. I'm not worried about artisan going mainstream. I just hope that there is not the same silly debate over artisan as there was over organic. Remember that? At first it was organic then certified organic and then biodynamic, and now it has settled on local. Which has always made more sense. Let's leave the titles out and just enjoy good food, made with quality ingredients, that are made locally.
Thanks for supporting Madisono's

Blueberry, Peach and Nectarine at Findlay

I spent a good part of Tuesday processing fruit from my parents store for some new flavors. These will be dipped at findlay and served at Prima Vista restaurant. Don't look for them in pints but if you want a pint to take home just ask. The Findlay staff will be happy to assist you.
Many of you know that Madisono's is a partner with Sustain Brands. Sustain brand foods are popping up all over town. Many of them are sold at Madison's @ Findlay 110 W. Elder St. They have salsa, fresh salsa and some soups. If you click here, there is a link about Sustain Brands if you want to know more about them and their philosophy on foods.
Thanks
Matt

Big Award for Madisono's!

The sign says it all. A big thanks to Cincinnati Magazine for the award. I am grateful for such and award. Did you know that we make our own gelato bases from scratch? This means that all of the ingredients are mixed and then pasteurized at the plant. Did you know that we make four different gelato bases? They are neutral, chocolate, dark chocolate and cinnamon. The sorbet bases are also made from scratch. Each sorbet has it's own recipe. This is why Madisono's tastes so good.
This past weekend was quite busy. Saturday morning I set up for the Lady Distance Classic 5k/10K run in Blue Ash. The morning was cool and crisp. We sampled mango sorbet, lemon basil sorbet, dark chocolate gelato, French vanilla gelato, and caramello with sea salt gelato. Thanks to all of you who stopped by for samples. We will be back next year with some new flavors. If you shop at Whole Foods you would know that this past week was local week and that means demos. I traveled to Columbus on Saturday to the Dublin store and sampled to the masses. What a great event! I brought home some organic dog treats and met some great people. Sunday was another demo at the Upper Arlington store which turned out to be a great day too. Thanks to all of you who sampled and purchased Madisono's. Yes the Maple Nut with Brown Sugar is crazy delicious. I am looking forward to lunch on the land in September.
On Tuesday of this week I am going to make some peach, nectarine and blueberry gelato. I got some great fruit from my parents store at Findlay Market and can not wait to offer them to all of you. They will be available for dipping this weekend. Thanks again to Cincinnati Magazine for the award.
Thanks to all of you for your support.
Matt

Cincinnati Ride June 13 2010

Today I am serving gelato and sorbet at the Cincinnati Ride for Breast Cancer Research located at Sawyer Point. The weather looks good and I am looking forward to it. Thanks to all of you who took part in the event and to those of you who stopped by to sample!

Here is a list of locations where you can find Madisono's Gelato and Sorbet

Bigg's Hide Park
Bigg's Mason
Bigg's Anderson
Bigg's Pleasant Ridge
Bigg'sDelhi
Whole Foods Mason
Whole Foods Rookwood
Pipkins Market Blue Ash
Garnish Catering Blue Ash
Ferrari's Little Italy Maderia
Cork and Bottle Buttermilk
Cork and Bottle Covington
The Party Source
Madison's At Findlay Market (Dipped Fresh in the store )
Sunshine Foods Hyde Park
Carl's Deli Hyde Park
Coffee Emporium Downtown
Luigi's Market Mason
Pitrelli's Mason
College Hill Coffee Company
Keller's IGA
Dillonvale IGA
Meiner's Meats Bridgetown
Servati's Western Hills
Wyoming Wines
Wyoming Meats
Please consider purchasing Madisono's from one of these fine retail locations. My sorbet is dairy free and did you know that Madisono's is made with 8% butterfat and fewer calories than regular ice cream?
Thanks
Matt