NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Mezzetta Specialty Foods, America’s number-one producer of imported and domestic peppers and olives, announced today it is debuting a variety of new unique specialty food products inspired by current culinary trends, including three new cheese-stuffed olives: Smoked Gouda, Habanero Jack and Sharp White Cheddar. Also new to Mezzetta is a unique blend of Italian Garden Vegetables, created specifically to accompany cured meats, or “salumi.” The Napa Valley-based specialty foods producer has introduced a new hearty marinara meat sauce called Amatriciana; it is a traditional Roman recipe featuring pancetta and sautéed red onions. Amatriciana is the latest extension to the company’s Napa Valley Bistro line of specialty pasta sauces. Finally, Mezzetta introduces Castelvetrano olives, Italy’s favorite snacking olive previously available only at upscale restaurants or in gourmet retailer olive bars. All Mezzetta products are packed in their Napa Valley facility and ingredients are locally sourced whenever possible.
Mezzetta’s newest products – all available nationwide at major grocery and specialty foods stores or online at www.mezzetta.com – include:
- Cheese Stuffed Olive Collection – Adding to its existing line of stuffed olives, Mezzetta is debuting three new stuffed cheese flavors: European Smoked Gouda Style, Vermont Sharp White Cheddar Style, and California Habanero Jack Style, which join the existing favorites – Bleu Cheese and Greek Feta-stuffed. All are hand-stuffed, extra-large Greek Halkidiki olives that are ideal for cocktails or an antipasto platter, sliced in salads or just served for plain snacking.
- Castelvetrano Olives – First appearing a few years ago at gourmet grocery olive bars and on trendy restaurant menus, now the hot Sicilian import is available for the first time at supermarkets nationwide in glass jars from Mezzetta. Long a favorite in Italy, the Castelvetranos are imported by Mezzetta from a small town of the same name in Sicily. These memorable yet hard-to-find olives have a distinct bright green hue with a meaty, buttery flesh. Nutritionally, the Castelvetrano olives have just 20 calories with 2 grams of fat and zero carbohydrates per serving.
- Italian Garden Vegetables – “Giardiniera” is the Italian word for garden and this classic Italian antipasti is made of an assortment of vegetables harvested at the height of the season. This colorful blend features carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, onions and red bell peppers, all sourced locally. Marinated in a white balsamic vinegar, Mezzetta’s Italian Garden Vegetables are crafted to best complement the hearty flavors of cured and smoked meats.
- Amatriciana Pasta Sauce – The newest marinara sauce from Mezzetta, the Amatriciana is named after the small town of Amatrice, Italy and based on a traditional recipe, which features cured pork “pancetta”, and sautéed red onions. This all-natural sauce is hearty, savory and rustic with a touch of heat. Like the other marinara sauces in Mezzetta’s Napa Valley Bistro line, the Amatriciana is made with a splash of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to add flavor and richness. Slow cooked in small batches, only vine-ripened plum tomatoes, slow-cured pancetta, local garlic, sautéed red onions, chili flakes, imported Italian olive oil and natural sea salt are used.
“We are especially excited to introduce new products, which you can enjoy at home, that complement or even mirror dishes you’ll find at some of the country’s hottest restaurants but have until now been rarely seen on grocery shelves, such as the new Amatriciana sauce, the Italian Garden Vegetables to accompany salumi or the Castelvetrano olives,” said CEO Jeff Mezzetta. “Other products, like our newest cheese-stuffed olives, fit the growing demand by today’s home chefs for fresh, unexpected flavor pairings to jazz up everyday meals or to serve guests for easy entertaining.”
ABOUT MEZZETTA SPECIALTY FOODS: With a tradition that began in 1935 in San Francisco’s historic North Beach, Mezzetta is a specialty food producer best known for being America’s favorite brand of domestic and imported peppers and olives. Giuseppe Luigi Mezzetta, an Italian immigrant, started the business selling specialty food items imported from Italy. Jeff Mezzetta, his great grandson, now runs the company from a new facility in the culinary capital of the Napa Valley. The Mezzetta family includes three distinct brands that represent a wide variety of regional culinary specialties made from wholesome, quality ingredients and authentic recipes. Based on a rich Italian-American heritage spanning four generations, Mezzetta is committed to delivering flavor, convenience, and value to today’s health-conscious consumers. For more ideas to spark your imagination, please visit www.mezzetta.com.
Source: Mezzetta Specialty Foods