Food Imports Are As American As Apple Pie

Even after walking thousands of steps these past few days in and out of aisles at the Fancy Food Show in New York City, I’m feeling surprisingly energized. And there are many tastes I can’t get out of my head.

That includes the lion’s mane broth from organic mushroom farm Two River, Hold The Pickle dill seasoning (works well as a Tajin-style drink rim!) from a New York City public school teacher, Salad Sprinkles, and smoked maple syrup from Sugar Bob’s. I also sampled dates from Saudi Arabia, matcha from Japan and cheeses from every corner in the world you could imagine. There was wagyu and venison. I also finally tried a fair amount of the crunchy and pistachio-filled Dubai Chocolate, and must admit I’m now fully on board with the trend.

There were so many hot sauces, likely with founders dreaming of the 10-times-revenue multiple acquisition of Cholula back in 2020. Most probably won’t get a win that big, but there were several brands with hot sauces I loved tasting and learning more about, including the seed-to-bottle condiment maker Springs Fireplace It’s a husband-and-wife run farm out east in The Hamptons, and their fruity flavors like Aji Peach and Aji Mango are top sellers. Another standout was Hot N Saucy’s Garlic N Peperoncini. Businesses I was less excited to see include Panama Blue, which is labeled on its bottle as “Rainforest Spring Water.” I don’t know all the details of their business, but that water should probably stay in the rainforest?

I also did some speaking, as a panelist on the Big Ideas Stage to talk about the future of private label, as well as a moderator on the main stage on the extremely timely topic of tariffs. On the tariff panel, Ori Zohar, CEO and cofounder of single-origin spice company Burlap and Barrel, explained how his brand sources just 10% of their spices domestically. And that’s simply because there are no U.S. farmers who grow staples like cinnamon and peppercorns. But there are generations who have mastered the art of farming these spices around the world, like in Vietnam, where Burlap and Barrel sources both. Earlier today, Vietnam signed a trade deal with the Trump Administration, agreeing to a 20% tariff instead of the threatened 46% tariff that was set to start later this month.

Burlap and Barrel has committed to not raising prices due to tariffs. And exemptions may eventually be possible, especially in cases where there are no domestic alternatives. But there’s a lot that is still getting lost amid all the uncertainty and deal-making chaos. Tariffs are pressuring brands to erase the true origins of key ingredients that have their own authentic histories, and Zohar is not standing for it. He shared an impassioned plea for everyone to think about quintessential American dishes, like apple pie and barbecue. Now imagine that apple pie without cinnamon. And imagine those burgers or shrimp or chicken or ribs without pepper. It’s as American as apple pie to cook with spices from around the world.

So as you celebrate the Fourth of July this weekend, consider what your spread would look like without any imported ingredients. You might be surprised! Enjoy the long weekend!

— Chloe Sorvino

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The Feed

A Big Beautiful Frenzy: With the Senate’s passing of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, there’s a lot to unpack. After outrage over a comprehensive public land grab in the West, the sales were removed. But the bill also includes many provisions which the Environmental Working Group describes as handing billions to corporate agricultural interests and “dramatically [expanding] farm subsidy loopholes that overwhelmingly benefit wealthy farmers, corporate agriculture, foreign insurance companies and factory farms.” The bill also includes what Civil Eats is calling “the most significant cuts in history to the country’s largest hunger program.” Their report estimates that the changes will “push millions of Americans out of the program, while other provisions in the bill will likely kick as many as 11.8 million low-income people off of Medicaid and 4.2 million off of Obamacare insurance plans.”

Another Lab-Grown Ban: Texas has become the seventh state to ban lab-grown meat, following Indiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Alabama and Florida. A similar bill in the Oklahoma house of representatives died earlier this year, while recent legislation in South Carolina goes the route of requiring clean labeling of any artificial or cell-based product.

Cracking Egg Prices: Waffle House has ended its surcharge of 50 cents per egg—a strong sign that egg prices are coming down after soaring amid supply shortages from avian flu. Waffle House serves 272 million eggs a year.

Field Notes

These meatballs from chef Marc Meyer at New York City’s Cookshop, made with La Belle Patrimone heritage chicken, were the best I’ve ever had. Silky, herby, and luxuriously smooth, in a perfectly meatball-y way.

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