| June 13, 2005 | Vol 1, Issue 1 |
Welcome to our first ever Pasta Giornale, a newsletter for
the Farmers' Market Vendors of Pappardelle's Pasta!
During the peak of the farmers' market season we will be publishing this e-newsletter bi-monthly. Our goal is to provide you with more information about Pappardelle's products, as well as other culinary tidbits. We will also try to include new recipes with each newsletter.
During the peak of the farmers' market season we will be publishing this e-newsletter bi-monthly. Our goal is to provide you with more information about Pappardelle's products, as well as other culinary tidbits. We will also try to include new recipes with each newsletter.
In the spirit of community, we want to include any tips
or suggestions you as a vendor might have that would help your fellow
vendors. Please email me with your tips or suggestions as to what works
for you. Also, let me know what topics you would like to see in future
editions of Pasta Giornale.
For those of you who wanted it, you will be receiving
the new Sales Manual in the next few weeks. The contents will
include more of the history of Pappardelle's, information on
how the pasta is made, complete product descriptions, ingredient
statements, recipes and other useful information. It is our hope that
the Sales Manual will assist you as you either launch your business or
continue to perfect it.
The combination of this newsletter and the Sales Manual
is just the start of what we hope will be more communication and
information from us at Pappardelle's.
We hope you are enjoying having all of the recipes
online!
Featured Product
A Little
History...
Calamari Pasta. What is it? Is it something that we just pulled out of our culinary hat? Is it really made with squid ink? Why do people eat it?
In fact Calamari Pasta is a very popular noodle in southern Italy and in Sicily. Most of the time, however, it is not made with calamari or squid ink, but rather made with cuttlefish ink. Cuttlefish are a type of cephalopod and very similar to squid. They have eight tentacles. We use cuttlefish ink because not only is it traditional (they've been using it in Venice since the 14th century to flavor seafood dishes), but it also is more flavorful.
Facts about cuttlefish ink:
Calamari Pasta. What is it? Is it something that we just pulled out of our culinary hat? Is it really made with squid ink? Why do people eat it?
In fact Calamari Pasta is a very popular noodle in southern Italy and in Sicily. Most of the time, however, it is not made with calamari or squid ink, but rather made with cuttlefish ink. Cuttlefish are a type of cephalopod and very similar to squid. They have eight tentacles. We use cuttlefish ink because not only is it traditional (they've been using it in Venice since the 14th century to flavor seafood dishes), but it also is more flavorful.
Facts about cuttlefish ink:
- Cuttlefish ink has some protein content.
- When used in sauces it has a thickening effect.
- Cuttlefish ink contains a lot of saline, which enhances flavor.
- Cuttlefish ink used by the Old Masters in Italy for ink. Known as sepia.
- Cuttlefish ink is composed of melanin and has been used as the artist's pigment called sepia. The Old Masters in Italy used it for decades.
- Squid in Ink is a traditional dish in Venice
- Cuttlefish are slower swimmers than squid, which results in more ink and a more tender flesh.
- Cuttlefish ink is sweeter than squid ink
Selling Tip
If bringing frozen product to the market keep a tally sheet on top of your cooler with the exact contents of the cooler. Every time you sell an item from the cooler, mark it off your list. This will prevent you from needlessly opening your cooler and it will also give you an exact count of what you have on hand.
Don't forget: tell your customers to find us on the web or call our 800# to order more products if they can't make it to the market. You will receive either 15% cash or 20% product credit on all gross sales.
Tips of the Trade from Other Vendors
Ed Greer and Katy Wilkinson in Dallas
When the line gets long at their Dallas Farmers' Market booth, they give their customers (usually seasoned Pappardelle's Pasta buyers) an empty pasta bag and a pen. They instruct them to write directly on the bag exactly what they would like to order. Ed and Katy fill the order while the customer finishes his/her shopping. Not only does this free up a little time for Ed and Katy, but it also gives them the chance to make another sale when the customer returns!
Did You Know?
Thomas Jefferson is credited with bringing the first pasta machine to the United Sates in 1789?
Food for Thought
"Farmers' markets are vital to our national health in the deepest sense of the word. They not only supply food that is alive and truly nutritious but are good for our state of mind, too." Deborah Madison, founder of Greens restaurant in San Francisco and former market manager of Santa Fe, New Mexico's farmers' market
Mange!
Annie