Tag: ZINGERMAN’S DELI
When dairy deliciousness and doing the right thing come together
While the country seems suffused in controversy on any number of social issues, here’s a cause that could bring anyone who loves great food into the fold: the campaign to Save The Emmentaler® is calling for our help!
Gourmino’s Save The Emmentaler initiative is committed to supporting “small-scale cheesemakers and their centuries-old craft, promoting the genuine, natural qualities of Emmentaler AOP as an authentic product that goes beyond tradition to ensure its continued excellence.” I’m on board!! If you’d like to enlist as well, the action step is easy—swing by the Deli and buy a bit of this terrific cheese! (If you’re out of town, just email [email protected] and we can ship you some!) Don’t delay! Supplies of this handmade artisan offering are, not surprisingly, sort of limited!
Emmentaler AOP has long been revered as the “king of Swiss cheeses”; it comes in a massive, 30-inch diameter, 200-pound wheel, and features distinctive holes. Its iconic shape is so well-known that children often draw it when depicting cheese. Tracing its origins to the 13th century, Emmentaler AOP is still crafted by this small number of tradition-minded cheesemakers using the same centuries-old methods. Old-school Emmentaler like this is made only in the Emme Valley, in the central part of Switzerland, about two-thirds of the way from Zurich to Bern. It dates back to the same era as the founding of the Swiss democratic system, in the late 13th century and has been exported since the 16th century. Minimum standards have been legally in place since the formation of the Swiss Cheese Union in 1901, the year before the Deli’s building was built. The far stricter Appellation d’Origin standards were put in place a century later, and these are the standards that the Emmentaler AOP we’re working so hard to save has exceeded. You really can taste the difference. It is, in truth, a truly remarkable cheese. The mission of the Save the Emmentaler movement is both simple and powerful: “Preserve Emmentaler AOP’s integrity through sustainable, small-scale cheesemaking and traditional ripening methods.” Here are six reasons that it really resonates deeply for me.
- It tastes terrific—there are hundreds of “Swiss cheeses” in the world, but they are not the same as this one, the original. It is to the flavor of supermarket “Swiss” what a stuffed whale would be to the sort that swims in the ocean and that most everyone reading this will also want to help save. It is an ideal fit for our longstanding definition of quality at Zingerman’s: full-flavored and traditionally made.
- When a community loses its cheese, it loses part of its spirit and connection to place. As Sinead O’Connor sang in “I Want to Talk About Ireland,” “We’ve lost contact with our history … And this is what’s wrong with us.” The work behind Save the Emmentaler was established to keep that from happening. Rooted, connected community is the core of caring; healthy countries are made up of caring communities.
- Switzerland is one of the oldest democracies in the world, and craft-based, cheesemaking spread throughout the country is one of its anchors, economically, environmentally, agriculturally, and culturally.
- The more we can demonstrate that there IS a viable market for traditional foods like this traditional Emmentaler AOP, the more people are likely to take on the work of making them.
- Full-flavored foods like this create joy and beauty in the world. And we could certainly use more of both!
- As I discussed in the pamphlet “A Revolution of Dignity in the Twenty-First Century Workplace,” this system is built on the foundation of dignity at every level. The farmers, the cows, the land, the community, the cheese, and the customers—all are treated with respect and care in this wonderfully regenerative process.
What makes this cheese so special? It starts with the cows. They graze on a diverse diet of grasses and herbs in open meadows, which gives the milk—and the cheese—a unique and rich flavor. The herds are small, usually just 12 to 20 cows, allowing farmers to maintain a close connection with each animal. Healthier, well-cared-for cows naturally produce higher-quality milk. The milk itself is raw and delivered to the dairy twice a day. It still arrives in old-school milk cans—unlike industrial pumping (which is faster but can damage the delicate fat globules in the milk), cans can help preserve quality. The milk is made into cheese within 12 hours of milking, ensuring it’s as fresh as possible when the process begins.
Gourmino itself was founded nearly a quarter century ago by a quintet of quality-conscious farmers in the interest of helping sustain traditional Swiss cheeses into the 21st century. Today the group is up to 12 producers, and, I will say with confidence that every single cheese we’ve ever gotten from Gourmino has been great!
The Emmentaler AOP Reserve we have on hand right now was made by the Schöpfer family at the Mountain Dairy of Kleinstein. It’s been aged for an impressive two years. The affinage process begins in Gourmino’s Langnau Emmental cellars, where the wheels are hand-washed weekly. Later, the best wheels are moved to the facility in Reichenbach Mountain Galleries for what they refer to as “Affinage in the Mountain,” since the cellar is literally carved into the mountain.
With 24 months of maturing, it should be no surprise that the flavor of the Emmentaler AOP Reserve is meaty, concentrated, complex, and compelling. There’s a small touch of sweetness, a good bit of lovely bitterness. Eat it at room temperature to access its full flavor. Great with some of the heirloom apples we can still get around here this time of year! Totally terrific on slices of Bakehouse’s Dinkelbrot, which have been spread generously with Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter.
For anyone who loves full-flavored traditional cheese, the Emmentaler AOP Reserve is a really great choice! And, the more we eat it, the more demand goes up, and the more effective the campaign to Save the Emmentaler is going to be!
Grace Singleton, co-managing partner of Zingerman’s Delicatessen, and I persevered through internet issues (at times it sounded like we were talking to each other through fast food drive-through speakers from the ’80s) to talk about everything from her culinary background to what’s ahead in the new year at the Deli. She shared what it’s like working with her fellow managing partners, Rick Strutz and Rodger Bowser; her passion for understanding issues (and fixing them); and her favorite items from around the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses (ZCoB).
Jason Ujvari
Zingerman’s Creative Services Design Manager
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Jason: Where did your career begin before you came to Ann Arbor?
Grace: I grew up on the east side of Cleveland and went to culinary school back in the late ’80s. That was when culinary schools were just starting to be a thing. There weren’t a lot of them. Johnson & Wales University and the CIA [Editor’s note: That’s the Culinary Institute of America, not to be confused with the government’s Central Intelligence Agency] were around. I went to Paul Smith’s College, which is way upstate New York in the Adirondack Mountains. The college has a lot of land (over 10,000 acres) and a small student population (under 2,000 students). A friend who went to U of M got a big kick out of that because there were that many people just in his dorm!
After I graduated, I started off my culinary career and worked for a couple of really good organizations. I worked at Stouffer’s restaurants. Yes, that Stouffer’s. Back in the day, Stouffer’s used to have hotels, restaurants, and frozen food—all three separate divisions. From there I went to the East Coast, and, fun fact, Rick’s family owns the property in Baltimore that I was working at, though we didn’t meet each other until many years later.
I wanted to get back to the Midwest and I really wanted to own my own place eventually. So, I got a job with C.A. Muer Corporation, a well-known restaurant group, and was a dining room manager at Big Fish in Dearborn. After a few years, they transferred me to Ann Arbor to be the general manager of the Gandy Dancer and I fell in love with the city. I really just thought Ann Arbor was great. I liked that it was big enough to have some interesting things going on but small enough that people all knew each other. I knew about Zingerman’s because I would go to the Bakehouse to buy Chocolate Cherry bread. That was what lured me in! And, working in the industry, I heard lots of great things about Zingerman’s. So when a friend told me about an open position at the Deli, I applied and got the job as the manager of the specialty foods department. Rick and I were hired within a week of each other!
Jason: You’re one of three managing partners at the Deli. What’s it like working with Rick and Rodger?
Grace: It’s great. We all have our own separate areas of responsibility, but we overlap some and we cover each other. We’re a good strategy team. When we’re working on things together, we are great at talking things through, playing devil’s advocate with each other, and coming up with better solutions.
Jason: Is someone more creative and someone more business-focused or does it just depend on what you’re dealing with?Grace: Yeah, it’s kind of a mix. It’s interesting. We took a personality test, I forget if it was Myers-Briggs or another one, and the coach we were working with at the time said, “Wow, this is weird, all three of you are like the same!”
I think Rick is our negotiator. He loves talking to people and trying to figure out a deal. So he’s the one who’s coordinating things. Rodger is a process king. He is super good at it. I can come up with a list of all the tasks that need to happen to get something done, but I’m horrible at putting them in order. So I can go to him and say, “I know I have to do all these things. Which comes first?” And he will be the one who’s like, “This, this, this.”
Jason: Sounds like a great symbiotic-type leadership going on over there.
Grace: It’s nice to have three people with that big of a place to cover each other. Especially since we like to make sure we have at least one partner there every day of the year we’re open.
Jason: What do you think they would say it’s like working with you? Grace: I don’t know. I tend to say I’m good at finding errors, which is helpful and annoying all at the same time. I tend to look pretty far out. And I try to be really connected to the culture and make sure we’re taking care of everything for the staff. Rick does a lot of that, too. So it’s just a different angle of it. Rick is more the person you call at 3 am because he answers his phone no matter what. And I’m the one who’s like, “Hey, how do we set this up so that more people can do it?”
Jason: You’ve been a part of some major changes at the Deli—overseeing the Gold Level LEED-certified Deli expansion project, opening the Zingerman’s Greyline event space, introducing virtual tasting events for fans around the country during the pandemic—all while continuing to lead the day-to-day of Deli catering and retail specialty foods. Any other big changes ahead?
Grace: For years, Rick, Rodger, and I have been working on figuring out a point-of-sale (POS) solution. We started with paper carbon copies, then converted to a “real POS” after the build-out that was a point-of-sale system with KDS (kitchen display system) screens. Now, post-pandemic, we’re at a point where we get all of these orders in from third-party vendors and we need a new solution, we need a tech stack [Editor’s note: The programming languages and frameworks used to develop a website or software]. We’ve been working hard on that for almost two years, trying to find the right solution because there are a lot of options out there, but none of them do exactly what we need them to do.
Since the pandemic, Rick and Rodger and the whole front-of-house and sandwich line teams have worked really hard on finding a way to get extremely accurate quote times for people, and we’ve come up with a system to do that. Folks don’t have to stand in line anymore: They can come in, place an order, and if the wait is an hour and a half, they can shop or walk around the neighborhood. Or they can call their order in or place it online! So now there’s an electronic line, which is still a little confusing to guests if they come in and don’t see a line but there’s still an hour and a half wait.
Anyway, we’re closing in on a solution. I think we’ve made our selection of which system we’re going to use. It’s been a long haul to find the one. We’re going to be working really hard to implement that and get it in place before April or May.
Other than that, we’re doing some renovations. Our “new” building went up 12 years ago, so it’s getting a little tired and it’s a big property to manage. We need to do things like replace ceiling tiles and redo floors. We also had to redo all of our plumbing. That was a sad realization, but yes, all the plumbing had to get ripped out and redone, mostly in the new building. So, that’s been quite a problem.
Jason: Oof, I’m really sorry about that. Aside from the new POS solution, is there something that you’re really looking forward to this upcoming year at the Deli?Grace: Last year we implemented a Waste Awareness Month. We built it into our annual plan to repeat that, though we’ll probably do it a little bit differently this year. Mid-winter is a nice time of year to look at our systems and processes and identify waste. We’re trying to get all of the eight wastes of Lean listed for everybody so they know what they are, can be aware of them, and then make suggestions for change. It helps get people thinking about waste in a different way. So, I’m excited to do more work on that as I think usually the second and third year you do something it gets better.
Jason: What aspect of your role do you find most rewarding?
Grace: It’s always fun when you’re on the other side of a successful day. The day before Thanksgiving, we had 270 catering orders—people getting their turkey dinners, breads, and pies for the next day. There’s a lot of planning and logistics that go into it, and at the end of the day, you’re tired as heck. But when it goes well, that’s always fun.
I also always like a little bit of a puzzle. So, if something is going wrong, I like to get down to the root cause, figure out how we got there, and then figure out what we can change to help make it better in the long term.
Jason: And kind of spinning off of that, is there something over at the Deli you’re most proud to be a part of?Grace: I think, in general, the tenure of the people we’re working with is quite exceptional. We have people that have been with us for years and years and years. We have people that have left and come back. There’s a lot of benefit from people knowing the systems, recipes, and quality standards. It’s quite a good group of people. They help each other. If they see a guest who’s not sure what to do, they just jump in and go for it. That’s a wonderful thing.
Jason: Just as a side note to compliment you and your entire team on that, I had several of your managers in my Leadership Development Program and they all pretty much said the exact same thing that you just did.
Jason: Let’s do a couple of fun ones. What’s one of your favorite things to eat over at the Deli?Grace: The cheese blintzes. We don’t have them on the menu very often, but they are one of my favorite things. And then for a sandwich, I would say #74 Dave’s Open Road.
Jason: What’s your favorite non-Deli ZCoB item? Grace: I’m currently in love with the Bakehouse’s Chocolate Rugelach. I just love the texture of that pastry. And then you can’t go wrong with the Roadhouse’s Fried Chicken or Miss Kim’s Tteokbokki. There are just so many good things across the ZCoB. I am so spoiled.
Jason: What do you like to cook when you’re at home?Grace: Lots of veggies, stuff out of my garden as much as I can or stuff from the farmers market. I pretty much do all my shopping at the farmers market and at Argus. I like to use vinegar in a lot of things because it gives it pizzazz. So I am definitely the vinegar gal. There are some recipes up on the Deli’s blog about vinegar. I have at least six different vinegars in my cupboard, usually four olive oils, and three different kinds of peppercorns at least. And then one of my favorite things to cook with right now is the Piment d’Ville from Boonville Barn Collective. It’s a company out in California that is growing chile peppers like you would get from the Basque region in France. It is my favorite seasoning right now.
Jason: Your dogs have made an appearance in the background a couple of times. Can you tell me about them?Grace: I have three Brittanys. I have a 2-year-old, a 10-year-old, and an almost 16-year-old. We go running every morning. Now I run two miles with the young ones and then come back and do a mile walk with the oldest one. But we used to all go running three to five miles every day.
Jason: I know you like to cycle, too. Do you have a favorite bike path that you run or ride on?Grace: Yeah, I live right near Mary Beth Doyle Park, so I always go down and run around the park. There’s a nice little route and it’s my nature fix for the day. There’s always blue herons and white egrets and ducks and geese and turtles and all kinds of stuff down there.
Jason: Alright, Grace, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. One last question before I let you go: Is there an inspiring moment or event that you’ve had here at the ZCoB you want to share with everyone?Grace: That’s a good question. In general, the inspiring moments keep coming. To me, a lot of it is the work we get to do with producers and really getting to know them. When I went to culinary school, it was all about being consistent and having the same product. And then I got to Zingerman’s, and I started really understanding more about the variances that happen in produce and other products throughout the year. They’re agricultural products, so the sun and the weather and the rain and so many other factors impact them. And it’s inspiring to get to know the producers, the care that goes into the products, and how they have to deal with all the different things that can impact the quality—and why variety and quality should actually be celebrated from year to year! For example, this year’s olive oil crop is going to be really different than last year’s. There was a bigger crop and the weather was different. That’s fun to me, and that’s just everyday inspiration that we keep stumbling upon as we work with these producers and support them.
Amazing artisan offering from the Italian Dolomites at the Deli
One of my favorites from the many great vinegars we have at the Deli is probably among the least known. It’s not that surprising—very few folks walk around Ann Arbor, angsting that they haven’t been able to score some quince vinegar. If I can convince enough vinegar lovers to try this one though, that could all change! This exceptional naturally converted, barrel-aged quince vinegar from northern Italy is something truly special!
Food writer Faith Durand wrote, “Quince is a tough fruit, not well known, and often hard to come by. But it has the most amazing, sweet, and secret reward.” This vinegar is one of the best ways I know to access that reward, one that takes no work at all on our end. The labor that goes into this is all done in northern Italy, in the region of the Alto Adige by the folks at the acetaia (vinegar maker) Pojer e Sandri. I think all of their vinegars are amazing, but I can’t seem to get this quince vinegar out of my mind over the last few months. Or off our counter at home. There’s something so elegant, so exceptional, so light, but still so lovely, about it that I’ve been putting it on pretty much every salad I make of late.
Fiorentino Pojer and Marco Sandri have been making vinegar in the Trentino region of Italy since the mid-’70s. They do what they do with dignity for their raw materials, the region they come from, their products, and the people they work with. For their wine vinegar, they use the not-well-known, but really wonderful regional varietal grapes. Their fruit vinegars—like this one—are made solely from fruit. Most ‘fruit vinegars’ on the market are made by mixing wine vinegar with fruit extract. But as Michael Harlan Turkell wrote in his terrific book, Acid Trip, “The best vinegars are made from the best ingredients.” In that spirit, Pojer e Sandri uses local fruit to make fruit wine, the way it’s been done for centuries, then converts that over a period of 18-24 months to vinegar using old-style, natural-conversion methods. The juice is placed in oak, cherry, or acacia barrels to acetify for up to 2 years before bottling.
Rolando Beramendi, friend and importer of amazing artisan Italian foods (of which Rustichella pasta is probably the most famous) for almost 40 years now, shared this from his apartment in Florence:
I can’t think of a better vinegar to welcome Autumn than quince vinegar… especially splashed all over the Thanksgiving turkey! I used it last week when I taught a cooking class for a group of wonderful people I co-hosted with our wonderful mutual friend Miss E! (Elizabeth Minchilli!) I used it in making the recipe in my book Autentico “Cipolline in Agrodolce” Sweet and Sour Cipolline (Page 302). I’ve been using the quince vinegar instead of white wine vinegar because I think it gives it another dimension… sweeter, softer, gentler, and a flavor that not many people are familiar with.
I think the vinegar is especially perfect for everything with onions! I love it on stewed caramelized onions, on a simple onion salad. I love it on even pork roast, a drizzle before serving it! It tones down the acidity and it’s not a sweet stupor as balsamic does, especially the ones used in salads. The other day I made a nice mixed green salad and used Fuji persimmons sliced very thin. I cut the persimmons thin and then marinate them in the quince vinegar, a touch of great olive oil, and salt and pepper… delish! I have also sneaked a few drops on crema gelato… YUM!
The quince vinegar has been very good on every sort of salad I’ve tried it on, and is particularly wonderful with blue cheese or walnuts. It’s super nice as a deglaze for scallops. A little bit sprinkled into a bean salad adds a bit of brightness and sweetness. It also enlivens any apple pie, salad dressing, or fruit salad. In fact, I’ve been sipping it a fair bit straight from the bottle—it’s that good!
A rare treat pops up at the Deli
One of the Deli’s most delicious treasures comes in a modest, two-inch-tall jar—so unassuming that most people are likely to walk right past it. Still, there it sits on the retail shelves, a short, squat little glass bottle, holding some of the most incredible roasted peppers you’ll find anywhere. If you’re like 99.7 percent of Americans who haven’t yet tasted Cristal (pronounced “kree-STAHL”) peppers from Spain’s Basque Country, consider this your invitation to explore. If you enjoy roasted peppers even a fraction as much as I do, it’s worth it to treat yourself to these deep, dark-red jewels. They’re a special treat that might just elevate your day. I’ve been known to finish off the entire jar in one sitting!
Oddly enough, I actually discovered these for the first time about 25 years ago when I was in, of all places, Australia. I’d never heard of Cristal peppers, even though we’d been buying from the supplier for something like years! Piquillo peppers had become pretty popular but I’d no idea that Cristals existed. Even in Spain, the Cristals are hard to come by.
Although they come from the same area (Navarre), the Cristal is a completely different pepper from the Piquillo. In their fresh state, the Cristal peppers are actually larger, with four little bumpy points up at the top. After being picked each autumn, they’re roasted over beechwood as they have been for many centuries. “Everyone makes Piquillos,” one local told me. “But only a few do the Cristals.” Their high cost is, not surprisingly, tied to the rarity of the pepper, and even more especially so, to the labor involved in preparing them. “When it’s roasted the flesh is so thin it’s like paper,” my source said. “We use tiny little knives to scrape the skins off.” And it’s a lot of scraping—each little jar contains an entire kilo (over two pounds!) of raw red peppers.
To get to the heart of the matter, the Cristals are super rich and delicious. When you take one or two out of the jar to eat, the rest look a bit like a deep red rose in a bottle. I like to empty the bottle into a white bowl (the better to appreciate their color), sprinkle on a pinch of fleur de sel and some great black pepper, and drizzle a bit of olive oil. Try it with Marqués de Valdueza oil from further west in Spain, or with some of that inspiringly good Navarino Icons oil I wrote about last week from the southwest of Greece. Put them on slices of toasted Farm bread if you like. Or add them to softly scrambled eggs. They are great with the Detroit St. Brick cheese that the Creamery crafts so carefully. That’s it. You could also just eat them right out of the jar with a loaf of warm Paesano bread alongside to tear pieces off of. They’re smoky, rich, and buttery. Something special to grace any table.
Newly Arrived Olive Oil from Western Greece
Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos was born in 1935 in the small village Diavolitsi in Messenia in the southwest of Greece—due north of the town of Kalamata, and due east of the island of Sicily that I wrote about last week. As a young man, he was forced to flee the village for Athens during the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s. From the port of Piraeus in Athens, he went out to sea for the first time at the age of 13. Constantakopoulos quickly fell in love with the ocean. He went on to become a leading Greek businessman, most of his work centering around shipping, sailing, and the seacoast. Navarino was one of the capstones of his long and creative career. It’s the leading sustainable resort on the Mediterranean. That commitment to the environment is at the center of their work. They reduced carbon emissions by 80% between 2019 and 2022 and they devote almost 10% of their annual spending to making ecological improvements in all facets of the work.
The Navarino Icons segment of their work is very aligned with our longtime focus here at Zingerman’s on full-flavored and traditional foods. Offering, as they say, “Authentic food products inspired by the culinary history of the Peloponnese region” they are true to Captain Constantakopoulos’ hope to honor the kind of simple and delicious country dishes he grew up on. All are made using regional recipes and local ingredients. We’ve carried many of their products over the years, and each has been excellent.
Last month, we scored some of their limited-edition, single-estate extra virgin olive oil. It’s made from the beloved, native-to-Greece, Koroneiki olives. The trees are farmed organically, without any chemicals. All the olives are hand-picked, which is super labor-intensive and very costly but makes for exceptional oil. They are then pressed within two hours at a local mill—the impressively short time between the tree and pressing is a significant contributor to keeping the oil’s quality so high. The flavor is fantastic. Big, bold, and peppery, but not overpowering. I’m impressed anew each time I eat it.
Our wonderful longtime importer, Vivianna Karamanis of Hellenic Imports, is the one who makes it possible for us to get this special oil. She shared that “the project has hired the local community and the local, family producers, giving them work and building a community and almost like a security for them by packaging and selling these great traditional foods.”
The oil is terrific on toast, and great on the many autumn salad greens at the market right now. I used it the other evening to finish a dish of Mancini spaghetti, sautéed radish greens, and Fishwife anchovies. I added a bit of the IASA pepperoncino as well! Great on sautéed fresh fish—swordfish is still in season, and would be fantastic. It would be great, as well, in my friend Aglaia Kremezi’s classic Potato and Olive stew.
Nab your Navarino
Made in Milwaukee since 1880
A few weeks ago, the New York Times published a piece by Dan Berry that ran with the title, “Farewell to a Lost Love of Lunches Past: Liverwurst.” The headline was sad, but in truth, caught me by surprise. Barry writes that his beloved liverwurst “is disappearing right in front of me.” As is so often the case, the perspective from New York is not exactly holistic. If you live here in Ann Arbor you can just walk into the Deli pretty much any day of the week and find plenty of wonderful Usinger’s liverwurst displayed front and center in the specialty foods meat case. If you live out of town, we’re happy to ship you some as soon as you order it!
Going back to the first few months of 1982, I’d read about Usinger’s as we were getting ready to open our doors. Back before the web, research was a lot more challenging, but nevertheless we were determined to assemble the best possible selection of full-flavored and traditional foods. All signs seemed to point to Usinger’s being pretty terrific. “The best in the country,” many said. The week we opened, the New York Times ran a piece by renowned food writer Mimi Sheraton about her search for high-quality liverwurst. After looking nationwide but finding few great products, she’d almost given up. Then she said, she stumbled on Usinger’s:
Made without preservatives and still in natural casings, the varieties produced by this 102-year-old concern in its Milwaukee factory can still be considered gastronomic triumphs.
As you might imagine, I called for samples. The flavor backed up all the advance PR—Usinger’s liverwurst was lovely. Delicious. Down to earth, definitely traditional, and very full flavored. Forty-two years later, Usinger’s stuff is still terrific.
Fred Usinger came to the U.S. in 1880, right around when cream cheese was first being made in upstate New York, from his hometown of Wehen in southern Germany, northwest of Frankfurt. In Milwaukee, Mr. Usinger began making sausage at the butcher shop of Mrs. Julia Gaertner on what was then the high end of Milwaukee’s shopping district. A few years later, he bought the shop from her, changed the name, and it has been Usinger’s ever since.
We regularly stock both Usinger’s Braunschweiger and Hessiche Landleberwurst. The former is the more lightly smoked of the two. Braunschweiger is bigger in size, but milder in flavor. Basically, it’s a pâté in a natural pork casing; a finely ground pork version of chopped liver; it’s just fresh pork liver, pork, onion, beef fat, and spices, smoked lightly over hickory.
Hessiche Landleberwurst, which is listed on our website as “Smoked Liverwurst,” is made of pork, pork liver, pork fat, salt, onions, and spices. It’s “double smoked” in the style of the German state of Hesse, with plenty of good pork fat and a healthy dose of cracked black pepper, and comes in a golden-colored natural casing. Spicier, smokier, and a bit moister than the Braunschweiger, it’s terrific for sandwiches or snacks, for casual picnics, or very fancy get-togethers.
At the Deli we also have Usinger’s Liver Sausage, listed as “Fresh Liverwurst.” The same pork liver and sweet onions but not smoked! All three are amazing!
The natural casings Usinger’s uses are rarely seen these days but are critical to the quality of the finished product. They allow the pork and liver to breathe and smoke to properly penetrate. Same goes for the old school, careful grinding that Usinger’s does. Modern industrial versions extrude the meat leading to a pasty, bitter product.
All of the Usinger’s liverwursts go great on sandwiches with some Swiss mountain cheese, Raye’s yellow mustard (from the last stone mustard mill in the U.S., in Eastport, Maine), and a slice of sweet onion. Great too on the Caraway Rye bread from the Bakehouse with some long-cooked, caramelized onions!
Dan Barry wrote in the Times, “I know, I know. I know that liverwurst is still out there to be found, in some delicatessen display cases … but its gradual vanishing feels like something removed from life’s menu.” Here in Ann Arbor, thanks to the folks at Usinger’s in Milwaukee, great liverwurst is very much alive and well. Maybe I should ship some to Mr. Barry to lift his liverwurst-loving spirits! Or I might suggest he go back to the New York Times pages to the winter of 1997, when another writer in the “paper of record” shared with readers that Usinger’s, though not in New York City, was nevertheless “generally considered to be the Tiffany’s of sausage makers.”