The 4^th of July is quickly approaching and we can’t wait to show you this Blueberry Tomato Caprese recipe courtesy of Freutcake. With the combination of red, white, and blue ingredients, as well as our robust extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, this makes a perfect, last-minute addition to your celebration this weekend.

Blueberry Tomato Caprese

Ingredients

Instructions

How to Macerate Fruit in Balsamic Vinegar

With just a few simple steps, fresh fruit is turned into a flavorful, saucy, sophisticated treat. Macerated fruit makes for a wonderful treat on its own, and even better when served with yogurt, ice cream, pound cake, crumbled biscotti and more. Easily control the sugar content to your taste or dietary needs.

A Few Suggestion Flavor Combinations: 

Strawberries – Chocolate di Torino, Tuscan Strawberry, Sicilian Lemon

Nectarines – Honeybell Orange, Raspberry, Peach

Mixed Berries – Cranberry Pear, Vanilla, Estilo Affinato

Here’s the gist:

1. Pick some fresh fruit. Sliced strawberries are a popular for maceration but blueberries, blackberries, nectarines, peaches, cherries, and rhubarb are also great choices!
2. Cut fruit into bite sized pieces. Sliced fruit will absorb the flavors of the maceration liquid better than intact fruit. Consider mashing a bit of fruit into your maceration liquid – especially if you are using berries exclusively.
3. Choose your macerating liquid. Essentially, you are looking apply acid and sugar to the fruit in order to develop (soften) its texture and enhance flavor. Fruit liquors or even lemon juice and sugar may be used here but we love to use balsamic vinegar! Dark balsamic will provide a deeper, more syrupy flavor while white balsamics add a brighter, tangier flavor. You may choose to add some additional sugar, honey, or other sweetener but that is subject to taste.
4. (Optional) Seasoning – Fresh herbs, black peppercorns, and bright citrus zest are just of a few of the many additional seasonings you can use the flavor your fruit if desired. But feel free to keep it simple and omit this extra step - the fruit will be delicious on its own!
5. Steep Your Fruit. Allow the fruit to steep in the macerating liquid for at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Macerating time will vary depending on the fruit you choose and its ripeness as well as your desired final texture. Softer/very ripe fruit will break down faster to create a soupier final product. For a firmer texture, choose firmer fruit and use a shorter steep time.

For more information on the science behind this process, check out: The Science of Maceration

Recipes

You do not need a recipe to make macerated fruit! Trust your taste buds and do a little experimentation. But here are a few recipes to serve as examples 😊

Yogurt Cups with Balsamic Macerated Strawberries

Balsamic Macerated Berries and Fruit

Grilled Pound Cake with Balsamic Strawberries and Marscapone Cream

Plum Cobbler Cake

Adapted from Original Plum Torte, originally published in the New York Times

This recipe is one of our new favorites! The texture of the cake is almost biscuit-like - similar to the top of a cobbler without the soggy bottom. Consider topping it with pecans or sliced almonds.

We reduced the sugar in this recipe (using the lesser ¾ cup from the recommended ¾ to 1 cup sugar) and skipped the sugary topping from the original recipe – opting instead to maintain a crispy, chewy edge. 

In the image shown, we mini versions of this cake using 5" spring form pans and a loaf pan with a parchment sling. Next, we’ll try this recipe with peaches and apples – especially this fall when we can get local and in-season fruit! It keeps well for 2-3 days on the counter wrapped in plastic or other food wrap, or for several months in the freezer.

1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

3/4 cup sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup unbleached flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

3-6 plums, cut into eighths (or quarters if small)

pecans or sliced almonds for topping (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
3. Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 Place the plum slices on top of the batter.
4. Bake approximately 1 hour. Remove and cool, refrigerate or freeze if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Intensities

Fire Cider is among the most popular products at Port Plums! Read on to learn about all this spicy, tangy tonic has to offer. 

This information comes from the Fire Cider website: https://firecider.com/

What is Fire Cider?

Fire Cider is a spicy, sweet, and tangy apple cider vinegar (ACV) tonic infused with roots, fruits, and spices. Health tonics restore, stimulate, or invigorate the body.

To the base of certified organic apple cider vinegar, we've added whole, raw, certified organic oranges, lemons, onions, ginger, horseradish, habañero pepper, garlic, and turmeric. Everything you’d find in a grocery store!

These ingredients have immunity-boosting, antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. They also have the potential to boost metabolism and energy, ease sinus congestion, lower blood sugar, curb cravings, and aid digestion. It’s also certified organic and gluten-free!  

How to take it:

We like to drink ½ to 1 tablespoon straight up every day to keep us hale, hearty, and energized.

Fire Cider is just as tasty when mixed with seltzer, fruit juice, or tea. Many of our customers make a delicious salad dressing with our tonic, olive or coconut oil, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and herbs. Fire Cider is also great on cooked greens, and as a marinade for meat, seafood, and tempeh. Add some to your bone broth for a nutritional boost – the vinegar will help pull nutrients out of the roasted bones!

How to store it:

Fire Cider’s main ingredients are apple cider vinegar and honey, two of nature’s greatest preservatives. This means our tonics are shelf stable and don’t need to be refrigerated. We keep our bottle tightly capped in a cool, dry, easy-to-reach spot in the kitchen.

Ingredient Breakdown:

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR

Ancient apples were often too small or bitter to eat raw, but when pressed, their juices could be fermented into hard cider. Today, the same processes are still used. Apples are pressed, yeast and bacteria are added, and the alcoholic fermentation process begins where the sugars are converted to alcohol.

Then a second fermentation process happens. An acetic acid-forming bacteria is introduced and the alcohol transforms into vinegar. Acetic and malic acid are responsible for the recognizable sour taste of vinegar. Never heat-treated or filtered, our apple cider vinegar base is raw and living, still containing the living Acetobacter colonies.

• Contains the Mother - a living colony comprised of strands of proteins, beneficial enzymes, and friendly bacteria
• High in acetic acid

RAW HONEY

With powerful antioxidant and antibacterial properties, our raw honey is organic, Fair Trade-certified and collected in regions using ancient, sustainable practices that help to support the local farmers and their communities.

Original Blend Fire Cider uses a multi-floral honey from the Calakmul rainforests of the Yucatan in Mexico. The bees get to live their lives in and amongst ancient Mayan ruins protected from logging and deforestation threats.

Honey-Free Fire Cider does not contain this ingredient

HABANERO

Originating in the Amazon, habanero peppers and been in use for over 8,000 years. They are a mainstay in many of the dishes of the Yucatan and have been found at archeological sites spreading throughout South and Central America, from Peru to Mexico. They bring the heat and a surprising, underlying citrus flavor that works so well with the oranges and lemons in our recipe.

• Capsaicin acts as a digestive aid
• Capsaicin is a powerfully alkaline phytochemical

ORANGE

Oranges originated in China and arrived with traders to the Mediterranean around the year 1500. They have become the most cultivated fruit tree in the world! The oranges we know and love today are the result of cross-breeding a pomelo and a mandarin, and they make up about 70% of the citrus grown worldwide. The entire fruit (peel, pith and juice!) is used in our recipe for maximum benefit. It adds a bright, unexpected sweetness.

• Pith and peel are full of phytonutrients
• Loaded with over 60 flavonoids

TURMERIC

A staple in the Ayurvedic and Chinese medicinal traditions and many Asian cuisines, turmeric has also been used as a fabric and food dye for hundreds of years. It’s long been known for its anti-inflammatory benefits. Turmeric brings a pungent bitterness with a warm, black pepper-like flavor and earthy, mustard-like aroma, as well as a vibrant color to our recipe.

• Excellent source of vitamin B6 and zinc
• Full of powerful curcumin

GINGER

Ginger was one of the first spices exported from Asia. This hot and fragrant rhizome was traveling around the islands of the Pacific as Europe was first being settled. Fresh ginger, redolent with natural oils like gingerol, is added to our recipe, skin and all. Ginger also has a warming effect on the body, so it’s not just the burn of the habaneros raising your temperature.

• Packed with vitamins and nutrients, like: iron, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, folate, niacin, riboflavin, gingerols, beta-carotene, capsaicin, caffeic acid, curcumin and salicylate
• Powerful digestive aid

LEMON

Introduced to Italy 2,000 years ago from its origin in northeast India, the lemon may be the most unlikely of popular fruits. .It’s sour and bitter, and is not a fruit often enjoyed on its own, but it brings so much flavor to a culinary party. The lemon is another whole fruit in our recipe. From the oil in the zest to the tangeretin in the peel, every part is here for the benefit it brings to the flavor party. That zing ain’t just from the vinegar!

• High in vitamin C, which is necessary to produce collagen
• Vitamin C maximizes the body's ability to absorb iron

BLACK PEPPER

Those little kernels we love to grind onto our food are actually the dried fruits from a flowering vine native to Southwestern India. Green peppercorns are the fruit before it ripens, and white peppercorns are the fruit's seeds. Black pepper is the world’s most traded spice. A little goes a long way! A very small amount of whole peppercorns steep in our recipe to support the benefits of turmeric and for the added flavor.

• The piperine in black pepper makes the curcumin in turmeric more bioavailable to your body
• Rich in vitamins and minerals

GARLIC

Garlic is a fundamental flavor component in many of the world’s best-known cuisines, and the plant is almost 100% edible. Crushed garlic is a natural adhesive, so in a pinch it can be used as a temporary glue for glass or paper! Raw and whole, skin and all, the garlic in our recipe adds a pungent bite and helps support the bold notes of the horseradish in balancing out the flavor.

• Full of powerfully beneficial allicin
• Packed with potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, selenium, beta-carotene

HORSERADISH

Horseradish is revered for its strong smell and bitterly pleasant flavor. It has been cultivated as far back as ancient Greece, where its worth was equivalent to gold. There are records of George Washington having grown it at Mt. Vernon, as it was a well-known condiment served with meat in European cultures. Fresh horseradish helps to balance out many of the sweet components of our recipe and adds an earthy undertone.

• The isothiocyanate compound is a powerful nasal decongestant
• Excellent source of vitamin C and folate

ONION

Onions were a favorite crop in ancient Rome, and evidence of onion gardens has been uncovered at Pompeii. Onions have been cultivated the world over, from China to the Americas, for more than 7,000 years. Sharp, spicy, and pungent, onions are nutrient dense and full of organosulfur compounds, folate, and vitamin C. If your eyes are stinging just a bit after your morning shot, you can bet it was the onions as much as the habaneros.

• Great source of quercetin
• The phytochemicals present in onions act as stimulants for vitamin C

Seacoast Sweets

 

What makes Seacoast Sweets so special is the thought and care that go into their patties, including their all-natural and scrumptious ingredients (and not to mention the New England-inspired packaging). The company was founded on the basis of family tradition and “…giving somebody something to put a smile on their face,” says Danielle. It’s exactly why Danielle and her husband, Kevin, bought it back in 2018 when the company was up for sale. Originating from Newburyport, MA, the heart of the company had carried on in Rhode Island, where every single patty is continuously hand-made, hand-trimmed, and hand-wrapped either individually,
in an assortment of 4, or an assortment of 12.

Farm+Sea

    

Photos by Maggie Griffin
Special Thanks to Danielle and Mary for taking the time to talk to us!

“There’s no such thing as bad pasta,
just bad people...”

...jokes Silvestro Silvestori, the owner, founder, and director of Italy’s incredibly special cookery school, The Awaiting Table in Lecce, Italy. Silvestro joined us in our Demo Kitchen earlier this month to introduce to us what he knows best, Pugliese cuisine. As he broadened the knowledge of our locals on Southern Italian food, he emphasized to us what exactly makes it different from other regional cooking in Italy.

via The Awaiting Table

via The Awaiting Table

via The Awaiting Table

Silvestro has spent the past 17 years teaching the food and wine of Puglia, the Southeastern region of Italy you may recognize as the heel of Italy’s famous “boot.” Earlier on, he spent his time working in the food industry and studying humanities, giving him the tools necessary to be the renowned teacher he is today. Not only is he an expert in food, Silvestro is also a nationally-certified sommelier in Italy, allowing him to share his wine expertise alongside his delectable dishes.

His 12 unique classes take place in either his 16^th century palace-converted home in Lecce, a castle just south of Lecce or even on wheels, as you bike through a traditional Italian village. This specific class, “Bicycling, Cooking, and Wine,” demonstrates how the land and sea around you affects the food and wine you’ll consume later that evening in the school’s castle.

via The Awaiting Table

His school has caught the attention of many, only to leave them understanding more than just how to cook a traditional Pugliese dish. When Silvestro’s students step into his class, they’re taken on a journey. They learn the “why” rather than just the “how.” They uncover the story behind the ingredient they’re holding, and how it affects just about everything else sitting in front of them, reinventing the way his students view their food. “Putting Italy into a very pin-pointed regional map is another thing that we spend more time on,” Silvestro explained to us when describing the importance of regional cooking in Italy. “People think they already know it, so first you kind of have to knock that down and build it back up again.”

Our co-owner, Karen Shernan, learned just this when she attended one of Silvestro’s classes in Southern Italy months back. There, she and the class visited fish and produce markets to select just about every ingredient for what they were making that day.

Chef Silvestro Visits Port Plums

Months pass by Karen's visit and Silvestro is here in the States conducting two sold-out classes in our Demo Kitchen for locals itching to learn the same lessons he teaches at The Awaiting Table in Lecce.

Recipes throughout the class included the following:

Those two nights, Silvestro focused on what exactly sets Southeastern Italian cuisine apart from other regional Italian cooking, such as essential cooking. While a dish might only require three ingredients, they are “pristine, absolutely fantastic,” as Silvestro said. “Find good things, don’t screw them up,” he advised us.

The students left with more than what they were expecting. With 4 new recipes and a deeper insight into Pugliese cuisine, the students grasped more than just how to make pasta. They gained a rare understanding of olive oil, including how to taste it correctly. A mild intensity olive oil and a robust intensity olive oil were even sampled, demonstrating the vast difference between the two. Silvestro also explained to us the unfamiliarity people have with olive oil. “Olive oil is like a computer to me…the second I have to take one apart, I wouldn’t know anything at all. So, I have a false sense of familiarity when it comes to computers and I think most people have a false sense of familiarity when it comes to olive oil.”

Hear it from the students themselves!

Silvestro Silvestori (left), Karen Shernan (middle), Pam Older (right)

"Silvestro imparted all sorts of unusual knowledge and the dishes, all native to his beloved Puglia, were all interesting and healthy."
– Pam Older, local business owner and friend of Karen

"I liked learning so much about that region…different parts of Italy and Puglia…It was very educational, the food was delicious and the wine was wonderful. It felt like a very cultural experience…"
– Kerri, customer and Newburyport local

"Loved the class! Not only did Silvestro demonstrate and share some easy and delicious recipes but also interesting details about olive oils and wines from the region."
- Joanne Szahun, customer and Newburyport local

Silvestro’s cookery school, The Awaiting Table, can be found here, where you can browse his different classes, buy olive oil, or simply learn.

Interested in signing up for future classes at our Demo Kitchen? Take a look at our offerings here. We can’t wait for you to join us!

Photos by Maggie Griffin, unless otherwise noted

Stocking Stuffers

Farm + Sea Roller Ball Perfume
Blended right in our neighboring town, these Farm + Sea Roller Ball Perfumes is an incredible way to support not only a local artisan but also your perfume-obsessed family member! These perfumes are made with cosmetic-grade, phthalate-free fragrance oils, and skin-friendly coconut oil.

Yankee Swap Gifts

Popcorn Bowl
If you haven’t seen or heard of our popcorn bowl…where have you been?! There has never been a more delicious and easier way to make popcorn. Our favorite way is to top the kernels with some Garlic Olive Oil and sprinkle on some of our Black Truffle Sea Salt, just before popping it in the microwave.
To up your gift game even more, consider throwing in our Garlic Olive Oil,
PopZup seasonings (a new favorite in the store), and popcorn kernels, as well.

Sold Exclusively in Store

There's never been a more perfect time to
stop by our store and 
pick up a holiday treat for your loved ones!
The options are endless here, and we can't wait for you to see for yourself.

Photos by Maggie Griffin

 Here at Port Plums, we have over 65 different olive oils and vinegars. 

Katie Shernan, Co Owner

   

Karen Shernan, Co Owner

Maggie Griffin, Store Manager & Social Media

  

Leighann Richards, Store Manager & Buyer

Our Champagne Vinegar sources from the Ardenne region of France, giving us the crisp, creamy, and acidic essence to our favorite recipes. You may try it with vinaigrettes, marinades, sauces, homemade mayo or aioli. It’s even great for pickling and preserving!

Liz Strauss, Content Writer & Sales Associate

This 100% pure, all-natural, and handcrafted oil is made from premium avocados. Its buttery sensation can’t help but project its richness, yet it leaves no overwhelming flavors like you would expect. While you can use this oil with uncooked foods, we would also recommend cooking with it because of its high smoke point compared to olive oils.

Emily, Sales Associate

Eleni, Sales Associate

This happens to be our most popular white balsamic. Because of its crisp, tart flavor, it compliments any green salad, chevre, or vanilla yogurt perfectly. We also like to use it in mixed drinks!
(Be sure to check out our holiday cocktail recipe blog!)

Shannon, Sales Associate