Treasures from the Pacific Northwest - Specialty Foods Boston

In this beautiful video set in Netarts Bay, Oregon, Jacobsen’s Salt founder Ben Jacobsen discusses how he came to be the first sea salt producer in the Northwest since Lewis and Clark. See how sea salt is harvested and cured when it’s all done by hand. The flakes, which are similar to the pyramid-shaped flakes of Maldon sea salt, delivers a hit of this distinct terrior in this tiny area of the pacific northwest. If you’re serving something such as crudo, where you really want to taste only the fish and enhance without masking it in any way, Jacobsen’s sea salt is an excellent choice. The large crystal-thin flakes add really nice crunch and texture. The salt has a clean, bracingly briny flavor, with lime, mineral and toasted nori undertones. One of the things we love about Jacobsen’s sea salt is how fresh it is when it comes to us. It’s noticeably crisper, shatters on the tongue, and the more delicate seaweed notes linger a bit longer. Some of the crystals are stunningly large. It has clearly been treated with a great deal of care. We thought you might like that.

One of our more recent additions are the smoked and spiced honeys from Bee Local, also from Portland, Oregon. Founded in 2011 by Damian Magista after discovering honey from hives in various urban neighborhoods he placed in his hometown of Portland Oregon have completely different flavor profiles, colors, and textures.

The very thought of smoked honey makes us want to whip up a batch of smoked honey butter for our biscuits right now. But that’s only one angle. Finishing roasted roots, making a smoked honey ice cream for a tarte tatin, bump up the smokiness of a mezcal cocktail, or start building a darker twist on an old-fashioned. One we love: lapsang tea latte with Bee Local’s white oak smoked honey.

The other cool honey we’re into is Bee Local’s Hot Honey. Infused with scorpion chiles, this makes a crazy ice cream, is killer on a pile of fried chicken with bread and butter pickles, and is a sexier alternative to generic bottled thai chili sauce. For example.

Below, Dante Magista, founder of Bee Local, in Portland, Oregon, shares his story of how he came to harvest honey. What comes through the most is his respect for the bees and his commitment to doing things the right way . You can taste it in the honey.

Products currently available through Specialty Foods Boston:

Jacobsen’s Oregon Flake Sea Salt, 16 oz jar

Jacobsen’s Smoked Sea Salt, 16 oz jar

Bee Local Chili-infused Honey, 11 oz jar

Bee Local Smoked Cherrywood Honey, 5# jug

Bee Local Smoked White Oak Honey, 5# jug