Despite the fact that they were first introduced to the world in 3500 BC, chia seeds became “trendy” around 2012. Wellness blogs everywhere touted the ancient superfood for its innumerable health benefits, and we found a way to sneak them into just about any recipe that could do with a little more fibre. But if you read the back of an average pouch, it was likely the brand had zero connection to the seed’s Aztec and Mayan origins.
Luckily things are changing, and we’re starting to see more and more members of the Latinx community take ownership of the superfoods that have long-fueled their cultures-from chocho and nopales to quinoa, and amaranth. Take, for example, The Pinole Project, a family-run oatmeal brand specializing in the Aztec superfood that is pinole, a ground heirloom corn sourced from Oaxaca, Mexico. The Mexican-American Jacquez family founded The Pinole Project to honour their grandmother, Adela, who would add pinole to many of her dishes-specifically avena, or slow-cooked oatmeal. “Adela had a lot on her plate and looked to high-quality food to help push through her physically and mentally exhausting days raising a family and working on her and my grandfather’s humble ranch in Chihuahua, Mexico,” says Bella Jacquez, head of marketing for The Pinole Project.
Pinole offers sustained, plant-based energy, with high levels of fibre and protein. “It has a low glycemic index and is a complex carbohydrate, so it’s digested slowly, providing slow-burning energy which keeps you full for longer,” Jacquez says. That also means no spike or crash. “Many of our customers comment that they’ll eat a serving before or after an intense workout and will feel full for hours.”
It’s no wonder that pinole is a popular food among the Tarahumara, an indigenous community residing in the Sierra Madre region of Chihuahua. They’re renowned for their long-distance running ability, calling themselves the Rarámuri, which, in their native language, means “light feet” or “runners on foot.”Jacquez’s grandfather, Arsenio, learned the language of the Tarahumana as a young child, and over the course of his 85 years of life, developed lasting bonds with them. “He used to go to the mountains with his father to trade with the Tarahumara, often serving as an interpreter,” Jacquez explains. “My grandparents would welcome Tarahumara into their home to provide shelter when needed, and to share stories. They were able to learn about the culture of running and pinole’s role as a nutritious pre-running meal.”
But beyond the health benefits and reverence to tradition, pinole tastes good. The brand’s oatmeal is a rethinking of your average Quaker Oats, with subtle hints of corn that add a welcome nuttiness.
Most important to the company, however, is its mission to tell the stories of their ancestors. “We believe we’re messengers trying to connect the past, present, and future-inspiring more people to connect with pinole, Mexican history, and food culture,” Jacquez says.
To incorporate more ancestral foods into everyday meals, check out these Latinx superfood brands:
A packet of Pinole Chia Oatmeal includes non-GMO heirloom corn, chia seeds, cinnamon, raw vegan cane sugar, and gluten-free oats, offering gut-friendly prebiotics that can aid in digestion. Each serving has 10 grams of fibre and 8-14 grams of protein depending on flavour. You can enjoy the corn-sugar-cinnamon combo on its own, or opt for the Banana Cinnamon and PB & Cacao flavours. A chuck in the microwave makes for a great, steamy bowl of oats in the morning, but you can also incorporate the mix into baked oats, overnight oats, waffles, pancakes, and muffins. “I find that when I’m craving something sweet, I’ll swap out the flour in cookie recipes with our original flavoured product and bake some delicious protein and fibre pinole cookies,” Jacquez says.
This single-source, plant-based protein powder was founded by fifth-generation Ecuadorian farmer and former professional athlete, Ricky Echanique. It’s made from chocho, a powerful lupin that has been harvested for thousands of years by indigenous farmers. The protein grows in the Andes Mountains and contains plant fibre, vitamin E, magnesium, all nine essential amino acids, and as much calcium per serving as a glass of milk. Plus, it’s naturally regenerative, thriving on rain water alone and pulling nitrogen deep into the soil as it grows, making it more fertile for future crops. There are three varieties available-pure chocho, vanilla, and cacao-which each blend seamlessly into anything from smoothies to veggie burgers.
These crunchy snacks are made from nopales, the fiber-packed cactus pads that are a staple of Mexican cuisine (they’re on the flag, symbolizing the time when the Aztecs founded Mexico City, after seeing an eagle on top of a nopal). Nopales are rich in vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals. When she moved to Chicago from Mexico City, founder Regina Trillo noticed a scarcity of nutritious, Latinx-owned food brands in the “ethnic aisle.” So she developed the Cheeto-like Nemi Snacks, which feature, in addition to nopal, some other Aztec superfoods, like amaranth, an ancient grain similar to quinoa, and spirulina, a blue-green algae that acts as a powerful antioxidant. The sticks come in four Latin-inspired flavors-Chile Turmeric, Churro, Mexican Lime, and Smoky Chipotle.
Born in Ecuador to a banana farmer and agricultural entrepreneur, Saskia Sorrosa founded Fresh Bellies, a family snack brand designed for preschoolers and their parents. Sorroso believes these snacks-made with the ancient whole grain sorghum-can train palates to crave savory flavors instead of sugars or extra saltiness. Sorghum is gluten-free, low in fat, rich in antioxidants, vitamins, has 22 grams of protein in one cup, and is a great source of fibre. The Groovies line features puffs that get their flavouring from actual vegetables, seasoned with spices inspired by Sorrosa’s heritage that you rarely find in kid food, like sage and garlic.
LiveKuna works directly with farmers in Ecuador to supply superfoods that are distributed worldwide. Friends Carlos Gutiérrez and Santiago Stacey launched with chia seeds, eventually incorporating other locally grown superfoods, like quinoa and amaranth, into cereals, pastas, and snack puffs. “We started this company out of curiosity and frustration knowing that 99% of chia seeds grown in our own country were being exported, and our own people who produced, were not taking advantage of this amazing seed. LiveKuna was then created to promote and bring superfood consumption back to its roots,” Santiago says on the brand’s website.
Husband-and-wife duo Lisa and Ismael Petrozzi founded Llamaland with the intent to celebrate Peru, home of some of the most nutritious superfoods in the world. Their cereals and spreads feature lesser-known superfood ingredients like arracacha, the “white carrot” of the Andes, sacha inchi, known as the “nut of the Incas,” and camu camu, one of the world’s most abundant sources of natural vitamin C. The brand’s best-selling Lucuma Superfruit Spread is made of the ancient superfruit lucuma, or the “gold of the Incas.” You can smear this caramel-like spread on pancakes, or use it to top off ice cream.
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Jessica Sulima is a staff writer on the Food & Drink team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Balsamic vinegar isn’t a new kitchen staple. You probably have a bottle of it sitting at the back of your pantry right now. Originally hailing from Italy, it’s one of the most dynamic culinary products on the market, thanks to the endless ways it can be utilized in recipes, from adding it into cocktails to glaze reductions to, sure, that “healthy Coke” trend.
These are all perfectly fine uses. But that bottle you have sitting on your shelf might not even be balsamic vinegar at all. Low-quality and imitation vinegars lurk on grocery shelves. There’s still a place for this kind of product, but its lesser quality means it’s best used for cooking. It’s the good stuff we want.
Recent launches by small, innovative companies are finally breathing a fresh life into the centuries-old product-and inspiring home cooks to see balsamic through a brand new lens.
Balsamics of the highest quality have a much simpler original purpose: a drizzle. Best used for adorning fruit or sharp cheese-even consumed like an aperitivo in Italy on special occasions-these are known as Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale in the “D.O.P.,” or Denominazione di Origine Protetta, grading system. This means that the contents of that bottle can be sourced back to the Italian regions of Reggio Emilia and Modena, and contain only grape must, which is a mixture of the fruit’s juice, skin, and seeds, which is then barrel-aged.
Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale can easily set you back between $150–350. More accessible balsamics, called “condimento” or ones labeled with “I.G.P.” for “indicazione geografica protetta,” are most likely what you’ll be looking for. Both connote that the vinegar was produced and aged in the region, but the grapes may have been sourced from elsewhere.”I was blown away when I first tasted true balsamic vinegar from Modena,” says Sardel Kitchen founder, Daniel Kamhi. “The taste was so different from the cheap, imitation balsamic vinegars you find on most grocery store shelves. I wanted other people to experience the difference.”
Through his organic balsamic, Kamhi is hoping to open the door for more people to discover the true range and versatility of the flavorful vinegar.
“Consumers are starting to pay more attention to ingredients that used to be afterthoughts- things like olive oil, vinegars, salts and spices. They want high-quality ingredients in their kitchens, and they take pride in knowing where these products are sourced from, and how they’re made,” he says. “Balsamic vinegar is a perfect example of such a product, and the taste difference between the good and bad is so substantial that once your eyes are open to it, you don’t look back.”
Kamhi isn’t the only one catching onto consumers’ newly heightened awareness of quality, or their search for something new and exciting to bring into their kitchens. That’s why, from balsamics made from roasted vegetables to bourbon barrel-finished vinegars and more, we’re rounding up some of the most shelf-worthy bottles you should be stocking up on now.
Sardel’s Organic Balsamic Vinegar Family-run business, Sardel is actually known for their high-end cookware, for which they partner with a small, multi-generational manufacturer in Italy to create. Their balsamic vinegar is no different, utilizing partners in Modena, Italy that have been producing the stuff for three generations. The end result is an organic, high-quality product with no additives, with a rich flavour that can be used to finish anything from a caprese salad to a fresh bowl of pasta.
Brightland’s “Rapture” Balsamic Vinegar When Brightland first came on the scene in 2018, the olive oil category was ripe for disruption, and the brand quickly gained a following for their delicious-and aesthetically pleasing-bottles of extra virgin olive oil. The women-owned brand is now known for out-of-the-box releases, including artist series bottles and flavoured oils. The company’s foray into balsamic vinegar is rich in fruity flavours. “Rapture” is double-fermented on a family-run farm in California’s Central Coast using champagne and zinfandel grapes, navel and valencia oranges, and ripe triple crown blackberries.
Acid League’s Roasted Vegetable Balsamic Leave it to Acid League, a company founded by two vinegar-obsessed food scientists, to create this intensely savoury spin on a classic product. Vegetal and aromatic, this balsamic vinegar is made not with grapes, but roasted red pepper, sauteed onion, carrot, and celery. The result is a highly versatile product with a deep, caramelized onion flavour that’ll make you want to pour it on all your roasted vegetables dishes, meat marinades and more.
George Paul Vinegar’s Emilia Balsamic While many balsamic vinegars try to hide behind the guise of an “Italian product” to entice buyers, this family-run business in the Sandhills of Nebraska has proudly been making small batch American balsamic vinegars since 2008, using local grapes. “Emilia” is named after the owner’s daughter, who handmakes the pressed letter labels for each bottle. Rich and mellow with not too much sweetness, their balsamic vinegar should be used as a finishing agent, and can even be sipped as the Italians do.
San Giacoma Balsamela Apple Cider Balsamic This organic balsamic vinegar is produced at Acetaia San Giacomo, the balsamic version of a distillery, located in the Reggio Emilia region of Italy. That is where Andrea Bezzecchi oversees the production of aged balsamic vinegar, from their original Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Reggio Emilia to this unique version, created by the direct firecooking of organic apple juice and apple vinegar. The deeply syrupy, fruity vinegar is great drizzled over cruciferous vegetables like kale and Brussels sprouts, soft cheeses like ricotta and goat, or on top of ice cream.
Queen Creek Bourbon Cask White Balsamic Vinegar Queen Creek is a family-run olive mill in Arizona, known for their award-winning small batch extra virgin olive oil. While they also make a classic white balsamic, produced in Modena, this version that they finish in bourbon casks adds a whole new dimension of flavour. For the unfamiliar, white balsamic is created from the same grape must, but pressure-cooked rather than simmered, and aged for a shorter amount of time, resulting in a brighter, less syrupy flavour.
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Austa Somvichian-Clausen is a freelance food and travel writer, who lives in Brooklyn with her girlfriend and two fur babies.