LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2022

INSIDE SCOOP

Trendspotting A roundup of what we’re into this season.

Board Member

AIR SUPPLY Not everyone has the time, space or patience to age wine, which can be a problem if you like Bordeaux, Barolo or any big-ticket red built to last. While there are many aerators on the market—which help soften tannic wines—Brampton-based entrepreneur Rocco Giardullo felt there could be something better. Inspired by his son’s bath toy, he came up with the Vinovation O2 Wine Aerator. This unique cordless invention sits atop a custom carafe and circulates the wine like a fountain, turning over a 750-mL bottle three times every 2 1/2 minutes. Most wines take 10 minutes; an especially tough one will take twice that.

If you want to make a statement with your cutting board, check out the chopping blocks from Fredericks & Mae. Available in both small and large, and in a range of patterns, the heavy-duty boards are a clever upcycling of plastic chunks left over from producing solid colour cutting boards. The busy patterns hide knife marks and stubborn stains, and the boards are pretty enough to double as serving platters.

Fredericks & Mae Cutting Boards $48/$145, goodegg.ca

Paw Patrol

It looks like a tropical fruit and tastes like a tropical fruit, but the pawpaw is native to the U.S. and Canada—a few local farmers grow it in Niagara and along Lake Erie. On the outside, it resembles a small green mango; inside, large brown seeds are encased in pale yellow flesh tasting of mango and banana. (Its soft texture has earned it the nickname custard apple.) A pawpaw is best eaten straight up, or puréed and used raw in recipes like sorbets and frozen drinks. The season begins in late September and is roughly a month long, and you can find them at farmer’s markets and gourmet shops.

It’s fun to watch, and at the end you’ll get to enjoy a noticeably smoother wine.

Vinovation O2 Wine Aerator $140, o2wine.ca

Good catch The plant-based revolution has infiltrated the fish counter with two ready-to-eat products. The first is Save Da Sea Plant-Based Smoked Salmon (100 g, $9.99), which uses thinly sliced cooked carrots flavoured with smoke and seaweed to mimic

PURPLE HAZE If you’re a fan of food-friendly sour beers, keep your eye out for this limited-edition brew. Bellwoods Brewery Jelly King with Plum (LCBO 28546, 500 mL, $7.50) delivers the same bracingly tart, dry-hopped ale of its standard Jelly King with a healthy dose of plums, which lend juicy fruit flavours and a vibrant purple hue.

the taste and texture of smoked salmon. It’s excellent on a bagel with cream cheese, cucumbers and red onion. Jackfruit stands in for tuna in Save Da Sea Plant Based Tuna Salad (100 g, $8.99), which can go directly on rye with avocado and sliced tomatoes. goodrebelvegan.com

36 FOOD & DRINK AUTUMN 2022