The FOOD52 "52"

Inspired by the Saveur 100 list, pierino started a lively discussion on the FOOD52 Hotline about your favorite food-related finds of 2011. We had a lengthy staff email chain that was pretty similar. So we took the highlights from both, tallied things up and put together a list of our own.

We didn't end up with exactly 100 items but we have a lucky number around here (can you guess what it is?), so we went with it. And here it is: The FOOD52 "52"

1. Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton

2. California Olive Ranch Olive Oil

3. Evernote: If I adapt or use a recipe in a cookbook that I like well enough to make again - it goes straight into Evernote with my notes attached. Digital cooking has changed the way I cook, and the way I eat in many respects. -BurntOfferings

4. Mark Kurlansky's Translation of The Belly of Paris

5. Canal House: The books, the daily emails (Canal House Cooks Lunch), we love everything these ladies do.

6. An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler: She set out to write a modern day How to Cook a Wolf and she did a fantastic job. Nothing has inspired me to cook more. - Linzarella

7. Foodily

8. The Meadow: A specialty shop in Portland and New York which carries all manner of salts, bitters, and chocolate. -hardlikearmour

9. Patrick Roger's Chocolate: The BARS, folks! Not sure they're available outside Paris, but they're unbelievably wonderful (and I am not a chocoholic). -ChefJune

10. Craft Coffee: A subscription coffee service. They do an excellent job all around -- interesting sources, thoughtfully assembled -- and I really enjoy the element of surprise every month. -amanda

11. Weck Canning Jars

12. Lucky Peach

13. Michael Ruhlman Books: Started with "Twenty" and worked backwards - they are all amazing! -cookshootblog

14. Warren Pears from Frog Hollow Farm: They're very dear at almost $4/pound, but totally worth the splurge. I can't imagine eating them any way but straight up. They're perfect. -vvvanessa

15. Nespresso Machines 

16. Modernist Cuisine: The ultimate food geek's treasure. If you've gotten your hands on a copy, you know why. 

17. Penguin's Great Food Series: Classic food writing in exciting little packages. The book designs make you want to buy them all, and why shouldn't you? 

18. Remedy Quarterly: A small and sweet quarterly filled with lively writing and "recipes for feeling good."

19. Eataly: Yes, we're fans. The chocolate hazelnut truffles are a daily indulgence at our office. And lunch wouldn't be the same without Eataly nearby. 

20. Carciofini Selvatici Torre Saracena from Zingerman's

21. Pasta di Gragnano: The dried pasta from Italy's first dried-pasta factory is pressed through rough bronze forms and dried in the cool mountain air of Graganano outside Naples. The result: homey, toothsome pasta primed to cling to any kind of sauce. 

22. Bulleit's Rye

23. Gotham Greens: We love local produce, and these delicate lettuces and beautiful herbs are grown right in Brooklyn.

24. Eat Your Books: No more rifling through 300 cookbooks looking for that recipe you vaguely recall loving. -peartart

25. Five Acre Farms Local Milk: Positively local. We're happy to be within this farm-to-table company's 275-mile radius. 

26. Green Wind Farms Maple Syrup

27. Sustainable Kosher Meat: Thanks to sources like EcoGlatt, KOL Foods, and Grow and Behold sustainlable meat is more accessible to all households. 

28. Red quinoa 

29. American Cheesemongers: Something exciting is going on in the domestic cheese world. Artisanal raw milk cheeses are being produced right under our noses, and while we love a great import, we're thrilled to support the cheesemakers next door. 

30. Domestic Bean-to-Bar Chocolatiers: From the Mast Brothers in New York to Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, we can't get enough of the domestic chocolate that's being produced. 

31. Benton's Bacon: Everything you wished bacon could be: thick, porky, and oh-so-smoky. It's the favorite of many chefs, and you can get it sent to your door.

32. Freekeh

33. Popped Sorghum: It looks like mouse popcorn! -amanda

34. NOMA: There's no denying that the restaurant, the chef, and the book were all major talking points in 2011.

35. The FOOD52 Cookbook: Cheers to our community for making this happen!

36. Home Made by Yvette Van Boven: We love the idea here -- make more things at home -- and we're doing our best to take on more DIY projects in our kitchens. 

37. Food + Tech Connect

38. Baking competitions at Omnivore Books in San Francisco: Lucky you, if you live in San Francisco!

39. Oaxaca al Gusto by Diana Kennedy

40. Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin

41. Rye Flour from Anson Mills: Be sure to stick your nose in the bag right when it arrives. Smells nutty, complex, and so fresh. -Rivka

42. Eagle Rare Bourbon: In fact, any bourbon; personally I'd never tried it before 2011. (thanks f52!). -creamtea

43. Emile Henry Flameware

44. Kaufmann Mercantile 

45. Hario Ceramic Coffee Mill Skerton

46. Tableware from CB2: Don't be surprized if you see a few pieces from here in upcoming FOOD52 photos. 

47. Bellocq Teas’ The White Duke: We're smitten with Bellocq's packaging. So far their 'The White Duke' blend is our favorite. 

48. Zite: It's a magazine that you customize to your interests, and it has a food and cooking section... Food news, recipes, articles all in one space. -drbabs

49. Soda Stream: Remember when Amanda got one? These things are life-changing.  

50. Fuzzy Logic Rice Maker: I had no idea that I was living like a wild animal. Thought that dried out or soggy rice with a burnt bottom was the only option. -Niknud

51. L.A. Burdick's almond madeleines & Milk Hot Chocolate Mix 

52. Saveur's Garlic Peeling Video (see below): This video (and the method) has already become a classic.