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Find deep discounts during the Summer Sale at Mail Order and the Deli

Every July, at Mail Order and the Delicatessen, we drastically discount dozens of products (nearly one for every day of summer) and savvy shoppers gather their go-tos like preserves and olive oil. The Summer Sale is an annual tradition that folks look forward to all year, for stockpiling staples (like Ortiz tuna from Spain, the perennial best-seller) to be sure, but also to plan ahead for future gift-giving. (Did you know? When you shop online at zingermans.com, you can purchase items during the sale and schedule to ship them at a later date!)

With so many items on sale, it can be hard to know where to begin. Start with these 10 Summer Sale highlights:

1. Lemon Olive Oil – Look for Colona Lemon Oil at the Deli or Agrumato Lemon Olive Oil at Mail Order. In both cases, the artisans actually press olives and citrus together—no citrus-flavoring or infusing here. Brush it on top of almost any just-broiled fresh fish. Wonderful in vinaigrettes, marinades, or drizzled over simple pasta or good bread. Lynn O. shares, “The lemon oil elevates everything I put it on from salad to popcorn.”

2. Zingerman’s Peranzana Olive Oil – Made by Marina Colonna on her ancient estate a little over 100 miles due east of Rome in Italy’s Molise region from hand-picked Peranzana olives pressed the same day they’re taken from the tree.

3. Col. Pabst Worcestershire Sauce – This sauce recipe was created by Colonel Gustave Pabst, son of Pabst brewery founder Captain Fredrick Pabst. Kate Quartaro, Gustave’s great-granddaughter, has used the recipe to create a small batch Worcestershire sauce. It has more than 20 ingredients, including malt amber lager from Milwaukee’s own Lakefront Brewery. Guest Jean T. dubbed it “delicious” and admitted to enjoying it “just by the spoonful standing at my kitchen counter.”

4. Brooklyn Delhi Achaars – These plant-based, small-batch sauces are rooted in time-honored Indian culinary traditions and layered with a modern spin, like using less salt, so the flavor of the produce is really able to shine through.
   
   
5. Koeze Peanut Butter – Made on the other side of the state in Grand Rapids, Jeff Koeze sources great Virginia peanuts, blanches and roasts them, adds a touch of sea salt, and then grinds them. The result is an intensely flavorful traditional peanut butter with far more personality than the commercial stuff. Guest Robert D. declared, “The Koeze Peanut Butter is the best out there. It is the platonic ideal of peanut butter.”

6. Organic Portuguese Sea Salt – This delicate salt comes from the southern tip of Portugal, where sea salt has been collected and exported since the 11th century, though was waning in popularity. The folks at Belamondil have revived the traditional methods—refashioning salt pools and harvesting with centenary salt pans. This has restored the local ecosystem in the process, helping to bring birds like egrets and herons back to the area.

7. Marcona Almonds – The king of the almonds, these rich, meaty Marconas from Spain are skinned, oil-roasted, and then kissed with sea salt. Not only is Mail Order’s Brad Hedeman never without a couple of bags in his pantry, he admits to storing them at the top of the pantry so his kids don’t spot them! (Lest you think this is harsh, guest Sara S. lamented, “I should have ordered more bags of the Marcona almonds. My ten-year-old ate them all in about 15 minutes!”)

8. Pistacchiosa – Sicilian pistachios are blended with extra virgin olive oil to give this sweet spread an exceptionally smooth texture. Spoon it over cheesecake, drizzle over fresh goat cheese, or spread on warmed bread. (Or go for a spoonful straight from the jar!). At a Deli tasting event, the Bakehouse’s Corynn Coscia’s then-6-year-old rated it a 100 on a scale of 1 to 10.

9. Wild Fennel Pollen – Fennel pollen is exactly what it sounds like—pollen from the flowers of a fennel plant! Sweet, pungent, and everything best about fennel. Delightful with fresh cheeses, ripe tomatoes, and pork. Guest Alicia C. raved, “Used a little of the Wild Fennel Pollen to season my whole roast chicken and it took the flavor and aromatics to a whole new level! This truly is a magic spice that makes anything you put it on so much more wonderful! Where has this been all my life?!”
   
   
10. Moon Shine Trading Co. Tupelo Honey – This honey comes from north Florida, along the Apalachicola River basin, where bees feed on the pale green flowers of the Ogeechee tupelo, a shrubby tree that grows in the swamps. Beekeepers mount hives on 14-foot platforms, then harvest the honey on barges! The resulting honey is fruity and floral, smooth and pourable—a real treat on pancakes!

The annual Summer Sale goes through July 31 (If you like last-minute shopping, you have until midnight Eastern time.) So load up on all of these items and loads more full-flavored, deeply discounted foods and gifts. Fill the freezer. Cram the cabinet. Get ahead on gifting. 

Shop the Summer Sale in person at the Deli or online at shop.zingermansdeli.com for pick up or local delivery. Shop from Mail Order online at zingermans.com to ship an order anywhere in the country. 

Should you be reading this in August, well, mark your calendar for next year’s Summer Sale!

This originally appeared in the May / June edition of Zingerman’s News.