Distillery 031, Small Batch Craft Spirits, South African

Small batch, craft, Distillery 031 of Durban, South Africa, makes delicious vegan alcohol. They are a small-batch craft distillery, said Andrew Rall, owner and founder, during an interview at the 23^rd Annual Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami Beach, Florida. 

Andrew Rall, owner and founder of Distillery 031,
23rd Annual Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami Beach,
Florida, Copyright 2019 by Helen A. Lockey

Rall’s fascination with craft spirits began in 2000 with a trip to Scotland and a later trip to the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Norway and Brazil where he explored several approaches to distilling. He started a craft distilling as a hobby 2007 at his home. The decision to grow his hobby into a distillery was energized by the craft distillery movement in South Africa. He wanted his spirits to reflect the eclectic style of Durban and so kept his process small-batch. In 2015, he started selling to the public.

He uses locally sourced ingredients in his alcohol like fresh harvested and pressed sugar cane juice, cascara (coffee cherries), African Rosehip, African Baobab, Madagascar Vanilla beans, Naartjie, and Rooibos.

Distillery 031 of South Africa, from left to right:
Agua Zulu Cachaca, 031 Vodka, 23 Americas Food & Beverage Show,
Miami Beach, Fla. Copyright 2019 by Helen A. Lockey

His 031 Vodka is made in a Swedish style way, unfiltered so it has a bit of flavor. It is distilled 10 times from molasses produced from locally grown sugar cane. The final alcohol is ultra smooth, and is as pure as it can be with the just the body of the alcohol, both the head (ethanol) and the tail (acetone) are discarded. It is has refreshing, slightly sweet citrus zest flavor, and is 43 percent Alcohol by Volume. 

Distillery 031 from left to right: Ancestors Absinthe,
Heart of Gold Vanilla & Baobab Liqueur, Heart of Darkness
Coffee Liqueur, 23 Americas Food & Beverage Show,
Miami Beach, Fla., Copyright 2019 by Helen A. Lockey

Distillery 031 uses their hand crafted, ten times distilled, Vodka as a base for their Heart Of Gold Liqueur. This spirit is delightfully sweet and creamy, infused with African Baobab fruit and Madagascar vanilla bean in the bottle. It has a creamy mouth feel simulating a dairy base but its all vegan, according to Rall.

They also make Brazilian-Portuguese style Cachaca called Agua Zulu, D'Urban Dry Gin, D'Urban Barrel Aged Gin, D'Urban Scarlet Gin, Heart of Stone Naartjie & Rooibus Liqueur, Ancestors Absinthe, Heart of Darkness Coffee Liqueur, Brandy, and Tonic.

Distillery 031, named after the area code in their part of Durban, was at the 23rd Americas Food and Beverage Show to find a distributor for the Florida market. They hope to be available for sales in 2020, first on the Internet and then Brick and Mortar stores. But for right now if you want to taste their craft spirits you will have to travel to South Africa. 

Plant-Based Seafood Options, More Than Seaweed

Plant-based seafood includes more selections than just seaweed. It can contain deliciously imaginative dishes like scallops, lobsta rolls, fish and chips, and smoked salmon. It's easy to make faux seafood from soy protein but the dishes listed below are made from more challenging ingredients like mushrooms, hearts of palm, banana flowers and carrots.

Plant-based scallops made with King Oyster Mushroom stems,
served at Full Bloom Gourmet Vegan Cuisine, Miami Beach, Fla.,
Copyright 2019 by Helen A. Lockey

I have come across two versions of scallops made with mushrooms but the best version so far has been with seared King oyster mushroom stems cooked by Full Bloom Gourmet Vegan Cuisine on Miami Beach, Florida. Their mushroom scallops had the right texture of real shellfish scallops, with a bit of bounce and a tender center. The flavor was pretty close too, which was surprising considering what they were made of.

Plant-based Lobsta Roll made with heart of palm, mayonnaise
and spice, Vegan Fine Foods, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Copyright 2019 by Helen A. Lockey

Another plant-based seafood dish I tasted was a spicy Lobsta Roll created by Vegan Fine Foods grocery store. It was made with hearts of palm, mayonnaise, red onions, celery and dill, on a hoagie roll. Executive Chef Jonny Nobones said he tried making it fishier by brining it in dulse (seaweed) but it came out too salty. I suggested he call it Florida lobster roll because it was made with hearts of palm which up until recently were sourced from Florida cabbage palm trees.

Plant-based deep fried fish made with brined banana flowers,
and served with chips and coleslaw, Oh My Cod Seafood Co.,
Space Coast Veg Fest, Copyright 2018 by Helen A. Lockey

The plant-based fish and chips dish I came across was at the Space Coast Veg fest last year. It was created by Oh My Cod Seafood Co. They were very inventive, making their fish out of battered, deep fried banana flower blossoms. These came with a side of chips and coleslaw. Oh My Cod had brined the banana blossoms in seaweed and they were delicious, soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.

Plant-based Smoked Salmon on bagels with cream cheese,
Created by Full Bloom Gourmet Vegan Cuisine, Miami Beach, Fla.,
Copyright 2019 by Helen A. Lockey

And finally the most unusual plant-based seafood dish I have eaten recently was Smoked Salmon on bagels with cream cheese.  Full Bloom Gourmet Vegan Cuisine in Miami Beach, Florida, created it. The smoked salmon was made with smoked carrots, and the cheese was made from cashew. The first bite of the carrot salmon was the best, unfortunely after that the smoked flavor became too strong for me. It was a shame, I really wanted to like it because it looked so good.

So the next time you go looking for a plant-based seafood, remember to think outside the box, and go try some of these deliciously exotic selections.

South Florida Wild Food Forage

Palm Beach County, Fla.—Wild foraged foods can be tasty. And they can be fun to find. You don’t have to go  deep into a dark wood to find these edibles because many of them are ornamental plants used for landscaping South Florida gardens. So instead of spraying chemicals on them, pick then and have them for your next meal. I'm just going to introduce you to three easy to find edibles. 

Dollarweed underside, South Florida
Copyright 2019 by Helen A Lockey

The first and most abundant wild edible is Dollar Weed (Hydrocotyle spp.)  a.k.a Pennywort. It is a very short, green plant that grows in abundance on lawns that get a lot of water and nutrients. The edible leaves are about the size of a silver dollar and the main stem grows from the center of the leaf. They grow year round and can be eaten fresh (without cooking). 

Firebush berries, South Florida.
Copyright 2019 by Helen A Lockey

Firebush (Hamelia patens) is a popular Florida native butterfly and hummingbird attraction plant, which is often used for hedges. It produces and orange to red colored clustered flowers that when pollinated produce edible waxy, dark purple to black colored berries that grow in clusters. The berries have an unpleasant bitter aftertaste if eaten raw. They are better cooked and are often used to make jellies and chutneys. They grow year round. 

Cabbage Palm Tree edible seeds, South Florida
Copyright 2019 by Helen A Lockey

Cabbage Palm Tree (Sabal palmetto) is a very common Florida native plant species that grow anywhere from 40-90 feet in height. When they are young the berries, that grow in clusters, on stems near the heart of the tree, are edible. They are black with crunchy outer shell, soft dry interior and big seed. The berries of have a taste that is a cross between dates and instant hot chocolate powered with a bitter aftertaste (from the skin). They are in season late October to November.

With any wild food you want to be 100 percent sure you know what you are eating. Correct plant identification is very important, as many Florida plants require cooking before eating them. 

Take a very little bite and wait at least an hour before consuming more. This way if it is poisonous, or you are allergic to it, the effects will be minimal. If you don't experience any adverse reactions, then take another bite.

Also be mindful of the wild plants you find. You want to be able to source the wild edible again in the future and if you pull them up with their roots of take every plant you find there will be nothing left. 

Hopefully this post will give you some edibles to enjoy on your next trip through the woods or your backyard.