More Please!

New Product – Easy Paella!

Quick and easy meals!

This paella is ready in about 7 minutes and is so easy. A great time saver for the busy family enjoying the summer fun!

This brand new product from PanaPesca is now available at Central Market. In our frozen section you will find a new line of ready-made frozen seafood meals, combining authentic ingredients and traditional flavors, produced and packaged in Italy.

What a great combination – convenience and taste! Come and get yours today!

No Fuss Ice Pops!

No Drip - No Fuss!

The convenient Ice Pops are now available at Central Market North Lamar!

Make ice pops in your own freezer. You choose the ingredients for an all natural treat. Make fun and flavorfull ice pops from frozen fruit juice, flavored syrup or yogurt!

• Stand provides easy transport and storage in the freezer, prevents tipping.
• Cup-shaped base catches drips as you eat so there is no mess from melting!
• Silicone tab makes for easy removal.
• Hand wash or diswasher safe.

These convenient ice pops are a great addition to your Summer Fun. Come and get yours today!

Texas Watermelons - Lots of choices at Central Market

Nothing says July like the cool, crisp taste of Texas watermelon, and your Central Market produce department certainly has plenty to choose from! We work with small farmers statewide to bring in the best of old-time and modern varieties for every taste. With all of this delicious variety, it can be tough to pick out the melon that’s best for you. Here’s a quick guide:

Black Diamond and Cannonball – This Texas classic, and its new seedless cousin, are some of the most sought after (and difficult to grow) varieties you can find! Dense and extra juicy, these melons pack some of the most intense watermelon flavor available. Favored by picklers, and your grandmother, Black Diamonds have thick rinds that are perfect for watermelon rind pickles!

Charleston Gray (Seedless and Seeded) – The grandfather of most modern watermelon varieties, this “grey melon from Charleston” was responsible for bringing watermelon to homes throughout the US. Its oblong shape and thick rind made it perfect to ship long distances, and its sweet flavor won many fans. Charlestons have a lighter flavor with a sweetness that sneaks up on you. These melons are best served ice cold.

Yellow Meat (Seedless and Seeded) – This variety is best for those who like their watermelon lightly flavored and extra sweet. Yellows are generally softer in texture with a bright, almost citrus, flavor. Great for the kids, or adding amazing color to your fruit salads.

Icebox Melons (Pure-Heart and Crispy Critter varieties) – The new darling of the watermelon industry, these are the perfect watermelons for those who are intimidated by the challenges a thirty pound watermelon presents. Pure Heart (grown in Arizona, unfortunately) was the first big variety to market: consistently seedless and sweet. Crispy Critters are the next “big thing” developed in Texas for Texas farmers. Although they do contain the occasional seed, they were the top scorers for flavor in the 2006 Texas Statewide Watermelon Trials.

…and how do you choose the perfect watermelon? Unfortunately, it’s more of an art than a science. Looking at the melons, a creamy or yellow belly (as opposed to white) and less contrast between stripes are a good sign. Seasoned watermelon pickers will thump the watermelon to hear how they sound, but this takes some practice. Watermelon will not get any sweeter off of the vine, but the flesh will mature and gain a bit of color. A higher pitched hollow sound (like knocking on a door) means that the watermelon will need to sit for a day or two. A dull thud (like thumping your chest) suggests the melon might be a bit past its prime. The goal is to find something in between. Confused? Anyone in a green apron will be happy to help you pick out the best in the bin!

Brownie Pop Goes the Fourth!

Popsicles, step aside. You melt in the sun and make our wrists and elbows sticky.

We'll be taking our time savoring every bite off our brand-new Brownie Pops.

Think moist, fudgy walnut brownies that have been dipped in chocolate and are served on a stick for easy eating. Want to see a kid's eyes light up like a sparkler? Hand him one of these chocolatey dessert bars just before the fireworks start!

This week: look for decorated Brownie Pops bedecked with frosting in patriotic colors and shapes.

On sale through Tuesday, July 7 - buy 2 for $3.

Tip: put them in the fridge for about an hour before serving for a cool Brownie Pop that still melts in your mouth!

Chef Bryan Caswell Coming to North Lamar Cooking School!

Chef Bryan Caswell - What A Treat!

Chef Bryan Caswell will be here in our CM Cooking School July 15th 6:30 -9 pm. His seasonally fresh menu is not yet off the boat but sign up now to enjoy a seat on our culinary cruise from the coastal waters out into the seven seas. Oceanic bounties that will have you diving in for more. Don't let this be the biggest catch that got away.

Chef Bryan Caswell, who grew up along coastal waters and sharpened his culinary skills in water-side hot spots from New York to Hong Kong and Barcelona to the Bahamas, pairs a passion for pristinely fresh fish with the rainbow of flavors and textures of locally grown produce. Coupled with Caswell's Jean Georges-taught culinary savvy, the resulting oceanic menu is cleverly diverse.

Imagine such delectable dishes as salted slow-baked salmon atop lemon risotto, crispy-skin snapper garnished by sweet and sour chard, grilled scallops aside truffle polenta and tempura batter-bronzed soft-shell crab enhanced with slightly sweet yet also sour vinaigrette. Venturing beyond traditional boundaries, less-known tilefish, triggerfish, wahoo, cobia and Rockport-caught tripletail are frequently showcased with savory brilliance. Serving as bookends to a memorable dining experience, the seasonal heirloom tomato salad or snapper carpaccio are excellent jump-starts, while the delicate pannecotta or over-the-top Vietnamese coffee tart provide heavenly conclusions.

John Kelly Wins a Gold!!

I am at the Fancy Food Show in New York City searching for the best and newest products to bring back for sale at Central Market stores. The "Academy Awards", so to speak, for outstanding foods and beverages were announced last night at a gala event at the show. Presented by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) the awards honor the outstanding specialty foods and beverages of the year in 33 categories. “Sofi” stands for specialty outstanding food innovation.

One of our favorite artisan chocolatiers, John Kelly Chocolates, won the award for Outstanding Chocolate for their Truffle Fudge Bites—Dark Chocolate with French Grey Sea Salt. This is one of the best chocolate experiences you could ever taste combining their signature rich dark chocolate fudge with the counterpoint of crunchy French sel grey. What an idea and available right now at Central Market. Congratulations to John Kelson and his team of chocolatiers for their outstanding achievement!!

Have a summer picnic with CM Fort Worth

Central Market Fort Worth's Cooking School is having a Summer Picnic!

Join us on Tuesday, July 14th from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. for a cooking class with Lou Lambert, Executive Chef and Owner of Lambert's Restaurant. Cost is $55 per person; call (817) 377-9005 to register.

This delicious picnic menu with recipes that are sure to delight will turn simple outdoor dining into an evening you won’t forget. The evening's menu features: New Orleans Lobster Remoulade Salad; Cheddar-Jalapeño Hotlink Poor Boy with Creamy Blue Cheese Cole Slaw; Plum Barbecued Quail with a Summer Corn Pudding; and Rustic Apple Tart with Homemade Honey Buttermilk Ice Cream. You'll leave with recipes to recreate at home and a satisfied stomach!

Two prominent Italian Cheese Makers Visit North Lamar!

The Italian Cheese Makers are in Town!

Austin Central Markets were pleased to host two of Italy’s most prominent cheese makers this past Thursday. Stephano Sarti of the Il Forteto Cooperative and Katherin Pohl of Alto Adige and Mila Cooperative. The pair stopped by both Austin Central Market locations to impart their expertise and share about their lives and work as cheese-makers in Northern Italy. Stephano and Katherin make cheese in the regions of Mugello (near Bologna) and Alta Adige respectively. Il Forteto ‘s cooperative restored an old agricultural farm on lush mountainous land originally owned by the famed De’ Medici Family and have been established there since 1977. Alta Adige is somewhat more secluded in the Northern most area of Italy, sharing its border with both Switzerland and Austria. In their small town nestled deep in a valley near the Dolemite Mountains you will find mostly farmers who primarily speak German, not Italian, many of whom have never travelled beyond that region.

Both of these esteemed Italian cheese-makers tour the globe regularly to promote the sale of their precious “cacio” (cheese in Italian) and also to pass on the oral history of their regional cheeses. Unlike peddlers of many other goods, artisanal cheese-makers have deep-rooted traditions to preserve and an overwhelming desire to share them with the world, which is of great benefit to the cheese community. Like some quixotic gastronomical bard, cheese-makers traverse the globe sharing enchanting stories and a long history of cheese-making dating back to biblical times.

Of Il Forteto’s numerous cheeses Central Market stocks about 12 different varieties on a regular basis. All but a few are sheep’s milk pecorino cheeses that come in small 3lb wheels made by very traditional means by hand. They offer a wide array of Pecorino (sheep’s milk) cheeses, with ages ranging from 15-20 days for the youngest, Pecorino Mugello Fresco, up to one year for the oldest, F-1 Anno. Of Central Market’s Il Forteto cheeses, two stand out due to their rave popularity and interesting means of production: Pecorino Oro Antico and Pecorino Cacio di Fossa. They begin as the same cheese both with certified sheep’s milk from Tuscany, hand-pressed and coated in olive oil to assist their preservation throughout the aging process. The Oro Antico is then carefully aged for over six months using standard aging methods. The Cacio di Fossa however, uses unconventional methods of burying the cheese in cloth sacks beneath the ground to “season” for the last 4 months of its full 6 month aging process. This technique originated during the Middle Ages by the peasantry, allowing cheeses to be preserved for up to one year. While buried underground anaerobic bacteria aid in fermenting the cheese, which imparts a sharp more acidic flavor to this previously sweet and nutty cheese. As the Oro Antico reaches its six month maturation above ground, it retains the sweet and nutty flavors but they strengthen and enrich to a point of irresistible perfection.

The geography and history of the Alto Adige region, where Katherin Pohl makes cheese, has made it a cultural melting pot of Italian, Swiss and German/Austrian customs. These cross-cultural exchanges have aided in developing very unique cheeses, one being Alta Badia, that bear characteristics of each different region/culture. Italy contributes arguably the most important aspect of the cheese: the milk. This northern Italian province boasts 9 natural parks upon which many of the coop farmers sustainably raise crops and cattle. It is this breath-taking lush landscape where the cattle graze that accounts for the rich, complex milk that goes into their exceptional cheeses like Alta Badia. The Swiss and German influences are evident in the cheese-making style which results in a mouth-watering combination of alpine cheese (such as Gruyere or Comte) and traditional German Bier Kase. It’s a strong, sumptuous cheese that perfectly mingles earthy, nutty and sweet flavors and melts like butter on the tongue.

There is an immeasurable historical and cultural value to the passing on of experience and knowledge of cheese-makers such as Stephano and Katherin to the next generation of cheese professionals and enthusiasts. Cheese-making is a an incredible and unique profession in that it is so antiquated yet has managed to sustain popularity and continual growth for a large part of the history of mankind. Indeed ‘Cheese is Alive’ in more than one way.

- Courtney and the cheese mongers at North Lamar

$5 WINE SALE! Buy 6 and still get your 10% off!

Indepedence Day is here this weekend and what better way to say "Freedom," than to lay poolside, have a picnic, fire up the grill, play a round of golf, watch a little baseball, quick game of badminton, or park it in your favortire recliner all weekend long!

In order to succesfully do any of the above, we wanted to make sure you are properly stocked up to make it through the long weekend of festivities so we are having a $5 WINE SALE!!!!

Choose from:

Cardiff Merlot, Cardiff Chardonnay, Cardiff Cabernet, Nobilis Vinho Verde, L’Orval Chardonnay, L’Orval Pinot Noir, Astica Malbec, Astica Torrontes and More……..

This is no two buck chuck either. These are quality wines that normally retail for as much as double our sale price this week.

And to show you how excited we are of this sale featuring these great wines from California, Portugal, South America and France, we are making sure when you buy 6 of these wines, you also get 10% off.

So here is a quick breakdown of the math so you can relax this week with your new vino- 6 bottles x $5 = $30 less 10% (6 btl discount)= $27- THATS $4.50 a bottle!!!!!

We should have called it the $4.50 WINE SALE!!

PLEASE HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE 4th!

4th of July Gift Baskets

Celebrate with 4th July Gift Baskets

Once again the 4th of July is upon us and its time to celebrate. As usual, we in the Gift Basket Department are able to create a basket for any occasion and the 4th of July is no exception!

We have available a variety of Stars and Stripes themed baskets, from adorable little hostess gifts, to family-focused fun baskets, to an all out Barbecue Beer Bash.Naturally, we'd be more than happy to create a basket for your special Independance Day Celebration.

Please call us at 512-206-1066, we look forward to hearing from you!

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