Cooked Up in Colorado

by Danielle Yuthas

These homegrown food products will make tasty additions to your menus and are perfect for gift giving, too.

Colorado has no lack of advantages: just ask any one of the approximated average 215 people who move here daily. Most come for the lifestyle, the view and the vibe of vitality and now… the food? Cocina de color rojo combines the comforts of the Midwest with the spice of the Southwest, appeals to the healthy aspirations of the locals and folds in influences from coast to coast in order to appeal to as many palates as it does inhabitants. Cook with these Colorado goods, give them as gifts to your favorite foodie (especially if said foodie is you) and keep them on hand to level up your entertaining.

Sustenance

Granola is not just a food: it’s a subspecies of healthy, earthy and in-tune Coloradans. We know our grainy treats. Straight from the motherland of Boulder, Bobo’s Oat Bars supply a nutritious oat bar that employs non-refined sweeteners and other vegan ingredients. Mother (Beryl) created the “better-for-you, grab-and-go treat” for her daughter (Alex a.k.a. Bobo) and the popularity spread from the Boulder community to Whole Foods Market, Natural Grocers, Safeway, King Soopers, Amazon and the like. eatbobos.com

In other grainy goodness, the founder of Keen One quinoa and the “quinoa-lovin’ community,” Christopher Algea, enticed a grassroots following of health- and budget-conscious co-eds on the CU Boulder campus. But it wasn’t until he was on a double-decker bus ride to Oruro in Antiplano, Bolivia, that he found his sustainable supplier of fair-trade Organic Royal Quinoa that the brand is rooted in. The product line now offers convenient cups in such flavors as pesto pasta, Jamaican jerk, Harris red pepper, garden medley, edamame sushi and chipotle. keenonefoods.com

Salty

As humans we can’t help it, we’ve craved the crunch of our salty snacks since our ancestors found nutrients in bugs. This is why it’s no secret to advertisers that “crispy” sells more than any other adjective and it’s been proven chomping into those chips relieves stress. The kings of crunch Don and Jay Poore put a new spin on the old “junk” food by creating Boulder Canyon Natural Foods chips company. The team of brothers pioneered the revolutionary small batch kettle-cooking method using higher temperatures, lighter oils and sea salt to create better, thicker-cut chips. With 30 percent lower fat than leading chip brands, that’s something everyone can sink their teeth into. bouldercanyonfoods.com

Sauce

The Centennial state is a little low on excellent Italian restaurants. The most historic of which, the Blue Parrot in Louisville, which unfortunately closed last year after 98 years in the business, originating as a Sunday supper for the Colacci family that grew into a full-service restaurant. But fret not, the secret sauce lives on in King Soopers, Costco and online. Serve on a sandwich of sausage and cheese or over thick spaghetti to re-create the memories of yesteryear. theblueparrotrestaurant.com

Santiago’s

Local Mexican food franchise Santiago’s deserves a category unto its own. Coloradans love green chile and appreciate the option to order it served inside the burrito, have the burrito smothered in it or “the deluxe,” which is smothered with tomato, lettuce and cheese in mild, medium, hot or half-and-half combinations. Santiago’s doesn’t ship or sell to restaurant locations out of state and the green chile is only available in King Soopers, Safeway and Walmart stores in the Denver area. Honorable mention in the frozen grocery store green chile category goes to former Broncos player Mark Schlereth’s Stinkin’ Good Green Chile. eatatsantiagos.com

Siracha

More than 8,000 miles from the costal city of Si Racha where the it all began, Colorado’s own Jojo’s Siracha uses only high-quality organic ingredients, very little sugar and none of the preservatives you can’t pronounce to create a fresh local version of the classic. Siracha fans—don’t miss Jojo’s green chili siracha or wine-infused siracha for a flavor you have to taste to believe. lovehardinc.com

 

Soda

Turn up the jukebox! Durango Soda Company, Inc. has us tapping our saddle shoes over the soda-fountain-worthy tastes we love made with pure cane sugar and without any high fructose corn syrup. The Zuberfizz soda in the traditional glass bottles is still personally brewed by Banden Zuber and Dan Aggeler as it was originally when they were roommates at Colorado State University in 2002. Zuberfizz comes in varieties including Coco Fizz, Vanilla Cream Soda, Original Cola, Orange Cream Soda, Creamy Root Beer, Ginger Ale, Grape Soda, Key Lime Cream Soda and Strawberry Rhubarb. The small-batch homebrew is available in a keg size to add bubbles to your seasonal soirees. zuberfizz.com

Sweet

Most everyone has a love affair with chocolate, and Chocolove honors it by printing a love letter with a classic romantic poem on the wrapper. The gourmet chocolatier founded by Timothy Moley, who is said to be Colorado’s own Mr. Wonka, developed the concept of distinctly-flavored premium chocolate that uses European techniques and all-natural ingredients. Varieties include pecans, raspberries, toffee, sea salt, peppermint, pretzel, coffee crunch, currants, orange peel, ginger and even a chiles and cherries combination for the adventurous sweet tooth in all of us. chocolove.com

The oldest candy factory in Denver is named after confectionary visionary Carl T. Hammond. Hammond dropped out of high school to become a candy apprentice in 1913 and by 1920 created his first original candy. He focused on quality to survive the Great Depression and built the business over the years. In 1995 Hammonds Candies rose to national acclaim when Williams-Sonoma began ordering the classic candy and by 1999 it grew from 10 employees to a factory of more than 60. Today, under new ownership, Hammond Candies employs a staff of nearly 300 producing more than 4,000 pounds of candy per day and offering public tours of the factory to hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. Not only did the Candy Cane festival grown to be a wildly popular local event, the renowned seasonal canes are available in stores throughout Canada, England, Spain, Italy, Dubai, Kuwait, Japan, Korea, Israel and more. hammondscandies.com

Sticky

Did you know you can taste the regional difference of honey varietals? Rice’s Honey has provided local, raw and unfiltered honey since 1924 from family-operated headquarters in Greeley, Colorado. Honey is collected directly from honeycombs in bee farms to create an artisan blend that differentiates the taste of native floral types of Colorado, Washington, California, Florida, Texas, the Northwest, the Northeast, etc. To honor their producers, the bees, Rice partners with a nonprofit called Pollinator Awareness Through Conservation and Education (PACE) to strengthen populations of pollinators, without which earth would be mostly bare of delicious fruits, nuts, vegetables, oils and flowers. localhivehoney.com

 

The Details

With so many options, we couldn’t come close to covering everyone, so here are some more Colorado products/companies to keep your eye’s out for if you haven’t already tried them (and there’s still many more).

 

8th Wonder Tea, Denver

Bahkti Chai, Boulder

Bing Beverage Company, Lakewood

Canyon Bakehouse (Gluten Free), Johnstown

Celestial Seasonings, Denver

CharcutNuvo (Continental Sausage), Denver

Climax Jerky, Dillion

Enstrom Toffee & Confectionery, Grand Junction

flapJacked, Westminster

Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, Longmont

Helliemae’s Handcrafted Caramels, Wheat Ridge

High Country Kombucha, Eagle

Hope Foods (Spreads and Hummus), Louisville

Jackson’s Honest Chips, Crested Butte

Justin’s Nut Butters, Boulder

Noosa Yoghurt, Bellvue

Perky Jerky, Greenwood Village

Religious Experience Sauces and Salsa, Denver

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Durango

Rodelle (Baking Ingredients), Fort Collins

Rudi’s Organic Baked Goods. Boulder

Skinny Crisps, Boulder

Sweetwood Smokehouse, Steamboat Springs

Two Leaves and a Bud, Basalt

Udi’s Gluten Free, Boulder

Women’s Bean Project, Denver

Wild Zora (Meat and Veggie Bars), Loveland

Zaca Recovery Chewable, Denver

zümXR Natural Energy Drinks, Denver

 

For additional listings and information visit—

kingsoopers.com/topic/colorado-proud-companies-and-growers

madeincolorado.com

uncovercolorado.com

wholefoodsmarket.com/local-vendor-profiles/CO

 

Danielle Yuthas is a Director of Marketing and third-generation Denver native. Invitations to her Christmas parties are highly coveted and filled with Colorado delights.