Armanino Goes Organic
Staff Report
Published: April, 2007
Armanino Foods of Distinction in Hayward recently announced that they have joined the organic trend.
President and CEO William Bill Armanino, a Bay Area native, started the business with his father in the 1950s growing and marketing fresh herbs and vegetables and operating as Armanino Farms of California. The family’s original basil pesto recipe inspired the food products created by the company’s subsequent incarnation as Armanino Foods of Distinction.
Pesto was first introduced to America in the late 1800s when Italian immigrants brought it to a young nation eager for pioneering approaches to meal preparation. Traditional Italian pesto quickly became popular in the United States for its distinctive taste and healthful qualities. It became even more widely accepted in the 1950s and 1960s after freezing techniques were found to preserve fresh taste exceptionally well. During the 1950s, Armanino had also worked with two friends, who were professors at the University of California at Davis, to help pioneer the new technology of using freeze-drying with specialty herbs.
Over the last few years, thousands of chefs have rediscovered pesto’s intense and unmistakable flavor, and have found a myriad of new applications for the unique condiment. For example, the basic recipe to produce pesto has been flavored with such vibrant tastes as artichoke, dried tomato and garlic, roasted bell pepper, cilantro, mushrooms and chipotle. What’s more, modern chefs have discovered that grilling or cooking subtly alters the pesto’s flavor in interesting and surprising ways.
Armanino says, The secret to our longevity is to constantly come up with new products and new ideas. Our flagship product, Basil Pesto Sauce, used to be thought of only for pasta; but today, we keep it alive and exciting with many other recipe uses. I see a continuous trend of introducing various new ethnic foods to consumers and new types of fusion cuisine, such as Thai-Italian developing.
Armanino points out the organic program is the fastest growing segment in the grocery business, and his organic pesto is now being introduced to both grocery stores and natural food stores. It will soon be available in the Bay Area.
Armanino also said it’s important to note the entire product and all the ingredients in the product are 100 percent accredited organic, and subject to the established organic rules and regulations as directed by the government. The company will be seeking other organic products in the future to keep up with the trend.
