Creating 'Muy Bueno' Paella, Starts with the Very Best Ingredients

WAUKEGAN, Ill., March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodland Foods®, the premier importer and supplier of specialty natural ingredients, has scoured the globe in search of the highest quality and best variety of ingredients to master the art of making authentic Spanish paella, quickly and easily.

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Introducing a new all-in-one Paella Seasoning, specially developed by Woodland Foods Culinary Department to take the guesswork out of flavoring and be a timesaver in the kitchen. Its complex, multi-layered flavor is hand blended in small batches from the finest spices, including saffron (an essential paella spice that has unique flavor and turns the rice a wonderful golden color), garlic, onion, paprika and turmeric, among a few others.

Also new are two Spanish rices, known for their standout performance in paella. The first, Bomba Valencia Rice, is an exquisite, highly sought-after rice that is considered the 'perfect paella rice.' It is harder to find and more expensive compared to other rice, because of its delicate growing conditions. The second, Calasparra Rice, is an everyday paella rice that is most commonly used. Both rices are carefully cultivated and slow harvested in fresh Spanish spring water.

"The best paella is made with these unique rice varieties. The reason being is they mature 30% slower than most rice, which produces kernels that have the unique characteristic to absorb superior amounts of liquid, thus flavor, while remaining firm and maintaining the integrity of their individual grains. This is very different from Italian arborio rice, which is bred to be creamy, and Asian rice, which is bred to be sticky. Using other rice will result in a sub-standard paella," explains Woodland Foods Corporate Chef, Jeffrey Troiola.

Paella originated in the fields of a region called Valencia, in eastern Spain, but today there are as many versions of paella as there are cooks. For those who want to create their own version of paella, Woodland Foods offers two varieties of Saffron Threads, both standard and premium grades, Saffron Powder, Squid Ink and other ingredients used to create unique paella variations.

Woodland Foods specializes in product innovation and providing unique food choices through global sourcing, custom blending, custom processing, variety and convenience, offering more than 1,100 products. To find out more, visit www.WoodlandFoods.com.

SOURCE Woodland Foods