Flavor

Tom Washburn won't say much about the blend of ingredients that go into making Moxley's ice cream. But this much he'll share: It takes one gallon of pure vanilla extract to flavor 100 gallons of ice cream. And one gallon of the boozy-smelling, amber-colored extract has never been costlier. Washburn, the owner of three Moxley's ice cream stores in the Baltimore area, was told by his vanilla supplier in June that the price would more than double to $275 a gallon. Three years ago, he was paying as little as $47 a gallon.

Fresh fennel can be a cooking conundrum.Sometimes the supermarkets label it "anise" or "sweet anise." But it's not.Sometimes, because of its feathery, dark green tops, folks think it's dill. But it's not.No wonder fennel rookies are confused.Often hiding between the leeks and the cabbage, it's the green-tinged-but-almost-white bulb with celery-like stalks sprouting in spoke-like fashion at the top. The stalks are adorned with delicate, fern-like, dark green leaves.It may look a little wacky, but once you've eaten fennel and savored its gentle, sweet flavor, reminiscent of mild licorice, you'll never be misled by erroneous labels again.

Sammy's Trattoria opened five years ago in a Mount Vernon space that was widely considered a jinx. Tampico and Limoges opened and closed with impressive speed before Sammy's moved in with a modest and appealing menu of Italian favorites. The restaurant's owner is Sam Curreri, a longtime manager of Little Italy's Chiapparelli's, and what I found so effective then about Sammy's Trattoria was its clever repackaging of basic Italian-American fare like veal parmigiana and shrimp scampi.

From: Calatayud, Spain Price: $13 Serve with: Grilled red meat For full-bodied reds that can be drunk young, there's no varietal with more sheer charm than Spain's garnacha (known as grenache in France). The wines may not be complex, but they can produce explosions of fruit flavor in the mouth. This import from The Country Vintner is a sterling example. It's lush, fruity and not very tannic. Subtle it is not, but it has plenty of brash charm. It's loaded with flavors of blackberries, wild berries and herbs.

Years ago, curacao was the jewel of every well-stocked bar. The aqua liqueur with the orange flavor put the blue in Blue Hawaiians, Blue Lagoons and other kitschy drinks.Now, like many trends of decades past, curacao (pronounced "cure-a-sow") is enjoying a mini-revival in drinks that have definite party appeal -- particularly the frozen margarita.Curacao also wakes up simple desserts that are timeless and not necessarily blue. It pairs nicely with its color mate, the blueberry.Curacao doesn't start out blue.

Rita's Italian Ice is debuting its newest flavor, Red Velvet Cake Cream Ice, on Friday. The new "rich and creams" flavor is a limited time offering. That's not the only news out of Trevose, Pa. Beginning next Wednesday, Rita's is offering 50 percent off Blendinis from 5 to 7 p.m. The Red Velvet Cake Cream Ice offer and the “Great Blendini” event will both continue through April 29.        

Every beach town has its own flavor. We've scoured some nearby shores for signs of what sets them apart.

Q: When buying fresh oregano I often find the leaves vary in size as if there are different strains of the herb.Also some of the fresh oregano has a flavor that's almost bitter. How do I know what to look for to get sweet, fresh oregano?A: There are actually seven common varieties of fresh oregano that have different appearances and varying flavor characteristics. Cretan oregano has a spicy and somewhat bitter flavor with gray-green woolly foliage. You seem to have found that this variety isn't your favorite.

KITCHEN TIP diabeticgourmet.com This site from Diabetic Gourmet Magazine offers nutritional information, articles and recipes to help people with diabetes stay healthy without sacrificing flavor. Kate Shatzkin

2000 Edmeades Zinfandel, Mendocino ($19). Zinfandel from California's Mendocino County has a character all its own - a high-toned fruit flavor and racy acidity that distinguishes it from the more cabernetlike Napa zins and blockbusters from Sonoma. This brilliant wine from Edmeades captures that Mendocino character beautifully. It's an exceptionally intense red wine with penetrating black-raspberry flavor and a nice touch of chocolate. Drink it over the next three years with red meat or pasta.