FAQs - Mondoports

FAQs and Product Information

Chocolate

Where does chocolate come from?

Chocolate comes from the Cacao tree, Theobroma Cacao, a small evergreen tree about 4 to 8 meters tall. It grows in humid climates with regular rainfall and good soil. Small clusters of flowers on the trunk are pollinated by a tiny fly, the fruit grows directly on the trunk of the tree. Cacao plantations can be mainly found in South America, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Africa and French plantations established in the Caribbean etc.

Each tree can produce up to 40 to 50 pods a year, these pods are ovoid in shape and contains between 20 to 60 seeds. About 300 to 600 seeds are required to produce 1kg of Cacao paste.

Why is chocolate good for you?

Chocolate contains high quality polyphenol antioxidants, and potentially may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Cocoa and chocolate is rich in Magnesium and iron, both essential to general well-being.

Saturated fatty acid in chocolate, stearic acid doesn’t raise blood cholesterol levels.

When purchasing Chocolat Bonnat you are guaranteed a product of the highest quality using the best natural ingredients available.
When the cocoa seeds reach the House of Bonnat, a team of dedicated craftsmen transform the precious seeds into the most delicate and delicious chocolate. Watch the documentary

Does chocolate contain caffeine?

The most noted active constituent is Theobromine, it is a compound similar to caffeine.

Foie Gras

A Brief History

There is evidence that points to the domestication of wild geese in Ancient Egypt C. 5000BC. The goose was highly esteemed and figured prominently in Egyptian mythology and paintings of the time reveal that the practice of ‘gavage’ was used to produce fatter geese.
Over the millennia that followed, the practice of goose-fattening spread from Egypt through the eastern Mediterranean and western Europe, and made its way to France in the Middle Ages.

What is the difference between duck and goose foie gras?

Duck foie gras is the most commonly consumed. It has a rich and rustic taste, widely influenced by its native soil. It is often considered to have stronger flavors than goose foie gras.

Goose foie gras is less common and more expensive than duck foie gras, because its production requires more intensive care and feeding. It is generally considered more delicate than duck foie gras, because of its gentle and creamy taste.[

What is the difference between foie gras entier (whole) or bloc de foie gras?

Entier and bloc de foie gras are two different types of fully cooked foie gras.

Entier is the purest form. It is a whole foie gras that has been de-veined, cleaned, seasoned and sterilized-cooked in its own fat, without additives. It has a firm and dense texture.
Bloc de foie gras is a mixed emulsion of at least 90% foie gras, water and seasoning. It has a homogeneous mousse texture.

What is the best way to serve foie gras?

Foie gras should be chilled at 4C for 24hours prior to opening the can or jar. It is sliced and served cold. Slices of foie gras (bloc or entier) should be served on warm French toasts (please do not spread it as a pate) with an optional salad tossed in walnut oil.

Traditionally, cold foie gras is enjoyed with a glass of sweet Sauternes, Montbazillac or Pinot des Charentes. In Australia we recommend a Late Harvest or Bothrytis white wine.

How long can foie gras be stored?

Usually cooked Foie Gras has a long shelf life and is recommended to store in climate controlled conditions.

What is the best way to open a can or jar of foie gras?

To open a can of Foie Gras, use a can opener to open both sides of the can. Discard one side, and use the other one as a piston to gently push the bloc into a plate. Use a knife dipped in warm water to cut slices.

To Open a glass jar unscrew the lid or use the clamp and twist the rubber tongue until the seal is broken. Then simply tilt the bloc upside down into a plate. Then slice with a knife dipped in warm water as above. Once a jar or a can has been opened, the product can be kept in the fridge for 6 days. For longer storage we recommend to vacuum seal and freeze.

Salt from Guerande

Where is Guerande?

Guerande is a little medieval town in South Britanny, on the Atlantic Coast. History of the region of Loire Atlantique and Britanny tells us that production of salt started with Landevennec Abbey monks around 945 AD after they studied the tides and eventually designed plans of the salt works.

What kind of salts are harvested?

In the salt marshes of Guerande is where the famous Fleur de Sel and Grey salt are harvested each year between June and September following summer high tides, and critical elements: meteorology (sun and winds to create evaporation), salt water and clay on which the salt is formed. At high tide valves are opened to let the water pass through a series of ponds to finally reach the “oeillet”, the last pond where the water evaporates and crystallisation begins.

The present salt marshes covers approximately 1700 hectares.

What is the difference between Grey salt and Fleur de Sel?

The Grey salt rests on the clay surface of the pond and is retrieved using a “las” a kind of wooden rake, the salt worker creates a wave to unable crystals to detach and brings them to the “ladure”, a conical formation of crystal is created to allow water to drain. The Guerande coarse salt is grey in colour.

In contrast Fleur de Sel is harvested when a thin layer of fine crystallised salt is formed aided by the wind on the surface of the “oeillet” or pond. Fleur de Sel is white in colour, fine in texture with a delicate violet perfume.

Grey coarse salt from Guerande is used in cooking, (fish and meat cooked en “croute”).
Fleur de Sel from Guerande enhances the subtle flavours of food at the same time preserving the foods original taste.
Both salts are unrefined, unwashed, preservative and additive free. Rich in minerals and essential trace elements.

Why is this salt unique?

In 2012 Sel de Guerande and Fleur de Sel de Guerande recieved the IGP (Indication Geographique Protegee) European quality and quarantee for the provenance of the product and its quality. It is the first IGP in Europe.

Olive Oil

A Brief History of Olive Oil

Extra virgin oil is one of the oldest and most widely used oils in the world. Its history date back to Ancient Greece.

Olive trees are found throughout the Mediterranean, but it seems that Ancient Greek cultivated olive trees and produced oil.

They believed that it was a gift from the goddess Athena.

Olive Oil was so important in Ancient Greece that it was used as a form of currency.

Why is olive oil good for you?

Extra Virgin Olive oil is rich in healthy monounsaturated fats, its principal fatty acid is oleic acid.

It has been suggested that oleic acid reduces inflammation and oxidative stress.

Monounsaturated fats are resistant to high heat (when cooking).

What is the difference between Laudemio and other olive oils?

Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive oil has high polyphenols levels (a type of bioactive compound or natural chemical molecule present is small quantities in foods, grapes, tea, chocolate, olives.

While olive oil also contains polyphenols, they do not have the high polyphenol content that Laudemio Extra Virgin Olive oil have.

Polyphenols rich olive oil may help with eg., lowering cholesterol, lower heart disease risks, ease inflammation, improve gut microbiome health to name a few conditions.

Winter of 1985 in Italy and particularly in the Northern and Central regions was very cold with temperature falling well below average. Centuries-old olive trees were decimated and affected the production in the region of Tuscany. Marquises Vittorio and Bona Frescobaldi were credited with saving/preserving olive trees and give Tuscan extra virgin oil a new name to higher quality olive oil. They choose the name Laudemio from the medieval Latin word (Laudemium), which refers to the best part of the harvest reserved for the lords.

Laudemio olive oil production is very regulated as is the uniquely shaped transparent bottles protected in a cardboard box. There is a Laudemio consortium that is represented by twenty producers.

Laudemio Olive Oil is highly praised by Chefs around the world.

Wine

A Brief History of Wine

There is evidence that humans have been producing alcohol since ancient times, using it for medicine and celebration.

The first documented evidence of wine comes from “the ancient tribe of Jiahu in the Yellow Valley of China” around 7000BC, it was

made using rice as a basic ingredient, mixed with grape juice (likely fermented).

In January 2011, researchers discovered what they believe to be the oldest winery in the world.

The site found in an Armenian cave dates back 8000 years ago with grape presses, wine jugs and remanents of grapes scattered around.

Why is wine good for you?

Health benefits studies of wine have been numerous, with suggestion that Red Wine may protect against heart disease, while White Wine may benefit the kidneys and protect against Alzheimer’s disease. It is of course wise to drink in moderation.

What is the difference between normal, organic and biodynamic wines?

Organic grapes are cultivated in vineyards banning the use of artificial inputs such as synthetic fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides.

No added sulfites (sulfur dioxide).

Biodynamics wines follows all the organic criteria plus some of the doctrines established by Rudolf Steiner (1920’s).

Biodynamics is the practice of viewing the vineyard as an ecological entity from the soil up.

Natural wines making is technically the first and oldest method of growing wine. All natural wines follow the same principals, winemakers may vary in their personal codes of conduct.

There are no regulated standards for Natural wines.

Shipping

How much is Shipping/Freight?

SHIPPING WITHIN AUSTRALIA
Mondoports International ships to all addresses within Australia.

Express Post to addresses within Australia or Courier service.

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING
For international deliveries please contact us and we will give you the best price possible based on the quantity of your order

How long will shipping take?

All orders are shipped via Express Post and are dispatched within 3 business days. For Brisbane courier service, you will receive goods the same working day. We use Express Post and Courier Services to guarantee the quality of the products