A flight of emu?
Sorry, no, Gitto offers just one version of palm wine, the fermented, mildly alcoholic product of tree sap collected from many species of palm in tropical climes around the world. It goes by many names, too; palm wine is called emu in Nigeria's Yoruba language (whose name for fried plantain, it so happens, is dodo.) Chilled, shaken, and poured, in a glass this "top palm juice" (600 ml.; $2.50) is topped with a frothy but fast-fading foam of bubbles in various sizes. The liquid itself has the cloudy look of Fresca, but with a slightly milky-rich appearance, a sweet yet vaguely disquieting aroma, and a citric tartness with overtones of banana, or some other soft fruit fallen to the jungle floor.
I've tried a Cambodian version (if that's what it was) that on my tongue seemed very nearly viscous. This palm wine is light-bodied enough that you could give it a swirl, but what's the proper-shaped glass for a serving of emu? I couldn't say; a pint glass works as well as any.
Gitto Sons Health Foods
38 Brooklyn Terminal Market (East 83rd St., near Foster Ave.), Canarsie, Brooklyn
718-241-3353
Closed Sunday
Thanks for pointing this one out. Does the label happen to mention the alcohol content?
Posted by: nodeli | July 21, 2009 at 08:52 AM
No. There's only the one label, on the front of the bottle, and even the straight-on view doesn't reveal much.
Posted by: Dave Cook | July 21, 2009 at 10:38 AM
I'll still try to pick a few up. Vague labeling usually compels me.
[PS - I'll be interested to learn your resource for the AK-100. Mrs. French's products are scare where I live.]
Posted by: nodeli | July 21, 2009 at 08:10 PM
thnx fr posting it.but shop is too far from my house.Is I can find it on another place?
Posted by: Pakistani Recipes | September 25, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Different countries brew differently, and though I've seen similar beverages in the largely Ghanaian neighborhoods near Fordham Rd., in the Bronx, I expect you'll need to find a Nigerian shop. These are fewer, but I can point you to Owa Afrikan Market, in Fort Greene, and to another business (I forget the name) that's catty-corner to Maima's, the Liberian restaurant in Jamaica.
Posted by: Dave Cook | September 26, 2010 at 09:03 AM
@nodeli yeah
Posted by: Funny Pictures | November 26, 2010 at 07:05 AM
I didn't know that palm wine is called emu in Nigeria's Yoruba language. Emu is the name of a huge flightless bird so naming it for wine is kind of strange and interesting as well.
Posted by: How do Stocks work | January 30, 2011 at 05:40 AM
Health foods are the way to go. They must be natural and organic. That said, it is a good source for nourishment.
Posted by: affordable health insurance | February 20, 2012 at 12:08 AM