When I lived in South Florida last year, I took a lot of shit for calling it a culinary wasteland. (Read: three vegan restaurants within a 75-mile radius.) That said, what the Sunshine State lacks in quantity it makes up for in quality, and it’s definitely not short on cool vegan peeps out to make the world a better place. I met one of those peeps, Katherine Botelho, at the Great American Meatout, and she’s since created a line of organic, vegan, gluten-free and (in SoFlo) local nut butters that range from simple to specialty. We caught up recently, and Katherine told me why she’s nutty for nut butter.
Hi, Katherine. Long time no see! Thanks for taking the time to chat. What led you to start Ethical Bounty?
I was inspired to create a business that would offer a product that’s familiar to most people, but kick it up a notch and put a unique spin on it. As someone who’s interested in natural and organic foods, I focused on nut butters. They’re so nutritious, and a great source of protein and good fats. I looked at what was available and thought, Something’s missing. Most nut butters contain added salt and oil and are produced using nuts that aren’t organic. Many also contain preservatives to lengthen their shelf life, yet in the end, they taint the purity of the product. I wanted to create a raw, organic option, and in more interesting varieties. I was also excited to offer the butters to a large scope of people via the web.
You offer straight-up nut butters like Pecan and Brazil as well as specialty flavors like Cherry Pistachio and Vanilla Almond. How did you come up with the combinations?
I had to put my imagination to work for the specialty butters, though some of the flavors seemed obvious. I wanted to do something tropical, so I thought, What fruits and nuts come to mind when I think about Hawaii? Pineapples and macadamia nuts. So Pineapple Macadamia Butter was born. Then I thought of pecan pie and came up with Maple Pecan Butter. A craving for banana bread (which I went through an obsessive baking phase with) was re-created as Banana Walnut Butter. And I actually had a dream in which I thought I could smell cinnamon and raisins cooking together—enter Cinnamon Raisin Cashew Butter! Continue Reading…
