Products That Are Better When They Come From Afar

[weinoo]

I try to shop for food stuffs produced locally. Really I do. But living in New York City, it's not always easy to make that happen. I mean, there aren't cows grazing the streets and oranges/persimmons/pomengranates et.al. aren't exactly hanging off of the trees in Central Park. So, while I do what I can, I often shop for products that are grown or produced far away.

And sometimes, I get surprised by the quality of the stuff I buy. For instance, I'm currently buying blueberries (from the guy on my corner, btw), which come from Argentina, and they totally blow away all the blueberries I've actually bought "locally" over the past year. Sweet, crisp and delicious - and cheap.

So - what do you buy that blows you away and is that much better than the stuff you get locally?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Cherries. They come all the way from southern Chile, but they leave the local Capuli in the dust flavour wise. They're hellishly expensive, though - I got a really good deal at $2 for a half pound; they're usually closer to $6-8 a pound when they're available (only at Christmas). It's worth it, though - it's like a Canadian summer the way they taste.

And, unless my friend Marco is feeling particularly generous with his crop (rare!), the Melocoton type peaches from Argentina are better than the smaller Duraznos grown locally for canning. For fresh eating, though, the Duraznos beat the Melocotones. Go fig.

[Darienne]

We live in the far frozen North, so not counting what we can buy from local markets in our short growing season with its limited variety of whatevers, pretty much everything fresh comes from somewhere else. Some of it is good; much is basically cardboard replicas of what it stands for.

DH has noticed that Driscoll strawberries from CA have improved greatly over the last few years.

Grateful to finally have Poblanos available.

[Hassouni]

Cheese. I've never had an American cheese that knocked me out the way English, Dutch, French, etc, ones have.

Also, soy sauce: the stuff produced here isn't nearly as good as what's made in Japan and China.

[Darienne]

Cheese. I've never had an American cheese that knocked me out the way English, Dutch, French, etc, ones have.

Also, soy sauce: the stuff produced here isn't nearly as good as what's made in Japan and China.

Hey! Canadian cheese. Extra old aged 5 years Cheddar Cheese. Try it sometime!

[GlowingGhoul]

Cheese. I've never had an American cheese that knocked me out the way English, Dutch, French, etc, ones have.

Also, soy sauce: the stuff produced here isn't nearly as good as what's made in Japan and China.

There are quite a few world class US cheeses, but it does seem easier to find higher end imported cheeses than domestics.

Even a large scale commerical producer like Cabot has "artisinal" lines (like their clothbound cave aged cheddar) that are as good or better than anything I've had from the UK or Ireland. I do find myself having to order US cheese directly from the producer or specialty mail order cheesemonger more often than not though.

[JTravel]

Not sure I'm on topic, but yesterday I found....at Super Wal-Mart .....a bag of lovely Meyer Lemons...8 for $2.50. Always heard about them, wanted to try them. Very juicy, though I don't catch the hint of sweet. They are very shiny so I'm figuring they are waxed so no nice peel like a lemon or lime. Maybe they always have them, but on a wintry day in the NE I'm happy.

[heidih]

Not sure I'm on topic, but yesterday I found....at Super Wal-Mart .....a bag of lovely Meyer Lemons...8 for $2.50. Always heard about them, wanted to try them. Very juicy, though I don't catch the hint of sweet. They are very shiny so I'm figuring they are waxed so no nice peel like a lemon or lime. Maybe they always have them, but on a wintry day in the NE I'm happy.

They are naturally smooth and a bit more shiny than the generic grocery store lemon. I think the sweetness descriptor is a result of the somewhat floral scent of the cut lemon.

[Hassouni]

Cheese. I've never had an American cheese that knocked me out the way English, Dutch, French, etc, ones have.

Also, soy sauce: the stuff produced here isn't nearly as good as what's made in Japan and China.

Hey! Canadian cheese. Extra old aged 5 years Cheddar Cheese. Try it sometime!

You have a point. In Britain you can get Canadian cheddar that's better than most of the domestic stuff. I've never seen it for sale in the US, though

[GlowingGhoul]

Cheese. I've never had an American cheese that knocked me out the way English, Dutch, French, etc, ones have.

Also, soy sauce: the stuff produced here isn't nearly as good as what's made in Japan and China.

Hey! Canadian cheese. Extra old aged 5 years Cheddar Cheese. Try it sometime!

You have a point. In Britain you can get Canadian cheddar that's better than most of the domestic stuff. I've never seen it for sale in the US, though

It's sold under the "Diamond" brand in CostCo and Sams Club in the US.

Edited December 24, 2011 by GlowingGhoul (log)

[Tri2Cook]

I live a couple good golf shots south of the permafrost so almost everything is better from afar. Walleye and blueberries being notable exceptions.

[prasantrin]

You have a point. In Britain you can get Canadian cheddar that's better than most of the domestic stuff. I've never seen it for sale in the US, though

It's sold under the "Diamond" brand in CostCo and Sams Club in the US.

If "Diamond" is Black Diamond, it's definitely not better than most of the US domestic stuff. It's actually pretty crappy cheese, imo.

I think pork is much better in most of Asia than in the US or Canada.

[Tri2Cook]

If "Diamond" is Black Diamond, it's definitely not better than most of the US domestic stuff. It's actually pretty crappy cheese, imo.

Agreed. I don't know if "Diamond" and "Black Diamond" are one and the same though. The generic "old cheddar" at the local store is not at all exciting but it's as good as or better than anything I've tried in the Black Diamond line... and cheaper too.

[GlowingGhoul]

If "Diamond" is Black Diamond, it's definitely not better than most of the US domestic stuff. It's actually pretty crappy cheese, imo.

Agreed. I don't know if "Diamond" and "Black Diamond" are one and the same though. The generic "old cheddar" at the local store is not at all exciting but it's as good as or better than anything I've tried in the Black Diamond line... and cheaper too.

Yes, I meant "Black Diamond". I wasn't going to chime in with my opinion about it, but I agree. I don't care for it. It has a strange aftertaste, and isn't as sharp as you would expect a 5 year aged cheddar to be.

I've probably tried over 100 cheddars over the years, and avoided all things Cabot out of, well, cheese snobbery. I've come completely around.

Cabot Vintage Choice is my current favorite cheddar. It's a "2 year", with a deep, complex sharpness but a much creamier texture than 3 year+ cheddars. I have a block each of 3 year "Artisinal Reserve" and 5 year "Old School" that arrived from Cabot a few says ago I'm waiting to try.

When I lived in the UK, Tesco ( a large grocery chain), had a rating system for the 30 or so cheddars they carried...from 1 to 7 I believe, indicating relative sharpness. Now that is taking cheddar seriously!

By the way, the Costco Kirkland store brand "Cave Aged Cheddar" is Cabot Clothbound, but at about half the price per pound ($10 vs $20) as the branded stuff.

Edited December 25, 2011 by GlowingGhoul (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I cross the border from Canada to the Buffalo area and bring back all sorts of Cabot cheddar. Great for smoking in my Big Green Egg and just plain eating out of hand.

[ChrisTaylor]

Canned tomatoes. Australian canned tomatoes are shit in comparison to even entry-level Italian tomatoes. Pasta, too.

[Ashen]

when I was visiting florida I did try an incredible cheese from the USA. Point Reyes Farmstead blue( from California).. raw cows milk, vegetarian rennet and the blue is based on roqueforte innoculation. Fantastic.

depending on how far , far means, I love quebec maple syrup over ontario maple syrup. It may just be that we are getting a higher grade because we know people that work at the sugar bush producing the syrup we buy from quebec though. I think we have half a cupboard stocked with it right now .

Edited December 25, 2011 by Ashen (log)

[prasantrin]

Yes, I meant "Black Diamond". I wasn't going to chime in with my opinion about it, but I agree. I don't care for it. It has a strange aftertaste, and isn't as sharp as you would expect a 5 year aged cheddar to be.

Try Balderson or Agropur 5-year cheddars if you can get them (Balderson is available at Canadian Costco stores, but I don't know if it's available in US stores). There are other Canadian cheeses (especially out of Quebec) worth trying, too, including some very delicious raw milk cheeses.

[BarbaraY]

It may just be me but I prefer New Zealand lamb to any American lamb I've tasted.

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[rotuts]

1) Meyer Lemon i grew up in northern CA in the bay area and we had at least 2 if not 4 Meyer lemon trees. they fruit 2 x year. they are vastly superiour to anyting else you can get at the Megalomart. if you feel there is wax on the skin: dip in very hot water for 15 seconds and wipe off. the peel is thiner and will work well for any lemon skin perp. Meyer Lemon Aide is vastly better then any other. use the skin for candied peel a la french.

but if you can really get these lean to make Persian Perserved Lemons. you have to study this for your self. My fathers students who were Persian came around and used the lemons we did not. 4 trees, 2 x /year is a lot of lemons. I sure would like to see some W. of Boston. they brought some to us. nothing like it. Claudia Roden featured these on her cover of Arabesque.

[kayb]

Cheese. I've never had an American cheese that knocked me out the way English, Dutch, French, etc, ones have.

Also, soy sauce: the stuff produced here isn't nearly as good as what's made in Japan and China.

Agreed, on both counts. Also, charcuterie. In the South, while the cured hams and bacon and summer sausage are pretty outstanding, that's about the limit. I brought back a little over 5 pounds of assorted charcuterie from DiBruno's in the Italian Market area of Philadelphia; TSA looked askance, but I defended my right to pepperoni, sopressata, abruzze, proscuitto, et. al.