Great hard-to-find condiments

[Pan]

Hi, everybody! I'm thinking of starting a business selling great condiments that are hard to find. Do you have any favorite condiments that you have trouble finding near where you live? I'm looking for hot sauces, chili pastes, or other ready-to-use condiments like non-perishable barbecue sauces, salsas and chutneys that aren't mass-produced or normally found in supermarkets, and have a fairly long shelf life until they're opened. Secondarily, I would also be interested in products that can be used in cooking, such as spice rubs or other seasonings. Any information you can give me about the names of products, what they are and what makes them special, the name of the manufacturer and their address or at least the name of the town where they're produced, and their website, if they have one (though if they have no web presence, that's great!) would be really helpful to me in researching more products that could meet my high standards. It doesn't matter what country the items are from; if they're great and don't require refrigeration before opening, I'm interested.

[Shelby]

I can't find really great, hot horseradish around here (central Kansas).  The stuff they sell at the grocery store is so tame that they might as well call it mayonnaise.

 

This is my favorite and I can only order it online.    It is HOT and has a great flavor.  

[lindag]

I can't find my favorite hot sauce...

So I order it from Amazon.  

I'd also like access to the horseradish that Shelby mentioned.

[ElsieD]

37 minutes ago, Shelby said:

I can't find really great, hot horseradish around here (central Kansas).  The stuff they sell at the grocery store is so tame that they might as well call it mayonnaise.

 

This is my favorite and I can only order it online.    It is HOT and has a great flavor.  

 

Got all excited when I saw this as my husband loves hot horseradish which we are hard pressed to find here.  Went to Amazon.ca and naturally, they don't carry it. 

[Alex]

Pan! You're back!

[gfweb]

Ideally, you'd offer stuff that Amazon doesn't carry.  Hard to compete with  Amazon Prime

[pastrygirl]

Bhutanese shakam ezay!  It's dried beef bits fried with chile, doubtful you'd be able to source that. 

 

On a more realistic note, if you're looking for unique small producers around the US that have limited distribution, check out Bear's Breath Ketchup for the Bold, a more savory ketchup alternative.  I had a booth next to the guy at a show earlier this year, it was tasty and unique.  More local PNW companies are  Grimm Bros hot sauces and Mustard & Co.  Grimm's Fire Potion is thicker than tabasco, tomato and vinegar based with scotch bonnet, cayenne, and ghost pepper.  I'm not sure who else is making condiment-type things, but you could check through the Seattle Made website and the roster for the Gobble Up event.  I participate in both.  My friend Melissa at The Kitchen Imp make spice blends and flavored salts and Peek's Pantry are other friends making Thai food and condiments.

 

http://bearsbreath.com/

http://www.peekspantry.com/products.html

https://www.thekitchenimp.com/

https://www.seattlemade.org/manufacturers/

 

Edited October 26, 2017 by pastrygirl
clarity, links (log)

[weedy]

http://www.marxpantry.com/Takii-Umami-Powder?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq5_j1PWO1wIVBS5pCh10mwcqEAQYBCABEgJ5CPD_BwE

 

https://www.amazon.com/Dulcet-Creole-Mustard-7-Oz/dp/B000UH70T2/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1509042632&sr=8-5&keywords=creole+mustard

 

https://www.amazon.com/Isabel-Amarillo-Molido-Yellow-Pepper/dp/B00BKAFS2Y/ref=sr_1_27_sspa?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1509042674&sr=1-27-spons&keywords=sriracha&psc=1

 

https://www.amazon.com/Sriraja-Panich-Sriracha-Chili-Sauce/dp/B00U9WOBG8/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1509042762&sr=1-1&keywords=sriraja

 

https://www.amazon.com/Matiz-Navarro-Organic-Piquillo-Peppers/dp/B00B7XP56I/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1509042849&sr=1-1&keywords=piquillo+peppers+from+spain

[Pan]

Thanks for all your wonderful suggestions! gfweb, you're right that I'd love to look for products not distributed by Amazon, but I might also consider some that are, because Amazon has a wide selection, whereas my concept would be to sell only a limited number of great products that I've used myself and whose deliciousness I can personally vouch for. Alex, thanks for your welcome back.

 

I will look into all the products you have recommended, and I'm definitely still interested in any more suggestions people have.

[boilsover]

I recently learned about and experienced Madagascar Pepper.  It's a revelation, but the damn French hold a near-monopoly I've learned.

[KennethT]

Speaking of pepper, lately I've become a huge fan of Vietnamese peppercorns - NYers are fortunate to be able to get it at Kalustyan's (and maybe other places?) but I'm sure most people have never heard of it.

 

I also found at Kalustyan's a good Malaysian curry paste, made in Long Island City, called Mama Lam's... the owner (a young Malaysian American woman) was there doling out a little bit on rice from a rice cooker...  it was really tasty, and caused me to do what I normally don't and do an impulse buy.... it wasn't cheap though.

[andiesenji]

21 minutes ago, boilsover said:

I recently learned about and experienced Madagascar Pepper.  It's a revelation, but the damn French hold a near-monopoly I've learned.

I ordered some. I mentioned it on that thread.

 

[boilsover]

Great.  I couldn't find any from the better spice merchants where I am.  I was told that there was a crop failure, and that the French buy up 98%.  I ended up having a friend get me some packets in Paris.

 

Where did you find yours?

[haresfur]

Are you interested in spices, too, or just prepared sauces?

 

You may want to explore things available on other continents for things that may be harder to find in the US. Don't know if you can get this but good in an hot salty Indian fashion

 

[haresfur]

My father's favourite German Lion mustard that I never see anywhere

 

 

ETA: Memory-evoking food. Miss you Dad!

Edited October 27, 2017 by haresfur (log)

[heidih]

Love that mustard (and the jar).  I get it at the local German market.

[Pan]

Prepared sauces are interesting to me, as long as they aren't likely to be used up quickly. So yes, I am interested in particularly great chutneys and mustards.

 

Kenneth, I'm surprised to hear about a good Malaysian curry paste being made in Queens. Just how much did it cost, if you remember?

[Cronker]

You might even look at baking treats- cake decorator items like popping candy, star etc shaped sprinkles, candy flowers and cake toppers for example.

im pretty sure very few baking people make their own and I have found some good bulk buys out there.

good luck and keep us in the loop 

[Pan]

Thank you, Cronker. I'm not expecting those items to be among the first products I would carry, but I'll keep them in mind. Where have you found good bulk buys?

[Cronker]

I'm in Australia, so I'm not sure if you have places like ours, be we have a couple of outlets that stock products that are perfectly good, but perhaps the company has re-badged or changed packaging, and they take all the old stock and sell it dirt cheap.

i got a box of Barilla pasta for something like $10 simply because Barilla had changed the size of the product.

these outlets also buy up stock from companies that have gone out of business, or discontinued a line.  They also do a lot of "close-to-date" items, so you need to be a bit cautious, but smart shoppers know that the "Thousand Year Old Himalayan Pink Salt" isn't really going to expire next week!

[KennethT]

5 hours ago, Pan said:

Prepared sauces are interesting to me, as long as they aren't likely to be used up quickly. So yes, I am interested in particularly great chutneys and mustards.

 

Kenneth, I'm surprised to hear about a good Malaysian curry paste being made in Queens. Just how much did it cost, if you remember?

I think they just started up recently - I had never heard of them until I saw her giving her "demo" in Kalustyan's.  It's a small jar that Kalustyan's sells for I think 6.99 - maybe 5.99 - somewhere around there...  But it seems to be good for at least 4-5 meals - I've used it twice and I'm a little less than halfway through it.  Also, as a NYer, you may be aware that Kalustyan's doesn't really give bargains on many things other than their core spices/rice, etc...

[Duvel]

11 hours ago, haresfur said:

My father's favourite German Lion mustard that I never see anywhere

 

 

ETA: Memory-evoking food. Miss you Dad!

 

Being of German decent I need to clarify that that stuff is vile (allowing for sentimental value, of course) ...

[IEATRIO]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

Being of German decent I need to clarify that that stuff is vile (allowing for sentimental value, of course) ...

I have always considered this a high quality product and the one I have seen most commonly in Germany.  Curious what you find substandard about it.

[Smithy]

Pan, I too am delighted to see you back - and with such an interesting store idea!

 

Here is my current favorite mustard.  I have no idea whether a native German would consider it to be high quality, but it has a nice piquancy that fits our household tastes.  I first found it at a HEB grocery store in Texas; it's now available in a few of our grocery stores.  Amazon also carries it, but at wildly varying prices.

 

[boilsover]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

Pan, I too am delighted to see you back - and with such an interesting store idea!

 

Here is my current favorite mustard.  I have no idea whether a native German would consider it to be high quality, but it has a nice piquancy that fits our household tastes.  I first found it at a HEB grocery store in Texas; it's now available in a few of our grocery stores.  Amazon also carries it, but at wildly varying prices.

 

And a cute 1/4 Liter stein, to boot!