Great hard-to-find condiments

[andiesenji]

I have ordered some things from Australia that were not readily available here.  Wattleseed is one. I have purchased it a couple of times and experimented with several recipes.

 

There are various jams, jellies, chutneys, chow chows, piccalilli and other REGIONAL sauces and such that don't seem to be sold outside their areas and are not easy to find online.

A couple of years ago I ordered something from New Mexico - an item I had purchased there, enjoyed and wanted more.

There was an online site, I placed an order, they charged my credit card, I never got the package.  I had purchased the items at a winery near Deming while visiting my dad and I had shipped wine to friends and family and they also had quite a few local products for sale.

I dug out my receipt from the winery called them and asked about the vendor.  They told me they had just stopped delivering a few months earlier, would not answer phone calls and appeared to be out of business.

I notified my credit card company and got my money back but I was really irritated.  

It was a jam, made from prickly pear and smoked chile peppers, spicy, sweet and smoky.  Went great with cheese.  I have not found a similar product anywhere.

[Duvel]

7 hours ago, IEATRIO said:

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.

Not sure where you get the substandard from ...

It's vile. It has far too much bite for too little taste. The regular one is fine and actually my go to option, if available here. But for a hot mustard I want far more body (because at the end you use less). Adding a bit of Japanese mustard to the regular one is a far better option imho. But your milage may vary ...

[Pan]

haresfur, I want to make clear that I'm also interested in particularly great spices or spice mixtures. Kenneth, I'm very much aware that Kalustyan's is not a bargain store. Dual has much better deals, though Kalustyan's has a wider selection. That Malaysian curry paste sounds like it gets used up too quickly to be the kind of product I currently want to carry, though I'd be interested to try using it myself and I'm glad it's available in New York.

 

I'm glad to have the mustard recommendations and will look into them further.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

How about voatsiperifery?

 

[quiet1]

This isn't particularly unique I don't think, but when they made it the Bay Leaf Seasoning by Penzey's was a major go-to in our house. It got thrown on basically any meat or meaty vegetable (portabello mushrooms mostly) that got grilled or baked without some kind of Master Plan. (Meaning I didn't use it if I intended the meat for part of a Mexican meal, for example, since the flavor profile is wrong. But for simple meat-plus-starch-plus-vegetable meals, all the time.)

 

I keep meaning to make some myself but then I get caught up in wondering if I should buy whole bay leaves and grind them (how?) or buy ground and then I get distracted and do something else.

[andiesenji]

29 minutes ago, quiet1 said:

This isn't particularly unique I don't think, but when they made it the Bay Leaf Seasoning by Penzey's was a major go-to in our house. It got thrown on basically any meat or meaty vegetable (portabello mushrooms mostly) that got grilled or baked without some kind of Master Plan. (Meaning I didn't use it if I intended the meat for part of a Mexican meal, for example, since the flavor profile is wrong. But for simple meat-plus-starch-plus-vegetable meals, all the time.)

 

I keep meaning to make some myself but then I get caught up in wondering if I should buy whole bay leaves and grind them (how?) or buy ground and then I get distracted and do something else.

Don't buy ground unless you know the vendor.  Some add filler to it.  

I grow my own, dry them and grind them in a spice grinder then SIFT the powder to make sure all the coarse bits are removed.  It's not difficult.  

 

I recommend the whole bay leaves from Frontier co op organic on Amazon.  A pound is a lot but if you grind them into powder, you will use a lot.  You can freeze what you won't use right away or share with friends.  

[quiet1]

4 minutes ago, andiesenji said:

Don't buy ground unless you know the vendor.  Some add filler to it.  

I grow my own, dry them and grind them in a spice grinder then SIFT the powder to make sure all the coarse bits are removed.  It's not difficult.  

 

I recommend the whole bay leaves from Frontier co op organic on Amazon.  A pound is a lot but if you grind them into powder, you will use a lot.  You can freeze what you won't use right away or share with friends.  

 

Yeah, that was one of my concerns. I do buy pre-ground from places I trust, but none of the shops I usually buy such things from have ground bay leaves. It seems like you'd need to do a lot of batches in a spice grinder, though? Do you chop them up some first so they fit better into the grinder? What type of sifter do you use? I imagine I'd want something quite fine.

 

If I do this I'm getting some nice bottles and making a big batch and sending some out as gifts, I know lots of people who miss it as a handy and quick go-to.

[Pan]

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

How about voatsiperifery?

 

I had to look that up. A wild pepper from Madagascar. What's great about it, and who do you get it from?

[andiesenji]

6 hours ago, quiet1 said:

 

Yeah, that was one of my concerns. I do buy pre-ground from places I trust, but none of the shops I usually buy such things from have ground bay leaves. It seems like you'd need to do a lot of batches in a spice grinder, though? Do you chop them up some first so they fit better into the grinder? What type of sifter do you use? I imagine I'd want something quite fine.

 

If I do this I'm getting some nice bottles and making a big batch and sending some out as gifts, I know lots of people who miss it as a handy and quick go-to.

 

I break the leaves and remove the center rib, crush them partly in a mortar and then finish in the spice grinder.  I have a very fine mesh sieve I place over a steel canister, because it fits snugly.  As I grind the leaves, I dump it into the sieve and load the grinder for the next batch.  As the sieve gets about half full, I shake it so the fine stuff drops thru and I dump the coarser bits back in the grinder along with more leaf.  

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 hours ago, Pan said:

I had to look that up. A wild pepper from Madagascar. What's great about it, and who do you get it from?

 

The subject came up recently in this thread:

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/155598-where-to-find-madagascar-black-pepper/

 

I purchased my voatsiperifery from amazon but it is no longer in stock.

 

[Smithy]

Pan, would you consider wild rice as a potential material?  If so, this is the best wild rice I've ever had.  It's very local - I've only seen it in grocery stores near or on the tribal lands of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe - so I don't know whether they do wholesale.  However, their contact information is on the labels.

 

[Kerry Beal]

On 2017-10-26 at 4:58 PM, ElsieD said:

 

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. 

I like the Cedardale horseradish here in Canada

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

I like the Cedardale horseradish here in Canada

 

Where do you find this?  I haven't noticed that particular make.

[Kerry Beal]

1 minute ago, ElsieD said:

 

Where do you find this?  I haven't noticed that particular make.

Here and there - when I see it I buy it. I've seen it in clearance outlets, Marilu's market in Burlington carries it regularly. Damn you autocorrect - it's Cedarvale.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Kerry Beal (log)

[boilsover]

18 hours ago, Pan said:

I had to look that up. A wild pepper from Madagascar. What's great about it, and who do you get it from?

 

It's not especially hot, but it is powerfully aromatic.  In my limited experience, it makes the freshest Tellicherry seem like it's been on the shelf for 2 years.

[Pan]

Kerry, is Cedarvale the name of the brand and/or place where it's manufactured?

 

Smithy, I love wild rice. I don't know if that would be the kind of thing I'd initially sell, but I love the idea of promoting a great Native American product!

[Kerry Beal]

3 hours ago, Pan said:

Kerry, is Cedarvale the name of the brand and/or place where it's manufactured?

 

Smithy, I love wild rice. I don't know if that would be the kind of thing I'd initially sell, but I love the idea of promoting a great Native American product!

It's the brand.

 

Voatsiperifery (the wild Madagascar) pepper is just plain fabulous. I picked up a kilo of it several years ago and I use it where I want a complex floral pepper flavour. Mostly for a ganache and in various barks to replace other black pepper. 

[Pan]

Does anyone have any other suggestions of products for me to look at?

Edited November 7, 2017 by Pan (log)

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, Pan said:

Does anyone have any other suggestions of products for me to look at?

 

I was just given some passion berries from Ethiopia and some Timur pepper from Kathmandu.  Fabulous. 

[Pan]

Anna, do you have any idea where the person who gave these to you sourced them?

[Kerry Beal]

4 minutes ago, Pan said:

Anna, do you have any idea where the person who gave these to you sourced them?

Yes - I got them at G Detou in Paris 

[kayb]

8 hours ago, Pan said:

Does anyone have any other suggestions of products for me to look at?

 

 

From someone who lives where the nearest GOOD Asian market is an hour and a half away:

• Shaoxing vinegar and wine
• A variety of curry pastes
• A variety of kimchee
• Good Chinese mustard
• Gochujang
• Galangal

From other regions:

• Aleppo pepper
• Pimenton de la vera
• Seriously hot horseradish
• A good variety of barbecue seasoning rubs (a lot of restaurants have proprietary brands they sell, and would probably be pleased to have you market)
• Ditto barbecue sauces
• Ditto proprietary steak sauces, meat marinades
• Specialty small-batch hot sauces

[Smithy]

Barberries.

Edited November 11, 2017 by Smithy
Spelling (log)

[haresfur]

I use ground Tasmanian mountain pepperberry as a rub on steak before sous vide. I have experimented with pre- and post- sear and currently think that no sear is best for preserving the flavour. Since the ground berries are brown, the visual effect is similar to a quick sear. Usually slice thin for use in steak sandwiches or a late add to stir-fry or other dishes.

[andiesenji]

5 hours ago, Smithy said:

Barberrries.

The local Middle Eastern store sells frozen barberries.

Some states do not allow them to be sold because they are considered an "invasive non-native plant" even though it is actually the Japanese barberry that is the nasty species.

 

The Zereshk barberries are available from Amazon.  You have to search for "zereshk barberries"  I stumbled on them by accident.