where to buy French green lentils

[jeff29992001]

where can I buy 2-4 pounds of french green lentils (lentilles du puy) beside the int'l spice place on 9th av 39th st?

looking for a bulk spice place not a gourmet market as prices might be less expensive. would sahuldi's have it? anywhere in NYC, newark, or jersey city would be fine.

thanks.

[tim olivett]

I would think lots of places. Certainly any gourmet garage or citarella's. Whole foods on 25 & 7th, Kaluystans (sp!?!) on 28th & Lex and maybe a good D'ag. If you ever see a brand called SABAROT, snap'em up. They're cheap (c'mon we're talking about lentils) and they last forever. Look for ones that say Lentils du Puy, this an appellation like Cervena venison or Champagne (meaning from a specific region that has enforced standards of production).

Another good substitute for them is beluga lentils (so named for their small size and black color - they look like caviar).

Belugas & Lentils du Puy (don't buy specialty red or yellow) cook up very firm and don't lose their shape. Just bring them to a simmer (some people soak them for an hour or overnight and while this is essential for larger beans to keep them from splitting while they cook and to cut down on cooking time, unsoaked lentils will cook in less than half an hour (one caveat is that soaking removes the enzyme that causes excess gas-and I don't mean unleaded). If you've got it, throw in half an onion, half a carrot, half a celery stalk, a bay leaf or two (if you wanna get fancier tie some fresh herbs in cheese cloth or half a leek and add some peppercorns or coriander). Let them cool in the liquid you cooked them and they'll keep for several days. Oh and like me, lentils love bacon, throw in a couple of strips when they cook or dice it up and fry it up and toss with the lentils oh & use chicken stock to cook them if you want. I'm gonna stop now or I'll just keep going and going.

[jeff29992001]

hmm, du puy lentils is AOC, I didn't know that? the reason I mention I wanted a bulk spice retail place is I hope I could buy qualities I want, and at reasonable prices, as opposed to a specialty gourmet market like whole foods, zabars, etc.

1) so I guess french green lentils that are specifically grown in Puy (AOC) aren't available loose and in bulk quantities, but in boxes and in sold in mid-range to expensive gourmet markets?

2) and the less expensive option is to buy the same type of lentil--but not grown in Puy--called "french green". the only concern here is whether there is any taste difference, probably none.

[albie]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that Umbria's lentils from Castelluccio are the same strain as Du Poy...

[Richard Kilgore]

The Dean & DeLuca Cookbook says that the Puy and Umbria are two "French green lentils", with the ones from the Le Puy area of France firmer and a bit wilder tasting than other lentils, and the ones from Umbria having an even more intense flavor, although they don't hold their shape quite as well.

[Eric_Malson]

All this lentil lore of which I was in complete ignorance!

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but Fairway almost always has green lentils. I haven't bought them in a while, but I believe they used to be about a dollar a pound.

[Bux]

I'm probably stating the obvious here, but Fairway almost always has green lentils. I haven't bought them in a while, but I believe they used to be about a dollar a pound.

Not all lentils are created equal. I like the very small Italian lentils I can get at DiPalo's, but I would urge the caution that they seem to have a very brief leeway between properly cooked and overcooked. They are not very forgiving. I don't know that I even have a source for French lentilles du puy, though I seem to recall having them to cook once. I just can't remember where I got them.

[Richard Kilgore]

You most likely will have to go through a gourmet shop of some sort. I picked up a couple of 500 g. tins of the Lentille Verte Du Puy packaged by SABAROT for W-S, which was clearing them out at a discount. They were outrageously expensive at regular price ($11.50/500g.) and I would not have bought them except for the clearance price. I don't know if they are carrying them on their website or not. I would try Dean & DeLuca in NYC.

If someone knows of other internet/mail order sources (for either the French or Italian), I would be interested to know about it, especially is they are a lot less than W-S.

[jeff29992001]

nvrmind, found a coupla places. from $1.50/lb, to $7.00/lb

the $7.00/lb (sabarot) has de puy france on the box.

the $1.50-$3.50/lb places I have to rely on what the merchant says (kalyustan's), or doesn't want to say (int'l spice market) regarding lentil origin.

Edited January 13, 2004 by jeff29992001 (log)

[rozrapp]

You most likely will have to go through a gourmet shop of some sort. I picked up a couple of 500 g. tins of the Lentille Verte Du Puy packaged by SABAROT for W-S, which was clearing them out at a discount. They were outrageously expensive at regular price ($11.50/500g.) and I would not have bought them except for the clearance price. I don't know if they are carrying them on their website or not. I would try Dean & DeLuca in NYC.

If someone knows of other internet/mail order sources (for either the French or Italian), I would be interested to know about it, especially is they are a lot less than W-S.

An internet site called French Feast has all kinds of French products. They list Sabarot Le Puy Lentils @$5.25/500g.

Edited January 13, 2004 by rozrapp (log)

[ludja]

Don't know if there is a Trader Joes near you, but they usually have french lentils du Puy at a very reasonable price.

Trader Joes

[mkultra]

Sahadi's does carry them. Not sure of the price offhand, but they're generally dirt cheap.