Brand Name Southern Staples You Can't Live Without

[Cucina]

This is not a topic for folks that will only buy or make gourmet concoctions (i.e. if the only kind of mayonnaise you use is the kind you make yourself or if the flour you use must always come from an obscure gristmill). What staples are in your pantry and why are you insistent on those particular brands? Some of mine include:

White Lily Flour (All purpose and Self Rising) - freshness and consistency - biscuits are always fluffy, perfect cakes, etc. Same is true for White Lily Cornmeal Mix and what it does for cornbread PLUS the added bonus that if you can't find them in your local grocery store (which I couldn't) you can order them ONLINE.

Texas Pete Pepper Sauce (or what we call 'bean sauce" in my family) - because if someone in your family or a neighbor has not brought you a bottle of homemade pepper sauce, it's good to have on hand.

Pickapeppa Sauce - still one of my favorite meat marinades

Dromedary Diced Pimientos - because they are diced the size I like them in homemade pimiento cheese

Old Bay Seasoning - because it comes in handy to have some around

Hellmann's Mayonaisse for mixing (i.e. for things like Pimiento Cheese) and Duke's for dolloping on tomatos

and more...but this is a good starter.

[racheld]

Martha White SR flour and meal, Aunt Jemima cornmeal mix (has some flour and bp already in it), Durkee's Sauce, Blue Plate mayo, Contadina sauce and paste, Luck's beans and greens, Dromedary dates, Luzianne tea, Eight O'Clock coffee, Godchaux sugar, Crisco, Hershey's everything, Pride of Illinois white cream-style corn, Ro-tel tomatoes with peppers, Trappey's yams (really just super-sweet, super-rich sweet taters), and in the freezer, Rich's roll dough and a pack of Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls. Just in case.

Edited because the dear people of Illinois would have shuddered at my typo.

Edited November 13, 2005 by racheld (log)

[andiesenji]

I am with you on the White Lily flour, Trappey's golden sweet potatoes, also Trappey's butter beans and sausage, mild banana peppers, Zatarain's Remoulade sauce, Bootsie's Cajun Creole roux, Louisiana Brand original hot sauce, Crystal hot sauce and Bruce's hot sauce. There there are the canned Blue Runner red beans and also Navy beans.

[John DePaula]

Camellia Dried Red Beans! Their lima beans are great, too. Oh...and the split peas, yumm!

Progresso Marinated Olive Salad for making Muffaletta sandwiches.

[chezcherie]

camellia brand red beans.

[M. Lucia]

Anson Mills grits

[racheld]

I forgot to add the ONE can of Campbell's Tomato Soup which is always on hand for making Miss Effie's Shrimp Mousse. And Geisha crushed pineapple, for five-cup salad. And the bag of itty-bitty marshmallows for same.

A big ole can of V-8 for Marys-in-a-minute. A box of Uncle Ben's, for pilaf only. Can't substitute it for the 20-lb bag of Calrose which is almost a daily staple.

A dozen little tuna-size cans of Swanson Chicken, for a quick curried chicken salad for lunch with crackers.

[ludja]

Ranch Style Brand beans from Texas are a very good canned bean. I especially like the Pintos w/Jalapeno and the Beans with Sweet Onion.

http://www.foodlocker.com/brands-r-ranch-style-beans.html

The product that I've been wanted to try after reading about it on egullet is "Steen's Cane Syrup" from Louisiana.

And thinking of LA, I always keep Peychaud's Bitters and Herbsaint on hand to make Sazerac cocktails.

Edited November 14, 2005 by ludja (log)

[racheld]

I'd also forgotten about the Ranch Style beans, which I didn't start stocking the larder with til we moved WAY north of my Southern roots. We'd found the black beans in Kroger or Safeway down South, and since they were the first black beans I didn't have to soak and cook myself, several cans stood ready in the pantry for all sorts of salads and dips and tortilla rollups. And the black-eyed peas, with some onion and pepper and leftover rice, become a passable Hoppin' John on any day of the year.

Showboat Pork and Beans! (Since I haven't found them here in a market for years, perhaps the pink heart should be just a little PINING thought, faded to an ashes-of-roses shade of itself, a wistful pink, fraught with longing). The big ole cans, tall sentinels of the shelves, always stood like stalwart soldiers up the flight of stairs which comprised our first pantry. Care had to be taken when taking up or bringing down items from the attic, lest one stumble upon errant cans of corn or beans. Showboat beans are the tenderest, most flavorful beans, able to stand upon their own merits, with none of the lingering tin-fat taste of the other brands, with their obligatory floating clot of congealed grease. With beginnings of sauteed onions and peppers, the addition of a good smoky barbecue sauce and a good clump of brown sugar, the bacon-topped pan of bubbling baked Showboats is a worthy addition to any suppertable, picnic or otherwise.

And, until I followed the link above, it didn't occur to me to include Wolf chili---recommended a couple of years ago by a childhood friend who now lives in Arkansas, and whose e-mails I look forward to each morning. A steaming bowl with little "oystey-crackers" is a delight on a snowy evening.

[Ktepi]

Nabisco Cracker Meal (not a Southern brand exactly, I guess, but easier to find there)

Those Ranch Style beans definitely, especially the Pintos with Jalapeno

Savoie's tasso

Hubig's pies, oh Lord.

Central Grocery's olive salad

Zatarain's Creole mustard. Hot dogs, egg salad, these things are incomplete without some Zatarain's.

Louisiana hot sauce without a doubt. I have thirty, forty hot sauces in the cabinets and most of them will wind up well-aged while I go through a dozen bottles of Louisiana and handful of Tabasco.

Steen's.

Brer Rabbit Blackstrap.

Crystal pickled peppers.

[Mayhaw Man]

Nabisco Cracker Meal (not a Southern brand exactly, I guess, but easier to find there)

Those Ranch Style beans definitely, especially the Pintos with Jalapeno

Savoie's tasso

Hubig's pies, oh Lord.

Central Grocery's olive salad

Zatarain's Creole mustard.  Hot dogs, egg salad, these things are incomplete without some Zatarain's.

Louisiana hot sauce without a doubt.  I have thirty, forty hot sauces in the cabinets and most of them will wind up well-aged while I go through a dozen bottles of Louisiana and handful of Tabasco.

Steen's.

Brer Rabbit Blackstrap.

Crystal pickled peppers.

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Good luck on the Hubig's. They didn't flood, apparently, but they have yet to have gas services repaired. It is my understanding that they have enough employees to work, though. Hopefully they will be up and running soon. I will make a few calls and see what I can find out.

It will be a happy day when I bite into a baked custard pie or a fried lemon pie. Man, those lemon pies, warmed up a bit and buried under some good ice cream? That's some fine dining.

[Cucina]

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Good luck on the Hubig's.

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[lperry]

When I was in school in Illinois, when my Mom visited me she always brought Blue Plate mayonnaise, Martha White grits, and White Lily flour. One time she was on the plane sitting next to another woman. This woman opened her bag and revealed, you guessed it, the BP mayo and grits. It turns out she was visiting her son in Chicago. Some things are just necessities!

-Linda

[Ktepi]

Good luck on the Hubig's. They didn't flood, apparently, but they have yet to have gas services repaired. It is my understanding that they have enough employees to work, though. Hopefully they will be up and running soon. I will make a few calls and see what I can find out.

It will be a happy day when I bite into a baked custard pie or a fried lemon pie. Man, those lemon pies, warmed up a bit and buried under some good ice cream? That's some fine dining.

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I'm glad they plan on getting running again at least, something I hadn't taken for granted -- I almost left Hubig's out of my list, because I had googled them out of curiosity and that lagniappe page was the first thing I found.

Every time I've been back to New Orleans since moving -- except the first time, when I realized how foolish I had been for leaving without any olive salad -- a Hubig's fried pie has been the first thing I've looked for, especially coconut or cherry. (Oh wait, or banana or lemon. Or sweet potato.) I doubt there's any storebought item I associate more with the city -- which is hard to explain to people who haven't had 'em, because it doesn't SOUND distinctive.

[Mayhaw Man]

Good luck on the Hubig's. They didn't flood, apparently, but they have yet to have gas services repaired. It is my understanding that they have enough employees to work, though. Hopefully they will be up and running soon. I will make a few calls and see what I can find out.

It will be a happy day when I bite into a baked custard pie or a fried lemon pie. Man, those lemon pies, warmed up a bit and buried under some good ice cream? That's some fine dining.

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I'm glad they plan on getting running again at least, something I hadn't taken for granted -- I almost left Hubig's out of my list, because I had googled them out of curiosity and that lagniappe page was the first thing I found.

Every time I've been back to New Orleans since moving -- except the first time, when I realized how foolish I had been for leaving without any olive salad -- a Hubig's fried pie has been the first thing I've looked for, especially coconut or cherry. (Oh wait, or banana or lemon. Or sweet potato.) I doubt there's any storebought item I associate more with the city -- which is hard to explain to people who haven't had 'em, because it doesn't SOUND distinctive.

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Well, consider the Hubig's issue as a microcosm of what we all face here, everyday, when trying to do business.

They can't get basic resources to operate their plant (in this case, gas)

They don't have enough employees

It's hard to get a steady source of supply/raw material

And most importantly, Hubig's market, well, it ain't dere no mo. Think about it. Let's just say, for sake of estimate, that the population of New Orleans/St Bernard was 500,000 (this number is low, it's an estimate for example only) and that the post K population is 75,000 permanent residents (I live there-I actually think this number is high, but it's the one that they are using). That's a substancially smaller number of pie holes to fill.

Couple that with the FACT that roughly 60% of the land mass of the city is deserted (literally, not figuratively) and that all of the convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores, po boy shops, etc. that sold these things are gone, you might get a good idea of just how hard it is to get cranked up and operating or, worse yet, whether it is even worth it in the short run.

Leidenheimer's is up and running, though, so that's a good sign. They are pretty much in the same boat as Hubig's, at least in terms of their customer base.

[Mayhaw Man]

Well, it might be a bit more complicated than I thought. Read down to "Half Baked Assessments"

[rickmcdaniel]

All of the above, plus Bone Suckin' Sauce, Carroll Shelby's Chili Mix, and in the limited parts of NC and SC they sell it in, RO's Barbecue Slaw. Yummy. And can't forget King's Cane Syrup.

[Ktepi]

Well, it might be a bit more complicated than I thought. Read down to "Half Baked Assessments"

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Oh Lord. Thank you for the update/pointer. There are so many things there that make me want to kick something -- but like you say, the situation's complicated. I'd run outta feet.

[Lan4Dawg]

Duke's Mayonnaise! A few years back we were going to Charleston for a friend's Bat Mitzvah. As soon as I pulled off the inter-state I saw a Piggly Wiggly w/ a sign out front stating, "Duke's Mayo @$.99". Well naturally it was one per customer & you had to have the PW card so we got 2 PW cards--one for me & one for Fuss and proceeded to stop at every PW we saw between Augusta and Ch'ton and back so we could go in and get 2 jars of Duke's Mayo. I returned to Ga where PW's are few & far between w/ a case and a half of Duke's.

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard (neither are Southern but are musts)

Charleston Plantation Gold Rice (I mail order it or have friends bring it fr/ Ch'ton)

Fuss does the baking and is not particular about flour except for Swan's Down cake flour; how ever she will use nothing but Crisco shortening. I brought home a store brand one day and still have the boot marks on my butt fr/ the episode.

[Cucina]

she will use nothing but Crisco shortening.  I brought home a store brand one day and still have the boot marks on my butt fr/ the episode.

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I relate. Whole Foods is the only grocery store in walking distance to my house and going to a normal store with a good selection of basics requires advanced planning. So, I bought their brand equivalent of Crisco on a day I had major baking plans requiring it - don't remember what it was called but you can be sure that it was non tortured, natural, somehow more healthy for you, etc.

I had to shelve my baking plans entirely. As soon as I got home and opened the can, not only did it not look right, it had a very different kind of texture. Hard to describe but I wasn't willing to take chances and be disappointed with the outcome. There is no substitute for Crisco.

[andiesenji]

This is one place I order from - they have River Road coffee I order for a friend.

Cajun supermarket

They also have Steen's syrup in the 12 oz can.

In the past I have ordered from Cajun Grocer and Louisiana Spice but one is in Lafayette and the other in Broussard and I have not received any email specials from either in the past 3 months.

I had a Turducken from Cajun Grocer last year and it was very good.

Edited November 16, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[racheld]

Our Thursday-to-Monday sojourn to Georgia yielded many Grandbaby hugs, games, pictures, too short a time with the three of our children who live there, plus five quarts of Duke's mayo. I don't remember ever seeing it in the grocery stores of all my many years in the South, as Blue Plate was good enough for anybody.

We made a quick Saturday trip to Publix (a first for me---never saw one before, but #3 Son says they can't be beat for subs, not by Quizno's or Subway) for Boar's Head deli meat and rolls and other goodies for lunch fixin's. DD#2's fridge had stocked only a forlorn pint of some ersatz "spread" of the FF, SF, library paste variety, so I grabbed a quart of Duke's, having heard it praised in this thread last week. It made really good sandwiches, with a good lemony tang and a near-to-homemade consistency. And when we left for the hotel, I put it in the trunk, as I knew DD would never eat such calorie-laden condiments. And we ran back by the store on the way home, for a case of Pride of Illinois Corn, four sacks of green peanuts to boil and another four quarts of Duke's.

We spent a lovely afternoon, just the two Granddaughters and me, and after everyone else returned from the shooting range, we all went out to a sticky, smoky, order-at-the-counter barbecue place. It seemed like just the right way to end a day spent in the company of family, Smith, Wesson, and Glock, so we all ordered plates of whatever struck our fancy on the little slidey-lettered menu board above the Coke machine. (Or what we could decipher---no cutesy names or spellings, just a couple of missing letters led us to puzzle for a moment over "beef r--s" or "sh---ded pork."

We also ordered a rack of ribs---just-cut-'em-apart-and-bring-on-a-platter, a barbecued chicken, ditto, and a big pot of the beans. The plates came, those round wooden discs which have a steel plate snugged into the depression, the kind of tableware one hears hissing past in pretentious steak places and Don Pablo's, bearing ninety-dollar cuts of meat or several pounds of fajita meat and limp, fragrant peppers. Big fruit jars of 40-weight iced tea and frosty Co-Cola were thumped dripping onto the bare-plank table, as the scent of smoky-pitted meat made us ravenous for whatever would emerge from the next swing of that grimy kitchen door. The platters and bowls were ranged down the length of the table, and #5 Son asked, "Is there any mayo?" His Dad rose, left the room, and came back with the jar of cold Duke's in one hand, and a giant sized roll of paper towels in another.

The Duke's was delicious spread on one half of the bun; it was a lovely adjunct to the heat of the vinegary sauce and the tangy crisp slaw, which, where we're from, is a requirement on any barbecue sandwich. It's the LAW.

[Lan4Dawg]

Oh & I discovered tonight as Fuss was making pecan pies for Thursday that Karo's is the "only" corn syrup. She stopped at the market on the way home and bought some--dark naturally. I pointed out that we already had some as well as some Alaga in the cupboard and Fuss told me that "Alaga will do in a pinch but, as my grand mother said, 'if it ain't Karo it ain't Korn Syrup!'".

[patti]

I'm sure there are many southern products that I take for granted, having never lived anywhere else, but off the top of my head, here's my list:

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

Steen's Cane Syrup

Steen's Cane Vinegar

Savoie's Roux

Camellia dried beans

Community Coffee

Trappey's Red Kidney Beans w/Chili Gravy

Zatarain's Crab and Shrimp Boil (liquid)

Louisiana Crawfish Crab and Shrimp Boil (dry)

Southern Barbecue Sauce (very small company, not sold in many locations)

Tabasco Pepper Jelly

Richard's Smoked Sausage and Andouille

[highchef]

I'm sure there are many southern products that I take for granted, having never lived anywhere else, but off the top of my head, here's my list:

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

Steen's Cane Syrup

Steen's Cane Vinegar

Savoie's Roux

Camellia dried beans

Community Coffee

Trappey's Red Kidney Beans w/Chili Gravy

Zatarain's Crab and Shrimp Boil (liquid)

Louisiana Crawfish Crab and Shrimp Boil (dry)

Southern Barbecue Sauce (very small company, not sold in many locations)

Tabasco Pepper Jelly

Richard's Smoked Sausage and Andouille

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And to the above I'd add:

Abe's boudin

Rabideaux's sausage (they're down since Rita, but hear they're planning to regrouop)

Bunny and Evangeline made bread

Bootsie's Bean mixes

ro-tel tomatoes

creole cream cheese from Bittersweet plantation, or anywhere else I can get it.

Louisiana fish fry

Konriko pecan rice - you can find it most places. It's usually a christmas gift from a client who has an interest in the brand. I guess I'll have to sniff some out in the Rice isle since we've been forgotton this year. You can literally smell the stuff in the bag, smells just like popcorn when it's cooking, and is soo good with anything you serve it with. Has a nice, nutty flavor.

There's more but it's more local..like anybody's mayhaw jelly, or fig preserves.