Where do you buy Indian spices online?

Question

I want to learn to cook some Indian dishes. It would be preferable to know that the spices are from sustainable agriculture.

Sedona, Arizona. I did some googling and didn't find any local spice shops. I will call the local food stores tomorrow.

Here are a couple random ones I stumbled upon: Seasoned Pioneer
Penzeys Spices

But, there might be someone who has found their favorite place to shop for such spices. So please post here to share your recommends. Is it ok to shop for spices on ebay?

Asked by Dan Donnelly

Answer

Try iShopIndian.com - these guys are in Wisconsin, but they deliver ...

Answered by 5arx

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How can one determine if a potato is suitable for French fries?

Question

I often make French fries by cutting potatoes into long strips, adding a bit of oil and spices, then baking them in the oven. Sometimes, this tastes very good. Unfortunately, most of the time, it tastes terrible. After baking the potatoes, I often discover that the potatoes have a very strange flavor and texture. They are somewhat sweet and the color after baking is bright yellow. I have tried baking without spices, and have found they are not to blame for the strange flavor.

• Am I encountering a different variety of potato or a different kind of vegetable that on the outside looks like a potato?
• Is it possible these potatoes were harvested at the wrong time, but the outside color is nearly the same?
• How can I identify which potatoes make French fries?

Asked by Village

Answer

Good Eats(Alton Brown) has some good descriptions of the various difference's between potatos. He has an episode dedicated to potatoes. Main thing is the starch content in them. He has an example of each of the three groups (High, Medium, Low), includign a brief description and sample application. He mentions mentions frying in the High Starch content group, specifically Russets. He then has another episode simply about frying, where he actually talks about French Fries and again mentions the Russet (High Starch).

While you can make fries out of different types of potatoes (some of the more "all purpose" potatoes), if you want a really good classic french fry, you're going to want to look for a Russet, with a similar starch content.

Here's a page that lists some of the more common varieties. Maybe you can look to see what you bought? The age will probably affect it. A younger potato will in fact be sweeter

So, to answer your specific questions. I'm betting you did in fact buy a potato. It's probably just a sweeter variety. If it doesn't say at the market where you bought it what kind they are, I'd ask the people who work there. Also, look at the third link I have above, it does have a few pictures as well as good descriptions on what they look like.

Answered by talon8

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Where can I buy Glico Curry online in the United States?

Question

My wife and I brought back a box of Glico Medium Curry that we purchased on our trip to Canada this past year. I think we bought it at the Daiso store in Vancouver. After trying it for the first time just recently, we both fell in love with it and now can't imagine not having it occasionally. Unfortunately, I can't find anywhere to purchase it, either locally, or online. There are many other brands of Japanese Curry that are available online, but I'm afraid they might not taste the same as the one we had from Glico. Is there somewhere where I can buy this product online, or would any of the other brands that I could get locally be any bit similar? (Such as Vermont Curry, or S&B Golden Curry?) I live in Arkansas.

Thank you!

Asked by dotnetengineer

Answer

Wow, this is hard to find. I know I've seen it in some asian grocery stores, but none of the online groceries that I could find seem to list it, even the venerable H-Mart. No Amazon sellers (usually a good source for odd groceries) right now, either.

Fortunately I found one source for you, eBay seller "hirokojapan" has a persistent listing for Glico Curry Sauce, $5.99 each, $3.95 shipping to the US from Osaka, JP. You select the flavor you want, from Curry, Curry Sweet, Curry Hot, Stew or Rice.

The individual listing link will expire eventually, but future readers can look up the seller directly and see if they are listing a similar item (or message them with a request).

Answered by Sam Ley

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Where can I find (plain) Ramen noodles?

Question

I recently thought about trying to make the Chicken Ramen recipe from Wagamama, however I will need to know how to get the correct ingredients from the best sources. I don't know any good sources to get the right noodles for making the Ramen.

Where should I look to acquire good-quality Ramen noodles for a recipe such as this?

Here's the recipe in the book I took a snapshot of.

Answer

"Ramen noodles" are a predominantly North American term for what the Japanese call "Chinese Noodles" (Chukamen, which I've also seen spelled Yuukamen).

In practice, you can use any wheat noodle that's made with eggs or kansui, including lamian or mee pok, or even buckwheat noodles (notably soba). Noodles made without either of those are not recommended.

It does not matter which of the above you use, although the Chukamen varieties are the more traditional. Much like pasta, it's largely a matter of personal preferences and how you want it to come out in terms of texture and appearance.

You'll find a wide variety of all of these noodles in dried or fresh form at any Asian supermarket or grocery store. Across Canada there's a chain called T&T. You should have no trouble finding some Asian grocery stores in your region with a phone book or maybe Google or Yelp.

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What type of Paprika is the generic stuff one buys at a grocery store chain?

Question

I have read this very good link on the differences in paprika, but I did not learn all that I need to learn as far as buying these different varieties. When I go to my grocery chain to do my weekly shopping and I see the spice container which says Paprika, is that just going to be "Plain" paprika. I ask because I need to go out and find both sweet paprika and hot paprika which probably will require a little more effort on my part to find. Maybe a Whole Foods or something?

Answer

This information should be indicated on the label: sweet, sweet&sour, spicy, smoked...

Generic paprika is sweet and will probably not have much flavor (that is why paprika can be used in paella together with saffron - see this question)

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Where can I purchase Banquete Chilero Sauce from Costa Rica in the US?

Question

I have been to Costa Rica twice and I fell in love with Banquete brand Chilero Sauce.

It is a hot sauce with a wonderful flavor but it has some fairly unique properties -- specifically that it is very similar in color and consistency / viscosity to asian sweet and sour sauces. This lets the sauce cling in a thick layer on the food to which it is applied.

I have tried looking for this sauce but it is hard to find even by mail order in the US and the price for shipping from Costa Rica costs many times more than the sauce itself. Apparently a lot of places carry Lizano sauce but this brand of Chilero seems to be left out.

Answer

http://costaricasuperstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=53 this website mig0th be helpful for you.

I'm afraid I don't know of any stores that you can physically visit to purchase the sauce though

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Where can I Buy Kaima or Jeerakasala Rice?

Question

I'm trying to prepare an Indian Biriyani dish, and it calls for Kaima rice, also known as Jeerakasala. I understand that there are alternatives, like Basmati, but I really would love to try this particular variety. Where do you think I could purchase some (I live in the US, in NC, ordering online would be great)?

If nothing else, could you suggest a rice that is extremely similar?

Thanks in advance.

Answer

You need to use Kali Jeera rice available in most Patel stores or big indian stores. We were also looking for this and avoiding Kali Jeera thinking it is some black rice whereas it is not. This is rice used in Nor Malabar chicken biriyanis.

And no need to mention that ghee rice or biriyani prepared with Kali Jeera rice tastes way better than normal Basmati rice.

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Yellowness of egg yolk

Question

Related question: Why are Italian eggs so yellow?

Occasionally I get served a fried / poached egg with a deep yellow/orange yolk. I find it extremely appetising and visually attractive.

Sometimes eggs have very weakly coloured yolks, which is less appealing -- but I couldn't swear that the flavour is affected.

• Is there a correlation between the colour of a yolk and its flavour?
• When shopping, how can I increase my chances of getting a richly coloured yolk?
  • Does free-range / barn / battery make a difference?
  • Is there a correlation between price and yolk colour?
• Do egg producers and/or chefs use dirty tricks to effect a yellow yolk? Dye? Food additives?

I'm in the UK, but please feel free to give answers for other parts of the world. If you suspect they're not universal, make sure you point out your location.

Answer

The color of the yolk is based on the chicken's diet. I eat vegetarian fed eggs from the grocery store and they have deep yellow yolks. If I go back to buying standard white eggs its a bit disconcerting because they have very pale yolks.

In the fall is when the eggs are the orangest for pasture raised eggs, again something about what is available to feed. The only way I can find these eggs is to get them from the farmers market or from a coworker who raises hens themselves.

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What is Zwieback toast and where can I find it?

Question

I am baking a black forest cake and it calls for zwieback toast. I cannot find this anywhere. Does anyone know what this is or where I can find it?

Answer

Zwieback toast is a twice-baked sweetened toast fed to teething children. It is also known as teething toast, and can be found in the baby aisle of most grocery stores.

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What should I check when buying a pineapple?

Question

I live in middle Europe so pineapple (so called "ananas") is an exotic fruit for me.

What should I check when buying a pineapple to make sure it would taste well? Should it smell specific? Should it be soft or hard? Should it be big or small?

I believe this questions is valid for other regions as well. Is it?

Answer

It should be firm, not mushy, but not rock hard either.

The most important thing, however, is smell. An unripe pineapple won't smell like anything. An overripe pineapple will smell vinegary. A ripe pineapple will smell sweet.

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Should I buy a mechanical chopper?

Question

A popular example of this device is the heavily-advertised Slap Chop tool.

Is there any advantage to buying one of these? Do they tend to be as effective as advertised, and if so, what features should I look for, and how long can I expect it to last?

Answer

I have tried a number of similar tools and find that the Pampered Chef "Specialty Cutting Tools: Food Chopper" to be the best-in-breed for choppers. It is

• sturdy, it is well built and will last.
• reliable, after cleaning it assembles easily and works consistently
• easy to clean, opens up easily and is dishwasher safe.

I find this model works well for small chopping tasks, such as those advertised with the "slap chop". If you have more than "a handful" of material to chop you will do well to divide it into smaller bundles. Much more and it is time to move to a larger device.

Mine if 5-6 years old, with no signs of slowing down.

---

1. I am not a Pampered Chef rep
2. I do not broadly endorse their products. Many of their items are "not so good"

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Where can I buy American style bread flour in Europe

Question

I live in Germany, and all the flour here is made from soft winter wheat. I can get some durum semolina imported from Italy and sold as "hardwheat flour" (Hartweizenmehl), and that's about it. But most of the ressources on bred baking I read are of American origin, and they are all optimized for American style bread flour, made from the endosperm of spring wheat.

Is there a source within the Schengen zone which produces high-gluten flour and ships it to Germany? I think I read a comment somewhere on the site that Sweden has such flour, so maybe there is a producer who ships to Germany there. But I don't speak Swedish, so I can't research that. But I don't care if it comes from Sweden or another country, as long as I don't have to pay import taxes.

Answer

The UK has the right bread making flour in its supermarkets. I'd think that the UK has the closest to American style breads. Though it is outside of the Schengen zone, they do speak English and should be able to send you some. Try some companies such as Graig Farm, Wessex Mill, FWP Matthews or Flourbin.

These websites probably won't list delivery to Germany online however you can try telephoning them and see what other delivery options they have. The Wessexmill does list a retailer in Switzerland with there product.

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How do I skip the planning and shopping?

Question

I really enjoy cooking. I enjoy the creativity, the experimentation and trying new foods. I HATE the planning, list making & shopping.

Is there any service or "technique" for avoiding everything leading up to the work in the kitchen?

Answer

Depending on where you live, there is a pretty simple approach you can try. In the next few days, head out to places that specialize in particular kinds of foods and in making them appeal to you. A farmer's market, a butcher's, a cheese shop, a bakery, etc. Chat with the staff and buy whatever speaks to you in the store. When you come home, make whatever meals you feel inspired to make according to what you've bought. Be creative and impulsive and seasonal. Keep doing that until one day you notice there isn't any food, and either go out and shop or eat something canned and go to shop the next day.

In probably a week's time, one of two things will happen. Either you will be feeling free, creative, inspired etc and so happy you are doing things this new way, or you will have thrown out a lot of expensive food that spoiled before you could use it, and be feeling very stressed and unhappy at 4 or 5 pm each day because you have to figure out what to make. If it's the former, mission accomplished. If it's the latter, you now have your motivation for the planning and the list making, and should find it more pleasant since you know its purpose and what it is saving you from. Either way, the "I hate having to plan my meals" feeling should diminish drastically.

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What other names are scallions known by?

Question

If I can't find anything named "scallions" at the store, what else can I look for?

Answer

According to Wikipedia:

Scallions (also known as green onions, spring onions, salad onions, green shallots, onion sticks, or syboes), are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.

In the grocery stores I've been to most (east cost of US), if they aren't called scallions, they're called green onions. I've never seen grocery stores label them with any of those other names from Wikipedia (though I've seen recipes calling for syboes).

Then of course there are stores / vegetable stands where nothing is labelled, in which case knowing what they look like is the most helpful ;) (Google image search yields plenty of decent results.)

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What to look for when purchasing a blender?

Question

I currently don't have a blender after purchasing my own home and am looking to get one for making smoothies primarily, but also for pureeing for soups, etc.

I had a smoothie maker that I won as a prize; it was very obviously a cheap unit. It barely handled frozen fruit and yogurt. Ice cream and frozen fruit burned up the motor.

I am aware of the extreme "Home Improvement"-style "Binford-3000" Blendtec blenders (also as proposed in this question) but they are extremely expensive and I don't plan on incorporating cell phones or garden rakes into my smoothies.

What should I look for to get a quality blender? I don't want to purchase an inexpensive one three or four times in the next few years. I'd prefer one that will last a long time and prove to be a good kitchen tool.

Edit:

In shopping for blenders, it seems that most seem to be between $30 and $150. Obviously there are some questionably cheap ones and many that exceed that range. So for the purposes of this question, assume that range to be the budget.

Answer

Look for a strong motor and thick blades. If the blades are thin, they're likely to warp over time. The motor needs to be able to spin those blades through the liquid.

Look for a thick glass container. The plastic ones are unlikely to deal with the heat of things like soups and sauces being dumped in.

Check the gasket between the glass container and the piece that attaches the blades. A thin, flimsy gasket is likely to start leaking before a thicker, softer gasket.

Look at the number of teeth on the connection from the motor to the blade. The more teeth, the greater the surface area being used to distribute the power to the blade mechanism and is less likely to wear out.

Overall, as with many things, one of the quickest ways to tell a good one is to weigh them both. The heavier item is better. No one pays for shipping extra weight unless it's there for a good reason.

(note that the "heavier" rule doesn't apply to electronics like cellphones/computers, etc. where the cost of making it small is actually higher)

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Where can I bulk-buy cheap parmesan?

Question

My friend planted three rows of basil in his garden to make pesto, and now we need to source roughly 25-50lbs of parmesan. With that kind of quantity, cheaper is better.

Answer

The price of genuine-sealed-and-certified parmagiano reggiano is quite high and fairly consistent, especially for more aged varieties. I think your best bet to save money will be to use a similar parmagiano reggiano cousin, such as grana padano, romano, or a quality Argentinian reggianito. As a second-tier approach, you might look at domestic Parmesan, but use caution as it may not have the same quality as a one of the Italian imports.

As for genuine Parmesan: you're buying at least a couple hundred dollars of cheese, and this gives you some bargaining power. Buy or ask to taste a small sample of whatever you're considering, and try to negotiate; managers may be willing to offer you a bulk discount. I'd gather a couple quotes from cheese shops, try prices at your local Costco/Sam's Club, and talk to the upscale grocery stores in your area.

As far as pricing goes, I've seen genuine-seal-and-everything Parmagiano Reggiano on sale at about $12-13/lbs at my local Southern Season. I generally expect to pay $18-22/lbs at upscale grocery stores for Parmesan, with remarkably little variation between stores. Your standard grocery stores tend to sell small blocks of inferior-quality and freshness Parmesan for similar prices.

In contrast, grana padano runs around $12-13/lbs on average at my local Trader Joe's, and might be available for under $10/lbs with a good sale. I usually buy blocks of that for general cooking use, as it is close enough in taste and much cheaper.

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