spices/ingredients you can´t live without?

alafairnadia

what spices and ingredients can you not live without?
what lack would drive you completely batshit were acquisition not possible?

I´m specifically thinking of specialty and/or ethnic/foreign ingredients and spices that, for instance, might not exist in a place like ecuador?

I have a preliminary list but I´m pretty sure there´s tons of stuff I´m forgetting. and I´m surprised by how much random stuff is easy to find here - so odd.

(and I don´t mean salt or ground pepper - rather, I mean, sea salt or crushed red pepper flakes)

whatchuwant

curry. All kinds.

MOD

I can't seem to find in NY these really spicy yellow peppers. Shaped like jalapenos but very hot like serranos. I miss mexican organo and mexican heirloom tomatillos. I love cumin, but I know you're not into that, and it's pretty common I think. Not a spice but I can't seem to find peruvian beans here. I used to cook those more than pintos.

dapearl9

Crushed Red Pepper. I don't know what it's availability is like in Ecuador but I use it in almost everything I make. Also:

Black Pepper (and yes I read you don't mean this stuff)
Chili Powder (I like my food spicy)
Basil
Curry

I'll see if anything else comes to mind.

micheleisabel

I really really LOVE cumin...tastes great with beans, eggs, pork...hummus..mmm

and cinnamon...nutmeg, not so much, but spinach (my fav veggie) doesnt taste the same without a pinch of it...

sesame oil i love too, even tho its not a spice...

alafairnadia

it´s amusing because here they have tons of aji, which is a local spicy pepper, but zero jalapenos unless you count pickled (which I´ve resorted to). there´s like one brand of curry at the supermarket (the megamaxi in quito!!) and it´s horribal.

but artichokes are like $0.20 at the market.

the butter is awful. and the salt is only this super finely ground stuff.

and there´s no velveeta (for making cheesy popcorn - mixed with pepper jack, butter, salt, pepper and some chopped jalapenos it is the perfect topping to tons of freshly popped corn), but there is old el paso queso which, when mixed with andino cheese almost works as a substitute.

no duck. hardly any asian ingredients. but 40 varieties of potatoes! and flour! my god, they grind EVERYTHING here. but. no cornMEAL. gah. it´s baffling.

I have plans for fixing some of my veg/plant related angst (I would have shot someone for silken tofu and daikon radish the other day), but the spice and sauce thing I´m sure I´ll forget something critical. it´s driving me nuts.

maratl2

I really really LOVE cumin...tastes great with beans, eggs, pork...hummus..mmm

ME TOO!! I LOVE CUMIN!

Hehe ok here are a few other ones:

Curry
Coriander
Chili powder
Zaatar
Cayenne

alafairnadia

I don´t mind cumin, per se, I just hate it when something smells like cumin from a mile away. then again, I grew up eating cuban pork in the sour orange flavor range, not in the more havana-esque cumin laden range. so, I had many moments in miami objecting heavily to roast pork that smelled nasty (as in, like cumin).

but I´ll admit that I do use cumin in curries and I like a dab of it in guac and a few other things. but for the most part, I avoid it.

but keep your suggestions coming. and my request is not just limited to spices - oils, sauces, whatever!

xo

MOD

Good olive oil is hard to find (at a resonable price). I love cilatro, basil, all chilies, love pesto, chimichurri.... damn I'm HUNGRY NOW!!!

Sourdough! I miss San Francisco sourdough!!!

darla

Due to my love of thai and indian food - curry is on top of the list.

Other additions are sweet paprika, saffron, berbere and sumac.

flux

SALT -can't prepare any food without salt.

jt4266

posh, ginger, sporty and scary. I can do without baby :-)

anastasia beaverhausen

Cumin and tumeric. I love 'em!

sweet tea

i'll buck the curry powder trend -- i've all but stopped using it since i've found recipes that include actual spice mixtures individual to the dish. curry powder tastes about as awesome as velvetta to me now, but clearly, YMMV. and i do like tuna salad with curry and mustard.

here are some things that come to mind for me:

TUMERIC
dried thyme
coriander seed
dried mustard/mustard seed (ideally both, bc mustard seed is annoying to winnow)
cardamon seed
FENNEL seeds
anise seed
star anise
CINNAMON STICKS
ground ginger
dried red pepper

KOSHER or other big SALT


some other things i really like but don't use quite as often:
fennugreek
kalonji/nigella/onion seeds/"the black seed" (nb: they are not actually seeds to grow onions)

in terms of wet things, i like to keep:

olive oil for cooking
unfiltered olive oil for salad, etc.
high-heat oil (usually canola or peanut -- canola is most bland)
sesame oil
balsamic vinegar
white vinegar
rice wine vinegar
sweet rice wine/mirin (ideally not the stuff that's just corn syrup, since it's cheaper to buy karo)
tabasco (not super hot, but i like the flavor)
vanilla extract (not fake stuff)
soy sauce/tamari

i don't use as often but also like to have:
almond extract
rose water
orange flower water

obviously, i like to cook, and there's more than this in my kitchen, but this is the stuff i find myself using a lot.

j0518

ground red chile from New Mexico
that HP british Curry sauce
good ol' Cuban mojo

meganlibrarian

garam masala. mmmmmmmmm...

em26

I'm a cumin freak too! Man, I love that stuff. I put it in everything. Eggs , ya'll should put it on your eggs! Taste yummy.

CUMIN
Tumeric
All spice
Garlic
Sea Salt
Ground black pepper
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cardamom seeds
Coriander

carnivore

I like sweet tea's list.

I'd add:
sesame oil
fish sauce
black vinegar
oyster sauce
dried shrimp
hot bean paste
allspice (if you're missing the local Caribbean flavors)
good Hungarian paprika
spicy dry mustard like Colemans
Sichuan peppercorns
bay leaves
sesame seeds

I'm with sweet tea- curry powder is handy to have around for a quick meal, but it's definitely better to mix your own spices. Besides, with most curry powders, you're paying big prices for something that's mostly turmeric. Same goes for garam masala (except the turmeric part). I will admit it's nice to have a few cans of Thai curry paste around for quick meals.

I wouldn't bother with herbs- you could grow them yourself if you're going to be in a place like that for any substantial length of time. I'd at least grow basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, lemongrass, and sage if I had outdoor space for an herb garden. If you really wanted to have some dried, I'd get rosemary, thyme, marjoram. Don't bother with dried cilantro or basil- they're a waste of time.

sweet tea

Carnivore wrote:
I wouldn't bother with herbs- you could grow them yourself if you're going to be in a place like that for any substantial length of time. I'd at least grow basil, parsley, dill, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, lemongrass, and sage if I had outdoor space for an herb garden. If you really wanted to have some dried, I'd get rosemary, thyme, marjoram. Don't bother with dried cilantro or basil- they're a waste of time.

i agree with all that except that i do like to have dry thyme, even though i have plentiful fresh thyme from the garden. i find that the two taste very different and that i like them for different things. dry thyme is the only dry herb i find myself using much of.

and i'd add mint to that list.

idlewild

Smoked Salt
Fennel Pollen
Garlic
Anchovy/Fish Sauce
Butter
Peanut Oil
Extra VO
Cinnamon
Ginger
Basil
Sage
Smoked Ground Black Pepper
Dill
Shitake/Button/Mitake 'Shrooms
Sherry

meredithb

I couldn't make chimmichurri if it weren't for parsley and oregano and crushed red pepper.

sweet tea

Idlewild wrote:
Fennel Pollen

tell me about fennel pollen. what's it like? what do you do with it?

i've this year discovered the joy of fresh fennel fruit -- before it develops all the way to seeds and dries -- which is fennel-y but also quite sweet. (i have it in my garden; don't know if it keeps enough to sell.)

idlewild

Fennel pollen has a milder and sweeter taster taste than anise, imo. I discovered it at the PSFC in the shelf by the exprss line.. I've used it in my French press, sprinkled it on bacon and let it sit over night, and have chewed it like tobacco. Really good stuff. Supposedly Mario Battalli has a whole section devoted to it in one of his cook books.

pitu

Idlewild, I love you.

Alf, you moving? Or sending a care pkg? My friends lived in Mexico City for a few years...I'd bring them Asian ingredients (although there was one market that had an Asian stand), corn meal (as you've noticed, all the corn meal is limed), and rice milk.

I'd be growing my own fresh herbs (Italian, French, and Asian) if I lived there . . . and getting someone to send me a big can of salted Sicilian anchovies every year.

alafairnadia

I'm going to be living in ecuador (outside of otavalo/cotacachi) relatively soon. I'm taking some seeds (shh, don't tell the gov't) and I just want to cover the asian spices and ingredients, plus a lot of italian/cooking stuff - corn meal, fancy flour, sea salt, etc that I can't even find at the mega marts there. also, a lot of mexican ingredients are very difficult to find. I may be able to order some euro goods from argentina, but still.

also, I'm planning to explore quito more thoroughly - there are lots of wealthy nabes there and I don't quite know if there are specialty markets in those areas that might cater to stuff I like.

I do, however, know where to get good olive oil and jamon serrano. wish I could find someplace cheaper, but anyway.

and yeah, carne falsa (tofu, etc.) is apparently available also in quito but not sure where. but I'd rather find good recipes.

pitu

wow!
you might want to post on the South America boards of Chowhound and Lonely Plante/Thorn Tree -- you never know what great grocery ideas will come up
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/556387

You could always go to DF for a grocery run...Mercado San Juan has an Asian stall, and great mole of many types . . .

alafairnadia

pitu wrote: wow!
you might want to post on the South America boards of Chowhound and Lonely Plante/Thorn Tree -- you never know what great grocery ideas will come up
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/556387

You could always go to DF for a grocery run...Mercado San Juan has an Asian stall, and great mole of many types . . .

I'll check those sources out. the internets presence in south america in terms of stores/listings can sometimes be a pain in the ass/not exist.

sadly, I haven't been focusing on these details quite yet - still need to deal with apt, figure out kitty moving stuff, etc.

let's have dinner soon! I'm getting hungry again and just ate at franny's!! okay, that was a few hours ago but there was pancetta and pasta involved.

alafairnadia

Mamacita wrote: I can't seem to find in NY these really spicy yellow peppers. Shaped like jalapenos but very hot like serranos. I miss mexican organo and mexican heirloom tomatillos. I love cumin, but I know you're not into that, and it's pretty common I think. Not a spice but I can't seem to find peruvian beans here. I used to cook those more than pintos.

I've got seeds on the way for 5 different kinds of hot peppers (which I will somehow have to isolate so they don't cross breed. nasty fuckers.) as well as for the heirloom tomatillos - amusingly tracked a place down for this stuff well before this thread!

alafairnadia

oh, and for anyone with a fetish for interesting flavors, check out kitazawaseed.com. I went a little insane on that site. the upshot? I'll have my very own crop of snow pea shoots.

pitu

alafairnadia wrote: [quote=Mamacita]I can't seem to find in NY these really spicy yellow peppers. Shaped like jalapenos but very hot like serranos. I miss mexican organo and mexican heirloom tomatillos. I love cumin, but I know you're not into that, and it's pretty common I think. Not a spice but I can't seem to find peruvian beans here. I used to cook those more than pintos.

I've got seeds on the way for 5 different kinds of hot peppers (which I will somehow have to isolate so they don't cross breed. nasty fuckers.) as well as for the heirloom tomatillos - amusingly tracked a place down for this stuff well before this thread!

There's one stand in Union Sq Greenmarket that has dozens of kinds of hot peppers (and the plants in the spring) run by some southeast Asian dudes. Many many many peppers.
It's the end of the season right now, but it's still The Season

Alfafair, I never had a problem with peppers crossing, sitting in pots right next to each other . . . . I grew serranos next to habs next to thai birds for the last couple years. Thai basil is super easy to grow btw, as is shiso

alafairnadia

good to know, pitu. our groundskeepers are growing aji and such and I just don't want the flavors to be off - they're going to sell for their own income anything that the households can't consume.