Tags

, , , , ,

This is going to be a strictly palates post, I thought about adding some globalization chatter, and how I wouldn’t know about these products without it….but we all know you just want the list and some pictures.  So I’ll spare you just this once.

This list isn’t in any particular order.

1. Dulce de Leche- I fell in love with this spread while studying abroad in Argentina.  Sadly I can only find it in brick form here which is a decent substitute…but I love the creamy version so much more. It’s great on toast in the morning, or just by the spoonful.  If you want to be fancy I think this would go awesome on a cheese platter too.

2. Fancy Pretzels- The bakery at the grocery store would make so much money off of me if they had pretzels. It seems the only place I can get them here is for $10 at the movie theater or during octoberfest celebrations. I’ll take any variety, sweet cinnamon sugar or savory with cheese.  I don’t think I ask for much.

3. Dashi- this is the base to many Japanese soups for example, miso and clear soup, which are two of my favorites. Most people think dashi is seafood stock, but to my knowledge dashi is actually stock from boiled kelp.  Nonetheless, I can’t find these little packets of flavor anywhere.  I could make it from scratch, but even the ingredients to make it from scratch are hard to find. Also the fact that these packets exist completely vanquishes my motivation to make dashi from scratch.

4. Pickapeppa Hot Sauce- There’s several varieties of this hot sauce around, including mango, but favorite is just the hot brown sauce.  My grocery store doesn’t carry this, from my understanding this is like Jamaica’s tabasco sauce, and it’s on every restaurant table, and I wish it were on my kitchen table so bad.  My dad and I both love this on our red beans and rice, it drives my mom insane because its not exactly traditional, but in our opinion its tasty. Pickapeppa is also a great for grilled chicken.

5. Fresh Ginger root- I can always find ginger in powdered form, but there is a major difference between fresh and powdered.  However, for some strange reason my grocery store does not believe in me being able to get that awesome, fresh difference without a trip to whole foods. Fresh ginger is great for marinades, and I also love it in my lemonade or tea.

What are you “can’t live without items” that your grocery store makes you comb the internet for?