A little thread for wonderful ingredients you've found!

[Kermit power]

Evening all,

In the beginning, there was bacon. Then in some places it became "Lardons".

It was still bacon, though, really, so then Pancetta arrived. That's getting different, and it's nice to know you can eat it uncooked too. I used to get through loads of the stuff!

Then the chap in my local Italian shop killed Pancetta for me forever after with one simple sentence... "Have you tried Guanciale?"

Oh God, it's AMAZING!!! Essentially, it's pork cured in a similar fashion to Pancetta, but it's the pigs cheeks. SO much flavour! I'm enjoying some right now, with some courgettes, sweetcorn, Cavalo Nero a little bit of garlic & chilli and some pine nuts, and I can't really think of anything much that I'd rather be eating.

A week ago, I'd never even heard of Guanciale. Now I can't imagine my fridge without some.

Anyone else had any similar experiences?

[dazco]

Sounds great, where can we buy this stuff?

[Cotty]

Kermit power said:

Anyone else had any similar experiences?

Not quite but I really like Kabanos. Fried a little and mixed into an omelette or a Frittata

[Kermit power]

dazco said:

Sounds great, where can we buy this stuff?

I suspect I'm lucky in having a little Italian shop nearby, but you could always order it online. One example here. I can't vouch for that particular one, but it shows you what you're looking for.

[Wadeski]

Fresh lime leaves, fresh curry leaves. You won't make asian food the same way again.

Home made pickled chillies / pickled chill paste, too.

Dried whole black beans vs black bean sauce in a jar.

[Pferdestarke]

Unrefined cane sugars such as Jaggary in Indian shops.

Korean red bean paste as a base for oriental dishes.

Agree on dried salted black beans, curry leaves etc - make a huge difference.

Ketcap manis or sweet soy.

Crisp film for adding to batters to make them hold their crisp texture. Amazing stuff.

Meat glue for shaping ballotines etc.

Long black peppercorns.

Fennel powder. For adding to curries and other savoury dishes.

[matrignano]

If you like guanciale you will love lardo di colonnata!

Parmesan almost doesn't exist in my life - it's all about pecorino.

Bottarga, colatura di alicia and nero di seppia (squid's ink) are all great additions to fish dishes. I think of bottarga as the parmesan of the sea.

Fregola is a great substitute for pasta too.

Jasmin leaves/jasmin tea, works so well with salmon!

[Huntsman]

Avogel Sel Marin Herbamare - sea salt with added veg and herbs, a celery undertone, its incredible.

Black treacle - if your making a sticky sauce with butter, cream and muscavado add a spoon of this.

[Wadeski]

Pferdestarke said:

Unrefined cane sugars such as Jaggary in Indian shops.

Korean red bean paste as a base for oriental dishes.

Agree on dried salted black beans, curry leaves etc - make a huge difference.

Ketcap manis or sweet soy.

Crisp film for adding to batters to make them hold their crisp texture. Amazing stuff.

Meat glue for shaping ballotines etc.

Long black peppercorns.

Fennel powder. For adding to curries and other savoury dishes.

I have a bag of long black peppercorns from visiting a spice plantation in Kerala.

what the f*ck are they for? The bag says "salads".

[oilydan]

Pearls.

Basically liquids put through the spherification process.

Like little flavour balls for intense garnishing or finishing dishes. I use a little sprinkle of black truffle balls on scrambled or boiled eggs. Or a few wasabi flavour on a beef dish.

http://www.finefoodspecialist.co.uk/caviar/alterna...

[Pferdestarke]

Wadeski said:

I have a bag of long black peppercorns from visiting a spice plantation in Kerala.

what the f*ck are they for? The bag says "salads".

You can blitz them in a grinder or treat like nutmeg and finely grate. Just use them like regular pepper. Slightly milder and more citrus notes.

[7heavensoon]

Truffle oil.

Once you've added a little drizzle (just a few drops) of it to scrambled egg on toast you'll never look back...

[Blown2CV]

truffle oil often doesn't contain truffles. To me, it's a bit

[Mobile Chicane]

Japanese togarashi seasoning.

I keep it in my desk to liven up otherwise dull bought food.

[7heavensoon]

Blown2CV said:

truffle oil often doesn't contain truffles. To me, it's a bit

The one I use does! Less is definitely more with truffle oil - 3-4 drops is all you need

[TIGA84]

Sumac, lemony loveliness on anything you choose.

[Pferdestarke]

Yeah that's a good one.

Pomegranate molasses. In fact molasses in general.

Anyone tries umami paste no5?

[dapprman]

Blown2CV said:

truffle oil often doesn't contain truffles. To me, it's a bit

Too true. I had an argument with a local chef over this, until he confessed his truffle oil was home made by a guy he knows in Italy who is a successful truffle hunter (presumably using the olive oil to also preserve the truffles).

[HarryFlatters]

Pferdestarke said:

Anyone tries umami paste no5?

I don't really remember it adding much to my food, other than making everything a bit brown/grey due to it's high mushroom content.

I've had better results by adding anchovies or olives to stuff.

[Kermit power]

dapprman said:

Blown2CV said:

truffle oil often doesn't contain truffles. To me, it's a bit

Too true. I had an argument with a local chef over this, until he confessed his truffle oil was home made by a guy he knows in Italy who is a successful truffle hunter (presumably using the olive oil to also preserve the truffles).

I have had truffle oil which was oil in which a truffle was sitting. It was delicious.

I tried some from Waitrose. The first time, it was OK, but only a pale imitation. By the time the bottle had been open a week, it was no different to a normal, mediocre olive oil.