Assessing my non-domestic sources

Cooking Discussions Cooking, Cookbooks, Ingredients
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Recent economic events have caused me to assess which food items that I use regularly come from overseas. Should, heaven forbid, prices rise to the point of feeling the need to forego them, are there acceptable USA substitutes?

Olive oil…I dearly love Italian olive oil, but for everyday California Olive Ranch 100% California is superb. For finishing oils I love Texas Olive Ranch, especially the Picual and the Arbequina. I am on the hunt for domestic olives.

Tomatoes. I am a Cento addict. I may have to make peace with Muir Glen, although I have stocked up on Cento.

Tomato paste, sundried tomatoes, etc. I think I will make my own.

Coffee. This being the staff of life, I shall just have to find a way to buy it.

Cocoa. Will buying domestic manufacture, like Ghirardelli, help, since the price increase should, in theory, be only for the cacao beans themselves.

Salsa. Sorry, Mexico. It is homemade time.

Pasta. Yikes. Fortunately even Gragnano is not hugely expensive.

Finishing salt. Jacobsen’s is pricy but terrific. Will Maldon stillbe the choice?

Maple syrup. Any from New England?

Hot sauce. I am addicted to Melinda’s Ghost Pepper. Will home made from my chiltepins suffice?

Mustard. I already save over small bottles with the large jars of Roland. I hope it is still available.

All manner of Asian cooking things: soy and tamari, hoisin, plum sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, mirin, chutney, etc. Help!

Coconut milk. Any from Hawaii?

Capers. Thankfully I have two huge jars.

Butter. I guess Kerrygold will be replaced by store brand European style.

Cheese. Fortunately there are loads of absolutely marvelous American cheeses of virtually all types.

Jams and marmalades. O woe is me. No more Bon Maman or Mackay’s!

Please add others and ideas for USA made substitutes.

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In this respect, you are very fortunate to live in a large country, with diverse climates, so you can grow many foods.

On this cold little island off the coast of northern Europe, we import around half of our food.

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I’m the same with CA Olive Ranch 100% Californian. I’ve been buying Muir Glen fire-roasted chopped tomatoes and their tomato sauce for awhile, and it hasn’t steered me wrong.

I’m a HUGE Penzeys fan, so many of their spices will be going higher in price. I’ve got enough Aleppo pepper to last me, along with French tarragon and sweet basil, Turkish bay leaves, Indonesian/Ceylon cinnamon, ground ginger (China), ground mustard (Canada), and many others.

I might buy another bottle of Madagascar Vanilla, however.

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Canadians are doing the same thing right now. I guess I could start a Buy Canadian thread, so any of my input doesn’t make your Domestic Thread become confusing for other readers. :slight_smile:

Do the Canadian posters want this?

Or we could just add our tips for buying local and buying Canadian to the ongoing Grocery shopping in Ontario: a skyrocketing price thread

We don’t seem to have too many posters posting from provinces other than Ontario this year. We used to have home cooks posting from a few other Provinces 5 years ago.

Canada can’t make it’s own olive oil, but fortunately we do make our own maple syrup. Ontario peanuts are smaller and more expensive than American peanuts, but they are quite good.

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True. But unfortunately we can’t produce much coffee (outside of Hawaii) or any chocolate. And we’re very fond of all sorts of spices and sauces from other parts of the world. And, of course, we are accustomed to produce from our neighbors when our growing seasons end. I suppose we’ll eat more seasonally now?

Like @LindaWhit I am a big fan of Penzey’s. I have quite a collection of spices and baking needs like cocoa and vanilla. But I may place another order soon.

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Canned tomatoes
I’ve had good results with Kirkland (Costco brand), Hunts and Contadina. Kirkland tomato paste is also quite good.

Pasta
Barilla is made in the states and has been my everyday go-to for years. For “fancy” pastas, I will go with fresh as I have two local places that make excellent quality lasagna and ravioli.

Hot Sauce
Tabasco is US made, but I don’t think they make anything super hot (if that’s what you’re after) But who knows, it may change!

Jams and Jellies
Local producers may surprise you. A friend of mine brought back some delicious raspberry preserves from a trip to North Carolina. Here in NY, I can get locally made apple, strawberry and grape that are really good.

Coffee and Kerrygold butter… you’ll have to pry these from my cold, dead hands.

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There was a reason for the development of the British Empire - once we didnt have those troublesome Americans to consider any longer

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I think I may put up a bit of jam this summer, mainly cherry, strawberry, and apricot.

Tabasco is tasty, but it is not spicy at all to me. I may have to try some of their offerings than original red.

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Huge variety of Hot Sauces made domestically. You should be able to find what you need/desire.
But with shipping and rising demand (because of this :clown_face: idiocy) the price may pace with the imported ones.

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as mentioned Coffee presents a challenge. in the same vein, there is no workaround for Parmigiano Reggiano. along with salt and pepper it is my most used condiment. i’ll probably make even more Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Thai dishes than i normally do (i’m well stocked in those pantries and they keep a long time).

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I haven’t yet finished my current block of parm, but I will certainly buy more this week. I consider it a staple.

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And a big old chunk of Pec Rom, too!

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Not sure where in the US you are. This place is local to me, but of course they have an on-line shop. Like all good dealers, first order is 20%off. Pepper Palace - From Wild to Mild!

Caution: If the bottle has a skeleton hanging on it, they mean it :hot_face:

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I buy Sapjack maple syrup, a Vermont company. I buy the dark and bourbon aged.

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For soy sauce at least, if you use Kikkoman, they are large enough to have local USA production plants. I use Kikkoman Lower Sodium for my day to day cooking.

LKK (Lee Kum Kee) also has a few US production plants, though I can’t say which sauces are produced where. I use the LKK “premium” oyster sauce (the one with the lady in the canoe/boat) as my daily go to oyster sauce.

For any of the artisanal or specialty products, then yeah – this really sucks. I love the oyster sauces that are made with shajing oysters (in Shenzhen). The taste is far superior to the LKK, but it is about 2x the cost, so I use that for special dishes or dishes where you want that pop of super oyster umami. There is no substitution for this. And of course all my Chinese, Taiwan and Japanese tea leaves… :woozy_face:

Edit: Forgot to add, I like Kerrygold too. And while not a direct replication, Vermont Creamery cultured butter is pretty good. Costco also does their Kirkland brand replication of the Kerrygold - but I don’t know if they still rely on European dairy farmers to their milk.

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Assessing my non-domestic sources is what led me to start the thread about what people are thinking about stocking up.

Yes, there’s CA olive oil. But what happens to the price when demand quadruples and supply is constant?

The inexpensive but good quality pasta I use from TJ’s is all from Italy. But 20% on $1-$2 is not going to break the bank for me.

Coconut milk, spices, curry pastes, other Asian condiments and ingredients – not domestic.

Mexico is not affected by the new tariffs (for now).

.

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Yeah, those I’ll continue to buy, along with Parm-Reg. I use Land O’Lakes butter more often - the Kerrygold is a treat.

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I am in Austin. I know I can find extremely hot sauces made in the USA. Melinda’s, while its bhut jolokia packs good heat, still has incredibly good flavor.

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Yay for now!

I, too, am wondering how USA product prices will fare once they are made more expensive because of scarcity.

I agree that even with tariffs, most banks will not be broken by tariffs. I have developed a deep and abiding love for the Central Market house brand Grangnano pastas, especially the pappardelle and the Vesuvio.

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Tariffs will not change my purchasing behavior.

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