Great non-mass produced condiments

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You asked…

So sorry I am just answering now
Something happened and I was not receiving any emails from hungry onion for a while
I happened to look in my jun file for something and saw all these emails.
That is now fixed.
I have not been buying for a while as I still have around 4 tins of various pollens, ( ZSensational for vegetable , lamb, pork Ocean,etc) Mine were from fennel pollen.com. They are Chef Bernard’s blen. I just went there directly looking for chefs Bernard’s blend; You can buy it directly from there. http://www.chefbernard.com/chef-products/Fennel-Pollen.html
I like those as they come in 1 ounce tin, clearly labeled and keeps. Just a pinch works. I bought lot as it is free shipping after you get a certain number of tins.
I just bought some Vindaloo which I cooke recently from Savor spice. They also have them but I sort o like Chef Bernard’s an do not like to change brands.
Hope u get this. Good luck

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As someone who diligently avoids hot sauces and extra spicy things I wouldn’t look twice at a website dedicated to spicy things. I think by focusing on just hot sauces you narrow the customer base from the beginning- which i s fine if all you will have is hot sauces and spicy things.
But if you’re going to include other savory not spicy condiments i would include those initially.

Another thought is that often people who only cook sporadically or have limited experience cooking would probably appreciate usage suggestions or simple recipes for items- ie how to use it for a marinade or sauce for the ubiquitous chicken breast or how much to use and how for a dry marinade. I know you’re an experienced cook but there are some surprising things that just aren’t common knowledge and make a customer hesitant because they don’t quite know what to do with the new ingredient

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Thanks for some great posts, everyone! I agree that pickles are a condiment, for what it’s worth, and two items we’re considering carrying are Spanish Onions Pickled Red with Habanero and Spanish Onions Pickled sweet with Jalapeno, though we haven’t made a decision on them yet.

I really appreciate the feedback about carrying only spicy items unduly limiting our audience. It sounds like we probably shouldn’t focus that narrowly, and that our basket of savory sauces should avoid anything very spicy. Recipes are of course another great idea and a feature we intend to include on the site. Maybe some of you might be guest contributors of recipes in the future.

I should say, I have a pretty high spice tolerance, but I did try some hot sauces that were such a traumatic experience that I didn’t consider carrying any of that vendor’s products. I like my hot sauces balanced, not one-note.

corvette_johnny, I’d be interested in hearing more about coffee steak rubs. Which ones do you particularly like?

ccj, I’m not seeing vindaloo masala or paste on Chef Bernard’s website, but I do see this masala on Savor Spice: https://www.savoryspiceshop.com/spice-blends/vindaloo.html Have you tried to reverse engineer the recipe with individual spices?

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I just saw this topic, and I have a suggestion you may find useful. I bought a bottle (plastic!) of amba in Tel Aviv. It is made by A.d.f. Foods, Mumbai. Here is their website: http://www.adf-foods.com/. I don’t find the amba on their website, but they do have mango pickle. What I bought is Corona Amba, and the manufacturer is A.d.f. Foods, Mumbai.

Great stuff! I hope to make my own sabichs with it.

I’m in a similar business & I have a couple of suggestions…

First off - it’s very difficult to tell in advance what’s going to sell & what’s not going to sell. Just because I like it doesn’t mean the customers will & the opposite too. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean the customers won’t either.

The first time somebody suggested Red Pepper Jam I thought it sounded disgusting. Now it’s one of our best selling products.

We make & sell lots of hot sauces. Most commonly asked question about the hot sauce? Do you have anything hotter? No matter how hot it is. I’ve made some stuff that will give you blisters & still they ask if we have anything hotter.

Variety enhances sales. The more different stuff we have the more people browse, the more they browse the more they talk, the more they interact with us, the more they buy. In the beginning, it’s more important to have a little of everything. Sales will tell you what to buy a lot of.

& quality is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

Good luck.

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Last time, I bought my vindaloo powder from savory spice, there was too much cinnamon. Made the mistake of buying large quantity ( free S/H) that filled up my coffee canister. I used up the last batch recently ,had only around a 1/8 cup left, bought some more from savory spice bec I was ordering sausage spices not remembering where I bought it from last. It was only up their arrival that I realized I got it from SS last as I found small bags of gift labeled SS . This last batch was only for a about 8 ounce as trial. I compared it with the left over from the last batch, the cinnamon is not as overpowering this time. The one we like best is the one Wm Sonoma carries but it is rather expensive. For a while, WS discontinued it, but in my opinion, they have the best blend. Incidentally, I bought a bottle of SS habanero hot sauce, not that much difference from tabasco. Disappointed. I also use a lot of chipotle and adobo sauce. I try to buy the ones from Asian store but lately, the price for the 12 ounce Costena chipotle adobo sauceavilable at Asian store has been as gone from 2.99 to 3.99. Igoogled, I can buy from amazon for 45.95 for 12 ounce, box of 12. I typically open a 12 ounce can, add a can or 2 of adobo sauce, place them in a glass container in fridge and let it marinade for at least a week as we an never get enough of the sauce. It does not go bad n the fridge in glass container. Another spice we cannot do without is the Filipino Datu Puti Pinoy Spice ( spiced coconut vinegar) that comes in 12 ounce. I used to buy them for $1.69/bottle. It was not available for a while as there was a trade war in the Philippines as to who can export it. It even went to the supreme court of the Philippines. It has been settled but the price has gone up to 2.99-3.99. I bought 2 dozen of them in the interim… We use it for our salads, in our dips that needs vinegar etc. Hope this few tips in spices . I also like to buy chile pods in large quanties that Istore in my Chinese jars, typically the mexican trio ( pasilla, mulato, guajillo )ancho as well as New Mex Hatch. They are not easy to find at Asian stores… I order them from Ca. I cannot do without them in making my hot red sauce for chili, enchilada etc. Fresh hatch are available July- Aug from Whole Foods and other high end store They will even roast them free , typically a whole box full for $35.00 I will bring them home while still hot and steaming, remove the skin, freeze them in sandwich bags. They sell for a premium that way if you have the energy to peel the skin off. Hope this helps for looking.This I do with 2 other GF, and split the them the cost. The fresh ones are great adde to enchiladas and steak sandwiches. I wish someone will sell roasted poblanos too. Incidentally,the roasted re peppers in a jar at Costco is very reasonable but once i open them, the get moldy before my next use That is a great as well as pickle asparagus spears.

have u ever heard of SASO pepper company?
I saw their ad while shopping for chipotle and adobo sauce at amazon
It sound great but pricey at 12.99 for bottle.
Went to their website, is is 5.99 compared o 12.99
would love to try their hatch, pequin and if they have poblano )
However, I cannot find it in any of the stores that are retailer othe than fro amazon.
It is apparently in a lot of retail stores in Colorado (Whole foods, hardware stores,BBB ) but not in the east coast.
Just very disappointed with bottle of habanero hot sauce from savory spice
Would not like to chase it unless it is really good.
Since y u ar tin similar business wander if you have it or heard f it?’
If not, will just stick with tabasco
I like to make my own rub
thanks

I don’t know of it CC. We make all of our own stuff. The only things we really buy (other than ingredients) are honey, pasta & olive oil from Greece.

thanks

Thank you. I appreciate the advice from experience and the good wishes.

I do like red pepper jam. I didn’t try any that blew me away at the Fancy Food Show, but we might carry a pepper jam that really impresses us. I would be interested in discussing samples with you

I think you might do better making your vindaloo masala from the individual spices, using a good recipe and your own taste. I don’t shrink from using pre-made garam masala, but that’s because my local supplier - Dual, the excellent Bangladeshi-owned spices and sundries store just south of 6th St. on 1st Ave. in the East Village - makes a delicious garam masala. But with any masala, if you are finding that your suppliers tend to use too much of one spice and not enough of another, doing it yourself is really the best way to ensure you get the taste you want.

I sympathize with you on the varieties of dried chilis. Here again, I’m lucky to live near stores where I can get what I want. I don’t think we will start off carrying typical Mexican dried chilis, because there are many sources for those and they are a raw material. However, we may eventually carry particularly outstanding dried chilis some time down the line.

The Datu Puti Pinoy Spice is a product I’m more immediately interested in, and I appreciate your mentioning it. I haven’t used it before. Does it have a bit of the aroma and taste of coconut water, along with the vinegar and chili tastes?

Thanks, I appreciate the recommendation.

bcc, I see that ADF Foods has a number of brands. Can you see which brand name that amba is produced by?

I’m seeing Truly Indian has a Punjabi Mango & Chili Pickle. Ashoka also has a Mango Pickle, which is labeled “Mild”. Soul also has a Mango Pickle. Etc.

The lable on the container says “Corona”. It is in English and Hebrew, with rabbinical approbation! I looked at the ADF website and didn’t find anything similar, so I assume that it is one of their mango pickles in special packaging for Israel. If you get in touch with them, you can probably find out how it is otherwise labeled. I like it a lot, but I’m no expert on amba.

I am just too busy to make my own vindaloo spice. Once the winter is over, I have innumerable chores in the garden. 10 hours does not seem to be enough for a day.
The last batch however turned out excellent ( cooked pork and chicken vindaloo) with Savory Spice’s mix plus a bit of chipotle adobo sauce and my home made red sauce from the riots chile pods I bought( mexican trio, hatch and ancho. I bought enough to last me at least 2-3 years as it is rare here in the east coast. making the red sauce takes time, always want to make more button only make enough to freeze for 3 meals. Too bad they do not seem to be consistent.
I am not sure if I can taste coconut in Datu Puti Vinegar. Try one bottle. Datu Puti makes a few types of vinegar but this is the only one that is with spice. You might find it in my blog. If not, I will take a picture. My son always has guests here when he is home from Neitherlands. They all love the Datu Puti as part of my dip for my home made spring rolls ( wow sauce, vinegar, garlic and hot pepper,) to ad to oven baked broccoli sprouts, romaine lettuce which we used to spray with EVO, then grilled, later too much work, cooked on my plancha and now, they just munch it fresh with Datu Puti dip.
By the way I just bought 12 cans of 12 ounce La Costena Chipotle and Adobo sauce thru Amazon prime. It seems I am always running out. The local grocery only carries the 7 ounce ones at a premium. Asian grocery stores used to carry the 12 ounce for $2.99 but now are 3.99 and they re hard to find unless I go to one frequented by Hispanics. I love them, open a can , then add a can or 2 of the 7 ounce red sauce which after at least a week of marinading, also imparts the smoky flavor of the chipotle.

Am interested in trying SaSo pepper company’s product. They charge $5.99 for a bottle of hot sauce, different varieties as well as their hatch sauce. However, thy are not carried anywhere in the east coast except amazon prime but they charge 9.99 to 12.99 per bottle. It is sold at whole foods, Bath and Beyond as well as Hardware stores, restaurants and cafe in the Colorado area but not in any of the stores here in the east coast. You might try that. Let me know how it is. I am ready to buy if it is good in the next month or so s we just bought 2 bottles of tabasco and the habanero.

Was very disappointed with the habanero red sauce from SS. We splash tabasco sauce on everything ( the regular as well as the chipotle flavored one. We are not particularly fond of Schiracha hot sauce but I hate the cholula chili hot sauce. We do go thru out tabasco very fast but our Costco does not seem to carry the big bottle any more.

I love pickled mango as long as it is very green and sour and crunchy.
They used to carry pickled mango in a small vacuum sealed pouch at GW supermarket,
I buy a dozen at a time. Now, they no longer carry it except in the jar variety.
I am very disappointed.
They are not as crunchy.
I also buy the as gift for Filipino friends.

Pan, if you look in May,2017 INGREDIENTS THAT CAUSE REVELATION, i wrote about Datu Puti and also posted a picture there. I am not sure how to transfer the picture here.
When there was a lawsuit all the way to the Supreme court of the Philippines, it was not available.
A friend went to Lotte, in Chantilly and purchased every bottle they have fro me at $3.99. I guess I had 2 bottles and she must have purchased another 12 for me
It is now back in the store since the suit has been settled.
I think last I saw it was 3.99.

If you live in the New Mexico area, freshly roasted hatch chili, are a prime, pack in individual sandwich bags. They are excellent. Sometimes, I cannot seem to be at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter or Wegmans where they sell them and even roast them free when one buys enough, a cardboard box full for around $35.00. I just come home and share with friends while we peel the freshly roasted chile , still warm, they are easy to peel. \They sell it for $65- for 5 pound. Excellent with eggs, enchilada etc. \https://www.hatch-green-chile.com/shop/frozen-hatch-green-chile/medium-joe-parker/?gclid=CjwKCAiA78XTBRBiEiwAGv7EKkJ8OZ7L9Xt09IzP_QZ7ixRcKucOwqLaprdwlCyo61amLqDTKgz4phoC6ikQAvD_BwE