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My good friend uses that, but I haven’t bought any yet. But that reminds me to post about dukkah - an Egyptian nut and spice blend used with pita bread and olive oil (or eaten straight off a licked finger )
I like my dukkah heavy on almonds and fennel seed, but it is completely customizable to taste.
Lingonberry jam - eaten with meat and gravy dishes. Similar to cranberry sauce.
Nutmeg - not exotic, it used to be very common, but seems to have disappeared from American recipes to a great degree.
Parsley - again, not exotic, but I use a lot of it, and not just as a garnish or for a sprinkle of color. I actually make a pesto out of it, like a chimmichurri.
I LOVE this thread - I see it was old and just brought back to life yesterday. Read through the whole thing and got some new ideas.
Also have one that I use - yuzu kosho. Absolutely love this stuff - salty, spicy, citrusy goodness! Japanese paste made with the yuzu fruit, chiles and salt. Comes in green or red - I think because of the type of chiles used. I prefer the green but keep the red in the fridge also.
Lingonberry jam - eaten with meat and gravy dishes. Similar to cranberry sauce.
Nutmeg - not exotic, it used to be very common, but seems to have disappeared from American recipes to a great degree.
Parsley - again, not exotic, but I use a lot of it, and not just as a garnish or for a sprinkle of color. I actually make a pesto out of it, like a chimmichurri.
We have ligonberry jam whenever I make Swedish meatballs, it is also good on English muffins.
I love horseradish, it hurts so good. Growing up with lots of Jewish relatives, I don't think of it as uncommon.
My German Grandpa used horseradish quite often. If anyone in the family had complaints of stuffed nasal passages, you can open a jar of this and take a good sniff. It usually cleared up a stuffy nose. So much for me, that it went to a practically runny nose.
Whenever we did a shrimp cocktail, we mixed catsup with horseradish. Some of the relatives were a bit more heavy-handed when it came to adding the horseradish.
> Ford - I would have liked to see what the recipe for the banana catsup was but when I clicked on the link, kept getting some error about the server not responding. will try again later.
I learned about it when working in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. There was a kosher deli on the corner owned by Yemeni Jews. They sold pita bread covered with za'atar,
I made an eggplant and chickpea salad last week and used it in there. Came out good.
Did the same in Cleveland and Detroit in largely Arab neighborhoods.
My problem is not the Za'atar. I have a lot of that in my spice cabinet. It is finding decent pita bread out here in the desert ...
Besides those obvious and already mentioned, I didn't see anyone posting:
horseradish
tomato paste in a tube
sumak
fenugreek
fresh cut dill (that I keep frozen)
This is my staple stuff.
We have sumac growing in the backyard. The female plant makes a cone-shaped cluster of red berries. The flavor is kind of citrus-y and some gatherers pickle them in the fall to make a lemonade-style beverage. I've always wanted to try drying them and grinding some up for Middle Eastern seasoning. Maybe this year will be the year I actually do it?
And, yes, lingonberries! They are a low growing ground cover - tiny reddish berries. They are tart and a little bitter so they go well with sweet or rich foods.
I always serve them at Christmas time in celebration of our Scandinavian heritage. Last year I had to order them off of Amazon as there were none in the grocery stores.
Another berry relish or jam we like is native to Minnesota (among other states) and used to grow wild around here - chokecherries. They are also difficult to find.
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