06 April 2014

Hot shopping

Some of the things I take back to France are hot sauces from Mexico, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Don't be fooled by the name Texas Pete — it's an authentic Tarheel product. The largest bottle in the photo below contains Scott's barbecue sauce, made in the town of Goldsboro. It's vinegar, water, salt, peppers, and spices, and it's good on pork or poultry.


I always go to the Mexican grocery while I'm here. I can't find whole allspice berries (pimienta dulce entera) or Mexican oregano (oregano entera, which is actually a kind of verbena) in the American supermarkets — not even in their Latino foods sections. I certainly can't find them in Saint-Aignan. BTW, chipotles are smoked jalapeño peppers.

17 comments:


  1. Oh yes. Chipotles. First tried that Tabasco variety at Chipotle's in Las Vegas. Hooked ever since.

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  2. Where is the Franks and Cholula? A friend of mine that is Mexican told me her Mother takes the can of chipotle and puts in blender and then stores it in the refrigerator and takes a spoon of two out as needed. She said it keeps for a long time. I put mine in plastic wrap and twisted into a roll, then into a baggie and mason jar, then to the freezer. I cut off a slice of it as needed. The jar keeps it from getting lost in the freezer.

    Hope you are enjoying family time.

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  3. Madonna/Ms Lemon, I'm from N.C. so I like Texas Pete hot sauce. I've never had Frank's. It would never occur to us Southerners to use a Northern hot sauce, I guess. Texas Pete's "hotter" hot sauce is really good, and much hotter than the original. We also like Tabasco's Chipotle sauce. I've never had Cholula either, and I don't know if you can find it here. I'll have to look. I keep chipotles in adobo sauce in the freezer, too, after I open the can. I just freeze it in small plastic containers, enough for one serviing or use.

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    1. Further reading has informed me that Frank's is a Louisiana product. The first pages I read mentioned origins in Cincinnati and use in making Buffalo chicken wings. Sorry for the confusion.

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  4. The Tabasco sauce factory was featured on the Sunday morning show recently. It is a family owned plant in the Louisiana swamps. I didn't know what an allspice was until now.

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  5. Evelyn

    If you have a chance , it is a very interesting visit to do. You learn a lot about the family and th shot sauce..
    First you had ego go to Iberia, LA and then take the tour.

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  6. well, now that I'm a north carolinian I guess I'll have to look for Scotts and get with the program....glad to know about it

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  7. 1- I did not know that there was such a thing as Mexican oregano! Does it have a much different flavor
    2- No wonder I don't like Chipotle-flavored things, as I find that I don't like the flavor of smoked things (and, in any case, I hate jalapeños *LOL*... I really don't care for hot/spicy things at all). I hadn't realized that Chipotles were smoked jalapeños.

    I'm so happy for you, though, getting to stock up on all of this stuff you love :)

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    1. Judy - I make a Martha Stewart recipe for Black Bean Enchilada Pie that calls for Jalopeno peppers (before this I NEVER even tried them!). The recipe instructs one to cut up the pepper with seeds for heat and without seeds if one does not want it hot. I never leave the seeds. I think the recipe calls for 1 pepper and when I make it I am now up to 3 or 4 and it is never HOT... very mild. Some time, try them without the seeds!

      Mary in Oregon

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  8. Mexican oregano does have a different flavor. It's much more pronounced than the flavor of European oregano. It's closer in flavor to thyme, but still different. Walt and I really enjoy using it in a lot of things we cook. Do you like smoked salmon, Judy?

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    1. No, Ken, not even smoked salmon. I love grilled or poached or baked salmon, but not smoked. I don't like smoked turkey, or smoked pork ribs, or things like that, either.

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  9. "..these are a few of my favorite things!" I have almost all of these in my pantry, except for the oregano, which I have never tried. But my bottle of NC BBQ sauce from my last trip to MHC ran out long ago. I'm way overdue for a visit home!

    The other night Glenn and I tried out a Mexican restaurant here in Vernon. One of the owners waited on us, and when she found out we were from Texas, without asking, she brought out an assortment of bottles of hot sauce. They were necessary, as the food was VERY bland.

    Glenn is Canadian but he has been in the US for 20 years and has come to like spicy food. He has a McDonald's burrito every morning for breakfast. He buys them cold and freezes them. About 10 years ago they put them on the menu at Canadian McDonalds. They are so bland! He still eats them but looks forward to going home and getting some spicy ones.

    Have fun in MHC! (I'm soooo jealous!)

    ~Margaret

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  10. We're lucky; if I want to select from a 3x5 foot display of those Mexican herbs and spices, I've got the Redwood City Safeway. A similar array of Indian food can be found at Safeway in Belmont. And then there's Marina Market in Foster City, which has all of that plus every other Asian country you can imagine.

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  11. Some of your food souvenirs could also be found in my suitcase when I return from the States. Should you ever run out of whole allspice berries, let me know: I can send you some, they are available everywhere here.
    I recently discovered a small Mexican grocery right here in Vienna. I love cooking with chipotle and other hot peppers like Ancho chiles.

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  12. It's fun to see what others bring back to one's home when traveling! Now, me -- I've been bringing back kitchen/foodstuffs from France, but this is what I've brought in the past: Nescafé tinned café au lait (1995 - now long gone!), raspberry syrup for Italian sodas (now available everywhere here in U.S.) Grand Marnier (!), cake decoration (Joyeuse Anniversaire), Provence-themed paper goods (napkins, placemats),
    Italian or french made trays (large enough to sit and eat off), small french-themed trivets, Bonne Maman jams (now I buy them here!), very good mustard which marque escapes me now (!) - in almost a cut-glass jar - too! Also back in '95 I brought back packages of LU cookies (now available here, as well).

    Mary in Oregon

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