Pineapple vinegar sounds interesting!

I recently tried Fontinella cheese and really liked it! I also have some Manchego from Spain and am anxious to try it, but I want to make fig jam for it first. :)

Many years ago, as I was perfecting my dry rub for pork, I discovered Garam Masala. If you cook pork - ribs, butts, tenderloins, chops, whatever - give this spice a try the next time you cook. You don't need a lot and it doesn't do much of anything for other meats, but it really brings out the flavor of pork.

Ricky - in a couple of days I'm doing a pork tenderloin. How much is "not a lot" do you suppose?

I've grown Savory for years and alway have dried, love it on fish and anything seafood like chowders, cod cakes...GaramMasala is always a bit different where you get it. I make my own...for some reason i cannot stand anything pineapple. I'm a minority as all co-workers swoon over it....fresh, dried, in things. Too cloyingly sweet for me.

This past year our markets have stocked fresh tumeric. I grate it into so many things. Beans, grains, my hummus, chicken/tuna/pasta salads.

Garam masala is a spice mix....and varies considerably from brand to brand....as does curry powder.
My mother grew savory and so did I for a while. And marjoram too. I like it in bean dishes.
I discovered a new sauce....Wuju hot sauce. Haven't tried the extra hot....but the "regular' is hot enough....a delicious blend of sweet/hot that is awesome on eggs, chicken pork....and probably other stuff as well but that's all I have tried it on so far.
The grand sons did a number on my supply over Christmas....I need to get some more!

The Garam Masala I've used for around 20 years is McCormick's in the little glass bottle. Yes, it's a mix of 4 or 5 spices, but it's the proportions that make it work.

Suzanne - for a single pork tenderloin I would make my standard Boca Boys rub, just reduce the quantities:

• 6 tablespoons Granulated Garlic Powder
• 2 tablespoons Chili Powder
• 2 tablespoons Paprika (I use Szeged Hot Hungarian)
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala - an Indian spice blend, made by McCormicks and others
• 1 tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tablespoons Turbinado Sugar

You'll need about a quarter of the above for a 2-pack of pork tenderloins. A little bit goes a long, long way. Also, don't cook that tenderloin hotter than 135 degrees. Take it off the heat and cover it. It will go to 140-145 before it starts to cool and pull all the juices back into the meat.

I've always kept savory as a stock herb, and I grow sorrel in my back yard, which grows all year, although somewhat better in the winter than summer. I love sorrel, but it is supposed to have a counteractive effect for arthritis, and so I limit my consumption of it. Turmeric, however, helps alleviate pain from arthritis, and I had been buying fresh turmeric at Indian markets until I noticed that all grocery stores have fresh turmeric. I've also planted some, but it has not grown for me yet - I think birds stole the first few roots that I planted, but I will keep trying - it makes very pretty flowers, and you can grow it as far north as zone 8, I believe.

The most recent vinegar I have bought is coconut vinegar, but I have not been using it yet. I do love pineapple, however, and I grow pineapples in my back yard.

As for new ingredients that I have discovered/been using lately - I finally now have ripe Chocolate Habanero chilies in my back yard, and I like them a lot better than the regular orange Habanero chilies that I have been growing in the past. You will probably not find Chocolate Habanero chilies in the market, as I have not seen them even in Latin markets, and that is why I had to grow the chilies from seeds - not an easy process, but definitely worth it. The Chocolate Habanero chilies have a wonderful aroma that is evident as soon as I cut one open, and this fragrance greatly enhances the dishes that I put it into. From my experience, the Chocolate Habaneros are no more spicy (picante) than regular Habaneros, and some of the ones that I've grown are even milder - I have cayenne plants that produce hotter chilies. I made a small batch of Chocolate Habanero sauce before Christmas (so that Kevin could give some to his employees), but now I have enough chilies to make a very large batch, which I intend to do this week-end.

Another ingredient that I have just started using is Navitas brand Cacao Powder, which I like much better than Dutch process cocoa, or any other cocoa powder I have used before. I bought a package of it at Bristol Farms (here in Westchester), and I will discard my old cocoa powder now that I have a replacement that I like so much better.

I have Garam Masala from Penzey's that Elery uses a lot, I use it occasionally, mostly for vegetable mixtures. I grow sorrel, the herb type and not the garden sorrel which is meant for spring greens. It's supposed to be a perennial, but it's an annual for me. Savory is also part of my herb garden.

Lars, I've never heard of that brand of Cocoa, I'm going to watch for it, although I'm very fond of my Rodelle brand.

New? Like sleevendog, I found some fresh turmeric, something I'd not even thought of. I liked it a lot, now I have to find more on my next trip to Grand Rapids. I made some Golden Milk with black pepper corns, ginger root, turmeric root, cloves, cardamom pods and honey. Milk of course. It was very nice, kind of like chai tea without the tea! I also made a pretty good marinade for chicken.

Annie

Annie, have you used all of the turmeric? if you have a piece remaining with buds you can grow your own.

We love garam masala, but we buy it from a local Indian market. It makes good spiced cashews too!

Years ago before I was married I lived in a shared house with friends. One made spaghetti sauce with (I guess) WAY too much savoury and DH (who I was dating at the time) and I both were so nauseated afterwards I've been gun shy of savoury ever since :-)

Sweety Drop peppers. Even the kids like them.

Here in Florida with the Hispanic influence, we have Badia brand seasonings and I recently bought the roasted garlic powder - it's the best. I try to always have fresh garlic but when I'm out I try to have the powder on hand. We'll see if it clumps up like the rest do. Also my German MIL taught me to use Summer Savory in my fresh green beans when I cook them the old country way, until very done. I usually steam or roast them only until they are slightly crunchy but I was raised on the ones that are cooked to death and still like them that way, especially with the new potatoes, some onion, bacon and savory.

In October i ordered box of Hatch chilis from the HatchChiliStore. That was a fun month of roasting/smoking/stuffing...have some roasted packets in the freezer. Just a few left. That will be repeated next year. I ordered the med hot.

Za'atar is an interesting one to try. So many. The Israeli one i picked up at Kalustyan's is really interesting. They have 5-6 different ones. This one actually has zaatar(hyssop). I usually stop by once a year at least. Mid-town EastSide. Fantastic spice shop but way over-priced. Never made my own Za'atar but should.

Have to have the isotUrfaBiber Turkish pepper. A favorite for years. Can't believe i've gone through half that 2lb bag since early October. Might try another brand via Amazon to compare.

Chardonnay peach vinegar. My DIL gave it to me, said she didn't like it, too sweet. I think it is the MOST perfect sprinkle for apples, celery, fruit salads. It's very expensive for a vinegar so I won't be buying anymore after it is gone but it has me re-thinking vinegars.

My new ingredient is Amchoor - dried green mango powder. I am still experimenting with it - adds a fruity sourness to things. Now that I have had it - I immediately noticed it in some Indian pakoras I had recently. I want to try it on roasted chicken.

I love za'atar and Urfa biber and use them regularly. Right now I am using up some of my mom's Gomasio very quickly. Garam masala Is delicious but I haven't fully figured out how to use it outside of a recipe.

Savory is actually two different plants - the tender Summer and the spicier winter-hardy Winter. Winter savory seems to have been more common in central/Eastern Europe cooking. Several times I have seen people from C/E Europe getting misty eyed about Savory when they run across it in my mom's garden.

Availability in question here... I couldn't even buy tomatoes or romaine in the store here yesterday. lol!

PM, I used the turmeric before I even thought of sprouting my own, thanks for that tip! And I did buy romaine today, but they were all out of iceburg lettuce. Yeah, ICEBURG! Go figure....

Sleevendog, I'm embarrassed to say that I bought a small bag of Hatch chilies at the local Meijer a few months ago, and found them too hot to eat. There weren't enough to dehydrate, and Elery ate some in his breakfast scrambles, but I actually threw a couple of them into the chicken bucket as they went bad before I could use them up. I've got to plan better when buying perishable produce!

Annie

Not sure this qualifies as an "ingredient" but the day after Christmas I went to dinner in a fabulous restaurant, ordered a cocktail (I usually drink a glass of wine) and these were speared on a pick in the glass. It was so surprising because they looked like olives (which would NOT have been good in my "Sidecar"). But I took a bite and omg were they delicious. Dark cherries with a hint of maraschino flavor (which is not a favorite of mine). I had to order a jar from Williams Sonoma - I guess they are great over ice cream besides in cocktails (which I never cook/serve - before now). Yum.

We were overseas for the holidays and while in London we had dinner at Hakkasan (Yum!). I have been on a gimlet kick lately and they make a Shiso Gimlet which I had to try - it was awesome!

Shiso seems to be similar to basil (smelled like it) but I am confident I won't find Shiso leaves here. Thanks to trusty Amazon I was able to find Yuzu Marmalade - the other unique ingredient.

Yuzu Marmalade

I plan to give them a stab this weekend and hope they are eve half as well as the ones at Hakkasan! Recipe:

Shiso Gimlet Recipe

Anyone know where you can get fresh Shiso leaves?

Not sure where you live but I would think Uwajimaya would have fresh Shiso. Or any large Asian market

Shiso is a mint - Perilla frutescens var. crispa - you should be able to use any of the common mint leaves in place of it.

Shiso doesn't really taste minty, imho, and if you're in socal, check uwajimaya or hmart, they will deifnitely have it. Those cherries look and sound awesome, going to have to try some!

olychick, I have a recipe to make maraschino cherries, thanks to Carol/Readinglady. Now I'll have to try that with sweet cherries!

Shiso is very easy to grow, inside or out, if you can't find it to buy at the supermarket, look at a nursery that sells herb plants. Evil Jessica loves the stuff and sent me a seed packet, so I've grown it ever since. Now I have to find a place to plant Nancy/wizardnm's Lovage, it gets BIG and is a perennial, so I have to find a spot here at the new house.

Annie

You can easily grow shiso - I bought it as a plant at the farmers' market and grew it in my yard, but I could not find enough uses for it. It is easy enough to find the leaves in a Japanese market. Yuzu is also easy to grow, although the fruit is mostly seeds, and so I mainly use the zest, and I store the fruit in the freezer. Yuzu is very good mixed with wasabi, but I use it mostly in Japanese soups.

I go to a Syrian/Lebanese/Turkish (not sure which it is) Halal market on Venice Blvd for Middle Eastern spices, and they are very cheap there, and there is a Turkish restaurant next door that has a buffet for both lunch and dinner. I store Za'atar in the freezer, as it has sesame seeds, and they will go bad fairly quickly. Furikake also has sesame seeds in it, but I go through that much more quickly.

Oddly enough, we had a similar thread almost exactly a year ago.

The cherries look interesting. I tend to grow herbs but don't use them as much as I should. I also let a large bag of garam masala go to "waste" - I passed it on as it sat for months without being used.

I tasted/smelled the shiso leaf while at the restaurant. It looked like basil but with a sort of serrated leaf edge. To me, it also tasted a lot like basil. Then again, the drink had a lot of booze in it so my taster might have been off.

Given that my office is right down the street from the Diamond Jamboree Center in Irvine I will definitely have to look for it. Thanks so much for the thought - I totally spaced on that idea!

I would grow it but am not sure using it to make cocktails is enough justification for taking up my limited planting space. To those of you who have grown shiso - what did you find it most comparable to?

On another tangent - my local Gelson's now stocks ground wild boar so I have some sitting in my fridge for use this weekend in ragu. Hubby and I have been wanting to make this after trying it in Tuscany. Keep your fingers crossed that it comes out!!!

Lars let me know if you find a use for the coconut vinegar. I've bought two different bottles and although I like and use most types of vinegars, I find the coconut to be really tart and almost bitter.

There is both red and green shiso; if you live in a good climate for it, it will grow like crazy. The red shiso colors pickled plums (Umeshiso). The tippy top little bunches of leaves on the plant (it does grow kind of like basil) are great as tempura.

Compumom - you can use it as a hair and scalp revitalizer.

sarah, it is reminiscent of basil but really reminds me more of cilantro. Mine didn't have any "mint" flavor or aroma at all.

Annie

I've been using coconut fat in lieu of milk and cream. Not a "new ingredient" exactly but one that I wasn't in the habit of using before.

I think you are supposed to drink the coconut vinegar (similar to drinking Japanese black vinegar) or use it on your face and hair. I have so many vinegars that I haven't gotten around to using it yet.

I found out that I have collected three jars of coconut fat, and so I am going to have to start using that. I had planned to use it in pie crust but keep forgetting when I make the crust. I made some coconut ice cream last week that was really good, and I wondered if I should have put coconut fat in that, but I thought better of it. I did use coconut cream and regular cream, however, plus a small amount of coconut milk. I like it, especially with chocolate sauce on it, but Kevin won't eat it. He hasn't even finished the last pistachio ice cream that I made, and that is his favorite. He did like the chocolate crinkle cookies, and the biscotti I made for New Year's.

John - are you blitzing it in the blender?

Lars, I've never heard of that brand of Cocoa, I'm going to watch for it, although I'm very fond of my Rodelle brand.

Just to clarify, it's raw cacao. I also prefer it to processed cocoa, although there is some doubt about how healthy it is if you consume a great deal of it.

Usually you'd find it in a health food store, but I've also seen it occasionally in the food section at Home Goods.

Thanks, writersblock. The closest health food store around here is about 40 miles away and owned by my ex-husband, LOL. I'll check HomeGoods the next time I venture to Grand Rapids, it's 50 miles away, but worth the extra $10. (grin) Or I'll check on line maybe I could add it to my Amazon Prime order next time.

Annie

I'm just spooning the coconut fat from the can and using whenever I need a fat.

To me, Shiso has an underlying hint of cumin. I have heard it is easy to grow but it does not like my place, yet.

I have made my own maraschino cherries with the traditional liquer and a few dried chipotles. They were fantastic. The chipotles were only a background note and did not make them spicy. I loved grabbing a few from the fridge here and there. I need to remember to make more next year. I did it with sweet cherries as sour are too hard to come by in my neck of the woods.

I finally cooked the pork tenderloin using Garam Masala as a rub this evening. It was delicious and the smell was heavenly! Thanks Ricky.

Saturday I found some roasted lemon peel powder at the Lebanese-Syrian market, and so I decided to try it. I put quite a bit on the chicken that we barbecued yesterday, but I could not notice its flavor very much. However, I did squeeze some fresh lemon juice onto the chicken right after it was done, and that I could taste. The lemon peel powder reminds me a bit of sumac, but I like sumac better. I also bought some whole cumin seeds so that I can grind cumin powder myself, as I feel it will have more flavor that way, but I haven't used that yet.

Well I made the ragu with a combo of the wild boar and ground pork and it was my favorite batch yet. I am so happy I found the wild boar and will definitely be buying it again.

Maybe I should try the elk that they also have. Anyone cooked with elk?

(Didn't get to the Shiso Gimlet yet. . .)

Lars, i have lemon, lime and ginger powder. And the peel in hard dried tiny chunks. And whole lime dried. They are all a bit different. Still working out how to incorporate. Most of my spices are whole seed. So i toast on low heat, then add the powdered spices. Testing using warm water to soak. Last night i made a blend into warm olive oil and it is soaking to top some naan tonight.

It seems a completely different flavor profile than fresh, like most spice. I do like it. Just different. Like fresh turmeric vs dried. A challenge but a fun one.

The Za'atar is interesting. The mix i purchased. Not something i normally would buy but trying new blends is interesting. Many of these spices are anti-inflammatory so that seems to be proving so.

@sarah. Elk is on the lean side like Moose. Not gamy. Using some pork would add some minor fat. Are you cubing or grinding. I think a stew, cubed, would tenderize enough. Like in your ragu. I've used game meats cubed and used a bit of ground chuck for some fat. Just to differentiate the two flavors. Sounds really good.

I've had elk just a couple of times, and moose only once. The elk seemed very much like venison to me, which seems very much like goat, LOL.

As sleevendog mentioned, elk is very lean and so needs to be cooked in a method that can tenderize it, just as braising it. Backstrap or tenderloin is an exception, although I'm very reticent to eat wild game rare. Farm raised cervidae is different, and I'm assuming it's farm raised and not wild?

Whichever, I like it a lot and my husband likes it better than he likes beef, even my grassfed stuff. Silly man.....

Annie