Foreign food goods

[halfateabag]

BM, you and my OH have a lot in common! He loves all sorts of chilli/hot stuff and the fruitiness of all sorts of chilli products. There is another world of chilli/hot stuff undiscovered ! ! Unfortunately, OH goes into sweat mode (only on his head and face) if the hotness is too much and he gets a bit embarrassed - dripping quite a lot ! Not only that but we read that hot food is not good for rosacea which he suffers from, from time to time ! All these trials and tribulations in consuming something you love ! ! ! Life's a b**ch !

Herb. I too tend to batch cook so I get a day off cooking here and there, it makes life easier and uses the same amount of power to do it !

Moira, sorry to hear of the missing items, I use all three of those items mentioned, nigella seeds go great in slaws at this time of year. I lurve smoked paprika especially in Hungarian type dishes. Of course poppy seeds are very Polish and used in a lot of their food. I too put them in slaws.

[Uschi]

We like a kurbiskernöl on green salad. It’s lovely nutty dressing. We discovered it in Austria.

Tesco sell it now, among others. It’s pumpkin seed oil.

Axel and I also use it to dribble over a bowl of pumpkin soup, as a decoration that also enhances the flavour so much.
We also use it for our herby quark-mix to have with potatoes and linseed oil. It just gives the quark that umami extra kick and a bit of colour, too.
If you don't like your potatoes with quark, consider adding it to a herby breadspread.

[KeenCook]

I have some very, very old pumpkin seed oil that my sister gave me (she lives in Switzerland) as there was a trend for making green cakes! But I think it may well not be good any more, I kind of don't want to risk it tasting awful if I use it, but neither can I bring myself to throw it out

[aero280]

I threw some pumpkin seed oil out. The bottle had been opened and the oil had gone rancid.

[KeenCook]

aero, did you smell it or taste it, or both?

[Uschi]

Yes, it does do that, so use it often and abundantly. It may not be cheap, but it is sooo good! We have our potatoes with quark and linseed oil every week and use at least two tblsp per person (of the pumpkin seed oil - much more linseed oil is poured into the Quark-lacuna later).

[aero280]

aero, did you smell it or taste it, or both?

I just smelt it. It was definitely bad. But it was an opened bottle and half used. If the bottle is sealed and has been kept in the dark, it may be OK.

I have just finished a bottle of top quality olive oil that I bought almost 12 years ago from the Italian producer. It was OK! It was sealed. It was in a dark green bottle and it was hidden in the cupboard under the stairs.

[halfateabag]

Previously I have kept an open bottle of roasted pumpkin seed oil for about 2 years and it was fine. It is kept in the dark in a cold place. Maybe that's why it lasted.....?

[Lusciouslush]

Yup - once opened it doesn't keep as long as other oils - it goes rancid & has that bitter taste - a bit like pinenuts when they've gone over - I haven't bought any for ages & I have a lot of various vintage oils lurking in the cupboard which are totally unspoilt despite being opened & ancient!
(know how they feel!)

[Stokey Sue]

I keep pine nuts in the freezer, they don’t take up much room and apparently last for ever.

[Lusciouslush]

Good tip Sue - I'll give that a try - I don't use them much so would be very handy to store

[halfateabag]

Same here ! I will find a space. I have had pine nuts go rancid on me, they must have quite a lot of oil in them.

[northleedsbhoy]

When I go to Newport I always walk through B&M to get to the bus stop. I’ve bought some weird and wonderful sauces from there, some I’ve liked, some I haven’t but they’re generally quite cheap in there so if it ends up in the bin after one use then so be it.

Cheers
NLB

[Badger's Mate]

This has reminded me of the JO pine nut and honey tart. I must make one soon.

[Stokey Sue]

CEO of Lidl on the news talking about 30 years of Lidl in England and how in the early days it was all pallets of weird continental foods, but I wish they’d kept more of those, for example they still sell bratwurst, but no German mustard to go with them any longer. German mustard is hard to find.

[Lusciouslush]

Sue - I've bought German mustard at Lidl during their Alpen week.
I agree tho' it was much more interesting when they 'threw it all together' years ago when certain people sniffed at me shopping there.....!
How things change..........

[aero280]

Does the German Deli still exist next door to Borough Market, near Neals Yard Dairy? I'm sure we bought Mittelsharf Senf there, along with Erdnuss Flippies. But it was some time ago.

[Stokey Sue]

Does the German Deli still exist next door to Borough Market, near Neals Yard Dairy? I'm sure we bought Mittelsharf Senf there, along with Erdnuss Flippies. But it was some time ago.

No, but I think they have a place somewhere towards Leytonstone, from where they do mainly mail order and wholesale

Sue - I've bought German mustard at Lidl during their Alpen week.
I agree tho' it was much more interesting when they 'threw it all together' years ago when certain people sniffed at me shopping there.....!
How things change..........

Yes. I bought German mustard once on a special, but the bratwirst are regular stock, so I used it quit fast and haven't seen it since

[halfateabag]

During Alpen week a fortnight ago I bought 2 German mustards a seedy one and a smooth one, both were slightly sweet and very nice. They both went very well with some excellent corned beef. I do like the German sausages too, hot and sliced in a pitta bread.

[Uschi]

South and East German mustards are often mild and sweetish. If you want more ooomph, go for "Löwensenf" from Düsseldorf. Löwensenf extrascharf is extra-hot, lovely, but beware when using it, a little goes a long way.