Ethnic and Specialty Shops

Don’t be afraid to go to your local ethnic grocery stores. Just like growers and producers at farmers’ markets, you can learn a lot from your specialty grocers!

Stopping into a specialty or ethnic grocers is an adventure.

It's like a mini-vacation as you wander around the new products and strange vegetables and fruits.

You might feel like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole; you might think it impossible. But remember, you just have to practice, and as the Queen said, and you can soon believe six impossible things before breakfast. Or maybe eat them.

Often the smaller ethnic shops will have the owner on premises. I've found these people to be valuable and trusty advisors. You can greatly expand your culinary repertoire with their help. Usually, they are tickled that someone new has ventured in and delighted to share what they know with you.

Porcini mushrooms from the Salumeria that are twice the size and half as expensive as the little bag in the supermarket, filled with broken pieces.

Never tried ramps before? Fiddleheads? Your specialty shop has someone to recommend how to prepare them, they probably source them from a local farmer.

What about a new fish or an artisan cheese? They'll know when it was caught or made, who did it and how to eat it.

Are you still paying $3.00 for a teensy little jar of pine nuts? Your Chinese or Italian grocer will have a nice plump bag at half that price.

Red chili flakes? Asian food stores sell big bags of bright red flakes while grocery store spice aisles will have small, dull, insipid and expensive bottles from who knows where.