Whats your favorite ingredients that aren't commonly used? For me its cardamom, spoiled wine and yellow woodsorrelCardamom used to be carried in walmart (at least at mine) but they eventually stopped. None of my family have used it. I went into this small family owned spice shop and asked if they had any at first they said no, but then realized it was probably in their discount bin and there it was, 7 104 gram jars for $1 each. I grabbed all but one for someone who might need it.It kind of tastes like licoriceSpoiled wine is hard to find; I have to go to garage or estate sales and its typically sold "for display only" because they only had it as decorations, and for cheap too, usually $1 a bottle. To me that is a steal, its a great cooking ingredient, i'd put it in the same class as soy sauce or worcestershire sauce. I've had bottles of spoiled wine from the year 2000 and they're good. If i spot a bottle from any earlier its like i've hit jackpot on an amazing ingredientYellow woodsorrel is good as a garnish but i've also blended it into puree'd soups and curries (or mixed alcoholic drinks). It tastes a bit acidic and sweet, like lemons. Good as a garnish on lamb, chicken, fish, or cold soups like gazpacho. You find it by walking on a lawn and looking for it, it is often mistaken for clover; but its flowers are yellow with pedals and look nothing like clover. There are different varieties, some grow tall, some stay short and bushy (but still only 2-3 inches tall)
>>22154116>lawn plantsbut what if a doggie has soiled on it
>>22154116>Spoiled wine is hard to find; I have to go to garage or estate sales and its typically sold "for display only" because they only had it as decorations, and for cheap too, usually $1 a bottle. To me that is a steal, its a great cooking ingredient, i'd put it in the same class as soy sauce or worcestershire sauce. I've had bottles of spoiled wine from the year 2000 and they're good. If i spot a bottle from any earlier its like i've hit jackpot on an amazing ingredientWhat the fuck
>>22154121>but what if a doggie has soiled on iti dont have a dog so i dont have to worry about that>>22154128>What the fuckwhat, whats wrong?
>>22154137Other dogs may walk by and tinkle on it though
>>22154143i pull them from my back yard and i have an acre of land, some of it is fenced in
>>22154121I went to a hippy dippy restaurant that made a big deal of locally foraged ingredients. I had a cocktail and it was flavored and garnished with pineapple weed. When I left the restaurant and was walking down the street I noticed tons of pineapple weed growing on the sides of the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure someone just went outside the restaurant and picked a bunch from the filthy city sidewalk. Foraging is cool but city sidewalk foraging is gross.
>>22154147BASEDI’m trying to shop out property like that
>>22154180>I’m trying to shop out property like thatim just in the suburbs, about 40 min from a big city. There is a horse ranch down the road from me, walmarts within 10 minutes, and every other type of shopping imaginable is within 15.I spent 2 years visiting west virginia looking for homes with 50+ acres but its too remote, and too steep of terrain. If you value being close to family, i'd settle close to them but distant enough where a house on an acre is easily obtainable. I have a garden that produces enough for me to jar leftovers. I planted almost a dozen fruit trees as well as grapes but its too soon for me to see fruit. I have a chicken coop and get fresh eggs every day. Its obtainable without being remote
>>22154241So cool, I’m envious
>>22154116Cardamom is great and underused, but where do you live that it's at all hard to find...any half decent spice wholesaler or ethnic grocery store should carry it. My favourite ingredient that's actually hard to come by are chive blossoms. They are super pretty and have a nice taste. Awesome for a colourful garnish, or for making pretty vinegar or butter. But you pretty have to grow your own chives, let them mature to the point where you will probably end up sacrificing a lot of the actual chives, you have a short window to harvest them, and even then there's no guarantee your chives will actually flower.
Saffron. The king of spices. One of the reasons I love Spanish food so much is its heavy use of saffron, but it's so finicky and rare it doesn't get used much elsewhere.
