Harissa Condiment in Tube - Spicy 120 Gr 3 Oz

I love Harissa but took one star for the fact that this offering is 400% overpriced. I found the same product at some local markets at a reasonable price.

After seeing Harissa on all sorts of food blogs and not being able to find it in any grocery store in MN that I've been to in the last 2 years, I gave in and bought this from Amazon. It's great stuff and I love the metal tube for keeping it fresh! Adds great flavor to corn soup and meats.

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This is some good stuff, a thick red paste that is hot but not flaming, it has a rich taste that adds to whatever it is put on. I've used it on eggs, chicken, rice, just a little goes a long way. (These types of chili have the "delayed burn effect", the heat gradually builds up, so go easy at first). This will be great for camping trips, a way to brighten up boring food. Will order again.

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harissa is an irreplaceable ingredient for such mediterranean dishes as cous cous. buying it in a tube makes it last virtually forever. this is the real deal, very hard to find unless you have a souk nearby. reasonable price, but shipping costs more than the product itself, so buy multiple copies.

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I am going to sidestep pricing and other factors not relevant to this excellent product and focus on the harissa itself.

Like every condiment there are numerous recipes and mixes, and this one is no exception. I love it because it is spicier than other brands that I have tried, but most importantly, it has a wonderful flavor. Some brands are more biased towards heat with less though given to taste. This is a balance of both.

To be sure this is not for folks who like a touch of Tabasco or jalapenos. This paste is up there with habeneros for heat, but imparts wonderful flavors that you would never obtain from anything made with that pepper. Indeed, what sets this apart from every other hot sauce or paste I've tried is the interesting way it teases your palate. The label claims that in addition to peppers it contains carrots, turnips, tomatoes, coriander and caraway seeds. While I do not doubt that, the flavors become almost ineffable when blended with the dish in which it's used, and as spicy as it is, that aspect does not overpower the flavor. If anything it enhances it.

I've tried this in dishes like an omelet, beans and a fish stew. Believe me, even if you love your food super spicy a little of this goes a long way. It overpowered the first omelet until I figured out how much was enough (about an eighth of a teaspoon works well). A good rule of thumb that I have devised for my own personal taste is to use a tablespoon per 16 ounces of food. One final use I have discovered is to mix it in with za'atar to make a devilishly hot spread for flat breads. Za'atar can be quickly and easily made by mixing equal parts of oregany, thyme, marjoram, toasted sesame seeds and summac. Add a pinch of sea sale and make a paste with olive oil. From there blend in a little of this harissa to your taste and you have a wonderful spread that will bring flat bread to life.

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Kikkoman - Aji-Mirin (Sweet Cooking Rice Wine) 10 Oz.

Kikkoman mirin is probably what's called mirin-fu chomiryo (literally mirin-like seasoning). It's certainly not hon mirin (true mirin). If you look at the ingredients list, you'll see a big give away: Rice, Water, **Corn Syrup**, Alcohol, Salt. I'm not even sure this is made with rice wine. It's got rice and (a very little) alcohol in it, but it's sweetened with corn syrup. That's not mirin.

Real mirin is sweetened by rice that has been subjected to the Aspergillus oryzae fungus, which breaks down the rice starches into sugar. It's what's used in the production of sake. Mirin uses the same fungus to produce the unfermented sugars that sweeten this essential Japanese cooking wine.

If you're looking for the real thing, go to an Asian market and check the labels. Anything with sugar or corn syrup in it isn't authentic. Eden Foods also makes a widely available and very good mirin made from organic brown rice, rice koji (Aspergillus oryzae), pure water and sea salt.

(The salt in mirin sold in the US is not authentic either, it's added to calssify the wine as cooking wine, thereby avoiding alcohol taxes).

Do yourself a favor, read the labels and opt for authenticity. You won't regret it.

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)Mirin and Soy Sauce. That is all you really need for authentic Japanese cooking. And you need it everywhere. Those two liquids are the foundation for almost all recipes, and are used in some quantity in every dish. I do a considerable amount of Japanese cooking, and running out of mirin sends me into panic mode and heading out to the store.

Don't be fooled into thinking that "teriyaki sauce" has anything with Japanese cuisine. Purely an American invention, true teriyaki cooking is a combination of mirin and soy sauce, based on the meat or vegetables which are then slowly cooked, rotating sides until they become a delicious brown sticky mess. It is sooo much better than the fast food restaurants try to pass off as "Japanese teriyaki".

When it comes to brands, it is hard to go wrong with Kikkoman. For both mirin and soy sauce, they put out a consistently good product that you can count on to enhance your cooking. There are probably more refined and expensive brands out there, but Kikkoman does me just fine, as it does for the millions of Japanese households where it sees daily use.

As a sweetened wine, mirin adds flavor as well as nutrients to a dish, and can even be used as a sugar substitute in some recipes for those trying to escape from refined white sugar. Check out Japanese Foods That Heal for an in-depth discussion on mirin's health benefits and uses.

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I bought a cookbook that uses Mirin in some recipes. I've used it and it makes a great addition to a recipe. Just like using any cooking wine. Give it a try.

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This product is entirely too salty. It should be called "Salty Cooking Rice Wine". I haven't used it in my recipes yet, but it will take some adjustment to compensate for all the salt.

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I made the mistake of not checking the reviews or ingredients for this product thinking is a quick off-the-shelf commodity purchase. Turns out it's completely fake not real rice wine at all. It's got glucose and corn syrup added.

Tastes and smells awful.

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Clement Faugier Whole Chestnuts in Water - Low Fat, Cholesterol Free

Briefly, I agree entirely with the previous reviewer. I have tried a few sources of fresh chestnuts and several brands and types of peeled chestnuts (in water, in syrup, dry, etc.) and none comes close to Clement Faugier's, whether one uses them to make turkey stuffing, chestnuts in syrup, marrons glaces, or in other productions. I have been buying these marrons for well over a decade, and this is a very good price for them.

These French chestnuts are the best type to use for baking and as stuffing. They have a very pure flavor and are subtle enough for desserts. I have tried all other types of chestnuts, but these are the best. Italian fresh chestnuts ( which are available fresh in my grocery store) are smaller and have a less sophisticated and subtle flavor. The difference is akin to that between a California Red Zinfandel and an aged, French Bordeaux. If I lived in France, I would use fresh Chestnuts, otherwiseI use only the Clement Faugier brand. ( NOTE: these chestnuts are in water, not sugar syrup. Be careful when you buy canned chestnuts, many come in a syrup which is not at all suitable for some dishes.)

This order was received within a few days of ordering and was very well-packed.

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Every Thanksgiving I make chestnut stuffing & use fresh chestnuts but it's alot of work. Thought this year I'd try these & maybe take the easier way....well I opened the can & drained them. They looked horrible & were very mushy & tasted, well..like water! A very faint chestnut flavor but absolutely NO substitute for the real thing so I ran to the store & got the real thing. Despite the work of roasting & peeling fresh chestnuts, it's worth it! Sorry I just don't recommend these to anyone!

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While the transaction with the vendor purchased from was perfect I was disappointed in the taste of this product. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe a little firmer of a chestnut? I was going to put these in my Thanksgiving stuffing but didn't as I thought the whole thing would turn into a mushy paste in the middle of my delicious bread so I left them out. I only opened one can now I have another can and I don't know what I'm going to do with it. My mistake, but if you are expecting a firm texture you won't get it with this product.

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These were a big disappointment, soggy, without taste and ugly to boot.

And before you say it, I have nothing against the French!

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Taza Organic Stone Ground Chocolate Disc - Yerba Mate (2.7 ounce)

Taza Choclate is great but I thought ordering this I was going to receive a mix of the chocolate disks but in fact the price is for just one. Rereading the full product description I still feel this wasn't clear. So in the end I thought I ended up paying like $25 ($12 for chocolate and the rest for shipping) for two disks of chocolate that actually cost like $4 each at a store within walking distance. If I had known this was for a single flavor disk and not a variety pack I'd have steered clear of this and just walked down to the corner. Mostly my fault yes but the description of what you will reeive is lacking.

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