 
The right soy sauce makes a big difference: soy sauces are brewed like beer. Each tastes different. Photo courtesy of RiceSelect.com.
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International Gourmet Foods
“Ethnic” Gourmet Food & Specialty Products From Global Cuisines
CAPSULE REPORT: It seems that almost every supermarket has a growing international foods department, to meet up with the demand for more Asian, Caribbean, Latin and other foods from foreign shores as well as those made locally. As with traditional American foods, some are better than others, and we look forward to reviewing those brands here. Most of these “international” products are domiciled in other sections of THE NIBBLE’s product reviews—Condiments and Salsas & Dips, for example—since they are so much a part of our everyday cuisine.
Please use the Contact Us link on this page tell us about your favorite international foods—we’d love to try them. For more reviews, tips and articles visit Blog.TheNibble.com.
| Condiments & Pickles |
Marinades, Sauces & Dips |
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| Breads, Crackers & Cheese |
Meals |
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| Sweets |
Recipes |
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Asian
Mexican
More
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Nibble Tip
Don’t scrimp on condiments: They’re used to enhance the flavor of food, so you want to enhance your food with the best flavor. Even something as “generic” as soy sauce should be treated as special. Authentic soy sauces ferment whole soybeans with yeast or koji (the mold Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae) to achieve a complex flavor. Cheap soy sauces used hydrolyzed soy protein and achieve the dark brown color with caramel coloring. You can taste the difference, as we did when we tasted more than two dozen brands before recommending the six “super soy sauces” in our Best Soy Sauces article.
These soybean varieties are actually grown in the U.S. Photo by Scott Bauer, U.S. Agricultural Research Service. |
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Nibble Tip
Introduce family and friends to something new—the international departments of supermarkets are full of exciting foods. Papadums, for example, can be served with dips or as an alternative to potato chips or tortilla chips with soups, sandwiches and salads. Read our review of Baji's Papadums, shown at right. |
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