Shopping surprises

Right, I know. This is supposed to be a blog that helps you understand the best ways to shop at the many terrific ethnic markets throughout the Phoenix region.

(After all, if you’re interested in food and cooking, the very best way to find ingredients for a real Polish bigos or Greek chicken or bang-bang shrimp is to shop at the Polish, Greek or Asian market.)

But one of the coolest things about shopping at ethnic markets is finding incredible foodstuffs that just might make great little food gifts (if, or course, you can bear to see them leave your own pantry).

So it was that the other day I was in Giado’s World Market picking up some Middle Eastern yogurt (I’ve been buying this for more than a decade and really – the rest of the country’s just now figuring out how terrific this yogurt is? Really, Dannon?)

But as I was speeding toward the dairy cases, (Byblos yogurt, creamy Bulgarian feta…) I came to a quick stop near the honey display. The honey shelves always have a wild array, but what grabbed my attention was a round-ish sort of marmalade jar layered with pistachios, walnuts, cashews, almonds, more pistachios…and honey.

It was beautiful and enticing and I could hardly keep my hands from it. This definitely is going in my bags next time I visit my folks in Western Penna. My mother will love it. Even better, this elegant-looking jar of sweet treats is only $7.99.

In fact, this just may turn up as holiday gifts for a few select friends….

…and I think I’m going to need a jar of this for myself.

(next time for sure - what you will find when you enter Mekong Supermarket)

Real olives from a Middle Eastern grocery

The other day, I was on my way to pick up some (real) Greek yogurt at Giado World Foods, southeast corner Dobson and Elliott in Chandler, when I remembered that I also wanted to get some olives for a company dinner.

Luckily, I also remembered that Giado’s has a lovely selection of excellent Middle-Eastern style olives.

These olives are not too much like the ones available at the popular supermarket “olive bars.” To me, those seem to be heavy on the extra-marinated olives and olive salad presentations.

Nothing wrong with these (and they are very practical from the supermarket’s view, since the addition of more oil and some vinegar assures nearly unlimited shelf life).

But that little addition of more spices and a little vinegar, tasty as it can be, can sometimes mask less-than-stellar olives.

Not so at Giado’s. There are dried, cured black olives, slightly smoky, a little bitter and a little chewy.

There are large, purple/black kalamatas. There are plain, cracked green olives.

And there are the spiced olives. There were two kinds the day I was there, one with preserved lemon, onion and hot peppers, and the other just with preserved lemon.

I bought kalamatas, and both of the spiced green variety.

They’re wonderful. The kalamatas are tender, fruity, not too salty. The green olives with preserved lemon have a nice, bright citrus note, while those with the hot pepper have the same great citrus hit, seem a little saltier, with a slow heat that comes just at the top of your throat.

Even better? These olives come at just the right price. The kalamatas are $4.99 a pound, while the green olives come in around $3.50 a pound. Compare that with the $8.99 per pound at your local supermarket.