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Topic: What spices to bring over?  (Read 5904 times)

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What spices to bring over?
« on: March 10, 2019, 01:17:33 AM »
Hi all! I've seen a few posts suggesting certain spices may be hard to come by in the UK - specifically Mexican spices. Does anyone have any tips for what spices I should bring that may not be available (or be very expensive) in the UK? Specifically Northern Ireland?

I love to cook so I've got quite a hefty spice cabinet that might take up my entire carry on if I try to bring them all  ;D
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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #1 on: March 10, 2019, 05:29:03 AM »
Ranch dry mix doesn't exist or if it does, I've never seen it. Season all, Mrs dash and other all spices have a UK equivalent but they taste different.
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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #2 on: March 10, 2019, 07:13:12 AM »
I’ve never been able to find a good marinade for steaks I used to buy a spice marinade in the us and mix it with olive oil can’t seem to find it here in the UK. Some people have mentioned they miss the pumpkin spice as well for thanksgiving
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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #3 on: March 10, 2019, 08:39:36 AM »
Ranch dry mix doesn't exist or if it does, I've never seen it. Season all, Mrs dash and other all spices have a UK equivalent but they taste different.

you can get ranch dry mix on amazon now! It’s obviously probably more expensive than buying straight in the US but I don’t think it was as outrageously marked up as other imported products (but I might’ve been looking at a different product’s price)


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #4 on: March 10, 2019, 08:40:29 AM »
I’ve never been able to find a good marinade for steaks I used to buy a spice marinade in the us and mix it with olive oil can’t seem to find it here in the UK. Some people have mentioned they miss the pumpkin spice as well for thanksgiving

All depends. You can mix pumpkin spice yourself but I’m lazy and miss just having it premixed in the jar


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #5 on: March 10, 2019, 10:03:27 AM »
You can get almost anything you need online now.

Except for Old Bay, Frank's Red Hot powder, and a few odd ducks.

I've not had a problem getting Mexican spices. Mexican cheese is another issue though.

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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #6 on: March 10, 2019, 12:28:29 PM »
Thanks all! So helpful! And glad I can save some room in my bags now by not bringing it all  :)
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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #7 on: March 10, 2019, 01:00:46 PM »
It would depend on what you use. Do you cook from scratch a lot? (You may find yourself doing that here, to save money.) If so, think of the things you use regularly.  If you post them here, we can tell you if we've seen them.  ;)

From my kitchen:

Beef marinades, like Claudes. I have found A-1 sauce in Tesco from time to time, but no Claudes or mesquite smoke liquid. Hickory liquid smoke is readily available in my area.

Any of the seasoned salts (other than garlic). We have missed Lawry's Seasoned Salt (until we brought some back from a trip recently). Mrs. Dash is a "go to" of mine and ,while I can order it online here, it's rediculously expensive to do so.

Pumpkin Pie Spice. (Yes, you can mix your own, but it's a PITA.)

Dill pickling spice. ("Pickle" here is not the same as "pickles" in the USA.) Other supplies for pickling, if you do your own. Including jars and lids.

Really good quality black peppercorns, such as Telicherry. (I've found some online, buth they were overpriced for the quality.)

Mexican oregano. (Italian oregano is available, but Mexican is difficult to source.)

Good quality cumin. (Again, there is cumin available, but it's not got the "punch".)

We have found fantastic smoked paprika out of Spain, but not sure how supplies will be once Brexit hits. Fortunately, it stays fresh for a long time if kept in a sealed tin.

Huey Fong chili and garlic sauce is very hard to find here. If you are into that. (Secret Santa sent me some, tho!  ;D )   Good "dipping" salsa is as scarce as hens teeth. The "local" stuff is kind of like spiced ketchup.

Herbal teas are limited. Hard to find Stash Teas and we haven't seen Zhennas on the shelf anywhere. If you have a particular favorite, you might want to bring some over with you to hold you over until you find more.

Flavored coffees (aka vanilla hazelnut, chocolate rasberry, etc.) are pretty much non-existant, as are mild-roast coffees. (The coffee served "out"  in Glasgow would take paint off the car it's so strong and bitter!) We haven't found anywhere other than the Christmas market to buy whole flavored coffee beans, and then they are dark roasted so we have to cut the grounds with a non-flavored coffee. Actually, I can't remember finding anywhere to buy even regular light-roasted (or any roast) whole unflavored coffee beans.  Sigh. Hawaiian coffee beans are just a dream to be remembered....  So we flew home with two pounds of coffee beans literally on each of us - in the pockets of our coats! And more in our luggage. USA TSA was perplexed, but let us through.)

True vanilla extract. What you find on the shelves here is either diluted with water or has sugar added.  It's more a vanilla flavoring than an extract.  It's ~Very~ hard to find a good vanilla extract here. I've had some problems finding almond and mint extracts. (Same problem, when finally located - they have additives and are not true extracts.)

Ceylon cinnamon. There are other varieties available, but it's hard to find Ceylon cinnamon.

Sometimes you can find these items online, but they will be exponentially more expensive than in the States. I use a US company called Vitacost.com and occasionally they sent me a "% off" coupon that pretty much obliterates the shipping cost, if I spend $100 with them. I buy from their organic lines (usually Frontier Co-Op), in bulk, then. So right now I have plenty of Mexican seasonings, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. I also buy a lot of Bob's Red Mill from them, when they have sales. You can get a lot of Bob's products here now, but it's still cheaper, on sale, to have it shipped over. Particularly almond flour and cashews. (Cashews are like gold here!) I also like a UK company called BuyWholeFoodsOnline.co.uk that has been very good - the quality is there, although you can't always find what you need with them.

Again, take a look at your spice rack and tell us what is there - we can give you some indication as to it being available here.  ;D
« Last Edit: March 10, 2019, 01:18:24 PM by Nan D. »


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #8 on: March 10, 2019, 01:29:59 PM »

Again, take a look at your spice rack and tell us what is there - we can give you some indication as to it being available here.  ;D

Thanks @Nan D. ! Vanilla Extract is one I hadnt thought about. Here’s my spice list that I cook with fairly regularly:

Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning
Himalayan pink sea salt
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Turmeric
Cumin
Chipotle chili pepper
Ground cayenne pepper
Paprika
Allspice
Ground cloves
Pumpkin pie spice
Whole clove
oregano
Thyme
Nutmeg
Ginger
Sesame seeds
Cinnamon
Vanilla extract

Thanks again for your awesome advice!
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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2019, 01:43:40 PM »
Thanks @Nan D. ! Vanilla Extract is one I hadnt thought about. Here’s my spice list that I cook with fairly regularly:


Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning - not familiar with, sorry. I bet it's one you'll want to bring with you.
Himalayan pink sea salt - easy to find, both coarse and fine, in specialty stores
Garlic powder - easy to find
Chili powder - iffy quality
Turmeric - available. We buy ours from Vitacost due to the cost of getting a good quality tumeric
Cumin - available, not of the highest quality (of what we've found)
Chipotle chili pepper - have not seen in the shops as ground, can find sometimes in specialty markets in tins or whole dried peppers. Tesco has a house brand in flake form, have not tried it. You CAN get Cholula...  :D
Ground cayenne pepper - available
Paprika - local stuff not so good, but if you get the Hungarian or the Spanish stuff it's great
Allspice - available
Ground cloves - available
Pumpkin pie spice - have not seen in the shops. We have Vitacost ship it over to us
Whole clove - available
oregano -  Italian, yes. Mexican, have not seen. Have seen Greek once or twice, but not regularly.
Thyme - available
Nutmeg - whole nuts and ground available
Ginger - whole roots and ground available
Sesame seeds - have not looked for these, sorry!
Cinnamon - some varieties, hard to find Ceylon.
Vanilla extract - extremely difficult to find pure vanilla extract. Tends to be watered down and/or have sugar added

It's going to vary depending on where you're settling. I'm up in Glasgow, which is a decent-sized city with a good mix of ethnic cultures. It could be more difficult in smaller cities/towns. The little Indian/Middle Eastern shops have most of what the big stores don't have, but things that are pretty much regional in the USA (like Claude's brisket marinade) are tough to find anywhere.

You might want to check out some of the online grocery stores - it'd give you an idea of what's normally available here.

Tesco     https://www.tesco.com/groceries/
Sainburys    https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/
Morrisons    https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/startWebshop.do
Waitrose   https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/browse/groceries
Marks & Spencer     https://www.marksandspencer.com/c/food-to-order

A nice thing about the grocery stores here, is that they deliver!
« Last Edit: March 10, 2019, 01:50:16 PM by Nan D. »


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2019, 01:48:00 PM »
This is so helpful! Thank you! I'll be in Belfast, so hopefully will have a better selection than a smaller town, but maybe not quite as good as Glasgow.
This helps me narrow down my immediate spice list and I can always load up on more when I'm back in the US for a work trip in a few months.
Applied from: Florida, US
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Case Escalated again: Mar 27, 2019
Decision Made Email: Apr 3, 2019
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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2019, 01:54:27 PM »
If you fly Aer Lingus, you can always buy a medium sized moving box (25x18x18) at Home Depot when you go back for a visit, and then load it up with goodies, and check it as an additional bag. As long as it's not over 50pounds in weight you go for the usual bag fee. They also have two higher rates, if you need just a bit more "stuff" in the box that pushes you over the weight limit.

Just be sure to tape it up really well.  ;)

Oh. If you use boxed stuffing at Thanksgiving - except for, very rarely, StoveTop, you can't get stuffing in a box here. (Sigh, no Mrs. Cubbisons).  Cranberries tend to come sweetened (which is really weird) unless you can get them frozen or very fresh.

Final thoughts - if you do your own canning or preserving, supplies are excruciatingly expensive here. If you have a pressure canner, be sure it comes with you. The price to replace it here will make your eyes water. Also, Ball/Kerr canning jars - at home I could get a dozen pint jars for $10. Here I can get 3 jars for £10! (When I can find them!) If you use a stove-top percolator, bring it with you. They are very difficult to source here.

Enjoy planning!
« Last Edit: March 10, 2019, 02:01:51 PM by Nan D. »


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2019, 02:45:56 PM »
This is a great thread! Extracts never crossed my mind


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #13 on: March 10, 2019, 03:01:44 PM »
Flavored coffees (aka vanilla hazelnut, chocolate rasberry, etc.) are pretty much non-existant, as are mild-roast coffees. (The coffee served "out"  in Glasgow would take paint off the car it's so strong and bitter!) We haven't found anywhere other than the Christmas market to buy whole flavored coffee beans, and then they are dark roasted so we have to cut the grounds with a non-flavored coffee. Actually, I can't remember finding anywhere to buy even regular light-roasted (or any roast) whole unflavored coffee beans.  Sigh. Hawaiian coffee beans are just a dream to be remembered....  So we flew home with two pounds of coffee beans literally on each of us - in the pockets of our coats! And more in our luggage. USA TSA was perplexed, but let us through.)


OH YES!! I keep forgetting to suggest flavoured coffee to people. Everytime I go back to visit the US, I always bring flavoured coffee back with me and it's one of my requests to my mom to bring when she comes to visit me. Last trip I brought back Maple Pecan coffee and it smells phenomenal.




I'm starting to question my palate as I never notice the difference between the vanilla extracts! (or any of the other extracts LOL)
My, how time flies....

* Married in the US and applied for first spousal visa August 2013
* Moved to the UK on said visa October 2013
* FLR(M) applied for  May 2016. Biometrics requested June 2016. Approval given July 2016.
* ILR applied for January 2019 (using priority processing). Approved February 2019.
* Citizenship applied for May  2019
* Citizenship approved on July 4th 2019
* Ceremony conducted on August 28th 2019

'Mommy, Wow! I'm a legit Brit now!'


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Re: What spices to bring over?
« Reply #14 on: March 10, 2019, 03:07:27 PM »
OH YES!! I keep forgetting to suggest flavoured coffee to people. Everytime I go back to visit the US, I always bring flavoured coffee back with me and it's one of my requests to my mom to bring when she comes to visit me. Last trip I brought back Maple Pecan coffee and it smells phenomenal.

I'm starting to question my palate as I never notice the difference between the vanilla extracts! (or any of the other extracts LOL)

You don't smell the difference when you open the bottle? Really? It hits me like a ton of bricks, and it does impact the finished product. (All of which is pretty odd, because I'm not known for having a particularly acute sense of smell!)

It also annoys me that they're asking me to pay "pure vanilla extract" prices for something adulterated! ;)


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