I've been on many food and culinary boards, through the years. And certainly there was some trading and gifting of products. But nothing to the degree I found here. Seems as though a member need only hint at the need for a special ingredient or group of ingredients, and another member has sent a package. Forget about hints. Just indicate interest in a particular ethinic cuisine, and somebody says, "you can't cook that without X, Y, and Z," and is putting samples in a box.

 

There is nothing as frustrating as having a member of an on-line group post a recipe and discovering that crucial ingredients aren't available where you live. Through the sharing attitude of this site, that's just not a real problem. And it's one of the things that makes FotW a real community, instead of being a bunch of strangers bound merely by a common interest in global foods.

 

For those of you who have been in the forefront of such caring I offer a hearty ATTABOY! And I urge everyone else to consider getting involved in ingredient swaps and gifting. In the long run it makes all of us better cooks.

 

in fact, it's worthy of being a sticky, since you are describing EXACTLY what we were intending when we created this "FotW Farmer's Market!"

 

thanks, and looking forward to reading about and seeing some good exchanges!

 

 

In hopes of renewing that interest, here's a http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/here-and-nowhere-else_topic451.html - link to a thread I posted long ago intended to showcase our truly local ingredients.

I would urge everyone to contribute to this thread and post their own ingredients so we 

can put them on display.

 

Here in the Bluegrass, however, we got nada. Bourbon being the only noteable exception I can think of.

 

There is a "Kentucky Proud" program that supposedly promotes home-grown and home-made products. But it's kind of a joke. F'rinstance, one of the regulations says that produce grown up to 50 miles into adjoining states qualifies as Kentucky grown. Let me tell ya, if you took a 50 miles strip from each of the 9 adjoining ones, you'd have a whole nuther state.

 

You can also buy stuff from all over the world, assemble them into a product here, and qualify for the Kentucky Proud label.

 

 

It could be a sticky, so easy to find. Might even be programming available so that Have or Need automatically appear on the post. So, somebody might post: Have: A selection of Indian spices and spice mixes, including X, Y, Z, and Curry.  Meanwhile, somebody else might post: Looking For: Sweet paprika and other spices used in Hungarian cooking.

 

The simple fact is, many times even the most commonplace ingredients may not be available where a member lives. And getting them from another member, IMO, beats ordering them off the net everytime, cuz you know you're getting good stuff from a fellow FotWder.

 

Another aspect: It oftentimes happens that a member puts up products, for one reason or another. Take the care package I recently sent Ron. About half of what I sent him were North African ingredients that I compounded because they're not available locally, and if I want to use them I have to make them myself. So now he not only has products he needs for his own North African experiments, they're home-made to boot. Which means they contain love as a secret ingredient.

 

Seems to me this would really broaden out the exchange possibilities as well? 

 

 

Great idea Brook!...lets go with it and see if that dog knows how to hunt!

Just as an afterthought Brook...you may be taking for granted and overlooking some much desired items that are available to you and not elsewhere.

Example...can you get sorghum where you are? I love the stuff, but as far as I know you just can't get it out here. 

Probably many types of corn meal as well....and hey! I can't even buy Strawberry's seasoning out here, and I fell in love with the batch that Rivet sent me way back when. Don't sell your locality short my friend....I'm quite sure you have plenty to offer.