# Groceries you buy often that others don't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125 "2025-07-20T20:20:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/81 "2025-07-22T17:43:59Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Corn tortillas (flour ones are far more popular in the UK) When I lived in the UK, I used to bring back corn tortillas from America when I’d go home for a visit. You could find “corn” tortillas, but they were mixed with flour and did not taste nor function like corn tortillas. Jicama is another thing I buy now and again, but it’s really hard to find where I am. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/82 "2025-07-22T18:13:30Z")
Fatback is common in Southern cuisine, added to greens, fried for breakfast, et al ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/83 "2025-07-22T18:15:30Z")
no such thing as too much W sauce! ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/84 "2025-07-22T18:16:03Z")
I love scones and clotted cream and buy them whenever I can but clotted cream is not easy to find where I live. And scones are also limited. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/85 "2025-07-22T18:54:10Z")
I mean, if we are including common items which we eat more of than the average bear (popcorn, Worcester Sauce, others), I drink a gallon of whole milk every two days. 🤷‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/86 "2025-07-22T19:06:54Z")
Clotted cream is easy to make, if you can source cream that has a high enough fat content and isn’t ultra-pasturized. It takes time, but that’s all. Here’s a recipe: > **[Homemade Clotted Cream](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/257734/chef-johns-clotted-cream/)** > > Clotted cream made from fresh cream cooked slowly in the oven; try Chef John's recipe for this rich treat that's great spread on warm scones with jam. I hope this is useful for you! Saves money, too. * * * I’ve given this thread some thought. I make most things from scratch, so I tend to buy “building block” groceries, not many of which I need often or are particularly uncommon. Chickpea flour, maybe? It can be a good substitute for wheat flour for some recipes. Fenugreek for certain curries, juniper berries for sweet and sour cabbage. But I don’t purchase them often enough to qualify as regular. Cilantro, certainly. Every week. A house sitter I had once was overwhelmed at the sheer variety of staples in my pantry. I keep things on hand because I hate getting part way through a recipe and finding I don’t have an ingredient, and there is no decently stocked market nearby. But I didn’t think the things she found exotic – red curry paste, hoisin sauce, tamarind, e.g. – particularly were. Just not in her experience. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/87 "2025-07-22T19:59:56Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Clotted cream is easy to make, if you can source cream that has a high enough fat content and isn’t ultra-pasturized. It takes time, but that’s all. > > Here’s a recipe: Hey thank you! This might come in handy for me. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/88 "2025-07-22T20:01:07Z")
Another vote for anchovies, but [marinated Cantabrian anchovies](https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/ProductDisplay?storeId=10151&productId=1284186&langId=44&istCompanyId=1e096408-041f-4238-994e-a7cf46bf9413&istFeedId=689af7a8-5842-4d88-be59-1ee5688a81b5&istItemId=waltttwrl&istBid=t&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=11354430451&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%257Bsku%257D&utm_custom1=106571615210&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=11354430451&gbraid=0AAAAAD17J_AkYgg12PQxtMdSYPyD4SXWK&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlP2e2ZrRjgMVEJ-DBx3CFADrEAQYAiABEgL2yPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) - hah! (Not sure that link is going to work). Also anchovy paste. Schoug - I’ve sung its praises here before. Confit de canard (I buy it tinned in France). Plus we get through no end of Greek and Turkish (and other Mediterranean) dips. j ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/89 "2025-07-22T20:25:10Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > Fatback is common in Southern cuisine, added to greens, fried for breakfast, et al Yes, I’m aware of that, which is why I mentioned that in _most_ of my dishes that call for fatback, I prefer to use fattier bacon from a flavor preference. Fatback is traditional in quite a number of such dishes, but especially with greens, I want the smokier taste of bacon, and still miss when the market carried smoked pork jowl which was even _better_. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/90 "2025-07-22T21:42:45Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I make most things from scratch, so I tend to buy “building block” groceries, not many of which I need often or are particularly uncommon > [@Aspenglow](#): > > But I didn’t think the things she found exotic – red curry paste, hoisin sauce, tamarind, e.g. – particularly were. Just not in her experience. Back when I cooked regularly I was like you. Mostly from scratch and wide variety of staples on hand. I used to pass the time waiting in the groc checkout line watching what people ahead of me pulled from their carts and put on the belt. It was amazing how rarely I saw them buying anything that overlapped with my cart. If somehow our carts got swapped we’d have both gotten home with nothing either of us could use. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/91 "2025-07-22T21:52:56Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > Thank you! I adore hummus. Its something I buy several times a month and it is gone within a few days unless I put a limit on my consumption lol. It freezes well, in case you make too much (if there is such a thing as too much hummus). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/92 "2025-07-22T22:00:23Z")
You’d love my Polish deli where they sell smoked fatback! And peppered fatback (unsmoked). ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/93 "2025-07-23T02:21:47Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Also on my weekly grocery list: one medium avocado (often on sale at Kroger for under a buck). Because let’s be honest—who doesn’t like a little avocado toast to start the day? And guacamole? That green goddess turns everything from burrito filling to burger topping into a fiesta. Mashing up avocado is too much work for me so I tried making guacamole toast. Nowhere near as good. Too much garlic for breakfast. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/94 "2025-07-23T02:24:52Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > I want the smokier taste of bacon, and still miss when the market carried smoked pork jowl which was even _bett_ Walmart carries it in the ham cooler. Smoked turkey legs also. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/95 "2025-07-23T03:54:47Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > You’d love my Polish deli where they sell smoked fatback! And peppered fatback (unsmoked). I probably would. Out here in Blando-Land (white bread Colorado Springs) finding most adventurist food options requires going to Amazon, Penzy’s, or driving to Denver. The one quality Asian market has a number of good options, but not everything I want/need. And it’s hell and gone across town. ☹ > [@mixdenny](#): > > Walmart carries it in the ham cooler. Smoked turkey legs also. Hmmmm. There are a couple of Walmart options not too distant from me. Though the local market DOES have smoked turkey legs. I may have to find the time to go into the closest Walmart Grocery Store and check. Though I realllllly shouldn’t… it’s deadly dangerous to my ongoing diet. As an example, cut the jowl (maybe 3-4 oz) into medium-ish cubes. Cook in medium skillet until much fat renders out. Then cook some fresh, sliced jalapenos (maybe 1-2 diced serrano’s as well) to cook in the fat. Then add a pouch of Trader Joe’s Wheat Udon noodles (soak then carefully separate) and give them a bit of color in the pan and fat. Lastly, just before pouring all into a bowl, spoon in 2 tsp of chili crisp and a handful of cilantro leaves. Salt, or a dash of quality soy-sauce to taste. Smokey, salty, spicy. Just enough grease to cook and coat everything with flavor, without leaving your mouth too coated to taste. But it’s a heck of a calorie bomb. ETA - Sadness. My local Walmarts (online search) show smoked neckbones and hocks (good in their own right, but not what I wanted for the above dish) but no jowls, smoked or otherwise. Likely because of the aforementioned Bland-topia. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/96 "2025-07-23T13:05:36Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > When I lived in the UK, I used to bring back corn tortillas from America when I’d go home for a visit. You could find “corn” tortillas, but they were mixed with flour and did not taste nor function like corn tortillas. Oh, yeah. Mexican food in the UK is in a sorry state. You can’t even cook it correctly yourself because half the ingredients are nigh-impossible to find. > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Jicama is another thing I buy now and again, but it’s really hard to find where I am. I’ve never even heard of that one. Plantains are the thing I buy when they’re available, but they rarely are. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/97 "2025-07-23T13:26:37Z")
I sometimes think I must be buying “odd” items that no one else buys… but then I think about the fact that the store is stocking the item in the first place. Obviously people must be buying it, or they’d replace it with some other product. Right? I’m actually curious, for those who are in the grocery business- how well does an item have to sell to keep it on the shelves? Surely me spending $5 twice a year on a jar of giardiniera (to pick something at random) is not enough to make that shelf space profitable… but how many are really selling? Is it really worth it to stock? Or are specialty items loss leaders to keep me in the store- if I know I can get all the fiddly things I want, I’m more likely to go to that store first? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/98 "2025-07-23T13:51:14Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > I keep things on hand because I hate getting part way through a recipe and finding I don’t have an ingredient, Sing it, sister. I don’t care for red curry (or any capsaicin) but we also keep hoisin and tamarind around. We don’t use all that much of either, but they keep well and it’s handy to have them on hand. > [@ParallelLines](#): > > Then cook some fresh, sliced jalapenos (maybe 1-2 diced serrano’s as well) to cook in the fat… spoon in 2 tsp of chili crisp and a handful of cilantro leaves. I suspect we’ll never share a dish. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/99 "2025-07-23T17:32:03Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I might make that today! I ate the rest of it yesterday. I just got back from HEB with a new set of ingredients and I’m going to make it again today. Right now in front of God and everyone. _WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME??_ Two days ago I was a normal old lady, living my small simple life. Today I am a _Ramen-Noodle-Slaw-Junkie_. I’m going to start hanging out in the salad department at HEB, fingering the bags of coleslaw and broccoli mix. _(Hehe, today I got broccoli slaw–yeah, baby…)_ Loitering by the packages of ramen noodles, making sure the cider vinegar has its _mother_. It’s not a pretty sight, watching someone slide down the slippery slope… ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125/100 "2025-07-23T19:43:12Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I suspect we’ll never share a dish. 😉 I’ll have you know I can and do prepare dishes for those who don’t share my (granted, abnormally high) preference for capsicums! And I know you’re on the entire other end of the spectrum from many such threads, so I promise I would make you a dish suited to your needs if ever we meet in person. I don’t promise I won’t think, deep inside, that "this would be so much better with just a little chili crisp though. 😉 I promise to not infect you with a dangerous desire for heat, unlike a certain poster who lead our beloved @ThelmaLou [down the path that rocks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1-o-mb2zHI)… er the path of temptation. Yes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groceries-you-buy-often-that-others-dont/1021125.md?page=6)