Ever since all the news regarding the tariffs that 47 has been threatening, I noticed that our kitchen and larder are full of imported foods. From the Swedish lingonberry preserves to the Maille Cornichons from France, to the arborio rice and the huge half wheel of wonderful parmesan we get once a year from an Italian importer, to the Spanish fire-roasted jars of pepper, the chorizo and cheese from northern Spain, and canned paella fish broth, the world is well represented in our cooking. Heck, yesterday we got Salvadoran crema for enchiladas at the lovely little Mexican grocery store downtown. (It is sweeter and less acidic than crema from Honduras).
We are particularly fussy about our olive oil. Our favorite for years had been a Turkish olive oil we usually get at a Syrian grocery store in Fargo. We have branched out into some lovely Spanish olive oil that is more delicate than the Turkish oil, and is great in dressings. The Turkish oil is an important staple for us, and its cost has gone up in the last few years. Last week I started worrying about even greater increases with the tariffs, so I ordered two 1 gallon cans of it. It arrived yesterday and won’t expire until late in 2026.
I think my Dutch ancestors would approve my being proactive and potentially saving some money. I don’t forsee too much more panic purchases, at least I hope not. I know these worries are paltry compared to those of the millions of people who struggle with food insecurity, but they still weigh, and the more money we have for food banks, the better. Some call us foodies. Husband says we have a radical food ministry.
What imported foods do you buy? How do you see your spending changing?
Trail Baboon 
Our house is divided. I eat anything that I can swallow, my spouse is more particular. I do the bulk of our grocery shopping, but she brings home the “good stuff to eat.” I tend to notice when prices rise, she “gets what she wants, regardless.” Between the 2 of us, we do all right.
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AFAIK, the Asian sesame paste and sweet chili sauce we use are imported. Otherwise, we buy very little imported food because it’s either too expensive or too processed/salty (if I’m going to pay a premium for something I’m more likely to buy organic and/or vegan). This reminds me of when the 100-mile diet–only eating food that was grown in one’s own bioregion–was going to save the planet. Wonder whatever happened with that? People got bored, I suppose, and decided fancy French brie was worth a polar bear or two…
–Crow Girl
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Dang! Once again, I lost my comment to WP’s temperament!
Well, I was saying that I try very hard to buy local products as much as possible. Local meaning that as much as possible should come from right here in southern MN. If that’s isn’t possible, then it should come from the five-state area surrounding us – and Michigan. (Lots of great fruits from MI.) If all that isn’t possible, then the greater US.
There are some things that I buy that are imported. I stocked up on Spectrum Organic olive oil. It’s bottled in NY, but I’m sure the olives come from the Mediterranean. There’s an oil and vinegar store here in Northfield. I buy oils there occasionally. https://northfieldoliveoilsandvinegars.com/ I use Bragg apple cider vinegar often, but it’s acidic, and I’m told to avoid acidic foods. (I succumbed to coffee this morning!)
I like to try products that are found in the “ethnic” foods aisle. I like the refried beans found there, and some of the basmati rice. The beans are often grown and canned in Texas, California, or Mexico. Of course the rice comes from the east. I have lots of basmati rice, so I’m not worried about that. I like to buy wild rice from Ojibwe sources if I can. I buy raw honey from a local beekeeper.
I only buy meats, cheeses, and eggs from MN and WI farmers. I love Organic Valley milk. It really tastes good. It’s produced in WI and MN. I probably wouldn’t drink milk at all if I hadn’t tried Organic Valley.
So, I’m not super worried about tariffs where food is concerned. This iPad is getting old though, so is my iPhone. I bought a new car the week before the tariffs kicked in, in April. It’s a Toyota, but likely built here with parts from Canada and everywhere.
My friends and I picked a great day to mosey along the Big River on the WI side to Stockholm, WI. We’re going to Stockholm Gardens, The Palate, a woodcarving museum, Stockholm Pie shop, etc. We’re planning to have lunch in Pepin. Yay! The sun is out! Everything will be so green!
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Oh, that day in Stockholm sounds fun, Krista! One of my college friends drove through there last week, brought us a pecan pie from the Pie Shop. : )
And you remind me that I should replace my iPad before…
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Cultural Cloth in Maiden Rock is worth a stop.
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We did stop there! What a cool place… it’s like a museum.
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A museum where you can buy the things on exhibit, something we do almost every time we visit.
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Unless it is labeled as coming “from the East” (like those Magi), the rice you purchase is likely from California, Louisiana or South Carolina. My native sense of “everything good comes from California” gets engaged sometimes.
Tariffs will likely push up prices for stuff that “got here from elsewhere” before they are brought into force, but I’ve mitigated some of that already by purchasing from eBay Refurbished” and not expecting things to last as long as they do when “driven new off of the lot.”
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Surely the Basmati rice in the burlap bags comes from India.
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WP has again switched me to a weird meta-looking page. It’s useable, just doesn’t look the same. Maybe this is the new way of things.
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Anything with olive oil is imported, i.e. sun-dried tomatoes. But I realize I don’t really have all that much imported food. Will look further today…
I’m usually paying more attention to price than anything else, but I’d like to buy local more. Like Krista, my dairy stuff is mostly local.
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California olive oil is good. Grassy, a little spicy.
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Most of the bottled or canned imported stuff we buy is asian, especially Japanese. But a lot of our produce in the off season comes from Mexico or Canada.
To the best of my knowledge no coffee or tea is grown in the U. S. I don’t see our habits changing as far as edibles are concerned.
For other things we may choose to postpone and see how things shake out ultimately.
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Food is just fuel to me. I cook from fresh except for frozen vegetables. I am not aware of source of things anymore. No energy for it. I shop mostly at Aldi which is cheaper. Buy meat in bulk and divide it up and freeze. By supper time I am in high pain and mentally worn down, so I cook as simply as possible. I have no real idea how much more I am spending.
I have for almost 4 years kept fresh flowers next to Sandra’s chair, which are often imported. But she does not notice them anymore. Her hospice nurse suggested silk flowers, big bold bright ones. I already had many because she has always loved them. I ordered more. They will be imported no doubt.
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I get a lot of imported stuff at Aldi. Their Specially Selected butter cookies have already gone up. They’re imported from Germany, but they also contain chocolate, which probably comes from South America. I’ve thought about stocking up on coffee, because I would be pretty unhappy trying to do without that.
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I did stock up on Aldi German coffee.
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I succumbed to coffee this morning, and I feel good about it!
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Ooh, I’ll have to pay better attention – I buy those butter cookies too – yum!
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Only coffee and teas.
And what the Heard Island penguins are exporting to the US.
I shall not disclose what and how much I imported.
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Husband has decided that we will no longer buy grocery store flour tortillas. He thinks they have too many unnecessary additives and don’t taste good. He says he will make naan instead, which he did last week. They were delicious. We got some really good white corn tortillas at the Mexican grocery store without any additives, so we will use those, too.
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Most grocery store flower tortillas bear little resemblance to the locally made (and pricey!) ones I buy at the local farmers market. And they are worth every penny. I also sometimes substitute them with locally made flatbread from a small business in our neighborhood. Add a pint of their house-made garlic sauce, and you’re ready to boogie. I love the ethnic foods so readily available in my hood.
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I reside in a city where the population is 25%+ Hispanic. Last year I began buying my tortillas at one of the local Bodegas. I lost the “fluffiness” of the supermarket ones, but added a feeling of patronizing a minority owned business.
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There really are no locally sourced foods here except sides of beef. We have a farmer’s market in the summer. I have hopes for more variety in Sioux Falls.
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I am the opposite of Renee and Chris. While I certainly enjoy good eats, I don’t think of myself as having a discerning palate (except for maybe where donuts are concerned). Since surviving the loss of my Ralson Hot Wheat Cereal two years ago, I can’t think of anything that would leave a big hole if it went away or got too expensive. Most likely we would pivot and find something else.
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Living in Winnipeg, with all the variety of immigrant groups, was so exciting. They each had their own grocery stores. German, Portuguese, Italian, Korean, Indonesian, you name it.
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Tomorrow I am bringing into work some authentic Ukrainian borscht Husband made (it has white beans in it) and cheese and potato perogies that we bought on-line from Colorado, to a dear friend and colleague of ours who is Ukrainian and is married to a Canadian Ukrainian guy who works in the oil field. They have had numerous family tragedies in the past 6 months. There is a large Ukrainian heritage population here and their perogies doughy and heavy and awful. The Colorado perogies are wonderful.
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This is what Husband means by Radical Food Ministry.
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renee how much a pound is the wheel of parmasan cheese.
i do costco everything these days
import or no its a good value
minnesota grown canabis available soon
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The parm is $350. It doesn’t get moldy. It just keeps in the fridge. It lasts and lasts.
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For 10 pounds.
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Husband says it is ok to splurge on the essentials.
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Our pantry is full of imported food. Coffee, tea, anything with chocolate, olive oil, canned plum tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, basmati, bomba, and Arborio rices, cheeses, maple syrup. Not to mention produce. Much of that is imported from Mexico and South America in the off season. We have tried to stock up on non perishables.
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