Is it getting monotonous already?
The coronavirus pandemic, by forcing many of us into cocoon mode, is already turning people who have never before attempted to boil water or toast bread into avid home cooks. Recipes abound and celebrity chefs like Massimo Bottura offer quarantine tutorials on Instagram. But even for those of us with a lot of cooking experience, sheltering in place reinforces the truth in something chefs like Bottura tell you all the time: your cooking is only as good as your ingredients.
And cooking gets pretty tedious when you keep using the same things for weeks.
It may be absurdly obvious, but the mantra bears repeating. you can improve your rice and beans by using better rice and beans. You can elevate a simple pasta, olive oil, and anchovy dish by using better pasta, olive oil, and anchovies. saute some vegetables? premium soy sauce can make a difference.
Opting for better ingredients is not an excessive exercise. From a personal edification perspective, it’s a way to use your free time during this weird global standoff to get granular and learn more about food. what makes this bean different from this other bean? what makes that olive different from the olives we ate last night? And from a saving the world standpoint, making a concerted effort to stock your pantry with higher-quality ingredients can be a way to help small farmers, vendors, artisans, and independent entrepreneurs at a time when many are struggling.
With that in mind, here are links to 12 of our favorite mail order food sites that will ship nationwide.
love it
in a warehouse in the south bronx in new york city, beatrice ughi and her team select and collect the best olive oils, vinegars, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, dried pasta and christmas cakes from italy. trust us, you can conjure up a few days of kitchen masterpieces using nothing but stuff that comes out of a gustiamo box.
buy we like
weird tea company
A relaxing cup of tea can be everyone’s cup of tea during these nervous times. Author and tea connoisseur Henrietta Lovell has higher tea standards than anyone else on the planet: She’s the exclusive purveyor to restaurants like Noma in Copenhagen and the Momofuku empire around the world. She here she is waiting to introduce you to the Lost English Breakfast Tea from Malawi, Peony White Tea from China, and Wild Rooibos from South Africa.
buy rare tea company
the store
For a quarter of a century, this Virginia-based family business has been the go-to portal for the best imported products from Spain, from rice paella to chorizo, Iberian ham, Marcona almonds and exquisite canned seafood. known as preserves. you haven’t lived until you’ve chopped the josé andrés knives.
buy in store
salted pork chunks
justin severino from pittsburgh might make the best charcuterie in america (we’ve said that here at esquire in the past) and through this website, you can have your anchored blood sausage, finocchiona, and saucisson sec shipped directly to your house.
buy salted pork chunks
fly by jing
look, those frozen meatballs from trader joe’s aren’t going to rise on their own. If your pantry doesn’t include Jenny Gao’s Zhong Dumpling Sauce or Sichuan Chili Crisp, you’re missing out on surefire cures for boredom.
buy fly by jing
russ & daughters
borrowing from a 1960s-70s ad campaign, you don’t have to be Jewish to love jade nova smoked salmon (for my money, the best available anywhere), a 12-pack of potato latkes, and a dozen bagels (just freeze the ones you don’t eat right away). And if you’re feeling splurgeful, there’s that American caviar sampler.
buy russ & daughters
zingerman
This sprawling Michigan landmark sells, well, just about everything: cheeses, mustards, dried fruit, fresh bread, mint bark, bacon, jams, spices, coffees. a typical zingerman’s shopping list is longer than a midmarch’s. forget cooking: you could spend a whole day browsing the site.
buy zingerman’s
maryiza
do you think you know honey? Okay. but have you tried grawa honey and geteme honey and bissana honey and abalo honey? spend one week exploring the nuances in taste from one rare Ethiopian forest honey to the next.
buy maryiza
kim’c
hey, we also have supermarket soy sauce in our fridges, no judgment, but once your palate has spent some time with the real intense, artisanal stuff from these Korean food specialists, you’ll find it. hard to come back Plus, if you’ve never considered dipping a spoon into a jar of fermented bellflower and pear, now is the time (it’s supposed to help cold sufferers). Are you looking for primo gochujang, doenjang and fish sauce? you’ve come to the right place.
buy kim’c
basbaas
Hawa Hassan, born in Mogadishu, Somalia, is an evangelist for East African flavors. Ella’s Tamarind Date Sauce and Ella’s Coconut Cilantro Chutney add a touch of life to anything you cook, whether it’s a bowl of rice or a juicy grilled steak.
buy basbaas
d’artagnan
so where do the chefs get all that foie gras and wagyu beef and berkshire pork and muscovy duck? They get it from Ariane Daguin, who supplies American restaurants (and supermarkets) with world-class meat products and runs D’Artagnan. Have you thought about using all this extra time of confinement to experiment with the preparation of the Gallic dish known as cassoulet? well guess what? d’artagnan can sell you a complete cassoulet kit.
artagnan shop
salt & straw
As its loyal fans know, salt & Thatch specializes in sundaes that are weird and wonderful. marrow and smoked cherries! pear and blue cheese! strawberry honey balsamic with black pepper! your kids may think these flavor combinations sound fishy, so keep the kids in the dark. just pour a few spoonfuls and listen to the murmurs of delight.
buy salt & straw