ottawa foodies

Anyone in Foodieland know where I can get any of the Superior Touch products (especailly the Better Than Boullion stuff) in Ottawa ?

superiortouch.com/btb.htm

CC - I've only ever seen those products south of the border, you can get them as close as Ogdensburg, NY if you're really desperate.

They carry 'better than boullion' at the orleans superstore in the chilled meats sections (where the sandwhich meats and such are) on the top shelf...beside the pickled eggs :-)

I haven't looked for it at other superstores/loblaws but wouldn't surprise me to find them there too

Thanks Chimi and Peter.

I'll check my local Stupour Store in Westboro.

(Boy do I hate that store with a passion.... a 2.75Km hike from the front door through the kids underwear, BBQ tools, the make-up counter, pool toys and chemicals and now the Halloween crap ..... just to get to the milk !!"

(Gripe switch now set to the 'off' position.)

Hah, they are quite big. I certainly don't go there if I just need milk :-)

I recall seing it at Sobey's in Halifax too. There they kept it near the asian/ethnic food section and the hot sauces and such, not in the fridge and nowhere near the 'regular' boullion. I haven't checked the Sobey's here for it, but if it's easier for ya...

I've heard very good things about it on another food forum, I still haven't tried it yet though.

Captain Caper I have never heard of Superior Touch before but they certainly have a variety of products! And if you don't feel like walking several kilometers through the superstore to get there I noticed they do mail order... Good luck with your search!

An update:

Here is what I got back from National Importers, the Canadian Distributor for Superior Touch's Better Than Bouillon products:

"Unfortunately, there are no stores in Ottawa that carry this product.

If you would like to order our products, you may do so online at www.findersfinefoods.com.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for taking an interest in National Importers and their products.

Have a wonderful day.

Regards,

Joanna Eliopoulos
Jr Sales Coordinator, National Importers Canada Ltd."

www.nationalimporters.com

Maybe I should let Joanna know if I come across the product in Ottawa.

You see, they may sell to a wholesaler who sells to a retail outlet in Ottawa and not know about it. The marketing boys call that supply management. ;-)

Captain C - Besides the letter from Ms. Eliopoulos at National Importers, did you ever complete your expedition across the masse known as the Westboro Superstore... did you stike it rich? Inquiring minds want to know. LOL

Otherwise, me thinks this is yet but another product I have to add to my US Shopping List.

Actually, you can find the seafood versions of Better than Bouillon soup/stock bases at the Merivale Fish Market storefront. I was there on the weekend and noticed they had fish bouillon and maybe lobster or crab based bouillon products? Definitely worth investigating...

Food&Think You could probably make a small fortune on contraband Better Than Bouillon! Just when the captain got us hooked it seems to be impossible to find in Ottawa-:) I actually checked at the Westboro Superstore on my last trip there about a month ago but I didn't see any. I was looking in the soup aisle (when I finally got there!) assuming that would be the logical spot to look. It never ocurred to me to check some of the specialty stores.

Definitely check out Merivale Fish Market, they have the seafood based ones.

Also, last time I was in the US, I bought a bunch of the stuff (beef, chicken, etc.) Definitely a good ingredient to have in one's sauce making arsenal.

On a tangent (though saucemaking could be seen as a really dirty segué) - Superior Touch sounds like it's related to something a little on the rub-n-tug side of things.

Captain Caper If you are still looking for a local source for Better Than Bouillon I discovered that they have some in stock at Herb and Spice on Bank Street. They have chicken, beef, mushroom, and vegetable flavours. It isn't cheap though around $10.29 a container.

Pasta Lover - Talk about expensive that has to be twice the price I paid for the jar of Better Than Bouillon (Chicken) that I picked up in Watertown, NY.

Food&Think The cashier practically had to pull out the sniffing salts when I saw the price tag-;) I'm not sure how much they will sell at that price - heck I can probably even drive to the US with the amount they charge! But I guess if someone is desperate for that particular brand I guess it is good to know it is available somewhere locally.

Next time I go to Ogdensburg, I'll buy a large case of the stuff and sell it to whoever wants it at cost. Cheers!

Actually, if you work out the math you'll find that Better Than Bouillon at $10 is priced about the same as your standard bouillon cubes based on cost per cup of prepared stock. And of course there's a huge benefit in being able to access fractional amounts rather than whole cubes.

Anyone have a list of ingredients for this stuff? Just curious what makes it better. Of couse, I am skeptical because I am biased :-)

I don't use pre-made boullion - consider it to be anti-cooking (Lipton soup mix, anyone?). Just curious if this stuff is actually any better than the crap I see on the shelves around here.

I much rather DIY my flavours, not use someone else's. Wish I could get my wife out of the habit of using pre-made boullion because she'd really improve her cooking in doing so. (She'd go from "mind-blowing" to "legendary")

Zym - The jar blurb says:

Better Than Bouillon - Chicken Base
"Made from Chicken Meat with Natural Juices"

The product's ingredients as listed are:
Chicken Meat including Natural Chicken Jices
Salt
Sugar
Corn Syrup Solids
Chicken Fat
Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
Dried Whey (Milk)
Falvouring
Disodium Inosinate and Guanylate
Turmeric

The jar also states - Refrigerate after opening

Zym obviously this isn't homemade, but perhaps you can get your wonderful wife to embrace this product as it is a far better choice than those gawd-awful bullion cubes.

Fresh Foodie - Ok perhaps on a per Buillion Cube basis (jar says 38 Servings, and a serving is equal to one Cube or one Can) the whole jar will make 9.5 Quarts of Broth. But at double the price here vs the jar in the USA... like Chimichimi - I'm thinking this is a "stock-up item" whenever south of the border.

No thanks - I'd much rather encourage my wife to just stop using this kind of crutch in her otherwise fantastic cooking. I've found my cooking has improved immensely since I stopped doing so a few years ago. If I want chicken meat and natural chicken juices I'll just open a jar of my own broth :-)

It does look a bit better. Though, "Corn Syrup Solids", "Hydrolyzed Soy Protein", and "Disodium Inosinate and Guanylate", are not things I would add to my food.

Another crutch she uses is "fish sauce" (shudders)

Zym - You should count your blessings you have her... Not everyone is so "strict" about their cooking practices... bet you'd cringe at some of the "stuff" I've been known to throw in the pot in my kitchen. LOL

I just checked the ingredients on McCormick's that my wife uses and it does not seem any better or worse than this stuff.