The weather was cold, rainy and exceedingly windy in Southampton this weekend, which drove us indoors and to some very nice activities like napping, watching a movie together and chasing a giggling Julia around the house. I also got a chance to take stock of our pantries there and in New York, both of which needed some attention. Among other things, we were running low on vanilla and saffron, two of my very favorite things (and Julia’s, I think –one of her very first words was “‘nilla”).
The San Mames family of San Francisco must also love these ingredients because their business (called, sensibly, Vanilla, Saffron Imports) specializes in just these two wonderful products. I found them with my nose. I was walking down San Francisco’s Valencia Street and was enveloped by the transporting scent of vanilla. I stopped in my tracks in front of an old storefront. It wasn’t open to the public, but in the windows were stacks of one-pound vacuum packs of vanilla beans, giving off the aroma of comfort and joy.
Another thing called to me as well: their prices. Vanilla, Saffron imports sells vanilla beans, extracts and the best quality saffron to the public at the same prices they offer to restaurants and fine food stores. Their prices for beans are amazing. In supermarkets, a jar containing two vanilla beans costs about $7-12. These good people sell a quarter pound of beans for $9.50. (Prices are even better by the pound, but that’s a lot of creme brule.)
Their vanilla extracts (they have several varieties) are similarly well-priced. They’re the best I’ve ever used, and they run about $3.50 for a 4oz bottle, as opposed to supermarket prices of around $9-15 for similar quality vanillas. In larger quantities, the savings are much better. A 16 oz bottle is only $9.50. Of course, you can buy it by the quart or gallon for even less per ounce, but that’s a lot of cookies.
Their story with saffron is similar. Again, it’s the best I’ve ever had — potent, fresh and aromatic, and the prices are great. Mediocre supermarket saffron runs around $9-15 for a half gram. Theirs is $8.95 a gram. Buy a four gram jar (a realistic size for fairly frequent home use), and the price drops to $8 a gram. It’s still expensive by weight, but little goes a long way. I use it often in dishes like my chicken tagine with preserved lemon and green olives, lamb tagine with prunes, and, of course, paella. Just a few threads also add their beautiful golden color and exotic aroma to a pot of plain rice or a simple pan of risotto.
Vanilla, Saffron Imports carries a few other things too. They have good prices on dried mushrooms, other cooking extracts and, a little oddly since they carry no other non-food items, really good paella pans to help you use up all that saffron. (The heavy 20″ aluminum pan I bought from them for $59.95 last summer is the best one I’ve ever used.)
Vanilla, Saffron Imports online store is located at www.saffron.com. Don’t be put off by the clunky, home-made looking website. They ship quickly, offer a money-back guarantee, and the quality of their quirky range of goods is excellent.
