Allow at least two hours to browse a large store, such as a Patel Brothers. At least one hour for a small hole-in-the-wall store.
Take your spouse, or else she won't believe your report of the ridiculously low prices.
Leave credit/debit cards at home, but take enough cash to purchase maybe at least two week's worth of groceries, plus to stock up on shelf-stable pantry stuff. You might go home with a 20 - 25 pound bag of jasmine or basmati rice, and a zillion spices.
Go at the time of week you would normally buy fruit/vegetables for your normal meals. As you will want to take advantage of their low prices on produce.
Take an inventory of all your spices and specialty pantry items (millet, nuts, seeds, etc.) have a list of what you have on hand, how much, so you know what you need and don't over-shop.
Write your American grocery store's prices on your inventory list. If you shop at a big name american grocery store, see their web site.
Have your American grocery store's web site at the ready on your phone when you go to the store. You will see things you want to compare prices - from spices to farina (cream of wheat) ("sooji").
Also think things like fragrances, essential oils, incense, specialty flavorings, scented soaps,
Based on these tips, I'm wishing I had one closer. I'm just passing through GB/Milwaukee and was hoping to find a store that had these two flours. Sounds like I might find a lot more than that!
Am in Milwaukee myself. What you are searching for is not that common as you are probably already discovering. The two best sources are probably Outpost Natural Foods and Whole Foods. They are most likely to have something from Bob's Red Mill. I did not find Buckwheat flour, but bought Buckwheat Groats in a Bob's Red Mill package. Have to grind these myself. Check the site for Wisconsin's "Great River" milling, they sell via Amazon. Lone Star Milling, in Lone Rock has closed down their online store. My guess is you may find you have to order what you want online or grind it yourself. Perhaps someone knows better though and can prove me wrong?
Thank you and will see if I can find them. Will be passing through Milwaukee this week and thought I'd stop if there's a place to get these two flours. I was getting barley flour from BRM, but it's discontinued. Only finding a couple sources for it on-line. I'm able to get groats locally, but the BW flour has been a challenge.
Tip: Take 3 x 5 index cards (they fit in a shirt pocket) and a pen to international stores.
This is for when you and they are unable to pronounce something the same way, and therefore have "a failure to communicate." (Famous quote from the Cool Hand Luke movie.)
Examples:
At a Middle-Eastern store... My pronunciation of "za'atar" was no where close to how they say it, but when I wrote it down, we had instant communication, and the clerk took me right to it.
I was at an Indian grocery, and couldn't find caraway seeds. A spanish-speaking employee stopped stocking shelves and offered me assistance. He didn't pick up on my English pronunciation "cair-uh-way", nor my Spanish pronunciation "cah-rah-why". (I don't know the spanish name, but it would not go by that name in an Indian store, anyway.) He took the 3x5 card to his supervisor who used their computer to go to the exact shelf/bin.
I have found all sorts of non-wheat flours at Asian (Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese) grocery stores, and at Indian/Pakistani grocery stores.
Barley is kind of soft, so if you have a whirly-blade type coffee grinder and some pearled barley, you could make small amounts of barley flour.
Thanks for the tip! Will check them out.
I also suggest...
Based on these tips, I'm wishing I had one closer. I'm just passing through GB/Milwaukee and was hoping to find a store that had these two flours. Sounds like I might find a lot more than that!
Am in Milwaukee myself. What you are searching for is not that common as you are probably already discovering. The two best sources are probably Outpost Natural Foods and Whole Foods. They are most likely to have something from Bob's Red Mill. I did not find Buckwheat flour, but bought Buckwheat Groats in a Bob's Red Mill package. Have to grind these myself. Check the site for Wisconsin's "Great River" milling, they sell via Amazon. Lone Star Milling, in Lone Rock has closed down their online store. My guess is you may find you have to order what you want online or grind it yourself. Perhaps someone knows better though and can prove me wrong?
Thank you and will see if I can find them. Will be passing through Milwaukee this week and thought I'd stop if there's a place to get these two flours. I was getting barley flour from BRM, but it's discontinued. Only finding a couple sources for it on-line. I'm able to get groats locally, but the BW flour has been a challenge.
Tip: Take 3 x 5 index cards (they fit in a shirt pocket) and a pen to international stores.
This is for when you and they are unable to pronounce something the same way, and therefore have "a failure to communicate." (Famous quote from the Cool Hand Luke movie.)
Examples:
At a Middle-Eastern store... My pronunciation of "za'atar" was no where close to how they say it, but when I wrote it down, we had instant communication, and the clerk took me right to it.
I was at an Indian grocery, and couldn't find caraway seeds. A spanish-speaking employee stopped stocking shelves and offered me assistance. He didn't pick up on my English pronunciation "cair-uh-way", nor my Spanish pronunciation "cah-rah-why". (I don't know the spanish name, but it would not go by that name in an Indian store, anyway.) He took the 3x5 card to his supervisor who used their computer to go to the exact shelf/bin.