United Brothers on the corner of 30th Avenue and 33rd Street is probably the exact center of Astoria. This landmark features an assortment of fresh food year-round.
Where’s Ben Shoppin’
Below are my most recommended food markets in Astoria, NYC, to find ingredients for recipes. Also, scroll down to find a quick shopping list and description of my favorite, most-used ingredients.
- Food Bazaar, 4202 Northern Blvd.
- Trade Fair, 37-11 Ditmars Blvd.
- Trade Fair, 3008 30th Ave.
- Trade Fair, 2355 Broadway
- CTown, 21-30 Newtown Ave
- City Fresh Market, 2115 Broadway
- Bravo Market, 24-18 34th Ave.
- CTown, 34-12 34th Ave.
- United Brothers, 32-24 30th Ave
- Elliniki Agora, 32-12 30th Ave
- Euromarket, 30-42 31st St
- Mr. Avo, 2901 Broadway
Ingredients
(listed alphabetically)
Ajicito Dulce Peppers
Ajicito Dulce peppers in the foreground (right) alongside Habañero peppers (left). Cayenne peppers are the red peppers further back (upper left).
These hard-to-find peppers can range in color from green, yellow, orange, and red, with all colors of variations in between. They are most frequently found next to store-packaged garlic cloves and other specialty produce — either loose in a box or in small plastic cartons. Also nearby (and often mistaken for) are usually Scotch Bonnet and Habañero peppers, which have a more elongated, lantern-like shape. Note the differences in appearance in the picture below. Scotch Bonnets are what give jerk chicken its intense heat, while Ajicito Dulce peppers provide a mild “kick” to Puerto Rican Sofrito. Use Habañeros for Mexican salsas.
Distinguishing the difference between these hot peppers is super important. Red and orange Habañeros (left), Ajicito Dulces (center), and Scotch Bonnet peppers (right).
Baking Chocolate
Purchasing a solid block of baking chocolate to make your own chocolate chunks really transforms any cookie recipe into something much more exciting. It’s especially important to use such high-quality chocolate when chocolate is the main ingredient in a dessert, such as a Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Torte. The shavings from a solid block of chocolate are great toppings for some ice cream or frozen yogurt. I recommend the Calllebaut brand, and it’s sold as chocolate milk, semisweet, bittersweet, and white. If you can’t find it anywhere, order it online.
Cinnamon (Mexican)
Not all cinnamon is created equal. There has been a huge cinnamon debate going on in the baking world (Cassia vs. Ceylon) and I’m here to tell you … look for Mexican Cinnamon (Ceylon). It was a warm, sweet, and comforting aroma that works oh-so -well in baked goods. It looks like broken pieces of natural tree bark because it looks not-so-perfect, almost cigar-like, and slightly lighter in color. And if it’s sold by weight in bins (near the Chile peppers), you will definitely be able to smell it.
The perfect-looking rolls of cinnamon sticks in most spice aisles of mainstream grocery stores are likely Cassia Cinnamon, which is a more aggressively spicy version grown in China.
Mexican cinnamon can be found at any Mexican food market, a Mexican section of any international grocery store, or tucked away in a shelf in a Mexican corner store … a “Bodega”, as they would say in NYC.
Chipotle Peppers
Sure you can find chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce, but fresh chipotles are sold by weight and typically located in bins in the produce department. Once you are close by, their extremely smoky, fragrant aroma will help reveal their whereabouts. Other similar looking dried red peppers are nearby, but chipotles have a more stubbed shape and resemble large raisins.
If you can’t find chipotle peppers, try looking down.
Colby Cheese
Colby is a super basic cheese but really hard to find for some reason. Without knowing the specifics as to how it is made, all I can tell you is that it melts so much better than any cheddar, so in my humble opinion this should be used in every mac ‘n cheese recipe on the planet. Typically it is found in an orange cylinder formation in any deli to cut and purchase by the pound, but here in Astoria I only found it in pre-packaged (pictured above) at Greenbay Marketplace (located on 30th avenue and on Broadway). Most other mainstream grocery stores sell Colby Jack (which is marbled with Monterey Jack) but do not be tempted to use it as a substitute.
Culantro, Not Cilantro!
Look for Culantro next to the cilantro and parsley, bound by rubber bands, or in plastic bags. Many people give up and use cilantro as a substitute, but stay optimistic. Its unique flavor will bring some authenticity to your cooking. Even if it doesn’t look perfect, buy it anyway. You absolutely NEED this to make my Quick “Americanized” Taco Meat recipe!
European Butter
Finding European butter is just a matter of shifting my eyes a bit, typically located alongside the other mainstream brands. Kerrygold and Plugra are some commonly found European butters; they contain a higher fat content and less water which helps eliminate the heavy grease-like texture in cakes baked with mainstream American butter brands.
Fresh Okra
Good fresh okra is difficult to find. However, I came across these perfect-looking gems at Elliniki Agora market (below). Cooking with frozen okra from a freezer section doesn’t do this amazing ingredient justice. Using okra in a soup or stew is most common, but you can also air fry it.
Elliniki Agora on 30th Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets usually has really good okra.
Nectars
Fresh fruit juice is fantastic, but finding ripe produce year-round is not realistic. You can regularly count on fruit nectars in recipes that call for any type of real, close-to-fresh fruit juice. The main ingredients in nectars are quite harmless – water, fruit puree, and sugar. Of course, there are some preservatives, but I love that the brand Mira does not contain corn syrup or “other juices”. Because nectar has actual fruit puree, it has a super-thick consistency and needs to be thinned out with water or mixed with other juices. Try swapping real pineapple with pineapple nectar in my Pineapple Honey Limeade.
3 Dried Oreganos – Mexican, Dominican, and Greek
The flavor of Oregano intensifies as it dries out. Therefore, it’s one of the few herbs that actual chefs prefer to use in its dried form. Other than Italian oregano, three other types of oregano I stock up on regularly are Mexican, Dominican, and Greek, all of which are most suited to cooking with meats. Italian oregano pairs better with vegetable-based recipes.
Astoria, Queens, NYC is a largely Greek neighborhood, so they take their Greek oregano super seriously in Greek markets. It’s the key ingredient in Souvlaki kebabs that you smell from Greek street carts. Mexican oregano can be found in tiny plastic packages hung up on walls at Mexican markets. Its flavor is more rustic, less sweet, and pairs better with robust Mexican flavors. Dominican oregano is darker in color, more savory, and pungent. Because of the more robust nature of this oregano, it works exceptionally well with dark meat … chicken leg parts, wings, beef, and darker cuts of pork. I suggest using this in my Rice with Pigeon Peas and Adobo Roasted Pork Shoulder.
Poblano Peppers
Some mainstream grocery stores might (unnecessarily) place Poblanos next to the bell peppers, but in an international and/or Latin-American market, they are not kept in refrigeration — usually stacked in a pile or in a box within the vicinity of Jalapeños. Use these roasted and mixed into a salsa, left whole and stuffed with mac ‘n cheese, or as fixings for tacos.
Sour Oranges
Also referred to as “Seville” orange, sour oranges are often overlooked due to their unsightly appearance. They range in size, have a more bumpy texture, and don’t appear very appetizing in general. These are not meant to be eaten raw as a snack like a typical orange. Instead, the juice is extracted and used in marinades like Adobo Roasted Pork Shoulder. Because the juice content of each can vary quite a bit, it is difficult to know exactly how many you may need to purchase for your recipe. So, selecting sour oranges is a bit of a lottery. They should be a little soft when gently squeezed.