Ingredients for Mauritian cuisine can be found in most supermarkets and specialist shops. For Indian ingredients such as spices, these are now available in supermarkets and Indian grocery shops. European ingredients such as salt cod and gourmet sausages can be obtained from Italian and Greek delis. Chinese ingredients can be sourced from Asian grocery shops. Tropical vegetables are now widely available in supermarkets. If not, you can go to Asian shopping precincts where you can find a huge variety of vegetables, meats, seafoods and fruits.
Fresh sea foods, meats and vegetables are widely available in supermarkets as well. However, take note that the sea foods caught in different seas can be substantially different from those caught in the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean around Mauritius. The octopus sold in Australia is easier to cook than the octopus sold in Mauritius. It is believed that the salt content of the sea waters in which the octopus is caught from and whether the octopus is frozen before being put on sale have an influence upon its tenderness.
Always use the freshest meats and vegetables that you can afford. Some commercial meats are pre-soaked in solutions to keep it moist, tenderise the meats and maintain their fresh looking appearance. Buy free range products in preference to farmed or battery produced ones.
You must also choose the freshest vegetables that you can access. This can make a wide difference in the results of your cooking. Be wary of vegetables grown on intense artificial fertilisers, these can have a very high water content and reduce considerably in size when cooked. The latter also do not keep very well.
Some Mauritian shops in capital cities also stock some specialist products such as poisson sale or ourite sec, biscuit manioc or achards. Contact us for their locations and we will endeavour to forward the necessary location information to you.
