Spices and sauces

Spices and sauces are what make the same dish tasty or bland. In Uzbekistan people use local cumin and barberry for plov as well as ready-made sauces, ketchups, mayonnaise and adjika. In reviews buyers write about how natural the ingredients are, the real spiciness, the shelf life and whether the taste matches what it used to be.

When choosing, people look for a clean ingredient list, an honest date on the pack and consistent taste from batch to batch. Often it's the reviews that tell you which sauce brand won't disappoint and where a familiar label now hides a different product.

Tried a particular spice or sauce — leave a review to help others pick something tasty and avoid a fake.