On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 11:46:03 +0000 (UTC), "Keith Ginger"
> wrote:

>I have a recipe from a Sainsbury book: "Curries and Oriental Cookery" by
>Josceline Dimbleby.It is "Grilled Chicken Strips" and she uses Cayenne
>Pepper.
>
>I am struggling to get hold of any cayenne, and indeed ground cloves. For
>the cayenne could I substitute extra hot chilli powder?

Cayenne is a relatively hot chile pepper. Recipes which specify a tsp
or 1/2 tsp mean the dried, ground substance that grows in a jar or
tin. :-) The problem with "chilli powder" is that it is (usually) a
mixture including salt, ground chile, garlic, onion, oregano, and
almost always, cumin. Hot *ground chile* is a good substitute if you
can't find cayenne. If you have access to an Asian market, they should
have it in some form.

I've never seen a US grocery store without ground cloves on the shelf.
Since I use it infrequently and in small quantities (and it lasts
practically forever), I haven't bought any in some time. Some stores
have taken to arranging their herb/spice collections oddly -- by brand
or size container, and not alphabetically. Cloves are usually
considered a seasoning for sweets and baked goods in the US, so if
your market has a 'baking' separate section, look there.