BWFO larder order — by flavour axis¶

Shop list · BuyWholeFoodsOnline · prices checked 2026-09-15 · Disclaimer

Prices and availability checked on buywholefoodsonline.co.uk, 15 September 2026. All prices are the "from" figure (smallest pack) unless stated. Mode 1 (ingredients-first) run backwards: axis → mechanism → stage → what BWFO actually sells.

Read this before you open the basket¶

The single most important input is not sold here. BWFO is a wholefoods grocer, not a chemical supplier. It does not stock glycine, L-phenylalanine, potassium bicarbonate, 85 % phosphoric acid, papain/bromelain, Lallzyme Beta, or a flat/spear pH probe. Glycine is the bulk reactive nitrogen for every Stage B you will ever build, and chemistry.md §1 says nitrogen is probably the ceiling. Do not let a satisfying fruit order substitute for the one-line purchase that actually unblocks the method. Bulk-supplement suppliers for the amino acids, homebrew suppliers for the rest. (High)

Three findings from the catalogue that change the skill's own shortlist:

1. Bitter apricot kernels are gone. preferred-ingredients.md lists them as shortlist-to-source for "the benzaldehyde signature at a usable concentration". BWFO's bitter-kernel page is delisted and what they sell now is sweet apricot kernels — trace amygdalin, essentially no benzaldehyde. UK retail of bitter kernels has effectively stopped; the FSA publishes specific guidance on cyanide in raw apricot kernels. The benzaldehyde axis now runs on stones you get free inside fruit you are buying anyway — see the marzipan section. That is arguably a better answer than the one the skill had. (High on availability; Med on the regulatory detail — read the FSA page yourself.)

2. Sorbate is a hole in the skill. setup.md excludes sulphited fruit from Stage B and says nothing about potassium sorbate, which is a yeast inhibitor and is standard on dried prunes. BWFO sell French Agen Unsorbated Prunes explicitly free of it. Adding sorbated prunes to a live Brett secondary is a straightforward way to stall a fermentation. New exclusion line at the end of this file.

3. Genus resolved. preferred-ingredients.md flags "Marigold — confirm genus: calendula vs Tagetes changes placement." BWFO's product is Marigold Flower (Calendula), so it is the culinary one: sesquiterpene oil, no thiophenes, no Stage T split needed. Stage B with a lipid phase, or Stage C.

The engine: reducing-sugar backbone¶

Not a flavour axis — the substrate every Stage B needs. Buy the most of this.

Skip Deglet Nour unless you are running the inversion step deliberately.

Honey and floral¶

Mechanism: phenylacetaldehyde → 2-phenylethanol (Phe, not sold here); β-damascenone released by acid and time from carotenoid precursors; furanones from a low-pH jar; monoterpenes preserved only in Stage T.

Honest gap: without L-phenylalanine this axis tops out well short. 1 g of Phe into 4.5 L is 43–86 mg/L of added 2-PE; nothing on this list substitutes for that. It is already agreed in design 004 and still not bought.

Winey, grape, stone fruit¶

Cacao, nutty, roast — the pyrazine axis¶

Mechanism: glycine + reducing sugar → dicarbonyls → alkylpyrazines. Tannin suppresses it, so the tannic ingredients go to Stage C and blend after.

The real lever on this axis is not in the basket. Glycine, and the 135–140 °C paired-jar roast finish (§1, top experimental priority). Buy 1 kg of glycine elsewhere.

Toasty, bready¶

Say the honest thing: v4 deleted this axis's ingredient. Proline and hydroxyproline → pyrroles was collagen's job, and the corrected arithmetic (§14) shows 4 g of collagen supplies ~3 % of a jar's reactive amine while carrying 100 % of its methionol and THP risk. Do not buy more collagen, and nothing BWFO sells replaces it.

What is left for bready/roast character is temperature, not an ingredient — which is precisely what the roast-finish paired jar tests. One batch will tell you whether this axis is reachable at all at 121 °C.

Caramel, jammy, furanone¶

Mechanism: the low-pH branch. A furanone jar at pH 4.3–4.6 rather than the 6.15 pyrazine jar — and per §22 it is also the lower-acrylamide option.

Marzipan and benzaldehyde — rebuilt¶

Bitter apricot kernels are unavailable (top of this file). The replacement is better value and lower risk: buy stone-in fruit and use the stones.

Sequence is unchanged and non-negotiable: separate the stones, crush, A2 in water only at 40–50 °C for 1–3 h, vent 10 min uncovered, then Stage C or D. Use the v4 effective retention of 0.58, not the 0.2 best case, and do the free completeness check — the A2 water should smell strongly of bitter almond, the drained kernel much less so. Store kernel-bearing bottles dark (ethyl carbamate).

Phenolic, funk, HCA loading¶

Colour and structure¶

Stage T spice rack¶

Small packs. Botanicals lose their volatiles in 6–12 months; there is no point buying 1 kg of anything in this section.

Tonka bean: do not look for it. Coumarin content puts it outside normal UK food retail.

Mode 5 candidates — interesting, uncatalogued¶

Do not buy these blind. Each needs a research-protocol.md pass first, and they will come back Low confidence on family proxy.

Suggested order, tiered¶

Tier 1 — the axes are thin without these¶

Tier 2 — high value, buy if the order is going anyway¶

Organic Cacao Nibs (Raw) · Whole Dried Hibiscus · Marigold Flower (Calendula) · Organic Morello Cherries (Sour) · Organic Thompson Raisins · Elderflower · Chamomile Flowers · Organic Dried Juniper Berries · Organic Almonds

Tier 3 — completist and experimental¶

Lavender · Bay Leaves · Coriander Seed · Allspice Whole · Organic Elderberries (on offer) · Organic Dried Cranberries (plain) · Organic Dried Figs · Sweet Apricot Kernels · Burdock Root · Goji Berries

Not from BWFO — order separately, and do not skip¶

One line to paste into data/setup.md¶

Exclusions table:

| **Sorbate-treated dried fruit in any stage** | Potassium sorbate is a yeast inhibitor and is standard on dried prunes and some dried apricots and figs. Sulphite is already excluded from Stage B as a Maillard inhibitor; sorbate is worse, because it survives the cook unchanged and goes on to inhibit the Brett and Sacch in the beer. Buy explicitly unsorbated, or organic. Check the label, not the category |

And one for data/preferred-ingredients.md, replacing the marigold note's first clause:

| Marigold (calendula) | **Genus confirmed: BWFO stock Calendula officinalis, not Tagetes** — culinary, sesquiterpene oil, no thiophenes, no Stage T split needed. Primary role is HCA funk loading and heat-stable colour at near-zero base cost, not ionones. Pair with sweet almond in Stage B if the carotenoid is wanted, reading the almond caveats first |

Sources¶

• BWFO