Spices

[Shimmer]

For Christmas, my mother-in-law ordered me the "Baking Set" of spices from Penzey's Spices. In the past, I have just used the cheapest spices at the grocery store, and these are great. The flavors are intense and the colors are so vibrant!

I was wondering what brand of spices you all use, those of you that spend the extra money for special spices at home.

~~Shimmer~~

[Pete]

I try to stop by The Spice House in either Chicago or Evanston, IL anytime I am in the area. Great spices, ground fresh. They have lots of turn-over so I know I am getting a high quality, fresh product. Very similar to Penzey's, in fact I think the owners are either related to the the family that started Penzey's or worked for them.

[Mezzaluna]

I'm a dyed in the wool Penzey's customer. Their warehouse store in Brookfield is 15 minutes from my home, so I can buy small quantities and refill whenever I want.

The luxury of going to the store is that you can smell and taste the spices and herbs, samples of which are set out in self-sealing jars so they stay fresh. The place smells like heaven.... Being able to taste is great, because several of their blends are not to my liking- but I wouldn't have been able to tell for sure just by reading the ingredient list. For instance, their herbes de Provence has lavender in it; I can tolerate a little, but theirs has more than I prefer. So I passed it up and saved myself a few bucks.

I love it that they pack their gift boxes with whole nutmegs, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks to keep the bottles from shifting. Reminds me: I'm out of Vietnamese cinnamon!

[phatch]

Penzey's and Spices Etc. Penzey's has a good Sumac.

Phil

[Suvir Saran]

I use Foods Of India in NYC for buying spices. They have better quality than most any spice market I have seen around the world.
They ship around the US.

You can get their address by visiting my site at www.suvir.com

You can click on spices to learn more about spices and also to get the information on Foods of India.

If you have questions on any particular spice, feel free to come and post those in the Indian forum or cooking forum of www.eGullet.com

[Suvir Saran]

For those of you that do not have Flash and cannot access my site, below is the address and phone number for Foods of India.


Foods of India
121 Lexington Avenue
New York City, NY

Tel: (212) 683 4419

Proprietor: Arun Kumar Sinha


http://www.suvir.com/foodsofindia.html

[Jill Reichow]

Penzeys. When I get home to Mpls. I hit the local Penzeys...it's like a toy store.

I agree with Mezzaluna. Being able to smell and taste the spices is a bonus. I really appreciate the different cinnamons... The soup bases they have are a great fill in when that broth needs a little extra ommph.

[Gavin]

I guess this is will be of interest value only. Ian Hemphill, the proprietor of Herbies, is also the author of an excellent book that may be available in the U.S.
Details can be found if you scroll down at this site: http://www.herbies.com.au/

I live about a 5 minute drive from his shop, which is around 3 miles from the CBD in Sydney. What a find!!!!

[shroomgirl]

Penzey's story....I've emptied out client's spices and bought at Penzey's mainly for the quality....one day I needed thyme and was buzzing through the grocery, that's when it really hit home that Penzey's is actually significantly CHEAPER than grocery store herbs/spices. pretty great.
Parisian herbs is one of my fav blends, I go through an outrageous amount of it.

[alexia]

I'm about to make a Penzey's order. High on the list will be a refill of the Ceylon cinnamon - love it for its subtlety and the floral quality. Cassia's ok, buy I hardly use it anymore. I'm planning to add the Vietnamese to my repetoire. I assume from what I've read that one uses it more in savory applications. Yes? No? Has anyone used the Vietnamese and how did you like it?

What other somewhat off the beaten path favorites have you found uses for?

[Mezzaluna]

I use only the Vietnamese. It's intense and spicy-sweet.

[chiffonade]

I use spices from Penzeys and Pendery's. For our wedding favors, I made bags of chamomile tea purchased from Pendery's. Beautiful, fragrant stuff. Penzeys chili powders are excellent. I'd recommend both websites. I recently saw another source called The Spice Hunter. I've never tried them but the blends look interesting. http://www.spicehunter.com

[chiffonade]

Originally posted by Suvir Saran
For those of you that do not have Flash and cannot access my site, below is the address and phone number for Foods of India.


Foods of India
121 Lexington Avenue
New York City, NY

Tel: (212) 683 4419

Proprietor: Arun Kumar Sinha


http://www.suvir.com/foodsofindia.html

Lemme guess...Little India - around 28th street??

[phoebe]

Just got my first mail-order package from Penzey's. They ARE amazingly cheaper than the supermarket. And clearly lots fresher.
Question: most of the dried herbs and spices I ordered came in small, plastic containers. If I have some larger glass ones from old supermarket varieties (which are getting dumped today), should I pour the new stuff into the glass or just stick with the plastic jars they came in?

[kthull]

Originally posted by alexia
I'm planning to add the Vietnamese to my repetoire. I assume from what I've read that one uses it more in savory applications. Yes? No? Has anyone used the Vietnamese and how did you like it?

I too just got started on Vietnamese cinnamon and I love it. Very strong aroma and flavor. I have yet to try some of the others, but this is definitely a keeper.