To the cooks in the audience - where do you shop online for quality spices and spice blends? In particular, I’m looking for good quality regional spice blends like Ras el Hanout, Garam Masala, Curry Powder, etc.
They have a good selection and are pretty close to you. As for quality i am not a spice expert, but i believe its good.
Cool! I’ll have to check them out in person next time I get out to the Cape.
For the not so exotic things like specific blends or Rubs, I think you can’t beat your local ethnic market. Find out where the Indian and Asian people buy their stuff. That store will have a ton of spices and heavy turnover so the spices will likely be fresher and cheaper than your normal corporate chain.
I use Monterey spice company. Good quality and price
I’ve been buying spices from an Indian market for years. It’s awesome and the process are super cheap compared to a supermarket. Makes sense considering how much they use in their food.
I’ve ordered online from these guys for years and years. They have also been opening up brick and mortar stores as well. Not sure if they are out your way yet. Always good.
Penzeys Spices - http://www.penzeys.com/
Yeah, an Indian market is THE place for spices, for price and selection. After all, they grow a good % of the world’s spices.
Have been buying wholesale from them for years at work. You can get spices, herbs, and medicinal herbs by the pound or in shakers for spices. I actually get a lot of brewing herbs like licorice root, dandelion etc. from them. They do a big volume so always fresh. Also good for essential oils. Deliver in a few days. I actually don’t always find good stuff at ethnic markets. They buy big bags of ground spices and don’t always sell it fast. My rule of thumb is that if the color is dull, its old or not stored properly.
Forgot to say: they have a great selection of loose tea. And yo can get stuff like grains of paradise by the pound.
I didn’t realize they sold direct. Whole Foods carries their products (including their Simply Organic line). I use their Garam Masala in most of my Indian-inspired dishes. They have a lot of really nice looking spice blends on their website. With the summer grilling & garden season coming up I’m going to have to grab a few.
I’ll take a close look at what they have next time I get to WF to see if I can save on shipping.
I agree with some of the other posts. Why buy online? Just frequent the local ethnic markets if you have them. What I have found is best is to go to the store for the spice type you are after and ask. Often they will point you to something used frequently in that cuisine. It will be inexpensive and just as good if not better than what you would have received from an online source.
I also agree about buying from your local ethnic markets. They usually have ridiculously cheap ingredients. Sure, you might have to source from a few different shops to get everything across the planet but it’s cool going in those shops and seeing what else intrigues you. You’ll also find your basic spices in there for much cheaper than the regular supermarket. For $2 I bought enough bay leaves to last a lifetime.
They are my favorite for what I cannot find locally. I met the owners, and they are really excellent folks. Quality of ingredients is also better than what I find around town as well.
Dandelion Botanical has an epic selection of a lot of weird stuff. I use them for my bitters.
Isn’t making your own bitters great? We just started this fall and made a smoked hickory nut bitters, apple bitters, and grapefruit and hops bitters. In addition to cocktails I’ve put them in beer, seltzer water, and use them for cooking. Here’s a great recipe for bar nuts with bitters. We made them with Fee Bros cask aged bitters. The Lush Chef: Spiced Bitter Bar Nuts