Does brand matter with herbs and spices?

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I clean mine by throwing a few small pieces of bread in and grinding that up then wiping with a paper towel.
 
for my needs i think penzeys is the best. i like that i can buy small amounts. the ones at my grocery store are way over priced. i did try a mexican garlic powder, it is really really powdery. hard to sprinkle on food if not down right impossible. since the salt free diet , i am using tons of paprika and penzys is definitely less expensive that grocery store. but you are right i buy more spices.
 
I have been pleased with the spices in plastic bags found in the hispanic section of many grocery stores now. The cumin is always rich and fragrant, and the ginger I just bought
was the most aromatic and flavorful I've ever found.
AND... it was 99 cents, vs $3.98 for McCormick brand.

I'm with you on that. The spices in the Hispanic section are much cheaper. I have found them to be good quality.
 
I've bought both from Penzy's and The Spice House. The Spice House gets things to you right now and they are good quality and not all that expensive. I plan to continue to use both.
kades
 
I think we're all in agreement: It isn't easy to know. The best indicator to me is the turnover in the store you are buying from. I've bought spices (most notably cinnamon and cumin) in stores that were out-of-the-way, were name brands, and were dead, simply because they'd been sitting on the shelf for way, way too long. I, personally, have never had bad luck with Penzeys, but also have a local spice guy who I've had good luck with (I think he buys in bulk and packages it himself). But if you live in an area where the spice/herb you like is very popular, the chances of getting a good quality from even an inexpensive brand is probably better than if you buy it in the town you live in where something out of the ordinary for your location is likely to have been sitting on the grocery shelf for a year or two.
 
I think you will find the prices relative to the quantity and quality quite reasonable. I am often appalled by how expensive spices are in the supermarkets. I cooking everything from scratch, I make sausage and I grind and mix my own spices. A hint try lightly roasting your spices before you grinding them the process releases the oils from the spices making there flavors more pungent. A trick I learned from making masala's for curies.
 
I think you will find the prices relative to the quantity and quality quite reasonable. I am often appalled by how expensive spices are in the supermarkets. I cooking everything from scratch, I make sausage and I grind and mix my own spices. A hint try lightly roasting your spices before you grinding them the process releases the oils from the spices making there flavors more pungent. A trick I learned from making masala's for curies.

with you on that,antom.i never use dried herbs & only use shop bought ground spices in dry rubs.always roast & grind my own for curries etc.here's a receep you might like.welcome to dc,by the way:chef:!
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f21/harrys-pork-rib-tikka-87861.html
 
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Can't disagree with the coffee grinder. I hate to clean the things. Someone should make a grinder that will disassemble for cleaning. The same applies with whole bean coffee, If you grind one type, then switch. The difference is detectable.

Run a fresh piece of crust of bread through your spice grinder. Do this each time you grind spices. Do it a couple of times and it will clean out and pick up any spice powder left behind.

I prefer to order on line any extracts. What you get in the stores are so overpriced for the amount you get.

I also, if a recipe calls for 'the juice of', remove the zest and freeze it by the teaspoons. Then if I don't have a lemon or orange on hand when the recipe calls for juice, I will use that frozen zest and put it in hot water. Or if the recipe calls for the zest and not the juice, I will squeeze out the juice and freeze that in ice cube trays. Nothing goes to waste in this kitchen.

Quality costs. You are better off buying quality spices. Penzy does quality. If they also dabbled in women's sweaters and men's boots along with spices, I would wonder about their quality. But they only do "spices!" They are experts in what they do. Considering the quality of their products, they are well worth the price. :angel:
 
just roast & grind your own in a mortar & pestle.the whole spices are roasted dry,so the pan only needs a wipe out with kitchen paper.the mortar & pestle only has two moving parts & disassembled easily for cleaning:ermm::ohmy::LOL:!!
 

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Harry, that is great advice for the young without arthritic hands. Sometimes just holding an implement in ones' hands can be very painful. When they make the grinder with a large soft handle, we might be able to accomplish that chore. It is for that reason Oxo tools came into being.

In the meantime, progress has given us other means of performing the same chore.

Thus the electric coffee grinder. One for coffee beans, and one for spices. Great pictures though! :angel:
 
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Harry, that is great advice for the young without arthritic hands. Sometimes just holding an implement in ones' hands can be very painful. When they make the grinder with a large soft handle, we might be able to accomplish that chore. It is for that reason Oxo tools came into being.

In the meantime, progress has given us other means of performing the same chore.

Thus the electric coffee grinder. One for coffee beans, and one for spices. Great pictures though! :angel:
mind over matter,addie!my left shoulder is a replacement joint(no more rugby for me:()& have arthritis in my right hand.but then i always did enjoy a bit of pain:ermm::ohmy:;):LOL:!!
fair point tho',if the arthritis is bad.should try doctor harry's chrimbo cure all.great anti inflammatory properties in ginger/lemongrass & honey.does seem to work on my shoulder & hand,tastes bloody good too,mate:)
http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f12/dr-harrys-chrimbo-cure-all-88414.html
 
If you find a brand you like stick with it (although the weather and other conditions can affect the flavour of even the most reliable brands.) In Britain the majority of the supermarkets' own brand dried herbs and spices have the same sources as the well-known brands and I imagine that the same applies where you are. Often they are packed at source ie where they are grown with only fairly random quality checks by representatives of the firm whose name is on the final packaging.

Personally, of the big brands, I don't like Schwartz very much. They are over-priced and I often find that the supermarket's own brands are fresher (probably because the turn over is greater due to the lower price). Barts are usually good and they have a few unusual ones. A lot of herbs, such as basil, don't dry well and dried mint is a completely different animal to the fresh variety. I don't buy ready ground pepper or nutmeg as they lose flavour almost immediately they're ground, and packaging, however airtight, vacuum-packed, etc., can't really save them.
 
McCormick and similar brands are often very expensive in the grocery store, they are good quality in my experience, but very overpriced (my store wants over $7 for less than an ounce of cloves).

Costco sells McCormick exclusively at less than 1/2 what a grocery store sells them at. But the containers are rather large. They sell whole and ground spices. The only problem is they do not have all the spices you would need. Only the staples.
We just refrigerate them, due to the size. It does take up some space in the fridge, but well worth it.
 
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