Spice expert?

[Cooking4Fun]

I know they have various experts like sommeliers for wine, but is there a spices expert? I saw 1.1oz of nutmeg at a large grocery store for like $6.60 before tax versus 1.5oz of nutmeg at Aldis for $1.89 with tax. The quality difference can't be that great? I certainly appreciate the cost difference, but is there a huge compromise?

 

[dcSaute]

I'm no expert.
but as to your question, yes - there can be significant differences.
that said . . . I find Badia equal in quality/freshness to McCormick, for example.
Spice Hunters is also good - really expensive (!) - but they do have stuff the 'big brands' don't carry....

perhaps someone with Aldi spice experience can chime in - they have an extensive selection but the store is not on my regular route so I've not bought any.

the other issue is freshness. spices/herbs that have been ground/powder/etc lose their punch much faster that "whole" spices - ground clove vs whole clove....ground pepper vs peppercorns....

there's an old thing - toss them after a year . . . which, if you can get quality stuff for 89 cents a jar vs $4.89 for McCormick's . . . is a good thing....

 

[dragnlaw]

On the Other hand... I rarely toss spices. I may use a tad bit more but I don't find they lose that much. Yes, some more than others but still. Start looking at the prices against how much you use? Ouch - that can triple the costs (if not even more) and you can not buy them in smaller amounts.
Bulk Barn has loose spices, but then if you are talking about freshness in bins with flip lids and scoops to dole out. Just use your imagination!

 

[blissful]

I buy Badia too when I get a chance for a brand on some spices. They came out clean on testing turmeric. I'm no expert but consumer report did run tests on spices and they give reports at the bottom of the page, on different spices and brands. https://www.consumerreports.org/hea...contain-arsenic-cadmium-and-lead-a6246621494/

 

[pepperhead212]

I can't remember the last time I bought spices from supermarkets, and I don't even know where they are in Aldi! And a friend of mine got some dollar jar spices at Ollie's way back, and wondered why they had almost no aroma. Back in the 80s I started buying spices in a spice store in the Italian market - with the turnover they had, the spices would taste like I had just ground them! I learned, early on, why I used to increase the spices called for in many recipes - it wasn't because the spices I'd been buying (and Mom had been buying) all my life, were almost dead, compared to the fresh spices, I was finally getting! In the 90s, it was Penzey's spices I bought most things from, later spices.inc got really good prices, and also very fresh spices.

If you have an Indian market nearby, there is almost nowhere you can find spices as fresh, due to the huge turnover, and a huge selection, though there are a few things they don't use. And almost everything is available ground, or whole, and many things are best bought whole, such as nutmeg. Once you have had freshly grated nutmeg, it is like freshly ground black pepper - nothing else will due!

 

[pictonguy]

I know they have various experts like sommeliers for wine, but is there a spices expert? I saw 1.1oz of nutmeg at a large grocery store for like $6.60 before tax versus 1.5oz of nutmeg at Aldis for $1.89 with tax. The quality difference can't be that great? I certainly appreciate the cost difference, but is there a huge compromise?

You happen to pick a spice that I would only ever buy whole and micro plane to order. I noticed in the spice market in Delhi that pretty much all the women would only buy their turmeric from one or two purveyors and the reason apparently from what I could gather was, it's the most adulterated spice going and it was ground fresh daily in plain view to dispel any controversy. Interesting place and I bought my marsala dabba from the spice market, and I think it was like 90 baht, years ago.

 

[pepperhead212]

And another thing I forgot to mention, that can help, if you want to buy larger amounts of those whole spices, if you use them. Put some in your kitchen jar, and put the rest in a Foodsaver bag! Vacuum sealing them will save them a long time! Some things, with sharp edges, like cloves, and star anise, I put inside another bag, fold it over, then foodsaver it - I've never had one break through. And you can also vacuum seal mason jars - something I have done with a couple things, that I also put in the freezer. Here's a pack of Syrian Oregano I packed yesterday - after stripping about 2 c of dried leaves. Compressed about a cup of it to about 1/4" thick!
Half of that Syrian oregano I dried, and stripped today. A half of an ounce filled the spice jar, so I food savered the other half. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[taxlady]

I like to buy whole spices. There are a few I buy ground and whole, like cumin. If I'm tired, I'll use the ground one and DH wants that one ground and handy. But, I have cumin seeds and usually just measure 'em into the mortar and give 'em a go with the pestle. Same with white pepper. I have several grinders for black pepper. Nutmeg, I have a nutmeg that is several years old, but when I grated some off of it, it smells great. It may have lost a bit of potency, but not all. I like to have a nice variety of spices, even if I don't know when I will use them next. That's when I find it really handy to have the whole spices and just grind to order.

 

[Badjak]

I do very much the same as @taxlady
I grow turmeric. Harvest, clean, dry & grind if I don't use it fresh.
I buy spices at the Indian shop, same as most of my herbs (I either grow them or buy at Indian or Lebanese shops)

 

[dragnlaw]

"like 90 baht, years ago". = about .039 cad? right? for a spice jar size?

 

[pictonguy]

"like 90 baht, years ago". = about .039 cad? right? for a spice jar size?

Yep. Has a lid and 7 small containers for spices.

 

[msmofet]

I also buy Badia. Very good price and I really don't see any big quality difference from the other brands.

 

[taxlady]

Yep. Has a lid and 7 small containers for spices.

I have considered getting a masala dabba. Do you use yours frequently @pictonguy? Do the little jars each have a lid? I don't get that impression from the pictures I have seen. Don't those spices lose freshness quickly? Isn't it easy to spill from those jars when you move the masala dabba?

 

[pictonguy]

I have considered getting a masala dabba. Do you use yours frequently @pictonguy? Do the little jars each have a lid? I don't get that impression from the pictures I have seen. Don't those spices lose freshness quickly? Isn't it easy to spill from those jars when you move the masala dabba?

Yeah, I don't use it at all for the reasons you've explained, but then again I'm not making curries everyday. Yeah, just the one cover. I love curries and make them all the time but all my spices, which are many are in containers in a cupboard.

Both times I've travelled to India I've stayed in what was called a "homestay" where you live with a family for the most part where I also had the opportunity both times to cook in their kitchen after they found out I was a chef and the marsala dabba was a prominent fixture and used all the time at every meal. It was basically why I bought one but when I got home I didn't even bother to fill it because I knew I wasn't going to use up the spices fast enough, especially when I like to grind my spices anyway.

Also the spice blends the families formulate are unique to their area, family recipes, preferences that kind of thing which will be different all over India so a family in Rajasthan would select different spices than families in say Karala and I'm more inclined to change the mixtures depending on the type of curry I'm thinking of making so it would be more than likely I'd be reaching for spices that wouldn't be in my particular dabba, but that is just a thought I had later and another reason not to use it.

 

[pictonguy]

Most Indian people seemed to buy a lot of already ground spices at the market, mostly actually, and it kind of makes sense. These marsala dabba's aren't that big and each container is probably about 1/4 cup and that wouldn't last very long at all, maybe a week or two and just gets refilled and I suspect most Indian cooks have figured out the quantities to buy that ensures the best results as far as how much is initially bought and stored for refills, but that is just my cook's brain working, but I suspect that is mostly true.

 

[taxlady]

Yeah, I don't use it at all for the reasons you've explained, but then again I'm not making curries everyday. Yeah, just the one cover. I love curries and make them all the time but all my spices, which are many are in containers in a cupboard.

Both times I've travelled to India I've stayed in what was called a "homestay" where you live with a family for the most part where I also had the opportunity both times to cook in their kitchen after they found out I was a chef and the marsala dabba was a prominent fixture and used all the time at every meal. It was basically why I bought one but when I got home I didn't even bother to fill it because I knew I wasn't going to use up the spices fast enough, especially when I like to grind my spices anyway.

Also the spice blends the families formulate are unique to their area, family recipes, preferences that kind of thing which will be different all over India so a family in Rajasthan would select different spices than families in say Karala and I'm more inclined to change the mixtures depending on the type of curry I'm thinking of making so it would be more than likely I'd be reaching for spices that wouldn't be in my particular dabba, but that is just a thought I had later and another reason not to use it.

I knew that the choice of spices to put int he dabba were individual. I actually learned about them from a Chinese YouTuber. He puts stuff like garlic powder, dry ginger, lemon pepper, ground cumin, ... in his. I was going to test the concept by jury-rigging one from a Danish cookie tin and some small jars I have. I didn't want to spend money on it before seeing if it worked for me. I guess I'll just keep spinning the turntables in my cupboard to get at the spices and herbs. I have four of them. The one that gets used the most is two level. Well, the other one that gets used a whole lot has vinegars, oils, Worcestershire, tamari, fish sauce, ...

 

[dragnlaw]

Sound like my turntables, taxy. I have a 2 tiered one and 2 single. All of which are overflowing and then the rest are shoved, maybe not quite willy-nilly but in and around. I basically know where things are but sometimes ... it just seems to be hiding!
My sister had several turntables. She would store them alphabetically.

Didn't we have this conversation about spice racks and seasonings before? hmmm deja vu?

 

[GinnyPNW]

<<Didn't we have this conversation about spice racks and seasonings before? hmmm deja vu?>> I think we did, dragn! But still, not a bad subject. I used to use turntables and I had a favorite battery operated one that held the bottles from the cap and spun them around. Now, just prefer my alphabetized tiered racks. Things stay in their place..LOL.

 

[pepperhead212]

Here's one of the threads you're probably thinking about, dragn - I'm sure there are more!

Type A spice storage??

Last night I started cooking dinner and discovered that "someone" had helpfully rearranged the spices in the spice rack so they are sorted alphabetically. I couldn't find ANYTHING! At my house most spices are stored in jars in a space rack mounted on the inside cabinet door near the stove...

www.discusscooking.com

 

[jennyema]

Penzeys