Penzey’s is also my go to for mexican “oregano”, a non-oregano herb that I use for a LOT my mexican cooking. So mainly enchilada sauces and chilis, but even so I go through a lot of it.
This thread made me realize I’m not getting Penzey’s newsletters any more, so I reactivated them.
Unfortunately, as noted, they do not ship to Canada. Whenever we visit our son in Boston, we go the Penzey’s not far away. You can get lost just looking at their selections.
This was shared in a baking group I’m in. I went straight to their website and ordered several spices I was running low on. I will still buy most of my spices at my local co-op, but anything I can’t get their, I’ll order from Penzey’s going forward.
Try the Penzey’s ground pepper, which is quite good, the award-winning Vietnamese cinnamon and Penzey’s cinnamon blend, the Italian herbs, and the ginger. Oh, and granulated garlic. When you make an order, they’ll throw some packets of other spices or mixes in the box so you can try them.
The Vietnamese cinnamon is excellent, but check out the Chinese (Tung Hing) cinnamon–it’s the most pure cinnamon smell and flavor I’ve ever had. Goes in my coffee every morning.
Bill’s not backing down a bit. Not only is there a link on the Penzey’s Home Page where you can contact Bill directly, but he has declared this weekend to be
Go get 'em, Penzey’s!
I worry he’s becoming unhinged.
Still, he’s right.
Should be fine as long as he doesn’t start talking about electronic packets and trying to sell you a pillow.
Or purity of essence. “You ever see a republican use a spice, Mandrake? Anything more than salt?”
Looking forward to his 72-hour non-stop Spice-a-thon.
I’m a person who agrees with Penzey’s comments much more than I disagree with them.
However, I have to ask: does Penzey’s have a commitment to fair trade? I don’t know much about spice sourcing/retailing, but I’ve got to believe that it could easily be one of the more exploitative import industries out there. I don’t see anything on Penzey’s website about their commitment to anti-racism, fair trade, or environmental commitments.
With that in mind, I’m not that motivated to reward an outspoken CEO just because they’re willing to criticize Republicans.
The spice trade is purposefully opaque. Penzey’s has been less than forthcoming on the subject, but the other family company (The Spice House) has repeatedly attested to their commitment to fair trade practices.
I feel sorry for the employees of such companies, not the owners/CEOs who feel compelled to alienate large chunks of their customer base in order to gratify their beliefs.
In the Trump/Covid era it’s mostly been right-leaning bozos who are into attempted business suicide. Spice Boy is something of an anomaly.
As a data point, the nice ladies at the local brick and mortar Penzey’s store are 100% in congruence with the views of their employer. Also, very happy to be working there.
As long as that lasts. But who knows, maybe they’ll be flooded with new business from Democrats/progressives to make up for pissed-off Republicans.
*additional data point: before opening this thread I had never heard of Penzey’'s. If they have a domestic source for good garlic powder I may have to try it.
He’s been vocally anti-authoritarian for at least four years, it doesn’t seem to have hurt his business.
I live in Left Coast Portland so that ship has sailed long and long ago. All the pissed off Republicans moved north to Vancouver WA and they only come down here to wave guns and get into fights then pee their pants and whine when people fight back. I can state with conviction that barring some crazy change in demographics (that aren’t likely to occur–Oregon, outside the metro areas, is full of MAGA Trumptards who’re busily killing themselves via COVID denial) Penzey’s will never lose money in this town. We’re a city full of foodies and the Portland Metro area supports TWO brick and mortar Penzey’s stores–one for the east side, one for the west.
Yeah, I could be exaggerating the risk companies take when they’re identified with controversial political/social stands.
Chick-fil-A had record revenue and profits in 2020 in spite of its CEO’s donations to an anti-LGBT Christian charity, and another 13% boost in revenue in 2021, even with the pandemic. And the MyPillow guy could have a bright future.
Maybe all publicity really is good.