# Does anyone still sell whole peppercorns in regular spice jars...anyone at all? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2014, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834 "2014-10-29T05:17:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/21 "2014-10-29T15:54:38Z")
Forget the jarred spices at the supermarket - head for the “International” aisle and look for all the spices hanging in the Hispanic section. Much cheaper and a whole lot fresher. Smaller quantities, too. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/22 "2014-10-29T21:01:48Z")
[Costco](http://www2.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?prodid=11954421&whse=BD_563&topnav=national&cat=11931&hierPath=11121*11260*11931*&lang=en-US). [Epicure](https://www.epicure.com/en/products/food/salts-peppers/http://) also sells them. The alder smoked sea salt is also effing amazing on buttered popcorn, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/23 "2014-10-29T21:45:05Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I like Penzey’s spices, but their store hours suck. Closed at 6pm? Seriously? There are banks with later hours than that! Am I supposed to take off an hour of work during the day to go shop for spices?! Yeah, the hours are frustratingly limited (my Penzeys\* is open M-Sa 10a-6p, Su 11a-5p). That’s why I’ve always gone on the weekends. Have you been able to actually get into one of their stores before, or have you just ordered from the website? For anyone else reading who might be near a Penzeys and is interested, I have to praise them for their customer service. They have glass jars with stopper-tops filled with spices so you can smell etc. for yourself and also many “stations” with coffee beans to clear your nasal palate, so to speak. They often have background information on spices and what they work well with and recipes. And every shop employee I’ve spoken with is knowledgeable about their products and can help you out far beyond, “cinnamon? Uhh, it’s over there :: points ::” They can describe the differences between Ceylon, tung hing, korintje and Vietnamese cinnamons and figure out which one would be a good choice for you. - making it sound like I own the store or something, heh. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/24 "2014-10-29T21:56:08Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Sam’s Club sells them that way and so do most supermarkets. Sam’s Club spices and condiments in the larger containers (from the same brands as in the supermarkets) are so much cheaper on a unit basis than the tiny supermarket jars it’s not even funny. I’ll have to check again, though I don’t know how I missed it before. I know the stores I shop at have the usual rack of McCormick spices, in addition to other brands, but it’s likely they didn’t have this version of their whole peppercorn product. It could be a regional phenomenon, similar to the way the canned cat food section seems to get smaller every year. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/25 "2014-10-29T22:09:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Forget the jarred spices at the supermarket - head for the “International” aisle and look for all the spices hanging in the Hispanic section. Much cheaper and a whole lot fresher. Smaller quantities, too. Yeah, just in general, visit pretty much any ethnic market–Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, general Asian, etc–and you can find fresher spices for nearly nothing. For example, a 0.62 oz jar of [McCormick’s whole cloves](http://www.walmart.com/ip/10535120?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=51320962143&veh=sem) is just over five bucks. That’s about $8/oz. For cloves. Are they insane? At the Indian grocery I bought 7 oz of whole cloves for $1.99, or $0.28/oz. The McCormick stuff is almost _30 times_ more expensive than at the ethnic grocer. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/26 "2014-10-29T22:46:14Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > Yeah, the hours are frustratingly limited (my Penzeys\* is open M-Sa 10a-6p, Su 11a-5p). That’s why I’ve always gone on the weekends. Have you been able to actually get into one of their stores before, or have you just ordered from the website? I’ve been able to get in to the store before, but it’s nothing resembling a convenient location to me and I work on Saturdays. I’m not going to make a special trip Sunday afternoon just to buy some spices, and on the occasions I’ve been in the vicinity of the store, of course they’re closed. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/27 "2014-10-30T04:55:30Z")
I know that the OP mentioned jars, but are the jars necessary? If not, peppercorns in bulk could be cheaper than paying for the bottle. Many health food stores sell spices in bulk. I know that Whole Foods and Sprouts sell spices in bulk. I was also frustrated about the grinders stuck on the peppercorn bottles, so I went looking around for alternatives as well. ---
**Author:** ![PlumBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@PlumBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlumBob)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/28 "2014-10-30T15:06:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, just in general, visit pretty much any ethnic market–Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, general Asian, etc–and you can find fresher spices for nearly nothing. For example, a 0.62 oz jar of [McCormick’s whole cloves](http://www.walmart.com/ip/10535120?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=51320962143&veh=sem) is just over five bucks. That’s about $8/oz. For cloves. Are they insane? At the Indian grocery I bought 7 oz of whole cloves for $1.99, or $0.28/oz. The McCormick stuff is almost _30 times_ more expensive than at the ethnic grocer. This^ “If you have an Indian grocery in your town, you can try there as well. That’s where we usually get ours.” And this^ “Check any Chinese grocery. Guaranteed to have. Also best price for spices. Always cheaper than the grocery store!” And this^ One of the great things about where I live is the abundance of Mom & Pop ethnic stores. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2014, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834/29 "2014-10-30T15:16:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, just in general, visit pretty much any ethnic market–Indian, Middle Eastern, Mexican, general Asian, etc–and you can find fresher spices for nearly nothing. For example, a 0.62 oz jar of [McCormick’s whole cloves](http://www.walmart.com/ip/10535120?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42423897272&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=51320962143&veh=sem) is just over five bucks. That’s about $8/oz. For cloves. Are they insane? At the Indian grocery I bought 7 oz of whole cloves for $1.99, or $0.28/oz. The McCormick stuff is almost _30 times_ more expensive than at the ethnic grocer. Around here, there’s a local-ish brand “Bolner’s Fiesta” that sells predominantly Mexican food-related spices in just about every supermarket. They sell in [little non-resealable plastic bags](https://www.fiestaspices.com/images/products/chili-pequino.jpg) and [big, cheap looking plastic jars](https://www.fiestaspices.com/popups/images/unclechris_gourmet.jpg) but are drastically cheaper- like the clove example mentioned above. They’re usually good quality, if not the very best, and are certainly cheap. They’re also the middle of the road brand in the local Hispanic markets, where there’s an even cheaper brand sold in the same plastic bags and jars, and McCormick’s/Spice Islands as the high end stuff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-still-sell-whole-peppercorns-in-regular-spice-jars-anyone-at-all/702834.md?page=1)