Always the freshest spices, always impeccable service. We just got an order I had placed on-line Monday. We ordered cayenne pepper, Aleppo pepper, Fox Point seasoning, Northwoods seasoning, Vindaloo powder, and some taco seasoning. They tossed in for free a jar of their Pasta Sprinkle and a sample jar of Greek seasoning. I know they send samples so we’ll try something and maybe buy more of it, but who gives out 4 oz. jars these days? Go, Penzeys!
So, what spices are you using these days?
I like Penzey’s, too. I always appreciate the free samples they throw in, even if you don’t have one of the coupon codes for a big jar. I’m not much of one for blends, but lately I’ve been using the Bangkok on meat and chicken for stir-fries or just for sauteeing. Wish there was a Penzey’s store in my city, then I wouldn’t have to pay shipping!
Here I am enying you two because I buy stuff in their store and I don’t get wonderful free samples tossed in with my order!
I swear by their European-style peppercorns – half black and half white. The gentleman loves cinnamon, so he likes having several kinds to try. My mother has asked for a pepper grinder for her birthday, so I have an excuse to go to the store and buy her their salt and pepper grinder set. What’s wonderful about the store is they have sample jars of spices and blends for people to smell.
We’ve got our stash of Penzeys spices with us on our journey. Nothing like pancakes made with their baking spice or Vietnamese cinnamon and their vanilla. I’ve also got my chili spices with me, some herbs de provence, thyme, dill, Cajun, nutmeg and some others. We’re presently camped in WI, the home of Penzeys, but haven’t made it to one of their stores yet. We are running low on vanilla however. . .
Are you on their mailing list? If you get their catalog (the free one, not the magazine you have to pay for) they will have coupons a few times per year for whatever new thing they’ve come up with. The most recent was the BBQ 3000 I think.
Being able to smell (maybe taste?) the blends and some of the more exotic herbs/spices is something I would appreciate the store for, but the free samples in the shipped pkg is not a bad perq!
<evil giggle> Tomorrow is our demiannual visit to replace all our spices … we go every 6 months to replace anything we ran out of and replace anything that is getting on in age …
I will take a huge sniff on everybodies behalf =)
neener neener neener
There’s one here as well, about a quarter-mile from my office. I get the Chinese cassia cinnamon and infuse it into vodka for a week or so; ice-cold cinnamon vodka is a WONDERFUL treat.
Tip for those considering buying from Penzeys: Look in your cabinet and figure out what an ounce of a given spice looks like. Because, I thought I needed 8 ounces of bay leaves. Seemed like a reasonable amount. I have a lot of bay leaves.
Because of a double order, I once had 16 ounces of dried oregano. That’s enough to stuff a small mattress.
Yes, I bought 4 oz. of Mexican oregano. It wouldn’t fit in my cabinet. I gave half of it to my mother-in-law with instructions not to break the speed limit on her way home, because if she got pulled over she would spend the night in the pokey while they determined it wasn’t cannabis.
I live about 10 minutes in one direction from the Dallas Penzeys, and I work about 10 in another, so I’m not at all deprived for Penzeys goodness.
I’m a big fan of the Aleppo Pepper- that stuff brings a lot of flavor without any real heat; usually to get that level of flavor, you have to make it very hot.
Their Herbes de Provence are surprisingly good- I made some swordfish spiedini last night using them, and they worked very well with the fish, bacon and olive oil.
Heh. Been there, done that. In my case it was 16 oz. of mustard powder. It was less than $5.00, I couldn’t resist.
I still have 2/3 of the bag in the cabinet. Oh, well. At that price, it won’t hurt too much when I trash it.
eta: We tried out the pasta sprinkle last night. Not bad at all.
Unfortunately, the order was a large one, as we were moving overseas. In addition to the oregano, I had 16 oz. of basil (I didn’t realize yet that dried basil is nearly useless), 16 oz. of thyme, four large bottles of vanilla, and enough chili fixin’s to satisfy three Texas counties.
Dried basil isn’t as useless as dried cilantro…
When I first encountered Penzeys I bought blends and rubs and assorted sprinkles. Now I’ve gotten back to mailny single herbs or spices.
Just recently I started stirring their australian crystalized ginger into my morning oatmeal.
I also bought a bag of bay leaves…who needs some?