Spice Advice

I want to buy some more spices for Indian cooking. I could go to the Indian store to buy it but usually the bags are so big I end up throwing it out after a while. I'm thinking of going to Penzey's or the Spice House to buy some spices. I've never been to either. They seem to have what I am looking for. Do you think their spices will be as good or better than the Indian store spices? Probably more expensive but I'm willing to pay more for high quality.

The only thing in the Indian stores I'm not really familiar with the brands and I don't know if what they are selling is high quality either. Pls advise.

toria wrote:I want to buy some more spices for Indian cooking. I could go to the Indian store to buy it but usually the bags are so big I end up throwing it out after a while. I'm thinking of going to Penzey's or the Spice House to buy some spices. I've never been to either. They seem to have what I am looking for. Do you think their spices will be as good or better than the Indian store spices? Probably more expensive but I'm willing to pay more for high quality.

The only thing in the Indian stores I'm not really familiar with the brands and I don't know if what they are selling is high quality either. Pls advise.

You won't be disappointed at either place - they both take what they do seriously. With spices the two biggest risks are places that sell products past their prime and places that misrepresent what they sell. I've never experienced anything but professionalism from either place. Yes, buying anything in smaller quantities than buying bulk is going to be more expensive, per unit, but as you say if you are tossing stuff now because the quantity is too much it's probably not that great a deal in the end.

Hi Toria -
Quick 2c from me:

If oyu've never been to either place, and you like to cook, then you should go. See for yourself if they are worth it for your Indian cooking needs. I cook a decent amt of Indian inspired food at home, and while I do like a few of the SH / Penzey blends, I much prefer going to Indian Grocers for the variety and value.

I don't think you can go wrong either way. I live near Devon and love shopping there, and always try to find something I haven't bought before (the Shan spice mixes in boxes are great, the ones I have bought -- Bombay Biryani being a big favorite). If you are cooking a lot of Indian food, it will be worth it to buy on Devon. Certain spices are vastly less expensive -- cardamom, for example. But Penzey's and Spice House are also great. If you want an outing, go to Devon. If you just want spices, order in the mail for Penzey's (or go if you live near).

thanks everyone. I'll make a visit to Spice House and Penzy's. I'll buy some there. I'll keep going to Indian stores too. The ones I go to are in Naperville and Westmont....closer to my house. I love going to Devon but quite a hike from where I live.

toria wrote:thanks everyone. I'll make a visit to Spice House and Penzy's. I'll buy some there. I'll keep going to Indian stores too. The ones I go to are in Naperville and Westmont....closer to my house.

Plus, Penzey's or SH ain't gonna have fresh samosas, chapatti, and other assorted treats like A-1 on Cass.

Yup. No lime or lemon pickle either.

Not only do I get all my spices at Penzy's or more usually Spice House, but I date those spices when I get home. I throw out those spices after 1-2 years and restock.

Penzey's and SH also give you the opportunity to open their sample jar and take a whiff.

Fresh Farms in Niles has a fairly wide selection of Indian spices in small bags at very good prices. Some brands I have on my shelf from there include Laxmi, Nirav, and Deep. I don't have much experience with Indian brands but the quality seems fine to me.

When I was single, rather than living with (and then married to) a guy who loves Indian food, I would just buy the smallest bags of whatever it was on Devon Ave., and then give half to my mom. I still came out ahead, price-wise. Do you have a friend/relative who would split stuff with you?

I buy all of my spices at Penzey's and I find most of their prices to be comparable if not cheaper than what you find in the grocery store, though maybe not an Indian specialty store. They tend to sell in a variety of sizes, so there will be an alternative to those huge bags (but they have those too).

I have their sweet/yellow curry blend, garam masala, and something else that I'm forgetting. I've been very pleased with everything so far. Their catalog always has useful recipes.

Happy shopping and cooking!

I purchased my spices on Devon St for many years but I had two separate occurrences of bugs getting in the dry goods stored with the spices. Each time I discarded every thing. washed with soap and water and refilled. After the second occurrence, I switched to Penzy's exclusively and the problem has not occurred for at least 15 years now.
You cannot get higher quality than Penzy's.-Dick

budrichard wrote:You cannot get higher quality than Penzy's.-Dick

Penzy's offers high quality spices, though I prefer The Spice House brick and mortar stores to Penzy's. Same high quality spices, but The Spice House shops allow one to buy by weight, Penzy's spices are all prepackaged. Being able to buy specific amounts at The Spice House, 11-oz half/sharp paprika, 3-oz thyme etc, is important to me as I regularly make various BBQ rubs and spice blends by weight.

Over the years I have purchased spices on Devon, various Mexican grocery stores, Costco and even Caputo's. Less expensive for sure, but not always up to the highest standards of freshness. As an aside, Caputo's on Harlem always seems to have large volumes of extremely fresh crushed red pepper, an essential in making my chili oil.

I am amazed at how cheaply spices can be bought in the Indian stores.
Even if you figure you're going to throw out a large portion of it since you can't use up an 8oz bag of coriander in less than a decade, it's still vastly cheaper than the glass tubes of sawdust at the supermarkets, and still a pretty good deal compared to The Spice House. Just remember to toss the big bags after a while, or keep them sealed in the freezer.

I hate to resurrect an old thread but there is no specific thread on Penzey's.

If you order from Penzeys, you may want to take a look at the pack size. They have shrunk. The 4 oz, 1/2 cup Medium Chili Powder is now 3.4 oz, 1/2 cup. Fortunately, I still had my old packages left to make the comparison.

I guess that i will be looking at more of the local options.