Where to find cheap spices ?

Hey all,

I'm new here. Sorry if this was addressed elsewhere....a quick search didnt yield other topics out there on this ?

Can someone recommend the best places for inexpensive spices in small quantities in the burbs or city ? I'm in the western burbs, La Grange area, but not opposed to the city.

I'm looking for common stuff: Allspice, bay leaves, cumin and cinnamon.

I just hate to have to pay the exhorbitant prices Jewel charges.

I'm considering checking out The Home Economist in Westmont. I heard a rumor Patel Bros on Devon might be good as well. Any other suggestions ?

Thanks,
-T

The Spice Lady at Maxwell Street Market -- she endures.

HI,

If you want your spices cheap, then you have to find people to share the bounty and the cost. Patel Brothers sells spices in bulk, often 1 pound packages.

In grocery stores catering to hispanic populations, you often find packets of spices on racks. I will use those packets to refill the jars I spent much more on.

Regards,

The Spice House in Old Town will gladly sell most spices and seasonings in 1/2 oz-1oz. packages and up.

I seem to remember Walgreen's selling spices for cheap. Maybe $0.99 for a jar that would go for $2.99 at a grocery store...

i know whole foods and "cheap" don't usually go hand in hand... but their bulk spices are sometimes a cheap way to go..

the bulk spices aren't with the rest of the jarred spices... there is an aisle of the REALLY big stuff (beans, oats, etc), but its not with that either... i want to say its actually in the health section where they have their health products. i also seem to remember that not all locations have the small bulk spice section

its also a good way to get just a little bit of something you might not ever use again.

last time i was at the location in river north, i got a decent sized baggy baggy of coriander seeds for $1.00ish, when the jars they sold were $5.

If there's a Carniceria Jimenez anywhere near you, that's a great bet for spice bargains. Don't look in the usual sugar, flour, and bottled spices aisle, but find the cello-pack everything you ever dreamed of from Latin America spice aisle -- excellent prices, not only on the wide array of chiles, but also on allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, etc.

dddane wrote:last time i was at the location in river north, i got a decent sized baggy baggy of coriander seeds for $1.00ish, when the jars they sold were $5.

The Whole Foods on Huron (Gold Coast/River North) regrettably no longer has a bulk spice aisle. I too, had bought coriander (along with cloves, unground cumin and some other bulk spices) in the past year or so from the bulk spice section, but was dismayed to discover (and have confirmed by the workers there) more recently that the bulk spice section was taken out.

find the cello-pack everything you ever dreamed of from Latin America spice aisle -- excellent prices, not only on the wide array of chiles, but also on allspice, bay leaves, cinnamon, etc

Exactly what I was thinking though didn't describe very well.

You're better off buying your spices in whole form instead of ground. Whole not only lasts longer, they maintain their essential oils and are much more pungent after grinding.

If you have a coffee grinder, then you can grind your own as you need them. To clean it, thrown in some dried rice and let it spin. I have also been known to use my coffee grinder to turn regular granulated sugar into a finer or even powder. Mine is a $15 Braun cheapie or did I buy it at a garage sale for $1?

Regards,

Penzey's Spices is frequently my "go-to" place for spices and extracts. I often leave there with much more than I expected to buy.

Penzey's Spices
1138 West Lake Street
Oak Park
(708) 848-7772
Monday-Friday - 9:30 am-5:30 pm
Saturday - 9:30 am-5:00 pm

Penzey's Spices
235 S Washington St
Naperville
(630) 355-7677
Monday-Friday - 9:30 am-5:30 pm
Saturday - 9:30 am-5:00 pm

http://www.penzeys.com

Indian grocers can be a great source for inexpensive spices, but only in the price-per-ounce -- you'll often have to buy them in 8-oz bags or more!

You probably won't find oregano, basil, and your typical european herbs and spices this way, but cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, mustard seed, turmeric, in particular, are best priced at the indian grocers. Especially cardamom, which can be $10 for a small jar at Jewel, can be $5 for an 8-oz bag.

The general rule is don't buy more of ground spices than you can use in 6 months... so take a friend or six, and split them up. Share a 25lb sack of basmati rice while you're at it.

I've had success finding inexpensive spices at Middle East Bakery and Grocery.

1512 W Foster Ave
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 561-2224

We lived walking distance from Spice House on Wells, and I bought my spices there in one ounce packages and really cheap prices. Having moved from there this past winter I tried Penzy's in Oak Park when going to my son's. They only sell spices in jars and I found their amounts and prices higher then Spice House. I really miss being close to spice house as I just bought a small jar of Tumeric at Domincts for almost $4 and I know I only spent around a dollar for it at Spice House.
Paulette

paulette wrote:We lived walking distance from Spice House on Wells, and I bought my spices there in one ounce packages and really cheap prices. Having moved from there this past winter I tried Penzy's in Oak Park when going to my son's. They only sell spices in jars and I found their amounts and prices higher then Spice House. I really miss being close to spice house as I just bought a small jar of Tumeric at Domincts for almost $4 and I know I only spent around a dollar for it at Spice House.
Paulette

Unless Penzey's has changed since last fall, I purchased everything in cellophane bags there. Their online store has everything in bags & jars.

Lets Spice It Up in Highwood has great spices at reasonable prices..

Jerry's Fruit & Garden Center in Niles has very cheap spices . I think it was 2 (Mccormick size) shaker containers for $2.50/$3 (Miami Spice Brand) last I remember.

There's no need for you to drive more than 15-20 minutes for your herb/spice needs.

I buy my spices at Penzey's. All the spices at Penzey's come in pre-sealed jars (small quantities) or plastic bags (large quantities), which is the best way to buy spices if you want them the freshest. The store in Oak Park is probably closer to you than the store in Naperville.

For dried herbs, go to Brookhaven Marketplace, at the corner of Cass and Plainfield in Darien. Great quality and very inexpensive.

For fresh herbs, the best place in the west suburbs is at Westbrook Market, at the corner of Cass and 63rd in Westmont. They sell fresh herbs by the pound that are higher quality (and MUCH less expensive) than those you would find at Whole Foods.

You could go to both of the above stores in one trip. Take 55th Street out of La Grange to Cass, turn left, and Westbrook Market will be on your right just before the stoplight at 63rd. Continue south on Cass to Brookhaven Marketplace, which is on your right at the stoplight at Plainfield Rd (turn right on Plainfield to enter the store). You can then take Plainfield back to La Grange...

Mark

Sorry it took me awhile to reply back....just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions !

In the end, here's what I found based on my own research as well:


Ground Allspice, Trader Joes: $2.49
Cumin, Trader Joes: $1.69
Ground Cinnamon, Walmart: $0.50
Chili Powder, Walmart: $0.50
Bag 'o Bay Leaves, Ultra Foods: $1.39

It might not be the ultra rock bottom price, but still much better than what Jewel wanted.

-T

Home Economist in La Grange was my best source...it is sorely missed.

If you don't feel like going out to Westmont, try Wild Oats in Hinsdale

500 E Ogden Ave # A
Hinsdale, IL 60521
(630) 986-8500

That's Ogden just west of 355 (it's where the old Cypress Restaurant was)
They have spices/herbs in bulk in the front of the store by the coffee beans facing the produce side of the store.

If you do decide to hit

The Home Economist
6382 S Cass Ave
Westmont, IL 60559
Phone: (630) 852-0214


across the street on the east side of Cass Ave is

A 1 Indian Grocers
6601 S Cass Ave, Westmont, IL 60559 - Map
(630) 960-4900

where you can find the more exotic.

On the southeast corner of Cass & Chicago Ave - where it's been torn up forever - is a little grocery/produce/fruit market that carries ethnic produce, has a nice deli, great ethnic breads & other ethnic shelf goods.
There's a Hispanic section, Indo-Pak, Asian, Polish/Eastern European, Italian, Greek/Mediterranean sections...also frozen items you don't find everywhere. I don't know the name of it, but it's worth checking out.

tem wrote:

paulette wrote:We lived walking distance from Spice House on Wells, and I bought my spices there in one ounce packages and really cheap prices. Having moved from there this past winter I tried Penzy's in Oak Park when going to my son's. They only sell spices in jars and I found their amounts and prices higher then Spice House. I really miss being close to spice house as I just bought a small jar of Tumeric at Domincts for almost $4 and I know I only spent around a dollar for it at Spice House.
Paulette

Unless Penzey's has changed since last fall, I purchased everything in cellophane bags there. Their online store has everything in bags & jars.

I buy my spices from Penzey's in 4 oz. ziplock bags. I find that with their spices, a little goes a long way which offsets the price to me.

Hi,

Big Lots sells spices in jars, plus the pleasure of strolling the aisles for discontinued food products for very little money.

Regards,

One baker I know says the back of Sherwyn's, the health food shop on Diversey just west of Clark, has many spices at decent prices. Haven't checked it out myself.

I just read through this thread quickly and didn't notice any mention of Al Khayam, the bakery-grocery-butcher shop companion to the restaurant Al Khaymieh just south of Lawrence on the west side of Kedzie. They have bulk spices and various size packages for many items, generally at very good prices, in my experience.

Antonius

... And how could I forget?!?!?!? I stock up on a number of bulk items -- spices and other dry goods -- at...

Graziano's on Randolph
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=25595#25595

Antonius

JoelF wrote:Indian grocers can be a great source for inexpensive spices, but only in the price-per-ounce -- you'll often have to buy them in 8-oz bags or more!

4 oz is one of the standard sizes you see at most indian markets, especially of the whole spices. Also you can buy them whole and grind as needed which keeps them fresher - unless of course you're talking about hing or haldi

HI,

I have been looking for savory, preferably leaf, for the last few days.

I found McCormick savory powder, undesirable though I would have bought it if nothing else was found, priced as follows:

Jewel: $6.99 (might be $5.99 -- I'm wavering in my mind)
Garden Fresh: $5.29
Dominicks: $4.79

I went to Spice House in Evanston where I bought a 1 ounce quantity of dried leaf savory for $1.79 in a plastic bag. The quantity bought would fill the McCormick jar with probably some leftover.

Especially if you keep those little spice jars, then Spice House is a pretty good value.

Regards,

Let's not forget Sam's Club or Costco.

I also visit Mexican and Indian grocers.

I'm going to jump in and say The Spice House (http://www.thespicehouse.com/) as well. They might not be cheaper than the cheapest bulk spices at Mexican groceries, but they are consistently cheaper than any of the big chains. And, most importantly, the spices are a much higher quality; so much so that you can get away with using less even.