A while ago, Marble Man and I were invited to dinner at a friend's house, where she served a sumptuous meal. She finished up with an apple galette which was incredibly delicious. I was trying to figure out which spices she added to the apples, and got as far as cinnamon. When I asked her what else she added, she insisted it was only cinnamon, and then produced the bottle for me to sniff. Oh, the smell! Rich cinnamon with flowery overtones, and a hint of allspice. This was NOT your generic, McCormick's supermarket cinnamon. She told me that at Penzey's, they bottle the spices up fresh and ship them out, so you get a high-quality product.
She gave me an extra catalog, which I pored over at home. The catalog was very well organized and peppered throughout were recipes and ideas for how to use the products they offer. I proceeded to order spices the way I order beads: some of this, some of that, 4 of these, 2 of those... and before I knew it, I'd spent over $60! When the box arrived, the contents were very carefully wrapped. And when I opened the bottles, they were filled TO THE TOP.
I picked out 4 types of cinnamon, and yes they ARE all very different, as well as herbs and spice blends. The parsley smelled like it had just been picked and dried the week before. And the blends were perfect for use in meats and stews. I threw out a bunch of store-bought bottles from my cabinet that were absolutely dead.
I hope you'll give Penzey's a shot - even with the shipping cost, the prices were competitive with supermarket brands. I will never buy seasonings from the store again, unless I find myself in a desperate situation.
copyright 2009 What's Cooking?
thank you for the brilliant idea for birthday/holiday gift for my husband!!
ReplyDeletei'm so glad to hear your review on these spices....would you believe that we have a penzey's here in jacksonville and i've never visited there?! i surely will now....and i think i might order their catalog, too....one can never have too much eye candy
ReplyDelete:)
Too bad we don't have smell-a-vision! I love Penzey's and have one here in town. Oh, my! I've been sitting on a post about Penzey's ... one of our adventure days. I may have to pull it out!
ReplyDeleteOh man, and fresh is where its at, isnt like? It changes the whole flavor of flavor! Especially when you grow your own.
ReplyDeleteWe have the healthiest deer and rabbits in north florida.
Hmm.
Perhaps we'll try it your way
:)
xoxoxoxo Rhonda Roo
PSS LOVED the stunning beauty in the post below! It's definitely your thing!
4 types of cinnamon??? I had no idea... and I want some! :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I have had the same spices in my pantry for about 3 years... wow, I didn't even think about how gross that probably is!! Methinks I need some new spices!
so, missy,
ReplyDeletedoes that say--->
Florida Seasoning pepper?
get out!
:-)
does it contain datil peppers,
i am wondering?
{{ we love the smokey flavor }}