IMO, spices are something where you definitely get what you pay for.

I used to love Penzey's. Now I don't like them as much as I like The Spice House. IMO, Bill Penzey's sister is still doing things the way their father and grandfather taught, whereas, IMO, Bill P. has cut corners in his quest to open so many retail stores. Still, I'll take both of 'em over any spices I can find in the grocery.

Given how little of a high quality spice you need to achieve a lot of flavor, the cost per use is very reasonable.

I've been buying spices through online dealers like Penzey's, Pendrey's, and the Spice House for so long that I hardly give the grocery store herb/spice section a second glance. I do feel the quality is better when spices are pretty much all you do and I prefer to purchase in bulk and skip the extra expense of a glass or plastic container. It will be a "cold emergency in h@!! before I buy grocery store spices and herbs again!"

Teresa

And now comes my own observation on "cheap" spices. I have a local Penzey's (well, about 50 miles away, but still) and they are usually much cheaper than the local Evil Empire.

I bought a small bottle of ginger at WalMart for $4.29. The same size was $2.35 at Penzey's. My free jar of poultry seasoning I just picked up at Penzey's is normally $2.49 and WalMart is $3.79. So I'm not picking on one store, I bought cumin at Penzey's for $1.89 and had to pay $4.19 for the same size at Meijers.

Cinnamon is cheaper at Penzey's too, although I can get some spices at the local dollar store and they are as cheap as I can get. Paprika for 50 cents but it's just red, no flavor at all.

Ground black pepper is cheaper at the grocery store, but pickling spices? Oh my, $5.29 for a small jar!

In many instances, Penzey's is cheaper, especially if you use enough of something to buy a bag rather than a jar.

Annie

I am lucky to have a Penzey's retail store near by...
What fun to shop and sniff and smell and fill your basket with all manner of wonderful things!
Linda C

I agree with all of you. There is a BIG difference. I'll take Penzy's any day over what the grocery offers.

I've never heard of Penzy's. In what part of the country are they located?

I like Watkins, but I need to find something else as our local Watkins dealer is no longer selling. I guess I will give Penzy's a try.
Donna

Hi country-smile,

Penzey's is in Wauwatosa, WI, but they sell by phone, catalog & Web site. I've bought from them for over 7 years & love their spices. Less expensive & better quality than those in the markets. I't easy to tell they are better quality - wait 'til you smell them & see the colors.

Here is a link that might be useful: Penzey's

Actually Penzey's is all over the country now -- just not near me. :o(

If you buy the bagged spices at Penzey's or Spice House, they are pretty cheap.

I didn't think that what Consumer Reports did was really about cheap vs less cheap spices - they didn't test the store brand one ounce bottle vs the name brand one ounce. It was about large quantity vs. small quantity buying. If I go to the grocery store, I can buy a bottle of poppy seeds that is around an ounce. If I go to Smart and Final, I can buy a bottle of them that holds about half a pound and it doesn't cost much more than the one ounce bottle.

I've ordered from both Spice House and Penzy's and like what I've received from both, but I find the Spice House website to be more user friendly so I'm more likely to order from them now. If I start entering an order but don't finish, Penzy's forgets it if I come back the next day and I have to start over. Spice House keeps the cart around longer.

The general rule for spices is, ground or flaked one year for best quality, whole for 2 years.
I try to grow as much as I can and dry myself. If you have ever grown basil, parsley, thyme etc and dried it yourself, wow, you will know the difference on fresh dried and shelved for who knows how long.
Penzeys has many faithful customers and I would assume they have a high turnover and fresher products. Although I have never ordered from them.
I am lucky to live 3.5hrs from NYC and visit annually for many staples.
This store is one of my "must stop", it's awesome. They have more in the store, than online.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kalustyans

I'm going to have to check out the Spice House now! I know it was talked about on another thread, but I'll continue to use a spice or herb until it no longer seems to give a scent. If it looks good & smells good I'll still use it even after a year. I also grow my own basil, parsley & oregano.

That Kalustyans site looks amazing. I have to poke around a little more.

As we all know, TASTE is so subjective... However, "cinnamon" gives me pause to question the so-called test. What kind of cinnamon? What brands? Once I tried Penzeys cinnamon (all the variations of it), there was no turning back to store brands. Even my hubby, who isn't much for noticing changes in foods, noticed when I switched to Penzeys cinnamon. He would ask if I was using the "good stuff" when I made something with cinnamon in it. Now I only use Penzeys "good stuff".

As someone who grows many of my own herbs, they will vary in taste with the variety of plant grown, age of the plant, growing conditions, temperature used for drying, as well as how long they are dried and when you harvest them. I tend to harvest herbs in the early spring for drying - as soon as they get large enough to start snipping them off. I believe the best herbs are dried spring herbs, not late season herbs. I use late season herbs for making herb vinegars.

-Grainlady

(the staff at my local Penzeys greets me by name when I walk in.....hello my name is Jessica and I'm a Penzeyholic)

Tomorrow I go through my spices and herbs to place an order with either Penzey's or Spice House. I sorely need cinnamon, but I'm going to order ground cumin and peppercorns too. The whole cumin seed I've been using is well over 10 years old, but it still smells lovely when I grind it. Problem is, I just can't get it as fine as I would like -- so it is time for some new. I need to avoid whole seeds now, so that's another reason I plan to order the ground cumin.

Sometimes my mom and I order together and split a larger quantity. That way neither of us is left with a huge amount of something.

Teresa

I'm another fan of the Spice House. I could spend a lot of time just exploring their recipe database. I like their descriptions and the sizes they offer their products in suits me better.

I do still order a few things from Penzey's, their Buttermilk ranch dressing mix, for example. (I know I could mix it myself but we like their version.)

I just went through my spices and re-ordered in preparation for the holiday season. I am careful about storage, but still I was surprised how "lifeless" some of the ground spices had become.

Carol

kathleen - Thanks for the website. I see there is a store in Philadelphia. Now, I'll see if I can sweet talk my daughter that attends grad school in Philly to go to Germantown and get some spices for me. :)

All of you are giving such rave reviews of Penzy's spices, and now I can't wait to see how much (even) better my baked goodies will be!

We have a Penzey's in my area also. I like a lot of their products. It is fun to shop in that store.

I love egg rolls/spring rolls and such and found that they have an Oriental Mustard Canada Powdered (Hot) and all you do is add water and it is great IMO. There are so many things that I like from there that the list would be too long.:)

I buy from everyone.

Best ground cumin I've found was from Gordon Food Service... and dang cheap. Under $10 for a 2lb jug as I recall. I think whole cumin has some flavor notes I don't get from ground so I buy that from Penzey's. My chili mostly has the ground cumin and I top note the cumin flavor with crushed seed.

I've long been a fan of the super cheap black pepper.... as good or better then the common brand names. Penzey's addicted me to blending my own black pepper. I bought a mortar and pestle and pound my Malabar and Tellicherry into a custom blend. I have a shaker of the cheap stuff and any leftover pepper in the mortar goes into it. This has worked well so even when I'm in a hurry and just want a quick shake I get some of the good stuff. I love the smell and might have to crush some tonight for a good whiff. I've not found the pepper grinder I want so I'm crushing them until I do. It is working well enough crushing when cooking and putting the extra in a shaker so I'm in no hurry to find a grinder.

Growing my own rosemary and cayenne peppers in my kitchen year round. Looking at some habenera strains on the Internet to try. The rosemary bush is 4-5 years old (?) and I probably should start over with a new plant. Found I like fresh rosemary in my salads and dried in my spagetti sauce. Cilantro I buy fresh in the grocery store and dry any I don't use in a couple days.

Sometimes I need a little bit of a spice so I'll buy a jar from the grocery store. I bought a 2lb jar of cumin from the meat market because GFS is 30 miles away... not as good but it will have to do for awhile (extra whole seed to help it). I save the jars and refill them from my bulk packages.

My dad has no choice but to buy pumpkin pie spice from the local Amish... they are the only ones with a 50lb bag of it. Dad helps bake 5000 pies for a local festival each year.... they always sell out.

: )
lyra

5000 pies!! That's amazing, I'll stop stressing over making one for Thanksgiving.

Good idea about the pepper. I have so many different kinds, I'll just grind them all into one big bottle. I'm really into "consolidating". Example: I had 18 bottles of hand and moisturizer, none of which were the magic bullet. So I emptied them all into a giant pump container, mixed it up, and now I have a moisturizer with aloe, tea tree oil, jojo oil, cocoa butter, Avocutine, sun screen, glycerin, coconut oil, and safflower oil!

I also have blackberry, blueberry, raspberry jam. Oh, and HeinzHuntsMuirGlen ketchup. I could go on and on but as I am really into consolidating as I said.

Ok you enablers.... last night I put in an order with The Spice House for grinder salt, Tellicherry pepper, whole nutmegs, ground cinnamon, and ground cumin. I found their web site easy to navigate, the prices reasonable, and the offerings plentiful. My order should be here next week.

Thank you for helping to spend my money. ;o)

Teresa

Considering that the two tested "spices" were dried oregano which tastes like dust to me, no matter where I get it, and generic cinnamon, I'm not surprised by the Consumer Reports results.

Forgive me for I have sinned

I bought bulk tumeric from my local health food store

I don't much like the stuff but needed 1 tsp for a recipe