Spices?

Buchanan0204

Buchanan0204

Buchanan0204

Soldato
Joined
10 Jun 2010
Posts
5,158
Location
Scotland
Where does everyone buy their whole spices from? I'd like to buy large quantities and those little jars the supermarket sell are far too expensive for what you get.

Does any of the supermarket sell larger bags with a good selection?

Failing that, any online retailers decent? I don't live anywhere near Asian supermarkets unfortunately.
 
Try the world food sections in your local supermarkets they usually have bigger bags and at a much better price than the little jars two aisles away.
 
Go to literally any indian cash and carry, even the supermarkets which carry the big bags are stupidly overpriced.

I get all mine from a little indian grocery store, the spices and herbs are all of much better quality than schwartz for example, and they're around 1/10th of the price, often even less.
I mean these schwartz jars are flavourless in comparison, they're so bloody inferior it's a wonder anyone goes with them.

Not to mention other bargains to be had, for example I can pick up a kilo of king prawns which are better quality than in a supermarket for about £6.

These little stores are goldmines for really good quality produce at low prices.
 
I was in Tesco last night and had a look in the world foods, the selection was poor. Cumin and coriander was all they had. Still... A quid each for a 300g bag.

I'll check out those websites, cheers.
 
pitchfork said:
Go to literally any indian cash and carry, even the supermarkets which carry the big bags are stupidly overpriced.

I get all mine from a little indian grocery store, the spices and herbs are all of much better quality than schwartz for example, and they're around 1/10th of the price, often even less.
I mean these schwartz jars are flavourless in comparison, they're so bloody inferior it's a wonder anyone goes with them.

Not to mention other bargains to be had, for example I can pick up a kilo of king prawns which are better quality than in a supermarket for about £6.

These little stores are goldmines for really good quality produce at low prices.
Click to expand...

I'll try and find one. Cheers.
 
Never really looked around for herbs and spices, always just picked them up at Sainsbury's. Just checked the above link though and will get from there from now on. Didn't realise there would be so much of a difference in price. 25g of Rosemary from Sainsbury's - £1, 250g from the above link £2.13!
 
A question :) If you're making a bolognese, does it really matter if you use dried basil instead of fresh?

The fresh stuff in the supermarket is silly expensive, but I have to say that it does have a better smell which I assume translates to better taste.
 
thewanted said:
A question :) If you're making a bolognese, does it really matter if you use dried basil instead of fresh?
Click to expand...
Yes and no.

When it comes to bolognese, and sidestepping the fact a typical bolognese wouldn't have basil anywhere near it, I would suggest it is both a waste of time and money to use it for anything other than a garnish or for adding to the dish right before serving.

And as a rule, I think that leafy herbs, such as basil, should be added towards the end of cooking in order to preserve their delicate flavour and that dried herbs should be used right at the start in order for them to infuse their flavour and mellow out a little.

So, to answer your question, using fresh basil will make a huge difference if the recipe calls for adding the herb towards the end of cooking and less so if you're throwing it in there from the start.
 
Dried basil needs to be added at the start to allow the flavour to infuse the oil and give maximum flavour (because all that flavour is fat soluble) wheras if you add fresh basil at the start you'll overcook it. Because it's fresh and not dehydrated you needn't use oils to extract the flavours, and if you overcook a fresh herb it'll become flavourless.

Or that's how I was taught to use dry herbs vs fresh.
 
Yup, Basil goes in just before serving - it will be softened/cooked by the residual heat of the dish.
The only exception to this is if you have a proper pizza oven (one that goes above 300C) and are cooking genuine style thin pizzas, in which case it's cooked so fast that you can drop the basil on from the start.
 
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