Great Stuff for Cooks, Campers, and Professionals
Spices Etc.
Since I have discovered online spice buying, I skip over the grocery spice section. The difference is kind of like the difference between homemade and canned biscuits. If you have never had good spices and do not live in a big city with spice stores, then you are in for a real treat.
Spices Etc. has a wide range of herbs, spices, flavorings, and other items related to giving meals a little zip. They also carry a few spice books and items like mills and grinders. They even offer to help you hunt down anything they do not stock that you need or want. Can not beat that.
I was not too sure about Spices Etc. initially, because the web site is not very slick or intuitive. A friend raved about the company so I ordered the free catalog. Again, the display (on paper) is not real upscale. The presentation of products is not great, but I would rather pay for good products than for the marketing and/or packaging. After ordering, I was impressed and do not care whether they fancy up promotional materials.
The first thing that impressed me about Spices Etc. is that they have so many options. There are 43 natural flavoring oils and then a page of vanillas including natural vanilla beans. I have only used vanilla, lemon, and maple in the past and did not even realize how many flavorings are available. They have a deal to try 10 flavors for $34.95 (saving $4 off individual prices). I am thinking about doing that, because I would like to try out some of the interesting flavors listed like margarita, pistachio, raspberry, cinnamon cappuccino, and apricot.
If you are more interested in herbs/spices, then they also have a great selection. Some are base powders like chili where you mix your own combinations while others are blended and sold ready to use. The Mexican Adobo is a light colored powder used for tacos or fajitas. That is really tasty.
Spices Etc. has a lot of dried items like beans of various types and colors and also things like dried vegetables for soups and leeks for a little extra flavor in various foods. They even send out dried mushrooms ranging from morels to portabellas.
If you do not cook and season from scratch, you can enjoy some of the tastes of exotic places by buying ready-to-use products in the snack section. I recommend the Santa Barbara Roasted Garlic Salsa. One I am really looking forward to but have not opened since I am saving it for the Christmas holidays is the Blue Crab Salsa. I have always loved crab, but I have never seen it in salsa before, so I am looking forward to trying that. They also have some seasoned nuts that look interesting like Honey Roasted Orange Szechwan Pecans and Red Chile Pistachios.
The most interesting item I bought was Worcestershire Powder. You can sprinkle the powder on meats, or you can mix with water for the traditional wet Worcestershire (one oz. per cup of water). This is perfect for camping, and it is also nice to free up a little space in the refrigerator especially at the holidays. I am sold on the powdered version. What a great idea!
It is hard to mentally picture the sizes on these items, so the prices may look high. The 3 oz. Smoked Sea Salt (cool huh, black salt) is a tad smaller than the standard bottles at the grocery store. The larger sizes (which vary on the weight due to density) are about 6 to 7 inches tall and hold a lot of spices/herbs. I can not wrap my hand completely around the larger bottles, and I have very long fingers. I was pleasantly surprised with the amounts shipped out and also with the packaging. Some stores ship in plastic bags (OK), but it is nice to have real containers. These are a soft plastic and well made. The tops flip on one side to pour and the other side to sprinkle. Nice job on those.
My last shipping charge was over $10, but I suspect they spent most of that on actual shipping. With the salsas and with the large sizes on the powders, the box was heavy. I do not mind fair shipping charges. They have to pay shipping, and I get to stay home and not use gas or time. I do not appreciate huge mark-ups, but this is NOT a case where they are charging more than fair. I hated seeing that high shipping, but when I got the box, they were right on with the charges for sending out the items. They used a good sturdy box and individually wrapped the items with soft wrap. The glass items arrived in perfect condition as well as the plastics. Kudos on the send out.
Once you request a catalog or order, you are on the mailing list at Spices Etc. You will get an occasional catalog and sometimes a coupon. They include a few recipes in each catalog including various spices. I would like to see a photo (even a lower budget shot) with the recipes. It is easier to make something with a picture to look at. But, the directions are clear, and the recipes are good ones. I can not locate the recipes online, and that would be a good addition to the site. They also have a section with online specials, but I have never really found any specials.
If you like to cook with different flavors, then I would suggest checking out Spices Etc. This is also a great spot for getting dried items for camping. They even offer huge quantities with discounts (gallons etc), so if you cook for crowds, then you may want to give them a look. Spices Etc. has great products, ships nicely, and is a solid company to work with.
