Whole spices are incredibly cheap, and they last a long time. People will tell you they start to lose aroma after a little bit, and it’s true, but usually you can just add more.
Like OP said, definitely whatever specific ethnic markets might be around. I go to an east Asian grocery store, an Indian store, a Latino store, and a Turkish store.
Some spices are literally repackaged by the grocery store into ziploc bags, and some are brand names in alphabets I dont know, but here are some brand names to search:
Laxmi, Suraj, Roshni, and Wise Wife for Indian spices
Badia and La Fiesta for Latino spices and peppers.
Sadaf for middle eastern/Mediterranean.
East Asian brands (at least that I have) appear to be less dominated by a few players, and they appear to be the ones that aren’t using the Latin alphabet.
It’s all probably stuff you can get on Amazon, though obviously, id avoid that if you can. If you dont have any good stores where you live, spices aren’t a bad thing to bring home from a vacation.
Last thing I’ll mention is to avoid any sketchy seeming brands selling preground spices that are red/orange/yellow. Think spices like sumac, cinnamon, saffron(which you shouldn’t buy ground anyway). Bad suppliers will occasionally dose those with lead oxides to make the color more vibrant.
Also this is more east coast, but 24mantra and Fyve Elements(brand) also has decent spices. Same with Three Rivers (MENA spices).
Also you’ll probably find MDH more through out the US but their Garam masala powder isn’t awful. Better than Shan (even accounting for saffron).
Source: Parents own and run an Indian grocery store and I basically live there, we get stuff from Roshni, Fyve Elements and Shata Traders (they sell three rivers).
Yeah, things with unrealistic colors for the type should definitely be avoided. If Dollar Tree has had to do recalls because of too much lead in its ground cinnamon then other suppliers are doing it too. Which is another reason to buy whole spices and grind your own.
Find your local ethnic markets. Maybe a tienda or an asian market or a Indian one. Maybe you have a Super Giant Mega international market like Super G or H within driving distance.
Chili powder, garam masala, Greek seasoning, curry powder, taco seasoning, Italian seasoning, and occasionally Emeril’s Bam.
I make all of them from scratch. Though I have been using Greek instead of Italian for any recipe I can get away with it in so I have been doing Italian as needed lately.
Whole spices are incredibly cheap, and they last a long time. People will tell you they start to lose aroma after a little bit, and it’s true, but usually you can just add more.
Chai masala is another good one to make.
Where can you get whole spices for cheap?
I replied here https://reddthat.com/comment/28797997
Like OP said, definitely whatever specific ethnic markets might be around. I go to an east Asian grocery store, an Indian store, a Latino store, and a Turkish store.
Some spices are literally repackaged by the grocery store into ziploc bags, and some are brand names in alphabets I dont know, but here are some brand names to search:
Laxmi, Suraj, Roshni, and Wise Wife for Indian spices
Badia and La Fiesta for Latino spices and peppers.
Sadaf for middle eastern/Mediterranean.
East Asian brands (at least that I have) appear to be less dominated by a few players, and they appear to be the ones that aren’t using the Latin alphabet.
It’s all probably stuff you can get on Amazon, though obviously, id avoid that if you can. If you dont have any good stores where you live, spices aren’t a bad thing to bring home from a vacation.
Last thing I’ll mention is to avoid any sketchy seeming brands selling preground spices that are red/orange/yellow. Think spices like sumac, cinnamon, saffron(which you shouldn’t buy ground anyway). Bad suppliers will occasionally dose those with lead oxides to make the color more vibrant.
Also this is more east coast, but 24mantra and Fyve Elements(brand) also has decent spices. Same with Three Rivers (MENA spices).
Also you’ll probably find MDH more through out the US but their Garam masala powder isn’t awful. Better than Shan (even accounting for saffron).
Source: Parents own and run an Indian grocery store and I basically live there, we get stuff from Roshni, Fyve Elements and Shata Traders (they sell three rivers).
I can answer other questions you might have.
Yeah, things with unrealistic colors for the type should definitely be avoided. If Dollar Tree has had to do recalls because of too much lead in its ground cinnamon then other suppliers are doing it too. Which is another reason to buy whole spices and grind your own.
Find your local ethnic markets. Maybe a tienda or an asian market or a Indian one. Maybe you have a Super Giant Mega international market like Super G or H within driving distance.
I shop at my local Chinese and Indian markets on a semi regular basis, but their whole spices are generally more expensive than the pre-ground stuff.
Time to find your non local one
Chili powder, garam masala, Greek seasoning, curry powder, taco seasoning, Italian seasoning, and occasionally Emeril’s Bam.
I make all of them from scratch. Though I have been using Greek instead of Italian for any recipe I can get away with it in so I have been doing Italian as needed lately.
If you like Greek you may also like za’atar. Really easy to make but I do not have a recipe, only done it a few times.
Sumac isn’t something I have found at my places. It grows wild across the street unfortunately it’s the toxic kind.