Where do you buy herbs and spices ?

Middy

I bought a huge drum of Schwartz Chilli Powder from B&M for £1.19. It's this size! as I use it about once a week on average.

Just want the crushed chillis and paprika ones and I will be a very happy bunny!

rachbc

I buy seeds and from the indian store and grind as I need, I also some ground liek paprika, turmeric and get some blends like garam masarla ready mixed. I pay about 60p for a bag of I think 75g.

I use fresh herbs from the garden ex coriander which I buy in massive bunches for 39p form the indian shop - any I don't use I freeze and its ok in cooking. I only use dried Rigani, mint, herb de provence and freeze dried tarragon as I much prefer fresh herbs

Specialist chillies I get online form The Chilli Pantry and other stuff I can't get elsewhere from seasoned Pioneers

Blagalot

I use ethnic shops or this lot who deliver free on orders over £30:

https://www.redmoor.net

PenguinOfDeath

Edwardia wrote: »

Penguin of Death (note to self do NOT upset this poster, obviously not related to Happy Feet)

:laugh: (Where's the 'harbinger of doom' smiley?!)

ladybabe

Edwardia wrote: »

Just finished tidying up the dried herbs and spices. I had to throw a few away because OH has a bad habit of putting the oldest at the back and opening new ones.

So what do you buy and where ? Do you buy refill packs ? Dry your own ? Can anyone beat dried parsley with a use-by date of October 2009 ?

I use small coloured cardboard can trays to store the jars and packets in so that when they get knocked over the shelf doesn't end up mucky. Generally, I buy Kania brand from Lidl and anything I can't get from Lidl I buy from ASDA. However, I have to resort to London for Ras Al Hanout, Sumac and Zaa'tar- just can't find them here.

For about six months of the year though I have enough herbs in my garden to use fresh which saves loads of money on supermarket prices. Lidl has the cheapest growing herbs I've found year round but when others do special offers they can beat Lidl on price.

When my own herbs are growing i always stock up during the season and freeze them in either freezer bags or have some clip storage for ones i use a lot of so want to freeze more for the winter months (only ones that dont freeze seems to be basil and chives. I also make sure in the summer months i make up flavoured butters witht he fresh herbs and freeze these in sausage shapes so you can cut off what you need to flavour stuff through the winter.

Dried herbs i normally get from my local ethnic store and normally buy the big packs of Rajah spices/herbs as they are a really good flavour and keep really well as well as being quite cheap for the quantity. If i need fresh herbs then i get these either from the ethnic store or there is a great stall at my local market and you get twice as much as you would at the supermarket and half the price

Hope this helps:beer:

StuartMacpherson

for things like corriander, ginger and garlic i use the frozen ones that the super markets sell... really good for making soups and stuff :-)

Chris25

thyme & sage, I dry my own. I leave stems on a bit of kitchrn roll on the windowsill above the boiler & gentle heat dries them fine, then I keep in in a plastic box in the cupboard.

parsley & chives, I chop finely & cram them into little baby-weaning-food tubs then put into freezer. They need to be dry & the box needs to be really full before freezing so that you don't get any excess ice crystals.

When I do buy dried herbs, I get the refill packs.

ginger, I keep in the freezer & just grate, from frozen, what I need.

I have made lemon pepper before but even though I dry the lemon peel before grinding, it never stays free-running for very long. Perhaps I should try to dry it a bit more after grinding, it's never occured to me before

arctic_ice

I grow parsley, dill, rosemary, basil, bay leaf and mint on the windowsill (we have no garden). Oregano, thyme and other herbs from the same family I pick wild and keep them dried in paper bags.
Plastic bags trap moisture and can harbour fungus. Tightly sealed paper (or cotton or linen) bags preserve the aroma of the herbs whilst leaving it to breathe. If kept correctly the usual time herbs are at their best is 1-3 years. After that the aroma starts fading, but one can still use them.
The herbs I can’t grow or pick wild I buy from Lidl or ethnic shops.