New Spices Launched!
We added a bunch of new spices to our bulk whole spices section including:
Grains of paradise – Spicy and peppery, these are popular in African cooking and can be used to flavor spirits.
Whole cardamom – Intensely aromatic, important to Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Cardamom can be used for both savory and sweet applications.
Szechuan peppercorns – An important part of traditional Chinese five spice powder. Szechuan peppercorns tingle the tongue and set the stage for hotter spices.
Tellicherry peppercorns – The undisputed king of black peppercorns. Tellicherry pepper represents only the top 10% of the finest pepper from India.
Lavender buds – Lavender is fragrant, soothing, and great on fish or in sweets.
Whole star anise – A prized component of both Chinese five spice and garam masala, star anise’s licorice-like flavor can even be used in desserts.
Whole allspice – So named because it combines the flavors of several other spices, allspice plays well with others.
Annatto seed – Caribbean and Central American food wouldn’t be the same without the slightly sweet, peppery flavor of Annatto.
Dried hibiscus flowers – Use these to add flavor, color, and nutrition to your favorite cold or hot beverage…or try a new one!
Whole nutmeg – You haven’t tasted nutmeg until you’ve tasted freshly ground whole nutmeg. No more sawdust in a spice jar!
Boy, I’d sure be interested in trying some of those spices and reporting on them. I got some of those jolokia peppers (and some dried habs), and they were terrific. Progress is slow on the blog, I can only eat so much of that at one time, but there will be recipes and comments shortly. Matter of fact, I’m working on it right now.
March 11th, 2009 at 4:20 pmYes please!
March 11th, 2009 at 4:59 pmI am still working on the layout of my blog, but would love to try some of your spices. Looking at your list I am only missing a few that I haven’t tried. I would like to try Tellicherry peppercorns, fennel pollen, annatto seed, hibiscus flowers, whole cardomom and especially grains of paradise. Of course you will be the first to get the results (recipes) that I come up with.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:53 amI would definitely like to try lavendar buds, dried hibiscus flowers, annatto seed, szechuan peppercorns, grains of paradise and, most especially, fennel pollen since fennel seeds is my all-time favorite spice. Thanks!
March 12th, 2009 at 7:48 amI’d love to try some of your spices. My blog is actually quite a small blog, usually limited to about the size of a Twitter message, but if that’s good enough for you guys then I’d love to give it a shot.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:45 amI’d love to have real herbs and spices to work with. Those supermarket plastic canistered ones are so bland!
March 12th, 2009 at 1:29 pmI would love to try the: Tahitian vanilla beans, grains of paradise, Tellicherry peppercorns, lavendar buds, dried hibiscus flowers and whole nutmeg.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pmI would like to try 6 of your spices! Surprise me and send any 6.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:50 pmI would also be interested in trying the spices, since I like to bake, most interested in the tahitian vanilla beans. What are “grains of paradise”? would like to try that.
March 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pmP.S. I won some truffle oil and truffle balsamic vinegar in another contest and it was wonderful (used them to make macaroni and cheese with caramelized onions and duxelles.
I entered my e-mail incorrectly in my last blog requesting 6 surprise spices to try – sorry!
March 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pmCount me in. Would love to get the samples and then experiment with them in my recipes. Thanks.
Terry
March 12th, 2009 at 2:19 pmMarch 12, 2009
I would love to try some spices. My picks would be:
March 12th, 2009 at 2:21 pmTahitian vanilla beans, grains of paradise, whole cardamom, whole star anise, fennel pollen, and dried hibiscus flowers.
I just received your chilis the other day and can’t wait to use them and let everyone know about them. Now you’re offering more. You know I’d love some
Tahitian vanilla beans
March 12th, 2009 at 2:28 pmgrains of paradise (this has me intrigued)
annatto seed (a must have in my spanish dishes)
whole nutmeg (crushed and added to my pies, heaven)
Szechuan and
Tellicherry peppercorns I must try!
I would love to try these, Tahitian vanilla beans,dried hibiscus flowers,lavendar buds,Tellicherry peppercorns,Szechuan peppercorns,grains of paradise,
March 12th, 2009 at 2:40 pmand post back
I would love to sample your spices!
I would love to try:
Tahitian Vanilla Beans
grains of paradise
Szechuan peppercorns
Tellicherry peppercorns
whole star anise
whole allspice
What a wonderful opportunity! Thank you!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:09 pmoops! I didn’t send my website/blog!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:10 pmSo, if we got in on the rice sample offer, are we excluded from the spices? If not, I’d love to try the vanilla beans, grains of paradise, szechuan peppercorns, annatto seed, hibiscus flowers, and whole cardamom. I’m envisioning the spicy-rice recipes already.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:12 pmI have just sent you an email. What a great way to help us come up with fresh new blog entries while getting good word of mouth for your company. Bravo!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:23 pmI would love to try the Tahitian vanilla beans, whole cardamom, grains of paradise, Tellicherry peppercorns, whole star anise, and fennel pollen. Looking forward to cooking with them! Thank you!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:34 pmfound this site on Gather.com!!!!
March 12th, 2009 at 3:54 pmI have won several recipe contests and am always “experimenting.” I would love the samples of spices and am willing to share recipes. I would love the fresh vanilla bean, cinnamon bark, whole nutmegs, whole cardamoms seeds, anise stars and Tellicherry peppercorns. Thanks for the offer.
March 12th, 2009 at 4:53 pmgreat, I am always experimenting with new spices. would love to report it.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:51 pmI have won several recipe contests and am always “experimenting.” I would love the samples of spices and am willing to share recipes. My choices would be the fennel pollen, annatto seed, whole nutmeg, whole cardamom, anise stars and Tellicherry peppercorns. Thanks for the offer.
March 12th, 2009 at 6:33 pmI would like to try your spice samples. Something for the grill would be nice.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:27 pmI will definitely ask for little boxes packed with your awesome spice samples. I love to cook, bake, saute, fry, whatever. New things to experiment with make it even more fun. My husband and 18 year old son like almost everything I make, so I’ve got built in disposal receptacles for my mad creations.
March 12th, 2009 at 8:34 pmAn opportunity to try out spices in their natural form is a cook’s delight. The pugency of the spices are lost when they are ground so this will allow full flavor experiences.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:29 pmNo matter who gets them it will be interesting to read the recipes that are developed. I’m thinking pork, scallops, truffles,……yum!
I am currently working on a cook book and would love to try out some of your spices and hopefully incorporate them into a few recipes for the book.
March 12th, 2009 at 10:15 pmI am especially interested in
Grains of Paradise, Lavender Buds, Annatto seed, dried Hibiscus flowers, Tellicherry peppercorns, and Szechuan peppercorns.
I will also make sure to post some recipes as I come up with the on to your site.
I would like to try the spices, especially the dried hibiscus with some mango salsa,
March 13th, 2009 at 4:06 amchampagne vinegar, and mint!
I’d love to try your spices. Grains of paradise sounds really interesting. I also would love to try the Szechuan peppers, dried hibiscus flowers, Tellicherry peppers,whole allspice, whole nutmeg and whole cardamon.
Pick me, Pick Me~! please.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:23 amI love spices!
March 13th, 2009 at 6:52 amWow, this would be awesome! If there’s still some left, I’d love to try the grains of paradise, whole cardamom, hibiscus flours, lavender buds, annatto seed, and whole star anise!
March 13th, 2009 at 8:22 amI would LOVE to receive this generous offer. Not only am I a foodie but also a Dietitian — so it sure would be fabulous to have the opportunity to experiment with and review each item. Thank you!
March 13th, 2009 at 11:24 amThis is so much fun. Already today I have learned how to make mayonnaise, cut fruit, and see pictures on how to cut a chicken. And it is entertaining.
If there are any spices left for desserts, such as the allspice or the anise, I would love some. And I thank you in advance if there are some.
Your article on reconstituting the dried chilies was very good. I was very happy to read that.
I just like this site period. Glad you are on the web.
Lynn A.
March 13th, 2009 at 11:56 ami just got mine and cant wait to try them! i already put the peppercorns in my peppermill!they all smell heavenly!!!!
March 16th, 2009 at 11:18 amI got mine today – what a surprise so fast!
I am looking forward to trying them out and will be posting about them on my blog for sure!
Thank you so much for your generosity!
March 16th, 2009 at 4:54 pmThe spices came yesterday and it was so much fun opening the box and seeing all the goodies. Some I will have to learn how to use. But I know right now the first treat will be anise cookies.
Thank you very much for the samples. I wish you could have seen my husband rooting in the box looking at it all. After grinding the habaneros and the ghost chilies, he is very serious about cooking. He made soda bread this weekend, so I’m sure we will have a good time grinding the nutmeg and experimenting with the spices. If the cookies turn out, we’ll send you some. Thank you.
Lynn A.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:41 pmI just got my herb sampler – was great, used the lavender up already – made some citrus-lavender muffins and a recipe of ciabatta bread with lavender, herbs, and cheese, recipe below – no photo it was gone before I had a chance!
Ciabatta Bread with a Kick
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 package dry yeast
3 to 4 cups flour, approximately
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
4 ounces good cheese, such as Parmesan, Gruyere, or Manchego, grated or shredded
1 tablespoon crushed dried lavender
1 tablespoon crushed dried oregano
1 tablespoon other dried crushed herbs of choice such as basil, tarragon, thyme
good pinch black pepper
1/2 to 1 cup grated or shredded cheese of choice
2 tablespoons oil, approximately, or as needed
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk or water
corn meal
tomato sauce, for dipping
In 1/2 cup warm water dissolve the yeast, and let stand for 5 minutes. Add about 2 cups of the flour, oil, the remaining 1 cup warm water, and the salt. Mix together. Add more flour, the lavender, oregano, pepper, and other herbs as desired, and the cheese, mixing well, until the dough holds together in a rough mass. Lightly flour a board or work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Put in an oiled bowl to rise, covered with plastic wrap. Drizzle with about 1 to 2 additional tablespoons olive oil and rub over dough. When the dough has doubled in bulk, about 2 hours, punch it down and divide in thirds. Mix in cooked sausage, cooked chicken pieces, chopped pepperoni, tomato sauce, cooked vegetables, if desired. Form into three small loaves, about 6 to 8 inches in length, each. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the milk or water. Brush egg mixture over the loaves (will give the loaves a nice glaze). Let rest for 5 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray 1 baking sheet with nonstick pan spray. Sprinkle corn meal on baking sheet. Bake for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the bread loaves are a nice shiny brown and will sound hollow when tapped lightly with your hands.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:18 pmServe sliced, warm, good with soft honey butter or peanut butter.