By Laura Koster
You know that store you run into for one item and leave with a few dozen? For me, that store is Penzey’s Spices in Chestnut Hill.
Take the short drive to this cook’s playground and you’ll peruse hundreds of spices and seasonings. I’m talking specialty curry powders, salts and peppers, BBQ rubs and baking spices. Seasoning mixes for salad dressings. International blends inspired by Tuscany, Paris and Bavaria. Obscure seasonings like Pakistani ajwain seed, Middle Eastern zatar, and mahlab, the sweet/sour pit of the sour cherry that makes a nutty addition to baked goods.
A trip to this cozy Penzey’s store, set on Chestnut Hill’s charming main street, is incentive to clean out your cabinet of old spices. They may never spoil, but they’ll certainly lose strength, thus weakening a dish’s flavor. Generally, herbs last one to two years and ground spices two to three years.
The bonus: Penzey’s prices are much lower than you’ll find at the local supermarket. Two vanilla beans at the local supermarket cost $10, while Penzey’s charges a little over $5. Many spices, like cardamom, cost over 50 percent less, and are sold in a wider variety of forms, like ground, seed or in pods.
The reason for my most recent trip? To buy bulk spices for a favorite Tandoori rub (recipe follows). Mix a generous amount of this rub with yogurt and marinate chicken in the mixture overnight before baking or grilling the next day. Or, rub onto salmon before cooking. Serve with raita and naan, for an excellent Indian meal.
Check out Penzey’s Spices at www.penzeys.com or by visiting 8528 Germantown Ave in Philadelphia.
Tandoori Rub
Yield: 1 cup
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
- 1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper
Whisk all ingredients in medium bowl. Transfer to airtight container. Store at room temperature.
One Comment