The right price for spice
I needed sesame seeds for a spam sushi dish I was making (basically a California roll with spam instead of crab) and found all the options at the grocery story very pricey. Name brands were $5.59 for 1 ounce or $6.59 for 2+ ounces.
How expensive can harvesting sesame seeds be, I thought as I opted for the cheaper, albeit much smaller container. I suspected it was more a case of grocery stores taking advantage of shoppers. Is there any substitute for pricey sesame seeds, or cinnamon, or parsley?
As it turns out, there is. Near the meat section I happened to spot a makeshift rack of Tampico spices. Sesame seeds were $.99! Tampico spices came in plastic envelopes, not stackable containers, which makes them a teensy bit harder to store. But in my mind it was no contest.
I victoriously swapped the $5.59 container for the $.99 envelope, leaving the pricey seeds next to the cheaper alternatives in hopes it might catch another customer's eye. From now one, I head to the Tampico rack for spices.
6 Comments
Leave a comment
About The Bargain Hunter
Daily News staff writer Julia Scott loves to find bargains on everything from groceries to Gucci. Her tips will help keep your hard earned cash where it belongs - in your pocket.
My Facebook Profile
Another inexpensive source for spices is Cost Plus World Market. They don't have a huge selection, but you can get things like cinnamon, curry powder, coriander and sesame seeds for prices starting under a dollar. Their spices also come in an envelope. Sometimes they are on sale, too.
I only get spices at the Middle Eastern Markets. I could buy a one pound bag of dried cilantro for $2! They are by far the cheapest.
Check out http://www.herbalcom.com/ for herbs and spices super cheap. You have to order at least a pound but it's still cheaper than an ounce at supermarkets. Organic too.
Also try Costco and the Delish brand. both are fairly large quantities so it depends on how often you'll use the spices.
The dollar stores have the best selection and prices on spices. That's where I got my sesame seeds!
After all the warnings about food from China, you might want to be aware that those attractive bottles of spices at the 99cents store all come from China.
So save your old spice bottles and get your spices from Delish or the middle eastern stores and refill from those. Store the balance in bottles from other products - good way to recycle.