[Sca-cooks] Spicely?

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Juana Isabella wrote:
> A new spice shop opened up a block from my office. It is called Spicely. 
> Apparently it is part of a chain that I've never heard of. Does anyone have any 
> comments on this company? Good stuff? Bad stuff?

After visiting their website, i realized i have purchased some of their products. They are sold at the Whole Foods in Berkeley. They seem adequate: I don't recall them being surprising or being horrible.

Many of their products are labeled "USDA Organic", which i think is a good thing. I don't recall them being noticeably more expensive than the grossly overpriced and sometimes stale spices from the big companies sold in supermarkets ("McCormick, the world's largest spice company, controls about 45 percent of the U.S. market"). So i am also very happy to support a small company.

I don't know how things are in their own stores. But many of their packaged products sold in Whole Foods are in "glassine" envelopes in cardboard boxes, i recommend removing them to a tightly closed glass jar and storing them in a cool, dark place. This is because the volatile oils that give herbs and spices their flavors and aromas deteriorate fairly quickly when exposed to heat, light, and moisture. And cardboard and glassine, especially once opened, are quite permeable.

This is also why a rack on or near the stove, or on a kitchen counter is a bad place for herbs and spices.

Someone sometimes called Urtatim