Need some spices? Penzey's will ship for free with $20 purchase.

Skiddymarker

For those who might need something from Penzey's, like Costco, I can never get out without spending twice what I thought I would. Here's their sale:

"Now through Thursday at midnight, we’ve dropped our usual $30 minimum for free shipping* to $20 (our average store sale) so our regular store customers in the snow hit areas can still get their spices without paying extra for shipping. With the way our website works we have to drop the minimum for all 48 states, so the Midwest's opportunity is yours as well.

 

No code needed, shipping costs on orders over $20 will automatically be deducted on the final screen before submitting the order. Feel free to share this email with friends as with any luck we won't be making this offer again until next winter. 

Hope this makes things a little easier,

Bill

lwrehm

I'm not sure how "political" everyone here is but if you are and make buying decisions with that in mind this might interest you...

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/261280581.html

BTW, another member of the Penzey family owns The Spice house (http://www.thespicehouse.com) and does not insult those on the other side of the political spectrum. 

I work 5 minutes from the Penzey store in Wauwatosa, WI, staff is sparse and not helpful in my experience but I gladly drive to downtown Milwaukee 25 minutes more to go to a store where the owners and staff appreciate their customers.

Ozzie_Isaac

@Skiddymarker thanks for the heads up!  I keep a running list of what I need 

Skiddymarker

Being from Canada- don't really care about the politics. I have shopped at both businesses and have found the products and people to be top notch - it is hard to tell them apart. 
As a matter of fact, Penzey's new web site made it impossible for me to order with shipping to a US address, while billing to my Canadian address. One phone call, on the 800# and they took my order over the phone, threw in a mug and some samples - made me a customer for life.
@lwrehm - no issue if you don't want to take advantage of this sale, that's your choice. Thanks for the local view. 

ads75

lwrehm said:

I'm not sure how "political" everyone here is but if you are and make buying decisions with that in mind this might interest you...

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/261280581.html

BTW, another member of the Penzey family owns The Spice house (http://www.thespicehouse.com) and does not insult those on the other side of the political spectrum. 

I work 5 minutes from the Penzey store in Wauwatosa, WI, staff is sparse and not helpful in my experience but I gladly drive to downtown Milwaukee 25 minutes more to go to a store where the owners and staff appreciate their customers.

If I spent time researching every political statement from anyone I ever wanted to buy something from I would never buy anything. They have their views, I have mine. As long a nothing is too radical.

lwrehm

ads75 said:

lwrehm said:

I'm not sure how "political" everyone here is but if you are and make buying decisions with that in mind this might interest you...

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/261280581.html

BTW, another member of the Penzey family owns The Spice house (http://www.thespicehouse.com) and does not insult those on the other side of the political spectrum. 

I work 5 minutes from the Penzey store in Wauwatosa, WI, staff is sparse and not helpful in my experience but I gladly drive to downtown Milwaukee 25 minutes more to go to a store where the owners and staff appreciate their customers.

If I spent time researching every political statement from anyone I ever wanted to buy something from I would never buy anything. They have their views, I have mine. As long a nothing is too radical.

ads75, I pretty much agree with you, but Bill Penzey is a strange case.  I don't care that his personal beliefs don't mesh with mine, but he basically called me out in his catalog.  I used to shop Penzey's, but he attacked first, so I don't anymore. 

It is like entertainment, if I only watched actors that I agree with politically...well I can only take soooo much Bruce Willis and Bo Derek.

I will say this much, if you are ever in Downtown Milwaukee a stop at The Spice House is worth it if you have some free time.  When it comes to spices I'm one of the lucky ones to have both very close to where I work!

thegooddocta

The fam gets me a new box of Penzey's spices for Christmas every year - typically with their various international mixes. My favorite from this year was the nice spicy Berber seasoning. Worth an add to your order if you haven't tried it!

Skiddymarker

thegooddocta said:

The fam gets me a new box of Penzey's spices for Christmas every year - typically with their various international mixes. My favorite from this year was the nice spicy Berber seasoning. Worth an add to your order if you haven't tried it!

Berbere is awesome - the touch of fenugreek and the cayenne is incredible. 
other favs include English prime rib and BBQ of the Americas - SWMBO really likes it. Try the BGE EGGfest chill with BBQ of the Americas and Chili powder. 

UrbanForestTurnings

the Berbere is my got to for a little kick, the new roasted garlic is great on lamb. Love my cincinnati store. This is my extra spice shelf

thegooddocta

Skiddymarker said:

Berbere is awesome - the touch of fenugreek and the cayenne is incredible. 

other favs include English prime rib and BBQ of the Americas - SWMBO really likes it. Try the BGE EGGfest chill with BBQ of the Americas and Chili powder. 

I'll try them out! I've enjoyed the Northwoods and BBQ 3000 on a few cooks so far, but haven't had BBQ of the Americas.

thegooddocta

@UrbanForestTurnings - that's quite the stack!

UrbanForestTurnings

That's just one shelf

Jamielampert

@iwrehm why does this post have to turn political?  Know one asked if you agreed or disagreed with penzey's political beliefs. Keep your political beliefs to a forum that discusses politics.  I am sure there are plenty. 

Dredger

The Buttermilk Ranch is outstanding. I have been switching all of my spices to Penzy's gradually. Just received an order yesterday. Used the Bangkok Blend on chicken last night. It was the freebie they sent with the order and it was delicious. @UrbanForestTurnings I have two of these to organize my spice jars. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009KZYWXW/ I think I am going to need a third one soon. I, also, do not agree with Bill Penzy's politics, but I sure do like his spices. I buy the 1/2 cup jar and if I like it, I'll buy the 16 oz. bag and just refill the jar. Garlic Salt 2.9 oz jar is $6.85 and the 16 oz bag is $13.90. Good deal if you cook a lot. This group does cook a lot.

SmokyBear

Jamielampert said:

@iwrehm why does this post have to turn political?  Know one asked if you agreed or disagreed with penzey's political beliefs. Keep your political beliefs to a forum that discusses politics.  I am sure there are plenty. 

I actually appreciate @iwrehm bringing this up, as I inadvertently learned a year or so ago that Bill Penzey goes WAY out of his way to MAKE the spice business "political".

I was unaware of his far left viewpoints on things until I was paging through my latest Penzeys catalog one day, and came across one of his "personal interest" articles showcasing a person who used Penzeys spices in his cooking, along with some of that person's favorite recipes.  So far, so good.  But in the first couple of sentences, the person being profiled said something along the lines of "I'm the classic case of white privilege.  I grew up in a wealthy suburban neighborhood.  I'm not gay, Jewish, black or other disadvantaged"..blah, blah, blah.   (What the he** does that have to do with SPICES?!)

So, I did some googling, as I was completely taken back by what I was reading.

I personally don't care what Bill's politics are (live and let live), but when you basically insult half of your customer base by going out of your way to inject your political opinion into your business - you deserve the backlash and loss of customers that will inevitably follow.

I buy far less Penzeys than I used to, once I found out how "in your face" the owner of the company this guy is with views that can charitably be described as being to the (far) left of Babs Streisand and Nancy Pelosi.

Bill should stick to selling spices and keep his political activism to himself (ie: out of his spice catalogs!).  That's just basic business and smart - unless you only want to sell to half the country.

DoubleEgger

I had never heard of this place before this thread. I did a little reading on his website and other areas. All I can say is WOW. A current article on his website calls out Republicans for using the Race Card. First time I've heard that one! LOL. Mr Cathy at Chick Fil A got called out on the rug for expressing his views in a interview. Everyone said he needs to stick to selling chicken sandwiches and stay out of politics. Ditto goes to Mr. Penzey. I vote with my wallet and Penzey will not be on my ballot anytime soon. 

Eggcelsior

You all sound like a bunch of overly-sensitive social justice warriors. Who cares? The dude sells spices, he's not running for office.

SmokyBear

I think the point is that most people don't want the "in your face" political activism when doing business with any company - from the left OR the right.

When I pick up a Penzey's catalog (or go to their website), I don't want a heap of white guilt (or any other pet liberal issue) added to my order.

We're all bombarded by politics everywhere.  I should be able to pickup something "simple" like a spice catalog and not get lectured to about having "unfair advantage" because I'm white.  (Incidentally, I grew up pretty much dirt poor, in a not so nice section of town with a homemaker Mom and an Electrician dad - so not sure where this supposed "advantage" thing supposedly comes in, especially since there's reverse racism and reverse sexism happening every single day in job applications, college admissions, etc).

BTW, in this case, the only "social justice warrior" is the owner of Penzeys, who brought up the issue in the first place (in his spice catalog of all places!)

Another great example is the Starbucks "Race Together" nonsense.  SERIOUSLY?  A 20 year old Barista is going to discuss race with me?  Riiiight.  As someone tweeted, "#JustShutUpAndGiveMeMyCoffee".

Eggcelsior

SmokyBear said:

I think the point is that most people don't want the "in your face" political activism when doing business with any company - from the left OR the right.

When I pick up a Penzey's catalog (or go to their website), I don't want a heap of white guilt (or any other pet liberal issue) added to my order.

You don't have to read it. No one reads Playboy for the articles.

SmokyBear

Eggcelsior said:

SmokyBear said:

I think the point is that most people don't want the "in your face" political activism when doing business with any company - from the left OR the right.

When I pick up a Penzey's catalog (or go to their website), I don't want a heap of white guilt (or any other pet liberal issue) added to my order.

You don't have to read it. No one reads Playboy for the articles.

I guess you're OK then with Chick-Filet writing whatever they want about traditional marriage and faith in God in their marketing materials, right? 

Eggcelsior

SmokyBear said:

Eggcelsior said:

SmokyBear said:

I think the point is that most people don't want the "in your face" political activism when doing business with any company - from the left OR the right.

When I pick up a Penzey's catalog (or go to their website), I don't want a heap of white guilt (or any other pet liberal issue) added to my order.

You don't have to read it. No one reads Playboy for the articles.

I guess you're OK then with Chick-Filet writing whatever they want about traditional marriage and faith in God in their marketing materials, right? 

I couldn't care less. They aren't elected officials. Plus, they have a delicious spicy chicken sandwich. 

Ozzie_Isaac

I like Penzey's roasted garlic on my Chick-Filet sandwich.

Skiddymarker

DoubleEgger said:

I had never heard of this place before this thread. I did a little reading on his website and other areas. All I can say is WOW. A current article on his website calls out Republicans for using the Race Card. First time I've heard that one! LOL. Mr Cathy at Chick Fil A got called out on the rug for expressing his views in a interview. Everyone said he needs to stick to selling chicken sandwiches and stay out of politics. Ditto goes to Mr. Penzey. I vote with my wallet and Penzey will not be on my ballot anytime soon. 

Amazing you have not heard of Penzey’s. There are lots of places to buy spices and you should shop where you feel comfortable. Penzey’s is my choice as they happen to have great selection, quality products at competitive prices and a very friendly staff. Their premixed rubs are good, have tried many of them with no real duds. @Dredger sample of the Bangkok blend was in the order I picked up yesterday, have not tried it yet.

The basic herb and spice selection is why I go back. Rubbed Albanian sage is fantastic when added to turkey/chicken and pork dishes. The peppercorns available can really make most dishes, white Muntok peppercorns for chicken fried steak gravy or Alabama white sauce. Szechuan pepper used in @cazzy wings is a great alternative to using red pepper flakes. 

DoubleEgger

After reading other threads, I'm a loser for buying spices and not making my own....

Skiddymarker

DoubleEgger said:

After reading other posts, I'm a loser for buying spices and not making my own....

No you’re not, you are a child of the Food Inc machine, like most of us. The producers have made it so easy to get great taste that it is easier to pay $10 for $2 worth of ingredients to get a desired result. I was one of the worst, I had drawers full of pre-packaged rubs, always looking for the magic bullet. Some times simple is better. 

blind99

DoubleEgger said:

After reading other threads, I'm a loser for buying spices and not making my own....

I travel to Hungary every spring to harvest my own paparika... doesn't everyone? 

I love Penzey's spices, but I wish he'd keep his politics out of the catalog, whatever they are.

DoubleEgger

Skiddymarker said:

DoubleEgger said:

After reading other posts, I'm a loser for buying spices and not making my own....

No you’re not, you are a child of the Food Inc machine, like most of us. The producers have made it so easy to get great taste that it is easier to pay $10 for $2 worth of ingredients to get a desired result. I was one of the worst, I had drawers full of pre-packaged rubs, always looking for the magic bullet. Some times simple is better. 

I'll get around to blending my own spices but there are other aspects of cooking that I am working on mastering now. I'll move to blending spices down the road. 

Jamielampert

personally I don't care what his political views are.  the spices taste great.

SmokyBear

I ordered $60+ worth of spices from Penzeys not too long ago, and have been underwhelmed for the cost.  The Oregano is no better than I can buy at Kroger for less than a third of the cost, and the rest are just "meh".

Some of the blends are OK, but aside from that, not sure the spices are that great.

I think I'll check out the SpiceHouse - maybe their spices are better, and I won't be spending my $$s with a far left political crusader in the process..

Skiddymarker

@SmokyBear - That's what makes the world go round, variety and a difference of opinion. Which oregano did you get, Turkish or Mexican? 
I found the Spice House to be as good, no better. Their costs were very similar. If you have supermarket near you with spices and herbs that you like, might just as well save the coin and shop there. 

theyolksonyou

Variety is the spice of life.