This is probably old hat for most of you: I’ve started buying spices from the “International Cuisine” section of my market – the one that has Kosher, Asian, Indian and Hispanic ingredients (in some stores I’ve seen this labeled as Ethnic Cuisine). I fully admit that this might be a Southern California food aisle but in the Kosher/HIspanic areas, spices are literally $3 cheaper for 8 times the volume.
Spice Islands.9 oz of Dill Weed: $6.85
It’s Delish 8 oz of Nutmeg: $3.20
My favorite new brand is It’s Delish. Everything is around $4 a package for spices – at my market, there’s even cost-effective saffron from It’s Delish. They also carry nuts for a fraction of the price. I’m a big fan of sprinkling pine nuts on salads, and buying from the nut aisle is like $10 for a package that It’s Delish that the market sells for $2.99. Now that I save jars from salsas and jams, I just buy the cheap nuts and jar them myself. I have not noticed a difference in quality.
