Online spice buying options abound

August 8, 2021 by
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Before the internet made the world a much smaller place, learning about, finding and purchasing spices that were not commonly found in traditional European cooking was a challenge for cooks in English-speaking countries like the US, UK, and Australia (the exception being India and other former colonial holdings). If you did not live in or near a large city with a diverse population, things like sumac, nigella seeds, black lime, or urfa pepper were just not available, if you even knew about them in the first place. Now all of the world’s cultures and cuisines are but a click away. New online spice merchants have popped up in the past few years, giving cooks even more options. The Washington Post recently shared information about a dozen online spice merchants worth discovering.

While most of these companies operate out of the US, some offer shipping to Canada and beyond. You are probably familiar with the big names on the list such as Penzey’s, but some of the merchants were new to me. Some purveyors specialize in certain spices, seeking out different varieties that each offer a slightly different flavor profile. A few offer both broad and deep selections, like NYC-based Kalustyan’s, which features a stunningly broad list of spices but also features depth such as 19 different choices of paprika.

One online merchant that is a favorite of some of my food-loving friends was omitted from this list – The Spice House, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is no accident that Penzey’s and The Spice House are located in the same state, because they are owned by siblings Bill Penzey and Patty Erd. Bill spun off his own namesake company in the mid-1980s, while his sister took over the reins of the family business started by their father. While Bill Penzey wears his (political) heart on his sleeve, Patty strives to keep politics out of her company.

Many of the newer spices houses believe that politics and the spice trade are intertwined and aim to break away from old models that have followed in the footsteps of damaging colonial practices. Several work to disrupt traditional supply chains to better serve the farmers and local communities where the spices original. For example, Chicago-based Rumi was founded as a public benefit corporation “committed to empowering Afghan women and bolstering the country’s economy.” Others like Diaspora Co. also work toward fostering sustainable agriculture practices in addition to supporting small farmers.

Category: Antipasto

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6 Comments

  • BarbaraM48  on  August 8, 2021

    Why would you omit Pensys? It is by far my favorite.

  • Jane  on  August 8, 2021

    Do you mean Penzeys, Barbara? It is mentioned in Darcie’s post and in the WaPo article.

  • gamulholland  on  August 8, 2021

    Based on a New Yorker article that says that Patty Erd of The Spice House sought out conservative food bloggers after her brother’s response to the 2016 election and offered a discount with the code NOPOLITICS, it sounds like she kind of does include politics.

  • riley  on  August 9, 2021

    Oh boy, better stock up on Rumi saffron. Feel bad for the poor women that were benefiting from their association with Rumi. Don’t think “empowered Afghan women” have much future.

  • averythingcooks  on  August 9, 2021

    I have a groups of friends in my small Ontario town that get together to order from The Silk Road Spice Merchant in Calgary. Lovely products (which include whole & ground spices, a huge variety of dried chiles (again whole or ground), different salts, various extracts & waters and flavourful blends etc. You can choose jars/tins or less expensive bags to fill your own tins / refill theirs as necessary. Soooo many things we will never find here and very friendly customer service. The minimum order for free shipping has gone up in recent years….but our little group never has trouble ordering more than enough product.

  • anya_sf  on  August 13, 2021

    I’m not sure if this one is mentioned in the article (can’t read due to paywall), but I’ve been ordering from Oaktown Spice Shop: https://oaktownspiceshop.com/
    Refill bags ship for free, although they only ship within the U.S.
    I used to go there in person before the pandemic as it was near by office. Great quality spices.

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