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Commercial spice mixes


Dave the Cook

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57 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@Maison Rustique, sounds delicious. And that recipe would be?

This is for a huge quantity. I cut it down considerably when I made it and it still made a lot because there are so many ingredients. I found all the flowers on Amazon because I don't think there is a good source locally.

 

This is from blog post (I think, but I have no idea what blog it was now.) The narrative in this is not mine:

 

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Like many of the things that I find at Trader Joes, Flower Pepper was one that was short-lived. Shortly after discovering it (and subsequently falling in LOVE with it), they discontinued it. I was not about to live without my new-found pantry staple...so I set out to make my own.

I no longer even have plain peppercorns in my kitchen. My pepper mill is constantly full of flower pepper. Between that and sea salt, there's not much else I season with (well, maybe fish sauce).

This was my second Christmas making "Uncle Daisy's Organic Flower Pepper" as gifts for friends and family. (The story about "Uncle Daisy" will have to wait for another time, but let's just say, like the nickname Food Sheriff, it's another childhood story.) This year I had to make even more than last year, as the word has spread and I've got friends asking for larger bulk quantities this time around!

While pretty simple to actually make, there are a few pointers I would suggest for you making at home:

  1. Go organic. Flowers are known to have some pretty nasty chemicals sprayed on them. Take the time to search and find all organic ingredients. I've had good success using sources like Frontier Natural Products Co-Op and even found a lot of items on Amazon. C'mon people, just use google. 
  2. Sort through the ingredients. Though the roses are the worst (I have not been able to find organic petals, only buds - and the buds won't run through the grinder), you may have twigs in the lavender or even small stones in the peppercorns.
  3. Think small...but not too small. Another lesson from last year, I found that large pieces of some of the petals (calendula in particular) will tend to get caught in the mill. Using either a food processor or one of those super-duper high speed blenders, give your ingredients a quick pulse to make the pieces smaller. But DO NOT grind them into dust. You may even want to sift out the smallest pieces prior to mixing it all together.
  4. Pepper burns. That's right, it burns! My first time around making flower pepper was a painful lesson. I rolled up my sleeves and mixed it by hand. Not only did it start burning and itching my skin, but I was sneezing like crazy! So be careful when mixing it up.

Here's my recipe - it yields a total of about 24 cups

  • 5 pounds organic black peppercorns
  • 4 cups organic lavender flowers
  • 8 ounces organic rose buds (that weight is before sorting - it yields about 3 cups after sorting and pulverizing into smaller pieces)
  • 1 ounce organic cornflower petals (about 1 cup after pulsing in the food processor)
  • 1 ounce organic calendula petals (about 1 cup after pulsing in the food processor)

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy!

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Deb

Liberty, MO

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On 1/18/2022 at 4:33 PM, Dr. Teeth said:

I have an obligatory can of Old Bay that is required of all homes in the DC/Maryland/NOVA area.   I hide on a high shelf so it doesn’t accidentally get added to food

😂. Similar issue with OldBay. Grew up on the Chesapeake. So salty and on everything. Last Spring before a visit to family I made my own. Took a few tweaks and ended up with a boat load. No salt in mine. I can add salt later. Amchur was the best addition. (dehydrated green mango). Added the right zip/zing. 

I like MountainRoseHerb for spices. They have some spice blends now but I like to make my own. 

I just stocked up with free shipping at the moment. I don't usually care about shipping charges with them but took advantage. We use so much spice. 

My OldBay is perfect without the 'one note' it is so famous for. 

 

OLD BAY COPYCAT.png

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  • 3 weeks later...

The dinner topic minded me I should mention Spice Trekkers.  I've yet to be enthused by blends from Penzeys or the Spice House.  I had purchased Georgian blends from georgiangoumet.com but sadly they seem to be out of business.  (I've read that in Georgia people typically buy blends rather than cooking with individual spices.  No idea if this is true.)

 

I've loved everything I've purchased from Spice Trekkers.  I have a few of their blends.  Tonight I opened an untried tin of Andalusian Spices.  The odor perfumed the room.  Note, Spice Trekkers' blends are mostly unground.  So if you want ground spices the onus is on you.

 

https://spicetrekkers.com/products/spices/andalusian-pinchos-spices

 

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Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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After enthusing about Spice Trekkers I just placed a good sized order from Penzeys.  No blends were harmed however.  Penzeys got me with their almost free garlic.  I go through a lot of garlic products.

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

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Penzey's

 

Bavarian    Excellent for sous vide pork chops

Italian Herb Mix

Fox Point

 

 

Garlic Festival

 

Lemon Garlic Garni

Smoked Garlic Sea Salt

 

 

Sweet Lou's   Local So Cal  

 

Herb and Garden

Greek Isle

 

 

There are others from Penzey's that my Sweetie has picked out but then not liked when I used them. But then we can't bat 1000.

Porthos Potwatcher
The Once and Future Cook

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@Duvel 

 

remember this is dry.  if you want to make some up

 

add a tiny bit ow water first

 

here is Penzey's pic :

 

bbbbb.thumb.jpg.ba7b0984a654ea9b6e6c94755aaf1dd9.jpg

 

works for me for fresh veg ( cooked dish) that are green

 

and string beans is it for this 

 

cheers

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