Elery would definitely second the Mural of Flavor, it's salt free and he loves the stuff on all kinds of things, from eggs to pasta. They don't sell it in bags, which disappointed me, so I asked. Something in the plastic bags reacts to something in the blend and makes it off-flavored, so it's only available in glass.

My favorite, hands down, is the Vietnamese cinnamon, I love the stuff. No, it's the crystallized ginger. Or the Chili 9000, that's some good stuff.

Nope, it's the cinnamon, LOL.

Annie

cinnamon here too....vietnemese cassia...
With the ancho ground red pepper a close second....and the 2 mixed together as a rub for a pork roast on the grill is amazing!
Linda C

I like their Adobo seasoning mix. I get a lot of spices from Penzeys since if I'm ordering a specialty product (like hot paprika for example) I max out that shipping price category by ordering enough other stuff to meet the max. weight for the price. I like their granulated garlic, which is different from garlic powder. It's dried garlic before it gets ground into powder.

Hmmmmm......decisions, decisions......

I love the Pizza Seasoning, Greek Seasoning and Sandwich Sprinkle because I use them the most, I guess. Also, I'm never without their Poultry Seasoning. Looks like I'm going to have to try the Mural of Flavor next time I order.

Teresa

Cinnamon (cassia and Vietnamese) - When your husband notices the difference.....

Fox Point - Added to yeast bread dough for burger buns, dip, chicken...

Cake Spice - Not just cake, but quick breads, French toast batter, mixed with sugar (like cinnamon/sugar) to sprinkle on toast or oatmeal.

-Grainlady

Jessica loaded me up with Penzey's seasonings. So far I love the Northwoods, Mural of Flavor and the Lamb seasoning. Looking forward to using all of them but especially the Bangkok Blend.

"BBQ 3000" is nice, and good for me to use because I cannot tolerate chili peppers which some barbecue seasonings contain. (Ingredients in the blend are salt, paprika, black pepper, nutmeg, mustard, allspice, citric acid, garlic powder, ginger, sage, thyme, white pepper, cinnamon, natural smoke flavoring.)

Their garlic powder is my favorite because it smells like fresh garlic when I use it in cooking. I keep the jar in my freezer.

The "Onion Minced Toasted" is a tasty and convenient addition to many dishes.

"Smoked Spanish Paprika" is often mentioned here. I like to add it to my pot roast, stew, roast chicken, fish, popcorn and, of course, paella.

I'm with Annie & LindaC - even the smell of the cinnamon is to die for.

Thank you everyone. I have put an order together for: toasted onions, Mural of Flavor, Adobo seasoning (for my pork carnitas), minced garlic, smoked Spanish paprika and sandwich sprinkle. I am so excited to get this!

Again...thank you everyone!

You have a great list going, but be sure to put some Bouquet Garni on that. I put it in stews, soups, and when I roast potatoes.

You already have Adobo, another favorite, and smoked Spanish Paprika, yet another. My husband doesn't use dressing on his salads, but adds Mural of Flavor instead. I also love Ceylon Cinnamon--it's more subtle than Cassia and has a citrusy flavor to it. Ah...Penzeys....

Mural of Flavor - the best alternative I've found to salt. I also like their Singapore Seasoning - nice spicy Asian flavor and also no salt.

Malabar black peppercorns! Nothing wrong with the Tellicherry or Special Bold but I love the smell of the Malabar. It has a sharper up front bite with less after heat then the Tellicherry. Most of the time I'm using a blend of the three.

My latest addiction is a bunch of pepper blended with mayo as a sandwich spread. I've always put pepper on the mayo but I've been sort of making a pepper/mayo paste that is wonderful on a burger.... with cheese, onions, and lettuce on a toasted bun.

: )
lyra

I love the Bangkok blend! I have a really good recipe for grilled chicken that uses it. If anyone's interested, just ask.

For baking, I really love the Baking Spice. It's just a lovely mellow blend and I throw it into muffins a LOT.

Is it too late to add Tuscan Sunset? I use it when I want a change from Mural of Flavor.

Ditto on Northwoods and Lamb seasoning!

Pat, I'd love the chicken recipe, I have a jar of Bangkok Blend that I've used maybe twice, I'm just at a loss as to what to use it in. I like it, I just can't find anything that it's "wow" in.

Annie

I will have to try that Mural of Flavor stuff. never tried it.
I vote for Vietnamese cassia cinnamon and cumin. I love them both about the same. (But not in the same dishes, LOL)

Ground Mace - if for no other reason than I can buy it in a small jar that I'll use before it loses potency; I use a lot of it & it's cheap compared to supermarket brands; it also has superior flavor.

Ceylon cinnamon & Vietnamese cassia - I'm not a big fan of cinnamon so I like the milder flavor of the Ceylon but I use the Vietnamese when I'm cooking for others because of the bold flavor. Sometimes, I mix the two.

Ginger - in all forms except powdered. Instead, I grate their dried ginger root for better flavor. Their dried sliced ginger is excellent to cook in soups/stews, etc where you can remove it before serving & still have a distinct ginger flavor.

I can't choose one favorite. Probably the Vietnamese cinnamon. Or the Roasted Sczechuan Pepper Salt, Northwoods Fire Seasoning, Zatar (really good on stirfried vegies). We also go through a lot of the Trinidad Marinade...it makes a great rub for beer butt chicken (well, wine butt chicken at our house).

I don't like raw onion much and am single so I find the roasted onion powder good to add to vinegrette's and any other small batch fast sauces where adding onion is too much for me.

I can't choose just one either; I buy almost all my herbs spices from them because we have one relatively close (aobut 50 miles away). I love their Aleppo pepper and find way more than I anticipated. I love the flavor!

We use a lot of the ancho and chipotle ground peppers, too. The Vietnamese cinnamon and smoked paprika are wonderful, too. I like their Dutch processed cocoa. I also like their lemon pepper.

I sent some of the Vietnamese cinnamon out to Spokane with my daughter when she went to visit my sister. They are big cinnamon lovers. My sister made oatmeal and put three spoonfuls in it like she usually does. They couldn't eat it! My daughter said my niece's breath smelled just like a cinnamon stick after she had tried the oatmeal. A little goes a long way!

Judi

Their granulated garlic is good, seems to be smoother and with a fuller flavor than garlic powder. Sure it's not as good as fresh minced garlic, but if you're in a hurry it's pretty tasty and much better than supermarket garlic powder.

Tuscan Sunset is good, as well; I made up some herb butter using that mix, and it's great on meats and chicken. (I also froze the herb butter in long strips; then I pierced a chicken breast lengthwise with a fillet knife and put a strip of the frozen butter in the pierce, then cooked the chicken breast. Magnificent)

Northwoods Fire. Love this on broiled salmon - mix some soy sauce, maple syrup and grapeseed oil = brush on the fish - sprinkle with Northwoods Fire and broil. Serve with brown rice and steamed veggies. Makes a healthy week night meal. -maria

Here ya go, Annie:

GRILLED BANGKOK CHICKEN SANDWICH

6 oz. frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed, undiluted (in the freezer section)
6 Tblsp. East Meets West Spicy Ginger Teriyaki Sauce®
4 cloves garlic, minced finely
1 Tblsp. plus 1 tsp. Penzey's Bangkok Blend
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
6 San Francisco-style wheat rolls
Toppings, such as caramelized onion, lettuce and tomato

Combine pineapple concentrate, Spicy Ginger Teriyaki Sauce, garlic and Bangkok Blend in a ziploc bag. Measure mayonnaise into a small bowl and add 2-3 Tblsp. marinade mixture and 1 tsp. Bangkok Blend. Mix well and chill. Pierce chicken with tip of a sharp knife several times all over. Place in bag with marinade and make sure chicken is coated well. Marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours. Grill chicken, and when it is almost done, toast rolls lightly. Spread mayonnaise mixture on rolls, cut chicken in half lengthwise and fit on roll. Top with favorite toppings and serve. Serving Size: 6.

Recipe By : Terrytx at MimiÂs Cyber-Kitchen.

**Personal note** - If you canÂt find the particular Teriyaki sauce mentioned above (I didnÂt), just use plain old teriyaki sauce or soy sauce and a dash of powdered ginger.

Here's another vote for Bangkok Blend! I love it on grilled chicken. I usually marinate the chicken using my home made bbq sauce. Then right before grilling, I sprinkle on the Bangkok Blend and rub it all over so it's evenly spread. Then I grill and brush on either more bbq sauce, or my other favorite, a House of Tsang sauce called something like sweet sesame ginger grill sauce - I don't recall the exact name. I usually use two of them, a hibachi grill sauce, and the ginger one and I always confuse the two names!

I also love the ground poblano/ancho chili powder, and I buy their French gray sea salt as well. I'm going to have to try their garlic now - it does sound a lot better than store bought garlic powder! I don't use it often, but I do have a couple recipes I use it in, so I might as well use the best!

Lisa

I use the granulated garlic for soups and stews and dried beans. It is super easy and had a good fresh garlic taste that holds up to long cooking in the crockpot. I use fresh for stir frys and pasta and quick cooking stews. I also like the granulated garlic for salad dressing--it is basically dried garlic granules so they rehydrate in the dressing if you store it for a while. But you can also grind it for a powder. I also keep it on hand for times when I am out of fresh. I like that it comes in a small container so I use it up before it looses all its punch. I also keep dried onions around for the same reason, not better than fresh but they add their own layer of flavor when you're out of fresh or are cooking something for a long time.

Another thing I get from Penzeys is vanilla sugar, which I love in Chai but I'll bet would be good in coffee if you like that kind of thing. It makes a good gift for a chai lover or sweet coffee drink lover. You can make your own, but I rarely have time to just fix dinner let alone do much homeade gift making anymore. I buy vanilla beans in bulk from Penzeys when I need them, but that is rarely anymore these days. I used to make my own homeade chai but not anymore. The only other thing I would use the whole beans for is vanilla bean marmelade, which I don't think I will have time to make this year, but is great if you're into gourmet marmelades.

I also like the sandwich sprinkle, although I hardly ever sprinkle it on a sandwich. It is just a good all around seasoned salt, I use it in soups and salads when they need to be punched up a bit.

I got a seasoning gift pack from my good friends, boy was that nice. The two that I use all the time are the Mural of Flavor and the Tuscan Sunset. I have to say I really don't like the Sunny Spain, it tastes oddly acrid to me. Also I don't use the Bavarian very much but that's because I am a vegetarian and I do mostly Mediterannean cooking. I may give it to my mom next time I'm home because she does pork chops a lot cause my dad loves them. It might be good in some kinds of bean soups, but again, when I do a bean dish it is mostly a Mediterannean style one, so I haven't used up the Bavarian seasoning very fast, even though it is good.

Another unusual item they sell thru Penzeys is dried Cilantro. It is no way as good as fresh, or even frozen, which is how I do cilantro these days, but if you're out and are in a pinch, (which is me most of the time) it is at least something to add for some amount of flavor.

I bought a bunch of pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice for a chai mix experiment and I still have a lot, but when I finally use it up I'm going to try Penzeys. Same with the cinnamon.

I also second their chili powders, they have an amazing array. They have a lot of curry powders too, but I am not that much of a curry fan so can't speak to them. When I do make curry I usually do my own spice blends.

I don't think I've met a Penzey's spice that isn't my favorite. But, I do seem to change favorites regularly (usually after another damaging visit to the store). Right now, we really like the California Seasoned Pepper, Mexican Oregano, Taco Seasoning and Rocky Mountain. I think the ones that have already been inducted into Spice Hall of Fame are the Vietnamese cinnamon, Sandwich Sprinkle, Shallot Salt and Mural of Flavor.

I'm a total black pepper addict and they have the freshest I have ever had the pleasure of freshly grinding. They sell 3 or 4 different kinds and I've tried and liked them all.

cookebook, I agree, I really like their peppercorns, I like the 4 peppercorn blend because it's prettier with the pink, white, green and black peppercorns, but it all tastes wonderful.

I forgot about the smoked paprika, that's good, and I bought the chipotle pepper powder and the ancho chili powder for RiverRat's chili and it was darned good too.
I made some quick and simple venison chili a couple of weeks ago and used the chipotle and ancho, just because I had it. Elery says it adds a "whole new dimension" to chili.

Annie

Oh, and thanks, pat, for that recipe, it sounds good and I have Bangkok blend. No teriyaki, I'll have to pick some up.

Annie

They have something called Fox Point?!

That's where I was born and raised. It's a suburb of Milwaukee, as is Wauwatosa, where Penzey's is based.

Guess I'll have to try whatever "Fox Point" is --

Epazote, how could I forget that! It's a resinous spice that you put a pinch of when cooking beans and it is supposed to lessen their gas-causing properties. Don't know if it does or not, but it is the traditional way to cook beans in Mexico, S. America and I had an Indian friend who used it. Anyway, you can't really taste it much if you just add a pinch.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Epazote from Gourmet Sleuth

I love their Smoked Spanish Paprika and their roasted onion and garlic powders.

Sue

Penzey spring 64 page product and recipe brochure makes no mention of whether Penzey spices are irradiated or not, organic or not, what care is taken to insure spices are being inspected. not a word.

Reply from store clerk says Penzey spices are not organic, meaning they could be sprayed with near anything.
Granted if spices were radiated there would have to have a sticker showing and not having a sticker should not prevent Penzey from saying they are not radiated or does its say Penzeys has no clue?

emailing bill@penzey.com does not result in a reply with an automated reply or nothing.

Very strange for a company selling a product people sprinkle on their food.