Sun Brand Madras Curry

(Usually not as expensive as that Amazon price in the stores)

ditto what Jessy said about curry powder and LindaC's commendation for Colman's mustard powder

Bell's is my go-to poultry seasoning

that's about it lol

(except I really really like Penzy's Bavarian seasoning for roast pork and turkey parts) I hate being without the stuff

seagrass

Here is a link that might be useful: Thanksgiving stuffing

I really like Penzey's Chili 9000 with the cocoa in it, and I especially like their Vietnamese Cinnamon.

I do buy pickling spice from the local Amish market in bulk, because it's darned expensive in the grocery and I can't tell a difference.

I also like Coleman's Dry Mustard and Elery's all time favorite seasoning for anything on the grill is the Head Country Seasoning that David sent me from Oklahoma.

Annie

Coleman's...madras curry and Spice Island Curry...different flavors different uses.
Penzey's granulated garlic, don't give ne that supermarket garlic powder stuff, Penzey's Vietnamese Cinnamon...my own dried parsley, oregano and basil. Whole nutmeg....grated as needed..and I have about 5 different kinds of vanilla....can't decide what I like best!
Also Hatch new Mexico ground red chilis...and some crushed by me cumin seeds for chili powder.
Any old ginger will do and I'm not fussy about cloves but Worchestershire has to be Lea and Perrins and soy sauce has to be Kikomen.

I don't use that many blends, instead I prefer to mix my own usually but I do use Penzey's Chili Powder.

Something I picked up recently is Olde Thompson California Garlic & Sea Salt. It's in a grinder jar and has great flavor. Made with California grown garlic. I've been putting it on burgers and anything else that needs a shot of flavor.

I always have Coleman's Mustard on hand..... I keep a good supply of the different single spices, all from Penzey's.

Nancy

You asked for blends, these are my favorites.
It's hardly worthwhile to keep a lot of individual spices and herbs around when cooking for just one or two people.

Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning
Fiesta brand Fajita Seasoning
Fiesta brand Chicken Fajita Seasoning
Fiesta brand Lemon Pepper
Morton's Nature's Seasons Seasoning Blend
Mortons Peppercorn Medley

Rusty

Penzey's is the best. Buy in the larger bags and share with friends. They are the freshest spices and you need small amounts. They are not exposed to irradiation to extend their shelf life. Get on their mailing list for the catalog. They offer free small jars of spices with every catalog.

I'm pretty run of the mill and as long as the spice is a good brand, it's all about the same to me. I am partial to Old Bay, however. I like it better than Zatarains.

For spice blends/mixes, my favorite is Victoria Gourmet...they are all good, especially the New Orleans and Tuscan...I have tried them all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Victoria Gourmet

FOAS:
I don't use spice mixes either, because I want to know the right amouunt of each spice, I am adding.

For instance, Garlic Salt ! What proportion of Salt or Garlic is being added.

I make my own version of Bay Seasoning and Cooter Rub.
Also my own mix for Italian Sausage.

What I do like is Mc Cormick's Garlic Powder sold at BJ's in a Quart size jar.
It is very fine, almost like Talcum powder and has a great Garlicky aroma.
I'll let others talk about the different Spice blends.
LOU

Old Bay Seafood Seasoning - for shrimp and dips
Morton's Nature's Seasoning - general seasoning
Penzey's Chili Seasoning - mostly for chili and roasted sweet potatoes
taco seasoning from Pendery's or Great American Spice Co. - for taco meat and taco soup

Lawrey's seasoned salt and Lawrey's garlic salt. They have just the right proportions of salt-to-seasoning for me for sprinkling on things, not for cooking with though. And Penzey's four main curry blends: sweet, hot, madras and I forgot!

Sherry

I forgot to mention the Old Bay seasoning.

I've only recently started to use it.

Noticed Lou uses it in a number of recipes, so tried it, and we like it!

Rusty

Try Old Bay on sweet potato wedges. Coat the potatoes with olive or canola oil, sprinkle on OB and bake at 375 degrees till done.

I made these for two of my great nephews and now they want them everyday!

I've had bad luck with spice blends. Seems everything I get is full of salt. (I know now to look on the back before buying to see if salt is the first ingredient.) To steer away from the salt issue I mostly mix my own. If anyone has a blend that is really worthy of buying that doesn't contain any salt I am interested to know what it is and what it's used for. Of course I do use Coleman's Dry Mustard and I like McCormicks Lemon Pepper a lot. I usually mix my own curries instead of using a curry powder.

I bought the neatest little nutmeg grinder so I can always have fresh nutmeg which is a favorite spice for me. And I'm not partial to any particular brand of spice usually. But I stray away from the subject.

Thanks for the responses so far!

Rusty mentioned Tony Cachere - I was actually thinking about that when I posted the question. I see it recommended so often but never see it in the store.

Sun Brand curry - Will have to keep an eye out for that.

Lou - Cooter rub? What's that? I just did a google search on "Cooter" and was led to Urban Dictionary's definition... Oh my!!!

I like Tony Cachere's too. I used to have my friend from TX bring it back when she went home, but just in the last 6 months I can now find it in my area..... maybe it is being distributed further north and will reach you soon?

Also, not a "blend" but the only paprika I buy is Pride of Szeged. It is far superior to an of the commercial brands.

Alexa

I also mostly mix my own, especially for Cajun seasoning and Za'Ataar, both of which I use a lot. As for brands, I like Quality Spices for Indian blends. If you are buying an Indian spice mix in a box, first make sure that it was made in India instead of Pakistan, as the Pakistani mixes are extremely salty and extremely hot. Like Beverly, you should read the ingredients to make sure that salt and cayenne are low on the list.

I also like Penzey's Maharaji curry. Instead of buying chili powder, I buy dried chilies and grind them (without the seeds, of course) in a coffee mill.

One of my favorite spices is Sumac, which is the main ingredient in Za'Ataar. I have a nice West African spice mix, but I forget the name. I also like Nori Fumi Furikake, which has sesame seeds, nori, wasabi, and other ingredients, but I don't know the brand name because it is in Japanese. Anyway, it is my favorite furikake, and I use it on rice or in Japanese noodle soups. I use a lot of Thai curry paste as well and make sure that cinnamon is not one of the ingredients.

Lars

I'm with Sherry -- Lawry's Seasoned Salt! Absolutely heaven on London Broil.

Emily

Yes I forgot to respond to Lawry's - "seasoned salt" seems so generic that I never know what to buy. Good to see two rec's for it!

FOAS:
Here is the " Cooter Rubb " MFG.- Gator Hammock, Fla.
Ingredients = Garlic Powder,salt, Chipolte and
other Peppers.

This is what I use on my Southern Fried Home Fries.

Here is the Garlic Powder I spoke about.
LOU

Ditto to what everyone else said about Coleman's. Can't imagine buying any other brand of dry mustard. And I use it in a amazing number of recipes! But I think I may be odd man out on the seasoned salt. My family loves the stuff, but we strongly prefer McCormick's Season-All over Lawry's.

I hate Kroger and only go there about twice a year to buy 2 McCormick's products, since no other stores here carry the brand. Besides the seasoned salt, the other thing we're addicted to is the spicy "Montreal GrillMates" blend. Omigosh, sooo good on roasts, flank steaks, etc. I even use it now on the rare occasions when we splurge on beef tenderloin.

I strongly agree with beverlyal that most spice blends -- especially Cajun, like Tony Chachere's and Emeril's, and Mexican -- are so salty they're almost inedible. It's really quick and easy and inexpensive (not to mention, delicious!) to mix your own stuff for tacos, fajitas, etc. And they keep forever. I've never found a recipe for Greek seasoning that I like quite as much as Cavender's (anybody have one?), but it's easy to improve on most of the rest in your own kitchen.

I'm also a big fan of Penzey's. The only seasoning blend I ever bought there that I hated was something called "Salad Elegant". Sounded good, but it had a weird taste and even weirder aftertaste. But I think I have posted here before that their shrimp and crab boil mixture is absolutely superb. For years, I did this complicated seafood boil that involved about a dozen ingredients. Now I just dump 3 or 4 tablespoons of the Penzey's mix into boiling water and follow instructions. The result is absolutely phenomenal boiled shrimp every time!

I thought this was just about dry mixes, but since lindac mentioned Lea & Perrin's, what condiment thread would be complete without a plug for Pickapeppa Sauce?? :)

I don't have any blends in my spice and herb collection. I prefer to mix my own. I rub fresh garlic over meats and will use fresh herbs, like thyme , sage, rosemary, chives, basil and oregano to season. I do keep dried rosemary, sage, basil and oregano on hand for when I don't have fresh.

Ann

I went on a little Penzy's binge after Canny Camp and wound up with lots of small jars of blends. I still order the Trinidad Marinade, Hot Curry Powder, Roasted Schezwan Pepper Salt, Zatar and Northwoods and NWoods Fire seasoning.

We also like Head seasoning (I just finished up the jar from David...that was four years ago [!]) and Montreal seasoning on steaks and burgers.

I'm another one that would recommend Morton's Season-All over Lawrys Seasoned Salt. Of course, I only use it in Chex Mix, but it has a better overall flavor and no chemical aftertaste that I get with Lawry's.

Of course, you already know where I stand on the Montreal Seasonings, so I'm not sure if I need to plug them again or not LOLOLOL! I bought the Montreal BBQ a few weeks ago and it is great too.

Alexa

Over the years, I've tried quite a few Penzey's spices and haven't found any that I liked enough to reorder except for their Fines Herbes blend, which I use in chicken dishes, and the Maharajah curry blend.

Other spice blends that always live in my kitchen:

Old Bay seasoning
McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning
Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning
Colman's Mustard

and these four from my Middle Eastern market, which I don't exclusively use for Middle Eastern dishes:

Shish Taouk Spices
Kebbe Spices
Zataar
Kafta Spices

I have a few that I like too and keep on hand.

Lawery's, love it on popcorn...chex mix comes to mind too. I do use it for a couple of other things too.
Head Country BBQ rub for sure...if I don't make my own. Their bottled sauce is the only one for me. It's like a relgion in these parts.
Slap Ya Mama cajun spice for various things..again good on popcorn too. LOL
Old Bay for sure.
Spice Island Fine Herbs for a salad dressing recipe I have from Bubbe and a swap years ago.
Sylvia's chicken rub that I used for a tuscan type grilled chicken for a pasta dish for a cookalong here earlier this year.
A couple regional items that I liked and no longer have any left was Everglade seasoning from Mustangs and I think it was Buck seasoning from debbie814 both were great on chicken and pork chops on the grill. Recieved both from swaps or exchanges years ago.

Fresh or make your own is always good too and thanks to this forum and cooking shows I do that a lot too. Going to try drying some things for the first time this year. I have basil, parsley, and sage doing great this year. I won't mention the tomatoes...LOL!

David

Can't boil our shrimp without Zatarain's.

Penzey's Vietnamese cinnamon

And two 'must have' seasoning blends:

Veg-it (Spike)--esp. love it on home-made French fries & fried potatoes

Williams Chili Seasoning--great chili seasoning

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I forgot to mention another one..... Bubba Gump Seafood Boil. LOVE IT! Quite spicy and lots of great flavor

Here is a link that might be useful: Bubba Gump Seafood Boil

I'm also a Penzey's fan. My favorites are Greek seasoning (chicken, fish, veggies), Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade (chicken, fish), Jerk Seasoning for Chicken and Fish, Tuscan Sunset (an Italian seasoning blend that I use for roasted squash, zukes and eggplant), Bavarian seasoning (pork chops)and Fox Point Seasoning (pasta and egg dishes). I also use the Green Goddess and Creamy Peppercorn seasonings in my salad dressings. The catalog is great because it has recipes using the various spices, herbs and blends. Yum...I'm getting hungry.

Cavender's Greek Seasoning. LOVE it!

hey! aunt-tootie! Welcome! Hope you hang around....if you like Penzey's seasonings sou must be a cook!
Linda C

FOAS, Tony Cachere's products can be ordered online.

Everything I've ever tried of his has been good.

Rusty

Beverly, Elery likes the Penzey's Mural of Flavor, it's an entirely salt free blend, reminiscent of Fines Herbs or Herbs de Provence, I can't make up my mind which.

Absolutely do not like garlic salt or garlic powder at all, but I've been known to dehydrate my own homegrown garlic and grind it, that way I can control the salt level.

Annie

Janice Cavenders is the BEST isn't it? I'm making ny strips tonite and grilled eggplant with cavenders topped with feta. Yum

Ruthanna I'm in the McCormicks Montreal and Old Bay camp too!

Goya Sazon con azafran(try it in chix soup!) and Adobo (sin pepper -do your own ground) are great for soups/casseroles and quick protein seasoning (respectively) and Janes Crazy Mixed up Salt is great for slow cooked dishes since the salt and spices are larger grain.

I find spice blends helpful in cooking low sodium foods for my husband. I like Tony Cachere's Salt Free blend and Penzey's Mural of Flavor along with its Adobo, the Singapore, and the Jerk. I also like Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Salt Free Seasoning. My favorite Chili powder blend is Grandma's, but it's becoming harder & harder for me to find. And I'm another who likes Sun curry powder.

I found my favorite and most used blends quite by accident and in an unexpected store. I discovered several really good salt-free blends at Cost Plus World Market. I've been using their Chicago Chop & Steak blend for grilled meats. The Thai Spice blend is great sprinkled on Asian inspired dishes. I've used the Greek Mediterranean blend on roasted asparagus and chicken. I like it a lot better than Cavender's Salt Free Greek seasoning or Penzey's Salt Free Lamb seasoning. I've used the Garlic Pepper blend on all kinds of things, including last week's rib roast. The Cal Mex & the Fajitas blends are great for Mexican inspired dishes. The Jerk Chicken & Fish blend is tasty too. And the Key Lime blend has a spicy & tangy citrus kick to it. To tell the truth, I wasn't expecting much, but I'm really impressed with the flavors.

Janes Crazy Mixed up Salt is fantastic in scrambled eggs.

Generally, I like the quality and price of Mountain Rose Herbs bulk organics. For hing, I *must* use Vanadevi Hing in the yellow plastic container from the Indian store.

Thanks, Lindac!

I travel with my job, so my cooking is done mostly on the weekends. Cooking is a stress relieving activity for me and I enjoy trying new recipes. I also like to eat!

Wow, such an informative thread. I'm sorry I didn't look sooner. Taking notes...

Not a bad tread except for those holier than than rest (easy to see from the posts). I came looking for spice blend req and most of you folks seem fine but guess really I DONT USE THEM then why would you you post because you just wanted to state that you are soooooo Superior to everyone else? The ones that actually said something meaningful I will try some of those so thanks much

whoo
MJH

That was a bizarre post from someone who just registered today.

I think it might be related to another new thread.

Troll.....

Another who loves Cavender's greek. It's great on potatoes especially. Love it!