In a previous post, I mentioned my trip to the grocery store to purchase herbs and spices to make dill pickles.  I chose to shop in the largest grocery store around, an HEB Plus (this chain regularly beats Wal-Mart pricing, as well).  This is a mega store in America’s 7th largest city, San Antonio, TX, so I was feeling confident. Once in the spice aisle, I hunted for Coriander Seed.  Nope, not available.  Next Dill Seed.  This wasn’t offered, either.  Yellow Mustard Seed or Fennel Seed on the shelf?  Not a chance.  In fact, the only thing I could find for pickles was “Pickling Spice”, which among other things, contained Cloves.  I don’t want Cloves in my Dill Pickles, do you?

One thing did catch my eye:  Ground Cardamom.  Now, I didn’t come for Cardamom, but the price for one of those small McCormick Gourmet glass bottles is $10.75 (and this is a good price I learned)!  This discovery made me wonder whether any of the spice pricing is justified.   Since I couldn’t make Dill Pickles, I decided to do a bit of shopping research.  Can seldom used spices and herbs be found and at what price, if so?

Of course, I found the items I needed via the Internet and recorded their price.  For comparison purposes, I went to Harris Teeter online (a Southeastern U.S. upscale grocer) because I thought if anyone would,  they would have the same items for sale.  To match up with them, I used a herb and spice specialist in the Greater Chicago area my search engine turned up, The Spice House.  Here is what I learned:

I picked product to compare that I needed, but could not find, something I use a lot of (Peppercorns), and of course, Ground Cardamom.  The chart speaks for itself.  It is pertinent to note that the Spice House offers larger quantities at much lower cost per ounce, but spices don’t last forever, so a big lot may not be a bargain.

Also, about the Spice House bags.  These are resealable plastic bags.  If you already have an empty bottle, a bag works great for a refill.

My Conclusion?  I think I’ll do a little advance planning and order my seasonings online.  I’ll need to order several items at a time to keep my incremental shipping costs low, but I will not have to pay sales tax.

Happy shopping!

Note:  World Market carries some spices online and in their stores.  When you can find what you need in stock, it will be an excellent price.  I did not use them in the comparison because they only had Ground Cardamom ($3.19 Wow!) and Tellicherry Peppercorns in a 5.4 Oz Grinder ($5.99) online.  Additionally, I have no idea if their stock turns over often enough to provide you with long life of product.   However, if you are shopping there anyway, take a look!

Credits:  Thanks to Wikimedia.org for the Cardamom bottle picture!