teaspoon spices

Why teaspoon packets?

A woman wrote us recently to ask why we package spices in teaspoon packets. "I have a teaspoon -- don't need it portioned out for me," she said.

Here's what we told her:

Good question! We sell spices in teaspoon packets for one simple reason -- to keep the spices tasting fresh. As you may know, the enemies of spice flavor are light, air and moisture, and a major spice company has long told consumers to store their spices away from these elements. Of course, they then package spices in glass or plastic bottles that expose the spices to light and, once they are opened, to air and moisture. They also encourage consumers to "toss out spices seasonally" and buy new supplies. But that is expensive and nobody we know actually does that.
   
So we thought: Why not package spices so they stay fresh? We decided that one teaspoon was the most useful size for home cooks, so that's what we did. If you use lots and lots of a certain spice or herb, you my find traditional packaging works just fine for you. However, for spices that will sit in your cabinet for a year or two getting more and more stale, our packaging is a great solution -- saving flavor and saving money.

And although it may seem counterintuitive, our packaging is actually less of a load on the environment. Our tins are re-usable and recyclable, and the packet material weighs far less and takes up far less space than the plastic bottles and glass jars that are in most spice cabinets. And because our packets have a much longer shelf life, our customers don't have to throw out half-full bottles of stale spice.

So it's simple: Packets preserve flavor -- and give you better value for your spice dollar.

No more stale spice!

 

Seoul-food III: Dumplings with curried chard and tofu

This is just an update on dumplings.  We made some “all by ourselves” without the watchful eye and guiding hand of Shirley, and they turned out great.

We mixed things up a bit, and made our dumpling stuffing mixture out of finely chopped chard, diced tofu, pressed garlic, thinly sliced green and red onions and Smart Spice curry powder (I packet).

 

They were really good.

You cold do any combination of vegetable and protein.  You want to make sure to keep a certain amount of raw crunch in the filling, so be sure to think about texture when planning your filling.  And chop the vegetables pretty finely.  It makes it a lot easier to seal the dumplings if the pieces are uniformly small. 

The garlic, green onions, ginger salt and pepper should remain constant.

 

 

Here are a few ideas I’d like to try: 

 

Turkey with carrots and thyme

Pork with raisins, apples, cinnamon and curry

Leeks with garlic and Italian Seasoning

Sausage with purple cabbage and fennel seed

Broccoli and pork with turmeric and ginger

Leeks and tofu with cumin and coriander

 

 

I’d love to hear your ideas too!

 

-Katie

Planning to grill? Stock up on rosemary and turmeric

A new study finds that adding certain spices to your hamburgers before grilling adds flavor and cuts the risk of cancer. The best effects were seen from adding rosemary, but turmeric helps too. We suggest adding a packet or two per pound of ground beef.

Read more about this study.

Throw it out!

Phil Lempert, the “supermarket guru,” is an enterprising fellow who reviews new products for consumers. He recently posted some thoughts about food freshness, along with guidelines about how to store items and when to throw them out.

This is what he wrote about storing spices and herbs:

“To preserve freshness and nutrients store both ground and whole spices in tightly sealed, glass containers, in a cool, dark and dry place. Not above your stove, or next to your oven! Ground spices and herbs will keep for about 6 months. Whole spices and herbs will stay fresh for about one year if stored the same way….”

The guru was correct to suggest storing spices in tightly sealed containers that protect against light and moisture. He was also correct not to endorse using plastic for storage. I do not know that plastic containers would affect the flavor of stored spices, but I do know that plastic is worse for the environment than other packaging.

Here at The Seasoned Palate, our mission and passion is to provide a better solution for storing spices.
Smart Spice packages spices in the amounts that cooks actually use, and with more efficient use of packaging. A carton of Smart Spice contains four servings of spice, but only 7 grams of packaging – only 1.7 grams of packaging per serving. The packaging is paper and foil, all recyclable.

In contrast, a typical plastic bottle of spice represents 21 grams of packaging, and only 20% of plastic bottles are recycled. Glass jars of spice are recyclable, but they weigh 116 grams. That’s 16 times more packaging than Smart Spice.

Those numbers don’t count the money you waste by buying more spice than you can use before it goes stale.

That dilemma was our inspiration for Smart Spice. Our lives are too short and our earth is too precious to waste valuable resources, whether it’s spice or money or packaging material.

Smart Spice

We’ve had a big week here at The Seasoned Palate. Most weeks have their own kind of excitement, but this one was particularly satisfying. Our new product, Smart Spice, showed up on the shelf of our local Whole Foods Market.

It’s a bit like seeing your baby saunter off to school.

Like our first child, tsp spices, Smart Spice features top-quality, organic spices in convenient, one-teaspoon packets. The difference is that Smart Spice comes in a slender (but stylish!) carton and sells for a lot less than a 12-packet tin of tsp spices.

tsp spices is the elegant sister. You’ll find her in gift and gourmet stores and in some upscale supermarkets. She’s at home in places like Neiman Marcus, Saks and Sur la Table, and she loves showing up at your friends’ homes as the perfect gift. She’s always a class act.

Smart Spice is the perky, 4-packet kid sister, and she’s totally a grocery store gal. Her goal is to shake up the spice section — those rows of boring bottles and jars that contain way more spice than you can use before the flavor’s gone.

Ever practical, Smart Spice lets you buy only the amount you need, and for a lot less than the typical bottle or jar. So, instead of paying for a lot more spice than you can use before it goes utterly, completely stale — then feeling guilty because you ought to throw it out but can’t bear to admit you’ve wasted the money — pay attention when that cute little Smart Spice carton beckons to you.

For now, Smart Spice is making her debut in Whole Foods Markets across the country. If you don’t have Whole Foods nearby, tell your local grocer it’s time for some savvy spice to show up on a shelf near you.

Some families contend with sibling rivalry, but not this one. tsp spices and Smart Spice each have a job to do — and they each do it mighty well!

--Sara