Thought this was weird. I was telling a friend at work about Penzey's and how

M

melissa-dallas

Well-known member
I really wanted to get in to the store. I order from them all the time, but the shop is pretty far from my house. Well, it was on my friend's way home, so she stopped and bought sage to use in her "famous" dressing for Thanksgiving. She came to work yesterday and told me that the Penzey's sage had "ruined" her dressing. That her family liked it with whatever brand she usually uses. I've never bought anything from them that I didn't think was top-notch. Maybe it is just one of those things that everyone expected to taste exactly the same way, or Penzey's was so much fresher that the amount she usually uses is too strong? I sure didn't make a convert on this one.

 
With the sage coming from the same bottle year after year smileys/smile.gif

It was probable too strong.

 
I don't like the typical supermarket spice mixes. I don't use chile powder that has...

...other spices in it. "Italian seasoning" is another. (Made from real Italians?) "Taco seasoning" is on that list.

But, if I don't use McCormick's Poultry Seasoning in the stuffing I make, EVERYONE notices!

Michael

 
Hubby requires I buy Italian Seasonings in the bottle. What he doesn't know is....

The bottle in our pantry is the same bottle that's been there for 4 years. I read the list of ingredients and now I refill it by mixing up my own batch from the fresh spices I order from Penzy's. He just thinks I buy a new bottle.... what he doesn't know doesn't hurt him smileys/wink.gif

Tess

 
I remember the 1st time I used Penzey's leaf sage almost overdoing it because

I didn't realize how much more flavor the fresher herbs are.
Funny I had a crew that really liked sage and they thought it was perfect!
Nan

 
You're right, it is! There's a Penzey's in Portland, now, and I've taken newbie cooks in there and..

... talked to them about what kinds of foods they like and walked them around the store to show them the herbs/spices that would be included in those kinds of foods. Showed them that the mixes like the Italian contained certain ingredients and that they could use those ingredients separately, etc, and/or make their own mixes. Usually they've opted to buy the mixes, instead. But at least now they know to look at the ingredient list and think about how those herbs work individually. smileys/smile.gif

 
Sage that most folks use in their dressings is ground sage, I think, and Penzey's only has rubbed...

... and I have to admit that even I use a pestle on the rubbed sage that I get from them because I prefer it ground, too. I usually decide how much to add of my own ground by odor.

Not only would Penzey's fresher herbs taste different, but ground vs rubbed would be different, too, as they would release their oils in a different way.

I hope your friend is able to give Penzey's another chance, if she knows that it wasn't really their fault that her stuffing didn't work. That's sad. smileys/frown.gif Both that her stuffing didn't come out, and that she doesn't learn the joy of Penzey's...

 
I get whole leaf from Penzeys, smoosh it up between my palms or use mortor and pestle, not too fine.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top