Woohoo!
Partly in response to the recent hype, I went to the Scottsdale
Penzey's today (in the strip center on the SW corner of Hayden and
Osborn). Lovely shop, if a bit faux-rustic with a hint of "yuppie mall
decor" to it, but, well, welcome to Snottsdale.
Took a friend who had no idea Penzey's even existed, and, well, she
wants another shopping trip there for her birthday.
I noticed that they do not have those metal cans that everyone was
going on about a few years ago when Penzey's became a big rfc topic.
They seem to work exclusively in glass and plastic jars, or plastic
bags. The nice lady behind the counter also explained that they don't
sell mortar and pestle sets (though, she added, they get requests about
three times a week) because they want to focus on the spices. Doesn't
explain the cookbook and the do-it-yourself gift kits, though...
One thing I didn't know about it beforehand but it makes perfect sense
now is, for every spice they provide a separate shelf, and on each
shelf is a large stoppered jar with the spice in it specifically so you
can give it a little shake, open it up, and bask in the aroma; maybe
even sneak a taste. Brilliant marketing. When we hit the chipotle, I
grabbed a basket and started throwing things into it.
Actually, I only ended up with all the stuff I'd picked out of the
catalog, but the chipotle effect was the catalyst.
The damage:
Almond Extract, (30% alcohol) 4 oz bottle $6.29
This smells fantastic; very clean. I got it to put in tea, because my
favorite almond-infused tea doesn't come decaffeinated.
Chipotle Pepper, ground 1.2 oz jar $3.49
This smells unbelievable. This is what southwest food should always
smell like. Smoky chili, like you're on a trail drive.
Chipotle Peppers, whole 1 oz bag 3.99
Three or four pruny, leathery, dried chipotles. The smell of these in
the sampling jar was almost as good as the ground version.
Ancho Chiles, whole 1 oz bag $1.89
Two big, flat, leathery dried Anchos. Not as dramatic as the
chipotles, by a long stretch, but the differences will be apparent in
cooking.
Guajillo Chiles, whole 1 oz bag $1.89
Three long pods. I'm interested to see what these do.
Piquin Chiles, 0.5 oz jar $3.79
There must be fifty of these raisin-sized red firebombs in this tiny
pot. I tried a small flake off of one, and after about 30 seconds got
a very nice, very hot but not painful burn going (I was careful to
examine the flake for seed or membrane remnants; so ymmv). These are
going to work great with the other peppers.
Cumin, whole from India 4 oz bag $3.09
I needed some whole cumin to try out in chili.
Net: $24.83 with tax. Only 40 cents tax. Weird, because it means that
only some of the items were taxed, and the nominal rate around here is
8%, and there's nothing that fits...
Anyway. That's my first time at Penzey's, but never my last.
--Blair