I have to spend too much time during summer months in PathMark for grocery shopping because of Mall Route Bus’ reduced frequency. To pass the aforementioned ‘too much time’, I like reading the names & prices of spices. Here are some of the interesting stand-outs:
Which is the most expensive Spice?
If you thought ‘Saffron’, let the QI-style forfeit alarm go off! It cost something between $400-500 per pound sometime ago. I’ve not seen it in the aisle this summer, so can’t guarantee the price.
If you say ‘Turkish Bay Leaves’, you are close – It costs around $750/lb.
The winner is ‘Chopped Chives’. If you said this out loud, you are also eligible to shout out ‘Bingo’ right about now. It costs around $800/lb!
Which is the cheapest Spice?
If you said ‘Salt’, congratulate yourself. More specifically, it is ‘Sicilian Sea Salt’ ($17/lb!).
Now for some weird ones (all prices are $/lb if you’ve not gotten used to it by now!):
Ground Cumin (63) & Roasted Ground Cumin (53). Roasted one is cheaper? How the hell did they do that?
Ground Coriander (74) & Roasted Ground Coriander (76). Almost no price difference! OK!
Ground Ginger (72) & Roasted Ground Ginger (85). Roasted one is costlier, makes sense…
Ground Saigon Cinnamon (50) & Roasted Saigon Cinnamon (77). Roasted is way too costly, dammit!#%
Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt (24) is the most weird one! Don’t you think so? Not because of its cost but because of its name! What the hell does one mean by spiced salt? Don’t you mean salted spices! Because all I see in the bottle are brownish, reddish flakes. I don’t see any white ‘particles’ in the bottle and trust me, I can compare ‘white’ with the bottle of ‘Sicilian Sea Salt’ kept next to it.
Update: All the prices belong to the brand 'McCormick(R)'. I need to clarify this because the price for the cheapest spice confused some of my readers as, for example, Morton's Iodised Salt costs somewhere between 1-2!
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