Topic: what brands

[diverdil]

down here in portsmouth we have basicly 2 asians stores. both very good and both carryig very different stock. i have bought every spice now but now wondering what is the better choice. i bought mainly natco products and i am wondering now on the quality and the differnce between brands.

the reason for this question is after a curry making friend had discovered a massive difference in taste between natco and rajah garam massala. i understand garam massala is a blend so is always going to be be slightly different from other brands but wonder about other spice variations.

are both these brands good exceptable curry making materials or are there better ones i should be using?

sorry for the novice questions that i am sure others have answered before but i am new to this and have a very unhealthy thirst for curry and curry knowledge!!!!!

[Stephen Lindsay]

diverdill, this is a good question and one in which I'm going to give a slightly indefinite response.

Up here in Dundee, Scotland we have about 5 Asian stores, none of which stock Natco products though I don't know why that is the case. They do however have TRS, Rajah, East End and MDH products, all of which produce good results in my opinion.

You've used an example of garam masala and it's worth reading a recent thread on garam masala which highlights the variation in blends. As it's not a mainstream mixture in most BIR recipes then it's worth concentrating on the spices that are at the core of most spice mixes, i.e. cumin, coriander, turmeric and curry powder. Some spices mixes use other spices, e.g. chilli powder but those four are found in most blends. Indeed these make up the BE spice mix that I've been using for years.

I've not found any great difference between brands though I acknowledge I've not done a side by side comparison of say a BE mix made with TRS spices and one made with Rajah. Maybe that would be a way to go? Why not try sticking to one brand for a few months then changing over and see if you notice a difference? I'd been intrigued by your findings.

[curryhell]

I'm sure many members will comment on this question.  By the way, if we don't question, we don't learn 
IMHO, it's not so much the make that is important but the freshness of the spices.  Always buy small quantities, which means that they'll be used up fairly quickly and replaced with fresher.  This is most important with ground spice.  Whole spice keeps a lot longer than ground.  Keeping spices in the dark and in airtight containers will help maintain their condition.
I won't even begin to comment on garam masala.  There is loads of discussion as to when it's used, if it's used, should it be used, which type, what it is, what it does etc. etc.  You can read many of the threads at your leisure.
As for spice brands, the most popular ones tend to be Rahja, TRS, East End and Natco. Some restaurants may prefer certain brands.  The Ashoka thread contains a preference for East End.  Some purchase based on price alone, with Rajah being the more expensive.  Not sure whether this helps but i'm sure others will chip in.

[Stephen Lindsay]

PS don't buy Sharwoods! - it's been sitting on supermarket shelves for years and costs a bomb!

[DalPuri]

Hi diverdil, I asked a question about Natco GM but didnt really get any opinions.
I really didn't like it at all!

i made meat and saag for me old man and he said it was delicious but too hot for him . i had replaced paprika with deggi mirch. oh well, lesson learnt. deggi mirch isnt mild enough for some.
All the while over the 2 days of eating i couldnt understand what that horrible dominant flavour was.
i'd put it down to the tinned spinach that me old man had in his cupboard, only to later realise it was the natco gm.

What do you think about the flavour of the Natco GM?
My old man really liked it, and me aunt, but i hated it.! Couldnt quite put my finger on what spice was in there that i found so repulsive.

[uclown2002]

I'm sure many members will comment on this question.  By the way, if we don't question, we don't learn 
IMHO, it's not so much the make that is important but the freshness of the spices.  Always buy small quantities, which means that they'll be used up fairly quickly and replaced with fresher.  This is most important with ground spice.  Whole spice keeps a lot longer than ground.  Keeping spices in the dark and in airtight containers will help maintain their condition.
I won't even begin to comment on garam masala.  There is loads of discussion as to when it's used, if it's used, should it be used, which type, what it is, what it does etc. etc.  You can read many of the threads at your leisure.
As for spice brands, the most popular ones tend to be Rahja, TRS, East End and Natco. Some restaurants may prefer certain brands.  The Ashoka thread contains a preference for East End.  Some purchase based on price alone, with Rajah being the more expensive.  Not sure whether this helps but i'm sure others will chip in.

How long do folk keep their ground spices assuming correctly stored before ditching them?

I keep mine in airtight containers in a dark cupboard, but I guess most have been stored for at least 6 months.

[spiceyokooko]

How long do folk keep their ground spices assuming correctly stored before ditching them?

I throw them away when they've gone stale or lost their pungency

It's hard to put an exact time frame on that really. As CH rightly points out ground spices can and will go stale fairly quickly after the packet is opened regardless of how well they're stored. Stored correctly they'll simply stay fresh longer than if not stored correctly.

The only real way of knowing is to observe the smell from the container when you open it, if you get a nice whiff of what the spice should smell like, it should still be fresh, if you have to stick your nose right inside the container to smell anything at all, it's a pretty sure sign the spice has lost its pungency. Obviously some spices are naturally more pungent than others so you need to factor that in.

If you're still not sure, fry up some g/g paste and some chopped onions, fry a tsp of spice in the mix, let it cool and taste it. You'll soon know.

[spiceyokooko]

...are both these brands good exceptable curry making materials or are there better ones i should be using?

A lot comes down to how you define 'better'. As CH rightly points out, freshness in spices is key, you won't get good results using stale spices regardless of which brand you buy. So that' the first criteria really.

Beyond freshness, a lot comes down to precisely which spice you're referring to. In my experience some spice qualities can vary across brands, whilst some don't. Turmeric for example is pretty constant across all the different brands, I've noticed no discernible difference in Turmeric from different manufacturers, so I tend to just buy whichever is cheapest. There's also so little difference in the price between a big bag and a small bag I generally just get a big bag and throw it away when it goes stale.

Cumin and Coriander on the other hand play a very important role in shaping the overall flavours in BIR/Indian cookery so freshness and quality is important. For ground, I generally stick to 100g bags of Rajah for these as I've found Rajah to be fairly consistent in terms of freshness and quality.

Ground Paprika and Chilli powder can vary quite significantly across different brands in terms of taste, flavour, heat and quality and the only real way of selecting these is to simply try different brands and find out which ones you like.

[uclown2002]

How long do folk keep their ground spices assuming correctly stored before ditching them?

I throw them away when they've gone stale or lost their pungency

It's hard to put an exact time frame on that really. As CH rightly points out ground spices can and will go stale fairly quickly after the packet is opened regardless of how well they're stored. Stored correctly they'll simply stay fresh longer than if not stored correctly.

The only real way of knowing is to observe the smell from the container when you open it, if you get a nice whiff of what the spice should smell like, it should still be fresh, if you have to stick your nose right inside the container to smell anything at all, it's a pretty sure sign the spice has lost its pungency. Obviously some spices are naturally more pungent than others so you need to factor that in.

If you're still not sure, fry up some g/g paste and some chopped onions, fry a tsp of spice in the mix, let it cool and taste it. You'll soon know.

OK thanks!

[Peripatetic Phil]

For me, the major brands that are sourced directly from the sub-continent are much of a muchness when it comes to individual spices (as one would expect); when it comes to blends such as curry powder or garam masala, it is another world entirely.  I would suggest that none of the major brands from the sub-continent vary significantly in quality, but they do vary enormously in flavour : thus (for example) Rajah Hot Madras Curry Powder might go very well in one dish, but Bolsts better in another.  Or, if you use Rajah rather than Bolsts, you may well need to adjust the proportions of other ingredients.  Exactly the same for Garam Masala except even more so !

** Phil.