The Arizona I know has plenty of happy feelings to spread.

July 22, 2010 2:14 PM

"In our need to restore our sense of self-control are we actually going to reward politicians who are not working to bring us together, but instead are forsaking America's beautiful 234-year history of diversity?" Another Op-Ed from a national newspaper? No, it's the note from Bill in this month's Penzeys Spices catalog (.pdf), introducing a new blend called Arizona Dreaming, which combines the flavors of South of the Border "in ways Americans love so much."
posted by JoanArkham (35 comments total)

Just cause it took me a second to find it:

Hand-mixed from: ancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, Chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, natural smoke flavoring.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:19 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Political views might seem like an unconventional thing to put in your sales literature, but it's succeeded at getting their catalogue posted to MeFi and discussed by us; I'd never heard of Penzey's Spices before. Maybe it's not such a bad marketing move.
posted by Mike1024 at 2:20 PM on July 22, 2010

It's tasty, I tried some at the Penzey's shop down the street from me just the other day.

This letter made me feel much better about how Penzey's is not selling much salt anymore, because they've decided people need less salt, not more fancy ways to get more salt. Blasphemy!
posted by padraigin at 2:21 PM on July 22, 2010

Yeah, Penzey's is pretty much the bomb-diggity. I try to get all my baking spices there.
posted by GameDesignerBen at 2:26 PM on July 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

Are we really going to leave unchecked the companies whose reckless pursuit of billions have so damaged our economy and our environment, and instead let our frustrations be redirected at the people who have spent their lives doing our unwanted jobs for dollars an hour?

Bill's car runs on rancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, Chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, and natural smoke flavoring. So does his air conditioning, I guess.
posted by Faze at 2:27 PM on July 22, 2010

I've loved Penzey's for over 10 years and frequent their shop in Arlington, MA more than I should. I think I love them even more now.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 2:27 PM on July 22, 2010

I had the most surreal non-buying experience in one of their stores. There were like 5 women in aprons standing behind the counter. There were maybe 3 customers. The women were exuding this Stepford Wives vibe. I tried getting attention, tried getting some help, but was stared at like I had aphasia. At some point I lost my cool, yelled at one of them, and walked out. I've never been back.

I think they were Westworld robots and couldn't come out from behind the counter because they were all metal from the waist down.

Even thinking back on it I don't get it. All I did was ask what the hottest spice they sold was. Total blank stares.
posted by cjorgensen at 2:28 PM on July 22, 2010

Bill's car runs on rancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, Chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, and natural smoke flavoring. So does his air conditioning, I guess.

I can't speak to what Bill drives but Penzey's is based in Wisconsin, and there's a good chance he doesn't even have air conditioning.
posted by padraigin at 2:30 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

I just assumed you meant Bill Clinton.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:31 PM on July 22, 2010

natural smoke flavoring?

What were they burning? Our hopes and dreams?
posted by blue_beetle at 2:36 PM on July 22, 2010

I'm definitely going to the Menlo Park store, usually I buy spices bulk from an Indian store, but they have the best cinnamon & Anise at Penzey's.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:02 PM on July 22, 2010

Good spice vendor or not, Bill seems to have hit the nail squarely on the head.
posted by gigbutt at 3:27 PM on July 22, 2010

I've been buying from them for going on 15 years! They have some excellent blends - Mural of Flavor (great on eggs), Bold Taco seasoning, the Penzey's cinnamon blend and Chili 3000 are some of our favorites. I also love their soup bases and dressing mixes. Also, totally reasonable prices - often much cheaper than the supermarket, especially if you buy massive quantities of ground and dried chilis as I do for my Texas husband.
posted by kittyloop at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2010

Thank god we can now rely on a spice company for political integrity instead of the hundreds of years the industry made its profits through exploiting the third world... because I'm sure that's stopped now and the industry pays far more than a living wage for the workers it employs.

Yes, I love and use spices, but I don't forget where the stuff I'm using comes from.
posted by Nanukthedog at 3:34 PM on July 22, 2010

Politics aside (I happen to agree with them, so that's a nice bonus) I'll be picking some of this up this weekend. The blends are all great, it makes it appear as if I know what I'm doing in the kitchen.

With feelings running so strong on this issue though, I can't help wondering if there's going to be some sort of backlash.
posted by JoanArkham at 3:46 PM on July 22, 2010

ancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, Chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, natural smoke flavoring. But they're American grown herbs and spices, right?
posted by crunchland at 3:55 PM on July 22, 2010

Seriously? A spice catalog is FPP-worthy merely because it happens to include some text you agree with politically?
posted by DU at 5:03 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

My car runs on green peppers, corn, chicken... onions-
posted by dirigibleman at 5:05 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

I thought it was an unusual place to find a political statement, whether I agreed with it or not, and I was careful not to editorialize in the post. If you don't agree, flag it etc, etc.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:20 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

I SWEAR TO GOD--

Last week, I was at Penzey's in Falls Church, VA. I needed oregano (and broke the damned bottle on the way home, damnit) and curry powder (got the good stuff), but I love going in there and picking out some new blend or luxury wasabi or something.

And then I saw the Arizona Dreaming bottle. If you've been to a Penzey's, you know they have big jars of all the spices for sniffing. Man, that was good stuff. "But wait!" I thought. "Arizona?" I dismissed the thought, though, assuming that this had been around a while, and wasn't issued because of, or even despite, the recent difficulties. I thought all that out right in the Falls Church Penzey's, 8 days ago.
posted by MrMoonPie at 5:40 PM on July 22, 2010

This doesn't surprise me. I went into our local Penzy's to get another tin of their Fleur de Sel finishing salt (per my wife's instructions) and was told by the manager, "Sorry - we're not selling high-end salt anymore." She handed me that month's catalog and pointed to the editoral by Bill indicating that because he felt that "salt was salt" and that it was healthier for us to use less salt in our food.

Really? A business discontinuing one of their products because they felt that it glamorized something that probably wasn't so good for you (or, frankly, was something not necessary)? Imagine a world where other businesses did this ...
posted by scblackman at 5:40 PM on July 22, 2010 [4 favorites]

"Mexican oregano" sounds like the kind of product that should come with a wink-wink, a nudge-nudge, and a "duuuude."
posted by rokusan at 5:47 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Penzeys!
posted by limeonaire at 6:17 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

Hand-mixed from: ancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, Chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, natural smoke flavoring.

What's the deal with "spices"? I see it on ingredients lists all the time. Which spices? Don't they know?
posted by Sys Rq at 6:39 PM on July 22, 2010

(Don't even get me started on "natural flavours.")
posted by Sys Rq at 6:40 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

arsenic is a natural flavor, pungent with a hint of almonds.
posted by cjorgensen at 7:01 PM on July 22, 2010

I've been buying their spices for years. This makes me very very happy. It's wonderful to find out a company you really like is even better than you thought.

Right on Penzeys.
posted by y6y6y6 at 7:03 PM on July 22, 2010

I'm fond of Penzey's, and was in the Rockville, MD store just last Sunday. But I'm a bit surprised this make Metafilter. Bill has been making political statements now and then for as long as I've been buying from them. It is an old hippie company, after all.
posted by QIbHom at 7:06 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]

What's the deal with "spices"? I see it on ingredients lists all the time. Which spices? Don't they know?

Well, if they told you, it wouldn't be a proprietary blend anymore, now would it?

Personally, I think this is a fine post -- I've been meaning to order some nice herbes de provence, and now I have. And they have kalonji, woo-hoo!

(psst: use coupon code "SUMMER" to get a free 1/4 cup bottle of any spice!)
posted by vorfeed at 7:24 PM on July 22, 2010 [2 favorites]

Just another reason to LOVE Penzey's. Awesome quality, plus if you have a retail store near you the prices are often far cheaper than the ones at the grocery store. I drive to Santa Monica from Burbank every few months just for a spice run.
posted by Nattie at 8:09 PM on July 22, 2010

The oldest established non-native language in the United States? No, silly. Spanish - in both New Mexico and Arizona, and in Puerto Rico.

The second-oldest established non-native language in the United States? No, silly. French - still spoken in New England at least as far south as Rhode Island, and in creole form throughout the Gulf Coast, from as far west as Texas to as far east as Mississippi and as far north as Arkansas.

If a man is Puerto Rican or New Mexican speaking their birth tongue, we ask to see his papers. If a black man is speaking Prairie French, we ask to see his papers, as he's clearly Hatian and not American with roots going back three centuries.

This is an insult to our American heritage. The Arizona law must be struck down.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:00 PM on July 22, 2010 [3 favorites]

One more bit of awesome for Penzey's - for their packing materials, they use bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and sometimes whole nutmeg. Now I want to make an order!
posted by spinifex23 at 10:55 PM on July 22, 2010

Spinifex, they only do that for their gift boxes, not the regular stuff you order. It is cool, thoughl
posted by mneekadon at 3:28 AM on July 23, 2010

Wow, all these comments and not one Dune reference.
posted by Splunge at 7:34 AM on July 23, 2010

padraigin : but Penzey's is based in Wisconsin

Not only that, but apparently there is one located within about 10 miles of my house and I've never even heard of the place. I guess I know what I'll be checking out this weekend.
posted by quin at 12:17 PM on July 23, 2010