SpiceBreeze is a monthly culinary spice kit subscription that features high quality, pure spices from around the world accompanied by simple recipe cards to help you incorporate the new spices into your routine. Choose from the Duo Box that sends two kits each month or the Quad Box that sends four kits each month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This is a review of the SpiceBreeze Quad Box, which is $11.85 a month for four kits.
About SpiceBreeze
The Subscription Box: SpiceBreeze Quad Box
The Cost: $11.85 per month (or $5.90 per month for the Duo Box)
LIMITED TIME DEAL: Use code HOLIDAY4FUN to save $4 off a $40 purchase!
ACTIVE DEAL: save 5% with a 6- or 12-month prepaid plan
CODE: SAVENOW
The Products: 4 culinary kits, each including a recipe and the required spices (1-3 pouches per kit)
Ships to: U.S. (free shipping) and Canada (for a small additional fee)
SpiceBreeze Quad November 2017 Review
Each SpiceBreeze Box subscription comes with 2 or 4 culinary spice kits every month.
One SpiceBreeze Kit includes:
- A recipe for a global meal with simple instructions to cook in a few easy steps
- Pre-portioned spices and condiments
- A short shopping list for the fresh ingredients of your choice
Boeuf Stroganoff Russian-French Culinary Spice Kit
This recipe is a fresh twist on Boeuf Stroganoff. The juniper-cacao spices are perfect for a mushroom stew so you can really use this recipe with or without the beef. To me, this spice blend smelled like a home-cooked meal, even before adding it to anything! I have never tasted cacao until now and it was very interesting and flavorful. The pink peppercorn, which who knew there was pink peppercorn, is really meant as a final seasoning to your dish to really bring all of the flavors together.
The Boeuf Stroganoff culinary spice kit ingredients include juniper, roasted cacao, black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, pink peppercorns.
Pumpkin Sambar South Indian Culinary Spice Kit
This dish is right up my alley! The soup is meant to be made with fresh vegetables for a hearty soup that is slightly tart from the tamarind. One thing to note, the monthly card says that you should use this spice kit promptly because tamarind powder can clump depending on the surrounding climate. I had no idea, but that is really helpful information! I decided to give this recipe a try which you can read more about below. One thing I will say is that I wish this had a bit more spice to it. The flavors were great and really did bring a unique tartness, but I was hoping to have a bit more heat or just overall flavors that I thought this blend was lacking a bit.
The Pumpkin Sambar culinary spice kit ingredients include tamarind, coriander, cumin, black mustard, turmeric, fenugreek, asafoetida, and mild chili powder.
I started this soup by cutting a tomato and roasting it in some olive oil. I didn't let them cook too long since they are going to cook for a while with the soup, but just enough to get them saturated in that rich oil.
From there, I added my cooked lentils, onion, and a few splashes of chicken broth. I let all of this cook down a bit and combine the flavors.
The recipe calls for fresh pumpkin, but I was not able to find a pumpkin anywhere this time of year. The recipe card notes that you can substitute with sweet potato, but I decided to use a can of plain pumpkin puree. I think next time I would go with the sweet potatoes though to add a bit of texture that I thought this soup was lacking in the end. You live and learn! Then, I just added a bit more of my chicken broth and let it simmer to a boil.
That's it! My soup came to a roaring boil, and then I let it all simmer together on low heat to bring all of the delicious flavors together. At this point, I added my spice kits in full. Then, I added my cooked basmati rice. Stir to combine and let that rice soak in the broth.
Here is the finished product! I thought the soup was lacking a bit overall which is why I think I would use sweet potato next time to add some heartiness. Again, I just didn't really get much of the spice blend flavors so I had to add some hot sauce to bring the flavors up a bit more to my liking. That is totally a preference thing though, someone else might find this to be spicy. I really did enjoy this dish, though, I just think I would try a few different steps next time to make it my own.
Martini Gans'l Austrian Culinary Spice Kit
The traditional version of this recipe is cooked with goose, but that can be very time consuming and difficult. Instead of goose, this recipe calls for chicken legs and breast with the bones and skin. It also calls for sour apple, orange, and gnocchi. You could always substitute with mashed potatoes or cranberries. Basically, you want to only fill one tea bag with half of the spice pouch because the spice itself is very strong. Add that tea bag into the water that your chicken and other ingredients are sitting in to let the flavors do their thing while baking. That's it, super easy! I decided to use this unique spice blend a bit differently which you can see more about below!
The Martini Gans'l culinary spike kit includes mugwort (do not use during pregnancy), plus two tea bags.
I decided to use this spice blend as a marinate with baked chicken. I didn't use the suggested tea bag to hold the spices, instead, I placed it in water with a splash of olive oil. Then I placed the chicken on top and baked for about 20 minutes. The chicken itself was baked to perfection and really held in the spice flavors. However, the spice itself had a strong herbal flavor like a tea that was a bit too overpowering for me. I was pretty disappointed in myself for not following the directions to place this spice in a tea bag because I did love the smell and flavors that this blend provided. However, it made the chicken just taste like I was eating tea. I decided to add this chicken to a toasted bun with apple slices, swiss cheese, and dijon mustard which was incredible, but the chicken on its own was just a bit much. At least now I know how to use this properly!
Laksa Lemak Malaysian Culinary Spice Kit
This recipe calls for an abundance of shrimp and anchovy paste which you can substitute with fish sauce or even soy sauce. When I make this dish, I think I will be using shrimp and soy sauce as I typically don't enjoy the flavors from an anchovy paste or fish sauce. You can also add some coconut milk to create a sweetness to this yummy bowl. The spice blend really packs the heat by adding a hot, sour, and salty blend that is great for a cold evening. I normally love super spicy food, but I could really smell the spice just by opening the spice packets so I might add a little and then taste before going all in with each packet!
The Laksa Lemak spice ingredients include lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, makrut lime, and cayenne.
Verdict: SpiceBreeze is such a unique way to discover new recipes and spices! This month really brought an array of recipes from all over the world that can challenge you in the kitchen. I have found over the years, that cooking with various spices can be difficult so I typically shy away from going out of my comfort zone. SpiceBreeze brings a fresh batch of spice kits to me that I would normally never use which helps me to discover my way through different flavors. It also helps me to feel comfortable using spices when I cook, which I am slowly getting more used to! While many of the recipes this month were extra challenging for me, I messed up most of them, I really enjoyed working my way through each one. I learned a lot on the way, and I think that is really where the value comes in with SpiceBreeze.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? As of publication, all orders will receive the December SpiceBreeze.
Coupon - Use code MSAFIRST25 to save 25% off your first box!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $11.85 per month, and I received 4 culinary spice kits in this month's SpiceBreeze. The value per kit breaks down to $2.96 which I think is a great value since you are receiving the correct amount for each recipe.
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What did you think of the November SpiceBreeze?
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