RawSpiceBar is a subscription that sends freshly ground, small-batch spice blends straight to your door each month. They offer over 75 different salt-free spices and you can choose to have 2, 3, 6 or 12 spices delivered monthly, quarterly or semi-annually.
This is a review of the 6 spice per month RawSpiceBar subscription for $36, including free shipping.
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.)
About RawSpiceBar
The Subscription Box: RawSpiceBar
The Cost: Each spice costs $6, so the total cost is dependent on the number of spices you choose.
BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: Now through 12/15, use code MSABLACKFRIDAY to save 50% off your first box! This can be applied to monthly, quarterly, or 6-month subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: First month free
CODE: RawSpice
The Products: 2, 3, 6 or 12 freshly ground spices in a 1 oz. tin
Ships to: U.S. (with free shipping) and Canada (for an additional fee).
RawSpiceBar November 2018 Review
Before we get to the spices, let me just say that I love how these come packaged in a nice little tin with the ingredients listed at the top. Each spice tin contains 1 oz of spices and they all feel so fresh when you open them! Now let's see what we received:
We received this $100 wine voucher for Naked Wines in our box.
Garam Masala - Retail Value $7 .00
Ingredients: Toasted coriander, toasted cumin, black peppercorns, cinnamon, fennel, fenugreek, green cardamom, bay leaves, black cardamom, black cumin, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, star anise
The first spice we received was this Garam Masala which is used in North Indian cooking. I have heard of this, but I can't say that I have actually used it before. I noticed the coriander, fennel, and cardamom on this one and I think I may have even picked up on the fenugreek since I'm somewhat familiar with it. This has a nice warm spice taste similar to Chai and even had that similar black pepper kick that I love. My husband was not a fan but I will definitely be looking for ways to use this soon since I love all of the flavors!
Find Garam Masala recipe ideas here!
Italian Seasoning - Retail Value $7 .00
Ingredients: Greek oregano, fennel seeds, fennel pollen, Tellicherry black peppercorns, garlic granules, thyme, marjoram, savory, California lemon peel
This is the spice I was most familiar with this month, however, I have never used an Italian seasoning that looked quite like this! Look at all of that fennel and those nice large pieces of spice! I love the little bite from the garlic granules and how fresh and strong the oregano flavor is. This is definitely much fresher and more substantial than what I have in my spice cabinet already! I can't wait to use this to make meatballs or any Italian dish where I can really showcase all of these flavors. I think this would be terrific with plain buttered pasta and a sprinkle of parmesan since it has so much body to the flavor.
Find Italian Seasoning recipe ideas here!
Za'atar - Retail Value $7.00
Ingredients: Toasted sesame seeds, sea salt, thyme, savory, freshly ground sumac berries
This is an Israeli spice that I'm not even sure I am pronouncing right since I have never heard of it before! I do recognize all of the ingredients though, even though I have never actually tasted sumac berries. I think they just give it a slight hint of sweetness which goes really well with the thyme. Again, look at all those large seeds and pieces of herb in there - it even looks savory! This one is the only one with sea salt in it and they recommend using it for yogurt or oil dips, eggs or rubs. I might have to look for some inspiration for this one so I can really experience it how it's meant to be used!
Find Za'atar recipe ideas here!
Ras El Hanout - Retail Value $7 .00
Ingredients: Toasted cumin, toasted coriander, ginger, black peppercorns, rose buds, turmeric, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, cayenne chiles
Wow, this spice has a lot of different flavors in it! I love the description on the website which tells us that Ras El Hanout gets its name because it is made up of the best spices a merchant could offer and translates to "top of the shop" in Arabic. The flavor I get the most of is the cumin, followed by coriander and then there is this nice little kick at the end from the Cayenne chiles. This is another really savory, spicy blend that I can't wait to experiment with. I'm really loving how bold all of these spice blends are!
Find Ras El Hanout recipe ideas here!
Tandoori Masala - Retail Value $7 .00
Ingredients: Kashmiri chiles, Cayenne chiles, turmeric, paprika, coriander, cumin, black peppercorns, green cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, nutmeg, cloves
This is another masala from Northern India, but it's much different than the first. I got a lot of paprika flavor and then it finished out with all of the spices I'd usually reserve for baking such as the ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It was definitely an interesting blend, again with a bit of a kick on the back end. They recommend using it to marinate meat and then adding to the grill to get a nice char on it. I decided to try their recipe for spiced nuts since it already has that sweet and savory vibe to it.
Find Tandoori Masala recipe ideas here! I tried the Spiced Walnuts with Tandoori Masala:
You could use a number of different spices with the walnuts, but I thought the Tandoori would go nicely with the honey and nuts. This was super easy, too. I just had to combine the salt, honey, spices, and nuts and then roast them for 15-20 minutes.
They were really good with just a hint of sweet stickiness from the honey and all of the spice flavors got toned down quite a bit but went well with the roasted nuts. While they were delicious on their own, I think that they would be great as salad toppers too! I like that it only took a tablespoon of spice too so I have plenty leftover!
Shichimi Togarashi - Retail Value $7 .00
Ingredients: Black peppercorns, red chile flakes, garlic granules, freshly ground ginger root, Pacific coast nori, toasted white sesame seeds, toasted black sesame seeds, California orange zest
This was a spice that I had only recently tried from a subscription meal box I had ordered and we really enjoyed the flavor. This one was much more flavorful, yet different since there was no salt. I definitely got a lot of black peppercorn in the taste and every once in a while, I could really pick up on the Nori (seaweed) flavor. I looked up a few recipes for this one since I knew I wanted to cook with it and came up with this recipe for Easy Chicken Katsu. It sounded simple enough!
Find more Shichimi Togarashi recipe ideas here! I tried the Easy Chicken Katsu with Shichimi Togarashi:
In addition to our spices and some panko breadcrumbs, everything else was pretty basic that we needed: chicken cutlets, flour, kosher salt, eggs, and vegetable oil. Instead of chicken cutlets that I pounded thin, I decided to just use the pre-packaged thin chicken breasts they sell in order to save myself a little trouble.
First, I beat my eggs in one bowl and then mixed the panko breadcrumbs with my seasoning. It didn't say how much seasoning to use so I used the entire tin (regrets!) because it was 2 cups of breadcrumbs which felt like a lot, so I figured it would need it. In tasting the mixture, it felt like a lot of spice and had a good kick to it, but fortunately, that didn't translate into the dish!
In reading the directions, I noticed that we went straight from setting everything out in separate bowls to cooking the chicken. There were no instructions for what to do as far as breading the chicken, so I had to wing it. I dipped the chicken into the flour, then the eggs, then into the breadcrumb mixture.
A quick fry in the vegetable oil and these browned up nicely!
I served it with some sauteed spinach and it was pretty tasty! As I said, the spices didn't really come across as super strong and the kick wasn't as apparent, but that was good because it means the kids actually ate it and liked it (which does not happen often in our house lately with two picky kids!). My husband and I both enjoyed it and thought the flavor was great, although, in hindsight, I really wish that I had halved the number of breadcrumbs and not used all of the spices so that I could have used some on top after cooking and possibly even get a second dish out of it.
I was able to bread four fairly decent-sized chicken breasts and we had this much leftover that went to waste. So while the spices were great, the recipes could use some work! That said, I think the amount of spices received is definitely sufficient for making at least two separate meals for our family of four (minus baby!).
Verdict: This was my first time trying any spices from RawSpiceBar and I was impressed with how fresh and flavorful the spices were, especially since they are mostly salt-free. I love my salt, but I liked the way that the other flavors in the spices were really easy to pick out since there was no salt to distract you from it! I received a lot of unique spices that I have never tried before and I liked the challenge of finding new dishes to cook using them. It was a great way to break up our monotonous dinner menu and try some new things! Each of the spices retails for $7 on their site bringing our total to $42, but since we received them in a subscription we only paid $6 per spice for a total of $36 including free shipping. I think that's a fair price for such fresh, global spice blends!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Each subscription is built on your preferences.
BLACK FRIDAY DEAL: Now through 12/15, use code MSABLACKFRIDAY to save 50% off your first box! This can be applied to monthly, quarterly, or 6-month subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: First month free
CODE: RawSpice
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