PENMART01 wrote:
>
> On another MORE SERIOUS topic; a few days ago I placed an order to Penzeys, not
> very much stuff, only five items... a pound of peppercorns, 8oz msg, 4oz
> oregano, 4oz marjoram, and 4oz bay leaves. Immediately upon opening the
> package I knew instinctively that something was wrong, all I could smell was
> cardboard, there wasn't even a hint of spice aroma. As soon as I looked at the
> big bag of bay leaves I was very disappointed, they were kinda brown and very
> broken, not just a few broken leaves, but I'd guess about 30% were broken, and
> not just a piece broken off here and there but lots of itty-bitty slivers.
> These are the worst bay leaves I've ever seen, looks like a herd of elephants
> trod all over them, but the box arrived in perfect shape and well padded.
> Perhaps not many order so large an amount of bay leaves so these are really old
> and well handled. In fact the order taker kinda admonished me by asking in a
> rather stern tone if I had any idea how many bay leaves are in 4ozs... yeah,
> must be a friggin' million of em I thought to myself... right there I missed
> the clue not to order large quantities of anything from Penzeys... most orders
> are from cheapo *******s who typically order the smallest [sampler] size, so
> the bulk sizes get no turnover, they sit around 'bout forever.
>
> My next disappointment was the marjoram, it's more dust than leaves... but the
> worst part (or the best part, depending on point of view), upon closer
> examination I noticed something thin, long, and white inside the bag
> intertwined with the marjoram, and then upon even closer scrutiny it hit me,
> yup, sure looks like the twisted string from a tampon.
>
> Also, I re-examined the oregano this morning, better light now (it was dark out
> last evening when I opened the carton so only had artificial light). Last
> evening I simply tossed the unopened oregano bag into the freezer as I still
> had some in my spice bottle. Upon closer examination this morning the oregano
> looks kinda brown and very dusty, like floor sweepings. I will be calling
> Penzeys back momentarily to tell them about the oregano too.
>

I bought a pound of marjoram from <http://www.butcherpacker.com> about a
year ago, and it was very good stuff. Nice fragrant leaves, no stems,
and not much dust.

Do you have any idea how much dried marjoram is in a pound??? =(8-O
Most of it is in my freezer packed in vacuum bags. It might be a
lifetime supply.

I bought a big bag of bay leaves from a local Indian (Pakistani?) market
a few months ago. They were not nearly a pretty as the bay leaves you
buy in fancy little 1/2 ounce bottles for Big Buck$ -- a lot of broken
leaves, they are kind of thin, and some of them are brown -- but they
have a very good strong flavor and aroma. (I was pleasantly surprised)

Best regards,
Bob