# Who pickles a lot?



## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

How do you deal with the spices? 
For example, the Ball recipe for dill pickles calls for 3 tablespoons of pickling spices to make only 3 quart jars. Pickling spices come in these little bitty jars and cost 3 or 4$ each. If you have quite a family and pickle 50 or 100 jars of pickles, you are gonna spend a fortune on spices. 
Same thing in the pickled beet recipes. Whole allspice and cinnamon sticks. All tiny containers, all expensive.

Would like to know how people handle this. What alternatives you may use, where the secret really cheap spice store is located, etc...

Surely people pickled beets and cukes before the advent of store bought spices.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I buy many of my herbs and spices from herbalcom.com. You can get many of them organic, and they're super inexpensive. The ones I don't buy there I get through Amazon from Frontier, again organic. Go price them. You'd be surprised how much you'd save by buying by the pound.


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## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

Also, make up your own pickling spice mixture! Many recipes on line, or make up your own! Cheaper than premade.


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## plath (Jul 19, 2010)

I buy in bulk from frontier. They do wholesale prices with a $250 order and we have a local group that does buys with them.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Buy in bulk locally at a bulk food store up the street or online from Atlantic Spice (which has better prices then the local guys, but I still get some locally just to support them). I make all my own "mixes". I use a tea ball instead of a muslin bag when you need to put them in a bag so you can pull them back out latter.....mostly because I'm cheap and already owned a tea ball.

Edited to add: Atlantic Spices minimum order is only $30 (Their teas are really great, too..if you like tea)


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

I usually don't use a bag. I just dump them in and most end up in the jar with the pickles. I know that prevents reuse, but I like it that way. What are the spices mixes y'all are using?


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

I bought a bag of Penzey's pickling spice mix this year. I was going to mix my own, but didn't have some of the whole spices on hand, and after doing the math figured that it would be cheaper to just buy theirs. Haven't used theirs before, has anyone else? It smells really good, has a little juniper and mace in it in addition to the usual suspects.

Penzey's has really good, high quality spices and I get most of my spices from them, I can really tell a difference. If you buy the smallest bulk bag, it is usually around the same price (or sometimes a little cheaper!) than the biggest jar they have available. 

Lonelyfarmgirl, you could also check and see if the nearest co-op sells pickling spice in bulk. I think the one in my old town did.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

I buy in bulk locally.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

Check to see if you have any Amish or Mennonite stores locally. I can get a pint container of pickling spices for two bucks and change at one not too far away.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

WOW! Thats cheap. I have an amish aquaintance that I occasionally buy things from. He does super leatherwork. I will ask him where he gets his.


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## GrannyG (Mar 26, 2005)

Lowe's bought out our local grocery store...love their big bottles of spices, all $2.99, these are four oz. size....I have stocked up on canning spices.


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

I use penzeys pickling spice and just love it.


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## Limon (Aug 25, 2010)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> WOW! Thats cheap. I have an amish aquaintance that I occasionally buy things from. He does super leatherwork. I will ask him where he gets his.


Tell me about it! I had heard for a while that this store was cheap, but I had no idea how cheap until I finally made the trek out there. A pint container of cinnamon sticks for $3, half-pint of whole cloves for $2.50, half-pint of celery seed for under a buck, half-pint of ground ginger for $1.20. 

It makes sense, when you consider how much canning they do. They need to get the spices at a decent price to afford it.


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## cmtigger (Aug 19, 2011)

Another source for inexepensive spices are ethnic stores. The Indian stores near where I work have great prices.


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## partndn (Jun 18, 2009)

Limon said:


> Check to see if you have any Amish or Mennonite stores locally. I can get a pint container of pickling spices for two bucks and change at one not too far away.


This is my source too. The Amish store has lots of spices for great prices. They usually have the containers about 3-4 inches tall, and also the larger ones that are bout big as a drink glass. 
Their prices on cocoa are also always good.

I don't have any experience buying the ones online.


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