Tasting report on Penzey's berbere

[Jenise]

It's not good, sadly.

Orange in color, lots of heat and bears no physical or taste resemblance to the complex berbere my raised-in-Ethiopia friends used to have sent over from Africa by family who remained there.

[Robin Garr]

Eeuuww, thanks for the warning! If I saw it at the Penzey's here, I might have been tempted.

Sorry to hear that. I like Penzey's, but in general more for straight spices than blends.
That said, berbere is like garam masala, vadouvan, baharat, etc. Every family thinks theirs is the correct one. Don't think it's unusual that it doesn't resemble your friends', most go for 10+ ingredients, and other than cayenne, ginger, fenugreek not sure there is any consistency (and even on those proportions vary widely)

Got it as a give away some time ago when it was first introduced. Agree, not good at all. Total mismatch/imbalance of flavors.
I posted some time ago about another free bee, new introduction give away that causes me now to read all Peney's labels carefully. Although the Berbere is not an example of the problem, Penzey's now has some mixes that include " spice extractives - oleoresins" of various spices that impart a definite unpleasant chemical taste at the end of the flavor profile. Definitely to be avoided.

With a spice cabinet filled with Penseys' products, the only blend is Pork Chop Seasoning, and it is wonderful!

[Jenise]

Sorry to hear that. I like Penzey's, but in general more for straight spices than blends.
That said, berbere is like garam masala, vadouvan, baharat, etc. Every family thinks theirs is the correct one. Don't think it's unusual that it doesn't resemble your friends', most go for 10+ ingredients, and other than cayenne, ginger, fenugreek not sure there is any consistency (and even on those proportions vary widely)

Absolutely true. I bought a berbere from World Spice, I think it is, that was gray--no red pepper of any kind, no heat. That would make the world's ugliest wot--it's unusable. But, in defense of my expectations, the version my friends used to have I ran into one other time--not by name, but by taste, a little packet I bought at Whole Foods Market a decade ago. It was identical, same burgundy red color, same magical flavors. But I've not seen berbere at a Whole Foods since.

[Jenise]

Got it as a give away some time ago when it was first introduced. Agree, not good at all. Total mismatch/imbalance of flavors. I posted some time ago about another free bee, new introduction give away that causes me now to read all Peney's labels carefully. Although the Berbere is not an example of the problem, Penzey's now has some mixes that include " spice extractives - oleoresins" of various spices that impart a definite unpleasant chemical taste at the end of the flavor profile. Definitely to be avoided.

In my latest shipment the freebie was a "Russian seasoning" called--wait for it--Tsardust. I'll have to look at the ingredients list--haven't even tasted it, but I'm not really a fan of seasoning blends anyway. Best freebie ever was kahla jeera seeds, but it might have also been the only time they've ever sent me a straight spice--it's always the blends.

[Jenise]

So there I was dissing seasoning blends, and then I went to make last night's Shepherd's Pie. So I went to my spice box to consider what different elements I might use to give this pie (I follow no recipe) a unique flavor, and spied a Penzey's freebie (not the little one they throw in nearly every shipment, but a full jar of something I got a coupon for in the mail and redeemed on my last order) called Northwest Seasoning. Among other things it contained rosemary and chipotle. I licked a sprinkle off the back of my hand and quite liked it--I'd been in the mood for rosemary anyway and had even considered putting some in the mashed potato layer. Bingo, I used it generously in the meat filling in lieu of salt and other spices, and it was GOOD. Nothing in there I couldn't blend up myself, but for once here's a compelling blend (without the bad stuff Christina warned of) I can actually see myself using.

So Betsy was at Penzeys in Philly last weekend. Restocked on a lot of spices.
While she was there, she bought one spice mix. Guess which one? Oops, I should have shared this thread

[Jenise]

Well, palates vary, and they made it so someone liked it. Did you taste it?

I've had the Penzey's berbere and I liked it, especially the heat factor. However, I've never had any other berbere so have no basis for comparison.

[Jenise]

I've had the Penzey's berbere and I liked it, especially the heat factor. However, I've never had any other berbere so have no basis for comparison.

The Ethiopian berbere was quite spicy, but not incendiary--it was a very balanced heat that was a feature of the other flavors, but not the dominant flavor. In the Penzey's version the heat dominates, and it's otherwise lacking the flavor(s) that I recognize as berbere's signature essence. Or to put it another way, the way my friends used berbere, a pan of wot would take like three heaping tablespoons of berbere--half a jar or more. So you'd get heat but a whole lot of other spice flavor along with it. The Penzey's is so hot you'd use a lot less and have a weaker dish.