Spices how much ?

[south coast hero]

Need a bit of advice here please.
A friend of mine who is a chef asked about spices in Turkey so i am going to get him some.
So i will go to the market but how do you buy spices ?
By the weight ?
By the packet ?
Also do you barter on spices or is it a fixed price ?
Also what is the rough price ?

Sorry for all the questions but i could get the bargain of the century or ripped off and i would not have a clue.

Hero.

[sirkyboy]

Depends how much you want. If its just one bag then you can usually get them to stick a bit more in the bag for you.

Last time I bought my yearly stash I got prices for what I wanted got them bagged up and then bartered.

She started at 80 lira I think and walked away paying about 55. This was at the market and I did buy a lot.

[JT]

The only spice that I would buy would be saffron (is it a spice or flower or herb) and Sumak

Any other spice would probably bought cheaper in Chinese or Indian supermarkets in the UK in 1kg bags

[wa66yne]

hi,
in a way I agree with john, however, most of the stalls do a " special mix" which is fantastic with lamb especially on the barby, so hence due to the nice weather we are having im running rather low...... roll on septemeber.

wayne

[JT]

Ah ok I see what you mean, they do their own recipes

I have never really stopped to check them out

[wa66yne]

john you need to stop rushing round..............from bar to bar hahahaha

wayne

[toonarmybarmy]

Hero, if it is just standard spices your chef friends want, they would definitely be cheaper in UK from India/Chinese supermarkets. Even Tesco are doing these 1kg bags now!

Tim

[south coast hero]

Thanks for all your advice everyone.
It looks like i will give buying spices a miss unless i get back,go to Tesco and buy a load and put them in different bags
Once again thanks as always for the advice.

Hero.

[sirkyboy]

Got it right there. Saffron is stupidly cheap and it's the spice mixes they make just can't find it anywhere else that has the same taste.

[blondie]

That's usually all we bring back too - saffron is a lot cheaper and sumac can be hard to find here. The different mixes lamb, chicken, meatballs, salad, etc - are also good and hard to replicate on your own.

[blogger]

Wonder if anyone can help??

I bought some spices - saffron 1/50th the price in uk!) sumac and a "casserole mix" that tasted so good

I couldn't resist -- now does anyone know how much of this to use per casserole for example?

[blondie]

Blogger - try Binnur's Turkish Cookbook - they have a website and a Facebook page - packed with lovely recipes and should give you an ideal of how much to use.