Do NOT...I repeat...DO NOT...buy your dried herbs & spices in those little jars at the supermarket!

These can cost as much as $3.00 per jar...or more...but you can save a fortune simply by finding a health food store, one that sells *bulk* foods.

These stores will have the herbs & spices in large jars, and you have to scoop out the amount you want, into a little plastic bag...and then label them properly, so the cashier knows what to charge you. A little bit of work on your part, but the $$$ savings are worth it!

For example...I ran out of dried rosemary the other day. I bought some more at the Wild Oats store near me. I bought enough to fill the old rosemary jar twice. The price on the jar was $3.59. The cost for this new batch of rosemary...57 cents!

I live in the Boston area, and we have not only the chain of Wild Oats, but also Bread & Circus...both offer a huge selection of bulk herbs and spices, and also other items such as flours, sugars, and yeast...if you bake, this will be a great money saver!

You might not have a chain health-food store where you are, as I do...but look for little mom & pop type places, for bulk foods. At first glance, you might think these places are overpriced...but compared to supermarket prices for packaged spices...well, all I can say is that it's been a real eye-opener to many people!

When you find a source for bulk herbs & spices...be sure that the place does a good business, that the stuff hasn't been sitting around for a hundred years. Take a whiff in the jar...if it smells like rosemary (or whatever), you're good to go. However, if it doesn't smell much like anything, find another store. In such a case, everyone else did, too.

This is also good advice to bakers...if you bake bread, yeast can be pricey at the supermarket. Buy your yeast in bulk, and save mucho $$$$! Just make sure it's bakers' active dry yeast...not nutritional yeast, brewers yeast, or whatever!

Enjoy!

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