sesame seeds?

[iamsam]

anyone have good suggestions for where to go to buy sesame seeds (more than just the tiny bottles they sell at WF)?

hmart? christina's?

thanks!

[cpingenot]

Barmy beat me to it, but Penzey's sells big bags, half pound and pound size, as well as smaller sizes.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Penzey's, Mass Ave in Arlington.

[StriperGuy]

Penzey's is awesome and their freshness can't be beat, but Arax and Sevan are often 1/3 to 1/2 the price.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Last bag of sesame seeds I bought at Penzey's were $4.70 for a full pound. (I use a *lot* of sesame seeds in my cooking.) I'm more than willing to pay that for top-quality seeds.

[StriperGuy]

That IS quite reasonable. Guess I am really commenting more on some of their prices for spices. Chiles Pequines were something like $5 for an ounce or two and at the little bodega near twin donut it was $1.29 for four ounces. In general I find their prices for spices a bit steep compared to Harvest Coop, and Arax / Sevan.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

They can be spendy on some items, true. (Especially the chiles.) But I find in general, you get what you pay for: places like the Armenian grocers on Mt. Auburn and the Indian grocers on Moody Street have cheaper spices for sure, but Penzey's just blows them away for quality, and they're packaged in quantities closer to what I need. I could get a pound of mustard seeds at Patel Brothers for $2, sure, but the executors of my estate will be throwing out half the bag when they're cleaning out the house in a few decades.

The trick at Penzey's, especially with an item you use a lot of, is to buy the bagged versions (which are a much more reasonable price per pound) and lay in a supply of small spice jars to decant them into.

[CookieLee]

I bought them in Shaws, in the Internat'l Aisle, where the Latin food are for a lot less than WF. Just had to toast 'em meself!

[StriperGuy]

Arax and Sevan in Watertown have very good ones at good prices.

[cutipie721]

If you get them from an Asian store, don't get the ones from China. I find them very gritty.

[galleygirl]

Any of the Asian groceries (Super88, CMart, H-Mart) and the smaller corner stores, like Reliable and John's Market in Allston, will have 1 and 2# containers in the Korean aisle..

I think you can also purchase them in quantity at the Armenian stores in Watertown....

[PinchOfSalt]

WF also sells them in larger, plastic containers (the medium-sized plastic containers they use for prepared food and lots of other bulk bin-type items). Plus, I think I have seen sesame seeds in bulk bins there (but not sure which WF location).

Trader Joe's ought to have them too but I cannot specifically remember seeing them there.