RAWSPICEBAR June 2015 Subscription Box Review

What it is:  A monthly subscription service that sends 3-4 freshly-ground, small batch custom spice blends from one geography or region each month.  

Cost:  $6/month with free shipping

Details:  Spice blend packets have enough in them to create 3 dishes serving 8-12 people.  RawSpiceBar also sends 3 kitchen-tested recipe cards, plus they offer additional recipes online.

In this Month's Box:  Jamaica

From RawSpiceBar:  

What's Included:

The spices arrived in a 5x7" yellow envelope.

The package included an informational card about this months' selections, 3 recipe cards, and the 3 spice packets.

The Spices:

1.  Jamaican Jerk Spices - Perfect for summer grilling season, jerk refers to the preparation of meat or seafood with a wet or dry rub. This rub has African origins, while thyme, nutmeg and spicy chiles found in the Caribbean were included over time. Use this blend to create a jerk paste for marinating chops, ribs, chicken, shrimp or kebabs.

Here's a close-up of the packet:

The recipe RawSpiceBar sent to use the Jamaican Jerk Rub with was for Jamaican Jerk Fish Tacos:

Since I am not a fan of fish, I substituted the fish with chicken.  (I've been to Jamaica twice and both times had amazing jerk chicken while I was down there, so I was excited to try to recreate the flavor)!

The recipe for this was pretty simple.  I basically just mixed the spices as directed in Step 2 (though I did it in a bowl rather than over heat).

I then poured the mixture over the chicken, rubbed it into the chicken a bit, and let it marinade.

Here's the Final Product:

VERDICT:  

As you can see from the photo above, there was a lot of seasoning in this mixture.  I ate the chicken just like the photo showed and it was really spicy/hot!  (As in, made my mouth/lips burn).  The flavor was really good, but I would like to try it again and let the chicken marinade longer versus cooking it with all the marinade on it.

2.  Mango Salsa Spices -  Use these spices to create a spicy Jamaican style mango salsa that is a beautiful blend of sweet and spicy and pairs perfectly with a jerk dish of fish, shrimp or chicken. This spice blend can be used on other tropical fruits or light, citrus salad.

Here's a close-up of the packet:

The recipe Raw Spice Bar sent to use the Mango Salsa Spice was for Paprika Ginger Mango Corn Salsa:

Once again, the recipe was easy to follow.  I used canned corn though rather than grilling corn on the cob.  

Here's the final product (paired with the Jamaican Jerk Chicken from above):

VERDICT:  

At first it seemed a bit odd to me to put corn with a fruit, but this was REALLY good!  The flavors of the mango and corn blended really well together and ended up tasting like a yummy dessert.  

3.  Jamaican Sweet Spices -  This blend of spices is created specifically for creating a sweet, light dessert. Banana fritters, a Jamaican specialty, are jazzed up with cinnamon, nutmeg and Chile peppers plus a mixture of toasted black and white sesame seeds for a hint of nuttiness.

Here's a close-up of the packet:

The recipe Raw Spice Bar sent to use the Jamaican Sweet Spices was for Jamaican Banana Fritters :

This was another really easy recipe to make!  

The mixture turned out pretty thick.  Once prepared, I put it in the skillet.

Simple enough, right?  Wrong!  These little buggers did not want to flip....

I put them on a plate hoping they would become a bit crispier, but they stayed squishy (which is how they looked in the photo on the RawSpiceBar's website).  

I paired it with ice cream and this became dessert for my dad on Father's Day.

VERDICT:  

This was the most frustrating out of the three recipes to make just because I couldn't get these banana fritters to flip right in the pan.  The cayenne pepper in the spice mixture gave them a kick too, which was a bit odd.  My dad (and mom) liked them though and since I made them for him for Father's Day, that's all that matters.  I won't try making these again in the future though!

OVERALL VERDICT:  As I've said before, this is the perfect starter subscription box for anyone who likes to cook or is trying to learn.  At $6/month, it's affordable and well-curated.  The chicken and mango salsa were amazing and definitely recipes I'd try to make again in the future.  The theme for the July box is "Memphis".  Can't wait to try those recipes!!

Have you checked out Raw Spice Bar yet?  If so, what did you think?

XOXO,
Stephanie