Spices

This is the spice section of the Metro Market where I shop for most of my everyday grocery needs. It is a very western-type grocery store, with Egyptian overtones. I especially favor this store for heavy items, like a case of bottled water and soda pop because they deliver!

This store, unlike other grocery stores that cater to westerners, also has a large Egyptian following, which accounts for this spice section. Egyptians prefer to buy their spices like this where they can smell the spices, and know they are fresh. These spices sell out regularly and are replenished everyday so they are always fresh. You can buy as much or as little as you need. Unfortunately the signs are all in arabic so I only have my nose to guide me as to what's what. I stick to the bottled spices that have labels in English so I don't get misled. But I am dying to try and figure out what all these spices are and how to cook with them. The smell is devine, and very intense.