McCormick Gourmet Chinese Five Spice Blend

McCormick Gourmet Chinese Five Spice Blend is a small, pantry-friendly jar you’ll find in the spice aisle near other McCormick blends, Asian sauces and dry rubs; larger stores may also stock it in the international or Asian foods section alongside star anise, cinnamon sticks and Chinese cooking staples. Suited to weeknight stir-fries, weekend braises, holiday baking and anytime you want to add an aromatic, slightly sweet‑spicy lift, this blend reads as a versatile specialty seasoning for home cooks experimenting with East Asian flavors. Branded under McCormick’s “Gourmet” label, it leans into authenticity and culinary adventure — targeted at foodies and home cooks seeking convenience and consistent spice quality rather than budget shoppers or kids. The label emphasizes traditional spices and heritage uses (roast duck, braised pork) without prominent kid-oriented graphics; there’s no front-of-pack organic seal, and the ingredient list gives a straightforward, “natural-sounding” impression but does include sulfiting agents as a preservative. In plain processing terms, it’s a blended dry spice product made from dried and ground botanicals with a preservative to maintain color and shelf stability. Sensory notes: the jar yields a fine-to-coarse brown-red powder flecked with tiny star‑anise fragments, giving off warm top notes of anise and cinnamon and a bitter-sweet backbone; texture is dry and powdery, easy to pinch or mix into a rub or braising liquid. Typical use is a quick pinch while stir-frying, mixing into marinades or measuring by teaspoon into baking batters — a small ritual that converts familiar home meals into something more aromatic and globally inspired.