Spice Racks Blog

Recently, the great site The Kitchn had a terrific post about spices! There’s nothing like a handy, quick reference to herbs and spices, am I right? It’s a wonderful way to find out about new spices, while reinforcing your beliefs about familiar ingredients. It helps keep you grounded, yet still curious, and that’s a good way to go through life.

Here are some of my favorite factoids!

• Cloves – Sweet and warming spice. Used most often in baking, but also good with braised meat.

• Coriander – Earthy, lemony flavor. Used in a lot of Mexican and Indian dishes.

• Cumin – Smoky and earthy. Used in a lot of Southwestern US and Mexican cuisine, as well as North African, Middle Eastern, and Indian.

• Fennel Seed – Lightly sweet and licorice flavored. It’s excellent with meat dishes, or even chewed on its own as a breath freshener and digestion aid!

• Fenugreek – Although this herb smells like maple syrup while cooking, it has a rather bitter, burnt sugar flavor. Found in a lot of Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.

• Mace – From the same plant as nutmeg, but tastes more subtle and delicate. Great in savory dishes, especially stews and homemade sausages.

• Garam Masala – Typcially includes cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, and pepper. Sweeter than curry powder. Also used to season curry sauces. (Indian)

• Herbes de Provence – Usually savory, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and sometimes lavender. Use as a marinade or dry rub for roast chicken, fish, and vegetables.

• Pickling Spice – Most often, bay leaf, yellow mustard seeds, black peppercorns, allspice, coriander. Used for pickling vegetables in vinegar.

• Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix – Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Used for seasoning pumpkin pie, but also great in other spiced baked goods.

• Ras el Hanout – Cardamom, clove, cinnamon, paprika, coriander, cumin, mace, nutmeg, peppercorn, and turmeric. Use as a spice rub on meat or a simple condiment. (North African/Moroccan)

• Za’atar Seasoning Blend – Thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. All-purpose seasoning for many Middle Eastern dishes like grilled meats, grilled vegetables, flatbread and hummus. (Middle Eastern)

Have you tried any of these? Let me know what you think in the comments!