It’s expensive, but if you do any Spanish or Cuban cooking at all, I recommend having a bit of saffron on hand – the real stuff, not the “yellow rice and chicken spice” blend made mostly of turmeric.
If you’re actually interested in spices and trying new things, I totally recommend downloading a Penzeys catalog (for free). They have wonderful but straightforward descriptions of what the various things taste like and what they’re good in. I grew up watching my parents use spices and can vouch for at least a third of the Penzeys descriptions/use suggestions, and am still enjoying finding out more from them. Plus, they love to tuck free samples in with orders! I’ve discovered fantastic blends that way.
Nice. I would add rubbed sage, and I would keep both Hungarian and Spanish paprika.
Well, heck, since you’re in Brooklyn why not join the Park Slope Food Co-op? If you’re looking for food that inspires you to experiment, you can’t beat it. And you can create a VERY impressive spice rack for less than five bucks. The spices are bagged in small quantities so you can get just the amounts you need or want. You’d have to provide the jars (or buy them there) but I never quite seem to get around to that, and tend to collect piles of baggies in my cupboard.
It’s not for everyone, but I LOVE the co-op.
Don’t use garlic powder, it never tastes quite right.
Nutmeg is surprisingly versatile.
Big thick kosher salt is great on meat, but wasted in sauces.
Dill seed is an interesting little item; a bit fussy but works well with either vegetables or meat.
I’ll add my voice to the choir that says buy what you need when you need it. Sometimes McCormick or other spice makers sells spices in smaller bottles, which could be a good idea if you’re buying something that you may not use a lot of or if you only cook for yourself. This way, you don’t waste spices and your spices stay fresher when you buy them more often. I have small bottles of cinnamon, ginger, paprika, thyme and cumin seeds, for example.
Yes, you can do that. I think most spices keep well longer, though.
Cinnamon? Nah, I go for the big bottle.
(Ground) Ginger: Don’t buy any of it. Not like the real thing and besides, it’s way too easy to overdose.
I agree for stirfrys and other savories that fresh ginger should be used, but ground ginger is essential for sweets and baking. Think ginger snaps and gingerbread.
Never had any luck with it. But if the OP must, measure it really carefully.
As regards smaller amounts, you can often buy from fruit markets spices in packets which are smaller than the bottled amounts. If you need to get a small amount, buy the packet and fill the bottle from it.
Which reminds me…I forgot to put celery seed on my list. It’s an important component to many of my dry rubs. Plus I like it sprinkled over my hot dogs every once in a while. (Technically, it’s celery salt that gets sprinkled over some dogs here in Chicago, but the dog is already salty enough. Otherwise, you can mix the celery seed with salt yourself to make celery salt.)
I also use celery seed in my coleslaw, and it works well in pickling, too.
Hijack: Where can you get a spice rack any more? The flat hang-on-the-wall kind? Last time I looked at Target, all they had was a countertop round-basket-style spice rack – worse, it came with its own labeled (empty) spice bottles. Hello! I bought these things in bottles, I just need a place to store them alphabetically!
My Mom used to have a hanging spice rack with a chart of spices and uses printed on the front door.
If you’re buying spices in glass bottles, you’re paying way too much for them!
As for spice racks…
Plastic bottles, usually. Sometimes glass. What, do you buy them in plastic bags that hang on hooks? I only see spices for sale that way in the ethnic- (usually Mexican-) foods section.
I got a two-tiered lazy-susan thing at Target. I don’t remember it was really intended to be a spice rack or not. Still not big enough.
Exactly. Pour them into your own bottles and save. As noted up-thread, ethnic markets tend to have fresher, cheaper spices at a fraction of the cost of supermarket spices. Although I will admit, most of the stuff I buy from Penzey’s comes in plastic bottles.
Problem is, you outgrow them almost immediately, they tend to be mounted over or near a heat source, and become decorative objects rather than useful (especially the ones with the fancy bottles).
Back to the OP, remember that smaller quantities are going to be better for the occasional user. Most pices and herbs lose their potency after about a year, and you may as well add sawdust to your food as use them.
If you have room for a small garden, parsley, sage, rosemary, cilantro, etc are all better fresh. For the best prices, buy from the source: St Martin spices on market day
If you’re a narrow cook, buy what you need when you need it. I find that a lot of these lists aren’t good for me - as a near-vegetarian, a lot of the common spices aren’t that handy (rosemary, thyme) but I use a ton of things like nutmeg because, well, I just really like nutmeg.
I have a little shelf next to my range with the stuff I use nearly every day. This includes my salt cellar, my pepper grinder, olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and a few of my favorite spice blends. This is a good place to start and buy the other things as you need them.
Regarding nutmeg, a fine Microplane spice grinder is cheap and means you can grate your own nutmeg. For spices, I find that ethnic grocery stores are best and cheapest. I buy whole nutmeg at an Indian grocery store. Even Des Moines has one!
If you’re in an area like me where fresh herbs are available for only a couple of months a year unless you want to pay five bucks for a tiny amount, dried basil is worth it. It’s not the same but it’s impossible for me to afford keeping myself in enough fresh basil all year long. I am growing an herb garden this year though so I’m going to try the ice trick. Note that I don’t think dried parsley is worth much. I don’t think it tastes like anything.
Penzey’s is best for spice blends. A good blend is really handy for simple tasks like jazzing up frozen vegetables. I generally eat a whole bag of frozen vegetables a day, and a bit of kosher salt and Tuscan Sunset makes them quite pleasant.
Do.
I don’t do the ice-cube tray thing either. Just grow a bunch of herbs, pick them, run them through a food processor and store them in freezer bags. Break off the sized chunk you need. The stuff doesn’t freeze into a hard brick you can’t easily separate.
I’m probably alone in this, but parsley does impart a nice flavor to some soups and stews - even dried, and fresh picked and frozen parsley has even more flavor. The flavor is there folks, it really is. Try it in some cream potato soup or a chowder.
Cilantro is about the only thing I’d never used dried, ever. Might as well stick some dryer lint in your food.