Teach me about...spices

Cafe Society
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The title sums it up. I’m finally growing out of the simplistic salads-pasta-sandwiches mold of a college student, broadening my horizons.

Growing up, I ate a lot of Indian and latin food (parents), and spices were used heavily - but I have no idea what goes together in an American sense. I eat pretty healthy for the most part - butter is for cookies only, I’ve never used or liked cream or potatoes much in a recipe (save for homemade oven fries).

For example, I was visiting my parents this weekend, my dad made eggs with tumeric in them. Just egg whites, tumeric and salt. They were tasty - but not really my style more than once in awhile anymore. Latin and Indian food spices can be overwhelming at times.

I bought an Oster food steamer, and have been using it for rice, veggies, and hard-cooked eggs so far. It’ll save me from boiling a lot on the stove, it seems.

I like fish, and rarely eat any meat but it. I want to mostly use a crockpot, steamer, and occasionally a skillet/fry pan, for the convenience and to avoid using the oven whenever possible during the summer. I’m handy at all 3 - so far.

Basically, what spice combinations go well together? What spices should only be used in moderation - ie, can easily overpower other spices in a dish? What spices go best with garlic - so far, I’ve noticed in any recipe, I will halve the salt and double to triple the garlic - I guess I like garlic. I also add more dill than things usually call for. I had some leftover chili my boyfriend’s mom gave us, and added probably an extra tsp of chili powder to my heaping bowl of it tonight.

Typically, hotter and fragrant/strong spice combinations would be helpful. I’d like to learn combinations since I typically use 1-2 spices in large quantities; I imagine if I got a better grasp on things, I would use a larger variety and less of individual ones.

Also, Penzey’s for certain ones? Are grocery store/generic spices really terrible?

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spice combos I use regularly, and what I call them.

Cinnamon/Ginger/Nutmeg/Cloves (AKA Christmas spice or gluhwein spice)
Cinnamon/Ginger/Cloves/Cayenne Chile/Coriander/Cumin/Allspice (AKA North African spice)
Pepper/Cumin/Cayenne Chile/Ginger/Coriander (AKA General spice or masala)
Add extra chile and turmeric to masala to make my standard curry powder.
Pepper/Star Anise/Aniseed/Ginger/Cassia or Cinnamon/Chile (AKA Oriental Spice or Six-spice-powder)

Cloves, definitely. Nutmeg. Turmeric can give things an earthy taste that can be quite undesireable in large amounts.

Ginger goes best with garlic - fresh ginger, that is.

I usually get my dry spices at the supermarket, but we have a couple good ranges of organic/fair trade here. Otherwise, it’s the Indian and Chinese speciality shops for me.

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First, learn the difference between herbs and spices – herbs are the leaves/stems, spices are the nuts/seeds (generally). I think you may be using the term “spices” to cover both.

If you know about Penzey’s, then go to their web site and look at some of their blends to get an idea of things that “go together.” There are flavor profiles that are distinct to different regions of the world, and the blends will reflect that. For example, an Italian blend will be similar to, but distinct from, a French blend or a “Mediterranean”/Greek blend, etc. Even within Asia, to take your example, there are different flavor combinations that are typical of different cultures, and even regions within countries. If you learn what makes a dish “Mexican” or “Thai” or “Italian” then you can start branching out.

I do order a lot of things from Penzey’s (there’s not a store in my area) because they are fresher than a lot of supermarket types.

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wrong thread reply, mod please delete

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Damn near anything can go well with anything, depending on the flavor profile you’re looking for and your individual palate. Flavor combinations never taste quite the same to any two people, so you really do have to just play around with it some.

That said, there are certain “classic” combinations that you tend to see very frequently in recipes. Things like cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg/cloves (“baking spices”) or basil/oregano/parsley/garlic (“Italian spice”). You can usually find these combinations pre-blended at the store, and if it’s something you use a lot of, that can be worthwhile. But if you don’t use a buttload of that specific combination, or you don’t like one of the components, it’s a waste of your money and shelf space. And if you’ve only ever had certain spices blended together, it can be a right pain in the arse to figure out which one(s) you don’t like. So overall I think it’s generally better to buy individual spices.

The ones at the grocery store aren’t bad, really. It’s just that after a spice is ground, it tends to start losing flavor more quickly than it did when whole, and that process is further speeded up by exposure to light and heat. So you have those big clear jars of ground stuff sitting on a shelf for who knows how long, they tend to be weaker than smaller batch spices. Which, for the average person just figuring what they do and don’t like in terms of spices, is not a big deal. Grocery store spices in the spice/baking aisle do tend to be kind of expensive, though. Whenever possible you should look for cheaper alternatives, like the ethnic food aisles, small ethnic groceries, bulk food stores, that sort of thing.

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One thing that I’ve found with regard to Penzey’s spices, vs the supermarket ones, is that the supermarket ones are less fresh, and VERY expensive per unit price (per oz/lb/gallon).

I tend to try to minimize my use of expensive spices, so they tend to sit on in my pantry longer, and fade in flavor. When I get “a lot” for “a little,” I’m more likely to try to use them in dishes, and expand my ability to use them (by gaining experience).

My food became much more flavorful once I discovered Penzeys. (I now make my own mustard, which is cost effective when buying from Penzeys (8oz for like $4, but NOT when buying 1 oz of mustard seed for $4)

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You might enjoy this thread too.

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Heh, I do know the difference, and although I usually buy herbs fresh, I have been using a lot of dill lately from a jar, so I equate “dried” things to be all spices. I was sort of hoping for people’s unique combinations, not necessarily “italian” spice or “indian” spice, etc.

Christmas spice would be used for…baking? That was the taste in the eggs, too earthy. Also, is fresh ginger grated? Chopped? Is it much of a crime to use dry or powdered (at least for the time being, while money’s a bit tighter).

Actually, this is more “what to buy” whereas mine is more about people’s combinations. The previous one was useful, however I was moreso going for combinations.

Thanks everyone, keep 'em coming!

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Most any herb goes with garlic. I treat garlic as a base ingredient to go with onions. I recently made kofta that had onion, garlic, cinnamon (one of the “go easy” spices), cumin, cilantro, and nutmeg.

Stay away from dried basil and dried cilantro. Both suck. Add fresh herbs at the end of the cooking cycle for best flavor.

Otherwise, peruse cookbooks for combinations. After awhile, it becomes almost second nature. The suggestion about looking at Penzey’s spice combos is a good one.

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You can grate it or chop it into tiny pieces. The flavor is much much much stronger than dried. I’ve been known to use powder in a pinch (har har) but fresh ginger isn’t expensive at all. Just buy a small chunk at a time - a 2 square inch piece will cost like 40 cents.

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Also mulled wine and some meats (although then I’d add white pepper as well in that case). Try it on pork cutlets or white fish. Go easy on the cloves and nutmeg. Add some lemon zest to it, or some paprika (especially with fish - just paprika, salt and pepper is The Bomb on white fish)

Yes, I use a teeny grater like the nutmeg graters you get. Chopped fine is OK too, but not as easy.

No - I only use powdered in the Christmas and Oriental mixes, for instance. But those are both rubbing spices anyway. For the North African, though, I like it fresh. Also if I’m doing Thai curry or similar. Here, I can get grated ginger in jars at any supermarket. Also a garlic-and-ginger paste that saves a lot of hassle for curries and the like.

For fish, in addition to paprika, try a *dukkah *crust and bake the fish. I’ll sit the fish on lemon slices, then cover with the *dukkah *and a dash of olive oil. Bake until done.

My usual *dukkah *is: roasted almonds, roasted sesame seeds, cracked pepper, ground coriander seed, ground cumin, coarse salt and brown sugar.

…but you can use walnut or hazelnut as the nut, add other spices like fennel seed or anise, even a little more heat with cayenne pepper. Fennel and anise goes really well with fish.

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The *dukkah*fish can be steamed too, BTW.

I hope you have either a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder, though. You need one or the other to get the most out of spices, IMO.

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Start researching recipes–in cookbooks or online. Penzey’s has recipes on the website. Specifically tied to herbs & spices, of course.

And if there’s a Penzey’s store close by, you can sniff before buying!

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I agree, dried basil is horrific. I’m considering doing an herb pot, but I have to do more research, as I’m an apartment dweller.

Heh, my old grocery store used to have signs forbidding people from “breaking” pieces off. My new one does not, so this is great advice.

This sounds awesome.

There is, and I’ve walked through it once, utterly bewildered. But this time, I perused their online catalog (at the urgings from this thread), and bookmarked a few combos that sounded good. I’ll go sometime this weekend!

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Umm, some of us do not have access to fresh herbs or ginger. Any suggestions for the dried stuff?

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For something like basil, I would seriously suggest to try growing it on the windowsill. It’s a completely different herb fresh vs. dried. If you absolutely must use it dried, I would use it in a tomato sauce, adding it in the last fifteen minutes to half-hour of cooking. Or, more likely, I would skip it. It’s not going to work well in recipes like Thai basil chicken or as a final garnish to a dish where the freshness of the herb is absolutely central to the success of the dish.

Now, unfortunately, something like dried cilantro I really can’t find any passable use for. The drying process really kills all the taste of this herb. I would probably just leave it out of the recipe or make something else, as dried cilantro is not an acceptable substitute, in my opinion.

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It took me a while to come to grips with fresh ginger. I’ll tell you what I do now.
When I put the leftover piece in a bag in the refrigerator, it would go moldy. If I left it out in open air, it shriveled up.

Now, I buy a whole “hand” of the root. After I cut off that meal’s portion, I cut it up into one-use sections, wrap the sections in plastic wrap, put into a plastic box, and freeze it. When I take it out, I let it get half-thawed. Then I slice it thin, and mini-dice the slices. I don’t peel it, except for the brown scabby spots. It’s easier than it sounds.

I don’t like to grate ginger. I ended up with a gob of fibrous stuff hanging off the chunk.

I use ginger in my Thai and Chinese dishes, mostly, but a hot ginger sauce over pork chops is very nice. Generally, I’ll sauté ginger along with the garlic.

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[QUOTE=AskNott;11159981 I don’t peel it, except for the brown scabby spots. It’s easier than it sounds.[/QUOTE]

For those who do want to peel their ginger, there’s a nifty way of doing it I picked up from Yan Can Cook or a similar cooking program. Instead of using a peeler or cutting into it with a knife, scrape the ginger with the side of a spoon (or you could scrape with the side of a knife as well if you’re fairly dexterous.)

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I think one of those AeroGardens would solve this problem. I may get one eventually. Lucky for me, dried basil is all I know. I’m afraid if I try fresh, I may find out what I was missing.

I notice nobody has mentioned rosemary. I love the flavor rosemary adds to things, but I’m not sure what it goes with. Really, I think rosemary is my favorite spice. ETA: Excuse me, its an herb.

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Basil grows like a weed without much encouragement. A sunny spot or a grow light will net you more basil than you can use. Make sure to pop off the buds before they flower. You want leaves, not flowers.