# What do you consider a well stocked spice cabinet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 26, 2016, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765 "2016-05-26T20:56:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/21 "2016-05-30T16:19:03Z")
Allspice - part of a base for Oriental style, or for baking Almond extract Basil - if you can get it fresh its just so much better Bay Leaves - totally essential Black Pepper - essential Caraway Seeds - yes, most folk really don’t know how to use Cardamom - essential, both green and black Celery Seed - essential Chili Powder - essential Chinese Five Spice - maybe,but I would not worry about not having it, Chives - get this fresh if you can, you can use onion leaves too Cilantro - Is this Oregano, if so, its essential Cinnamon - yes but not essential Cinnamon-sugar - Nope Cloves - yes, especially if you like your ham, and of course you need honey Coriander - yes Cumin - essential Curry powder - Nope Dill - its ok for fish, but its just something there to try out occasionally Garam Masala - maybe use as a base and add others, but I find it can get a little bit bitter, prefer to mix my own Garlic - essential, always use fresh, and sauté it first Ginger - yes, for that really deceptive curry Herbs De Provence - No point, you may as well mix your own Liquid smoke - what? No thanks Italian Seasoning - nope, mix your own, and experiment a bit Jerk Seasoning - nope, don’t like Lemon Pepper - yes, for all sorts, also soak in olive oil for salad oils Mace - not really used it Marjoram - essential Meat Tenderizer - nope, mix your own and experiment Mint - yes, nut only occasionally Mustard powder - no, prefer to get fresh Nutmeg - yes, great in hot chocolate drinks especially Old Bay Seasoning - dunno what that is Onion (Minced) - nope, always use real onions or shallots Onion Powder - nope, as above Oregano - essential Paprika - yes, use in combination to make rub in seasonings Parsley - yes, but always use fresh Poultry Seasoning - mix your own, experiment, usually works, sometimes it doesnt Poppy Seeds - not really that important Pumpkin Pie Spice - dunno what this is Red Pepper Flakes - never seen these before Rosemary - essential Sage - essential Saffron - this is so expensive, has to be used wisely to get the most from it Salt - not a spice, but yes, pretty essential Savory - dunno what this would be, I expect savory may mean different things to different countries Seasoning Salt - oddly enough, yes, its ok on things like open top sandwiches Sesame Seeds - we don’t use this much in UK Sriracha - dunno what this is Steak Seasoning - nope, steak really only needs good pepper Tarragon - its not really a flavour I am keen on but I can see why you’d stock it Thyme - essential Tumeric - yes Vanilla extract - more for baking White Pepper - essential I think you really need to add a couple of good balsamic vinegars, infused vinegars as well, try raspberry infused - you may be surprised to find out how well it goes in an ice cream glaze - trust me on this you really must have sun dried tomatoes, real meat stock(not cubes) - keep some frozen and use it when needed. Capers - worth having for some things, brings an unusual twang that most folk enjoy but cannot identify You also need a couple of very good olive oils Fenugreek has already been mentioned Whatever herb you use, its always always better to use fresh You have not mentioned something like Encona hot sauce or Tabasco, pretty important in my book ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/22 "2016-05-30T19:45:27Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > Whatever herb you use, its always always better to use fresh I disagree. For example, I prefer dried oregano to fresh oregano for most of the typical things I make. It’s got a deeper, earthier flavor that I prefer to the fresher, “green” flavor of fresh oregano. Same with marjoram. Sage I can go either way on. The ones that are always better fresh are the “delicate” herbs, like tarragon, cilantro, parsley, chervil, basil. The “woody” herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, etc., I can go either way on and can prefer the dried version depending on the application. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/23 "2016-05-30T20:31:28Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > Herbs De Provence - No point, you may as well mix your own Without knowing what savory is? ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/24 "2016-05-31T18:13:45Z")
Late to the party – but: OP (with some guessed-equivalent trade-offs – I’m in the UK, you’re presumably in the USA) – commodities in your list which I haven’t got, are: Almond extract Basil Cinnamon-sugar Herbes de Provence Jerk seasoning Lemon pepper\* Meat tenderizer Old Bay seasoning\* Pumpkin pie spice\* Rosemary Seasoning salt Sriracha Steak seasoning Vanilla extract (\*: things presumably US-specific, whose names mean nothing to me) Things not in your list, which I have; Amchoor (mango powder) Asafoetida Cayenne pepper Chervil Coriander seed (as distinct from powder) Cumin seed (as distinct from powder) Curry leaves Fennel seed Fenugreek seed Fenugreek powder Juniper berries Kaffir lime leaves Mustard seed Nigella seed Star anise ( **pulykamell** mentions in post #5, his having quite a number of the above) (I have various curry powders, in various strengths) > [@pulykamell](#): > > In terms of paprika, I’m particularly picky: My basic paprika must be Hungarian paprika, preferably from Kolocsa. Must be sweet, preferably _különleges_ or _édesnemes_ (there’s like eight or so different types of Hungarian paprika.) After that, I like to have a smoked Spanish paprika around, and I do like some of the paprikas I’ve had from California via Penzey’s. **pulykamell** , I suspect you’d consider me pretty much a barbarian paprika-wise: I have three jars: ordinary paprika, smoked paprika, and hot paprika. > [@casdave](#): > > Savory - dunno what this would be, I expect savory may mean different things to different countries Not very long ago, there was a thread on SDMB in which savory (among many other things) was discussed – I tried to find that thread to link to it, but I suck at computer-type searching. One gathers that savory is a herb which is more like oregano than anything else – seemingly, it’s particularly big in the cuisine of Bulgaria. (I got some, dried, from a local Polish shop.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/25 "2016-05-31T18:36:29Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > **pulykamell** , I suspect you’d consider me pretty much a barbarian paprika-wise: I have three jars: ordinary paprika, smoked paprika, and hot paprika. That’s two more than I have right now. 🙂 I cook a lot of Hungarian food (more in the colder seasons), so the quality of the paprika is important to me. All I _really_ need is one decent sweet paprika in the spice cabinet. It’s gotta have a bright red color and smell clearly of dried red peppers. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/26 "2016-05-31T18:47:27Z")
I’ve recently found a line of freeze dried herbs that has improved my non fresh stocks dramatically. The basic list of herbs and spices I keep on hand is well represented so far, the only thing I would add is lemon balm which I have grown to love more than is reasonable and a variety of flavoured salts. Basics for me are smoked salt, citrus salt and maple salt. I also have an entire shelf of infused olive oils and flavoured balsamic vinegars. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/27 "2016-05-31T18:51:36Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#): > > I’ve recently found a line of freeze dried herbs that has improved my non fresh stocks dramatically. > > The basic list of herbs and spices I keep on hand is well represented so far, the only thing I would add is lemon balm which I have grown to love more than is reasonable and a variety of flavoured salts. Basics for me are smoked salt, citrus salt and maple salt. I also have an entire shelf of infused olive oils and flavoured balsamic vinegars. What do you use the lemon balm for? I grew it a number of years ago, and it’s an extremely prolific herb along the lines of mint (looking online, it apparently is a type of mint, so that explains that), but I couldn’t figure out enough uses for it. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/28 "2016-05-31T20:05:26Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > **pulykamell** , I suspect you’d consider me pretty much a barbarian paprika-wise: I have three jars: ordinary paprika, smoked paprika, and hot paprika. > [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s two more than I have right now. 🙂 I cook a lot of Hungarian food (more in the colder seasons), so the quality of the paprika is important to me. All I _really_ need is one decent sweet paprika in the spice cabinet. It’s gotta have a bright red color and smell clearly of dried red peppers. I’d see us as working out as about equal, then ! ---
**Author:** ![12mgdaily](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/f08c70/32.png) [@12mgdaily](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/12mgdaily)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/29 "2016-05-31T20:14:43Z")
My list is much like everyone else’s. There are several additional ingredients I always keep on hand to season the dishes I prepare. Some of these are liquid form (but I see extracts listed which are liquid). Some need storage in the refrigerator after opened. soy sauce sesame seed oil mirin brown sugar worcestershire sauce molasses honey wine (cooking wine) fish sauce hoisin sauce oyster sauce horseradish bouillon cubes (chicken, beef, ham and fish) old bay seasoning Adobo achiote (annato seeds) sazon dried culantro leaves (not to be confused with cilantro) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/30 "2016-05-31T22:07:10Z")
It is not enough to have “basil”. You need to have multiple bottles (or preferably, a source of the fresh herb) for all your Italian cooking needs. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/31 "2016-06-01T01:42:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Garlic powder/dried garlic I can deal with for certain applications–more than I’d like to admit to, to be honest. The rest, I agree–especially the Liquid Smoke. It was nice to have mint in the freezer for certain applications over the winter, though. Better than dried for some things (dried mint in a mojito? Eeeew!), and I hate paying grocery store prices for most fresh herbs when I just need a little bit of something. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/32 "2016-06-01T02:16:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What do you use the lemon balm for? I grew it a number of years ago, and it’s an extremely prolific herb along the lines of mint (looking online, it apparently is a type of mint, so that explains that), but I couldn’t figure out enough uses for it. I use it mainly on potatoes, chicken and various kinds of fish. I tend to mix it with oregano, salt and pepper, although for salmon I use a combination of lemon balm, dill, maple salt and maple pepper (planked on maple if I can find it or cedar if I can’t) It’s just a lovely light flavour that freshens up any herb blend you’re putting together. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/33 "2016-06-01T14:49:05Z")
> [@12mgdaily](#): > > My list is much like everyone else’s. There are several additional ingredients I always keep on hand to season the dishes I prepare. Some of these are liquid form (but I see extracts listed which are liquid). Some need storage in the refrigerator after opened. > > soy sauce > sesame seed oil > mirin > brown sugar > worcestershire sauce > molasses > honey > wine (cooking wine) > fish sauce > hoisin sauce > oyster sauce > horseradish > bouillon cubes (chicken, beef, ham and fish) > old bay seasoning > Adobo > achiote (annato seeds) > sazon > dried culantro leaves (not to be confused with cilantro) Yeah, we have all that, save the culantro, cooking wine and horseradish. My wife doesn’t like horseradish, and we typically just use whatever regular wine we have in the pantry, rather than buy special extra-salty cheap wine for cooking. Don’t know about culantro; so far, every recipe we’ve used calls for cilantro or possibly epazote, both of which we buy fresh. [Here’s a good article on which herbs are better fresh vs. dried, just for what it’s worth.](http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/10/when-is-it-okay-to-use-dried-herbs-ask-the-food-lab.html) ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/34 "2016-06-01T17:58:45Z")
What is culantro? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/35 "2016-06-01T18:11:56Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > What is culantro? It’s also known as racao and “long coriander.” (I only know the latter name from looking it up way back when–around here, it’s culantro or recao.) It’s an herb that kind of sort of looks like a dandelion leaf with the spiky edges, but not quite as deep and more regular. [See here](http://oneblockwest.blogspot.com/2012/01/alien-ingredient-3-culantro.html). It tastes somewhat of cilantro, but a bit more intense and bitter. It’s used in Puerto Rican cuisine (and other cuisines in the Caribbean), as well as some Southeast Asian cuisines. I’ve never seen the dried version myself, only the fresh one. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/36 "2016-06-01T22:20:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What do you use the lemon balm for? I grew it a number of years ago, and it’s an extremely prolific herb along the lines of mint (looking online, it apparently is a type of mint, so that explains that), but I couldn’t figure out enough uses for it. I use it in sun tea - I coarsely chop a handful, wrap it in cheesecloth and let it steep in the tea for about an hour. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/37 "2016-06-01T23:01:00Z")
Truffle salt needed. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/38 "2016-06-02T04:39:26Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > What is culantro? > [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s also known as racao and “long coriander.” (I only know the latter name from looking it up way back when–around here, it’s culantro or recao.) It’s an herb that kind of sort of looks like a dandelion leaf with the spiky edges, but not quite as deep and more regular. [See here](http://oneblockwest.blogspot.com/2012/01/alien-ingredient-3-culantro.html). It tastes somewhat of cilantro, but a bit more intense and bitter. It’s used in Puerto Rican cuisine (and other cuisines in the Caribbean), as well as some Southeast Asian cuisines. I’ve never seen the dried version myself, only the fresh one. You learn something new every day ! So far as I know, this herb is (not suprisingly) pretty well unknown in the UK. Can’t wait to impress my brother with this one – he being an impassioned foodie and accomplished cook (a lot better than me). ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2016, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765/39 "2016-06-03T03:15:35Z")
Maybe this is a good place to bring this up - Mexican Oregeno is definitely a lot different than the regular Oregeno. So I had an ancient bottle, that was bright green and almost as fine as flour. Very strong and flavorful. Well it ran out. Have ordered replacements from the usual suspects - and it’s nothing at all like the good stuff, it’s just the equivalent of ditchweed. Who makes the good stuff? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-a-well-stocked-spice-cabinet/755765.md?page=1)