Your Herbs, Spices, Flavoring

[Ellyn]

...Right now. I'm just curious.

Right now I have

- ginger root; it's the rainy season and this has been so useful
- preserved orange peel, I thought it would be sweet but it wasn't and now I don't know what to do with it
- bay leaves, which I use often but don't seem to ever run out even though I didn't get a lot...
- cinnamon
- star anise
- molasses, started up for health reasons but found so many neat uses for it that it's something I'll have regularly
- iodized salt, I don't use very much very often but my mother was a health nut and only had "real salt" around which made measurements so annoying when I wanted to bake because they would be large grains and I never wanted to take the trouble to go out and get the proper kind at the store and...it's just been a relief to have it

and I want to get:

- cocoa, specifically Spanish tablea
- pepper, I used to stick with powdered white pepper because it wouldn't darken the food and I found out that it's the same thing anyway, but now that I've been dealing with dark meats I'm thinking of getting some peppercorns as well
- marjoram, since I want to try a recipe of a friend of mine whose favorite herb is marjoram
- oregano, my favorite herb
- rosemary, my second favorite herb
- thyme, you've got to have it, right?
- sage...I'm certain to find some use for this

basically, I don't have very many herbs...but spices

- turmeric, for making yellow rice pilaf
...actually, I think that's about it.


What's on your rack right now? What do you use most often? What would you like to add?

 

[Tina Nord]

Bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and sage are my go to dry herbs. I also have some mixed seasonings such as Old Bay, Italian, and a steak rub. I need to get some cardamon, and some curry as I would like to try some Indian style dishes. My spice cupboard is stuffed to the brim though as I usually buy my spices from Costco and get them in bulk supply.

 

[kammy]

I am running low on herbs since i am experiencing drought were i am living for sometime now; in my kitchen i can find ginger,dried pimento berries,thyme,rosemary and cinnamon.

 

[NThomas]

I need to clear my spice rack out and refesh it with new herbs. I have had what is in those jars far too long.

 

[Tara]

The herbs that I keep on hand are cilantro, rosemary, basil and parsley. Spices are cumin, tumeric, sea salt, peppercorns in a grinder, California garlic powder, cinnamon, red pepper, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. All others I just buy them as needed. My favorite store sells spices by the bulk so I can buy as much as I need.

 

[PattyCakes]

...Right now. I'm just curious.

Right now I have

- ginger root; it's the rainy season and this has been so useful
- preserved orange peel, I thought it would be sweet but it wasn't and now I don't know what to do with it
- bay leaves, which I use often but don't seem to ever run out even though I didn't get a lot...
- cinnamon
- star anise
- molasses, started up for health reasons but found so many neat uses for it that it's something I'll have regularly
- iodized salt, I don't use very much very often but my mother was a health nut and only had "real salt" around which made measurements so annoying when I wanted to bake because they would be large grains and I never wanted to take the trouble to go out and get the proper kind at the store and...it's just been a relief to have it

and I want to get:

- cocoa, specifically Spanish tablea
- pepper, I used to stick with powdered white pepper because it wouldn't darken the food and I found out that it's the same thing anyway, but now that I've been dealing with dark meats I'm thinking of getting some peppercorns as well
- marjoram, since I want to try a recipe of a friend of mine whose favorite herb is marjoram
- oregano, my favorite herb
- rosemary, my second favorite herb
- thyme, you've got to have it, right?
- sage...I'm certain to find some use for this

basically, I don't have very many herbs...but spices

- turmeric, for making yellow rice pilaf
...actually, I think that's about it.


What's on your rack right now? What do you use most often? What would you like to add?

I keep my spice rack well topped up, and it's brimming over with different things. I don't keep dried herbs because I grow my own, dry them myself in small quanties in my dehydrator, or blend them with a little oil and keep in small jars in the fridge - they keep for weeks like that. I do that with fresh chillies I've grown too.

I like to dry chillies when I have a glut and grind them to a powder, or crush them and use them that way.

I use loads of ginger in its fresh, dry and frozen forms! I love it. I also love those jars of stem ginger in syrup; they fantastic or baking cakes and cookies, and I sometimes add them to ice cream when I make it.

My spice rack also has:

Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Allspice
Mixed Spice
Mace
Cayenne
Fenugreek
Cumin (seed and powder)
Paprika (sweet and smoked)
Turmeric
Cardamom
Mustard seed

And lots of different blends that I buy from a local spice dealer.

I love having all of these things to hand when I want to make something tasty.

 

[ACSAPA]

All I have right now is a mint plant , a basil plant, a ginger plant and a jalapeno plant. I tossed my dried spices because I moved a few months ago and all my spices that I brought from my old place are kind of stale. I have to go shopping again.