spices

[jabumbo]

ok, so i am pretty much the once a week chef for my roommates and myself to eat dinner. i dont mind that part, because it gives me something to do, and i like to learn how to cook new things.

i need to add to my spice collection, and i want to know what i should get first. right now i have garlic powder, italian seasoning, and crushed jalepeno powder.

[Johanna]

chilli!

[grass_roots]

garlic
cloves
ginger
cinimon
nutmeg
curry(lots of different kinds!!!)
cumin seeds
chilli powder
basil
aregano
scilantro
rosemary
bay leafs
beef and chicken bouilon
sea salt
paprika
dill


....hmmm, ya, those are my favs, try to use as many fresh herbs and spices as ya can, the flavours are so much more brilliant. I recomend having a little herb garden by your kitchen window with all your greens like the basil, scilantro, dill, rosemary, etc, fresh herbs lend themselves so much better to anything. Then you'll need a really good little spice grater for all your cloves, ginger, cinimon, nutmeg, etc. And you'd be amazed at how finely you can mince your garlic and onions, no need for that powder crap ;)

[HEIRESS]

cumin and coriander go well with chicken

so does cayenne, tumeric and paprika

[HEIRESS]

I hate chilli powder
it tastes too sweet

chilli flakes are better

[little j]

montreal steak seasoning - great for steaks, burgers, on fries and potatoes, in vegetables etc.

chili powder - you'll be surprised how often you use this

EVOO - the best!

cinnamon - adds kick

rosemary - greak on pork

italian seasoning is great, because it has a bunch of stuff in it.

i use garlic in EVERYTHING .

[adam_f]

Originally posted by jabumbo
ok, so i am pretty much the once a week chef for my roommates and myself to eat dinner. i dont mind that part, because it gives me something to do, and i like to learn how to cook new things.

i need to add to my spice collection, and i want to know what i should get first. right now i have garlic powder, italian seasoning, and crushed jalepeno powder.

Just go to Giant Eagle, punkass. Look for yourself.

[jabumbo]

such a little bitch man...

i was down at the wholey fish market today, and they had some MSG in a bottle, and it was only a buck.. i was amused

and i can easily see what spices, i just want to know what would actually be useful to have...

[b-grrrlie]

Herbal salts are good all arounds, if you don't wanna get a huge collection of spices at one go. I use a lot of light soy sauce, almost better than salt. Also a good tip to add flavour is to use just a little bit of sugar, makes everything tastier. Also you can use honey in some dishes. And if you happen to put too much of some spice, especially chili, sugar is really good to balance the flavour.

Actually using alcohol in cooking is really good as well. Especially Guinness adds a good flavour, and last week I made some really good sauce of wild mushrooms and a dash of portwine made it perfect.

Oh yeah and adding to grass_roots' list (it does help spelling the names right, our guy here might have trouble finding the stuff otherwise!), both cummin seeds and aniseed seeds are good for digestion, especially after curries. Just put a little bowl of them on the table after the meal and everyone can nibble them. Less flatulence!

[adam_f]

Originally posted by jabumbo
such a little bitch man...

i was down at the wholey fish market today, and they had some MSG in a bottle, and it was only a buck.. i was amused

and i can easily see what spices, i just want to know what would actually be useful to have...

It's been awhile since we've done the name calling thing. Just like old times.

[ms.peachy]

You know, I've actually thought really hard about how to answer this question. It's difficult because I can't narrow it down! I have like a billion little bottle of herbs, seeds, spices and seasonings, and it's hard for me to imagine that I don't desperately need every single one of them!

What I'd suggest to you is getting a chart of some sort - like, what goes with what, know what I mean? You can no doubt buy one in any bookstore witha decent cooking section but honestly, if you want one for free, just write to one of the major spice companies - I guarantee you almost every one of them has this type of promotional material to give away. I don't remember what company it was, but about ten years ago I did this and they sent me this really nice wheel thingie, you know the kind of thing where you line up the word with the pointer thingie and in the window it tells you what to use. Like, if you pointed it at 'beef stew' it would say 'sage, thyme, paprika' that sort of thing. I don't know if I've explained that well but hey - write, and see what ya get sent.

Once you've got your handy dandy wheel/chart/poster whatever, then you know depending on what you are planning to make, what you might want to make sure you've got around.

At the end of the day, you simply can't go wrong with the old song: parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

[Whois]

Yellow curry
Green curry
Red curry

mmmMMMmmm...curry

[JBernas]

Love Peppered Season All....put in on everything. It's NOT the same thing as Seasoned Salt although it's made by the same company. It rocks....

[rootsound1]

GOYA brand ADOBO is great. (y)

[jabumbo]

I too use garlic on just about everything...

when i was shopping the other day, i picked up some onion powder because i love onions, but i dont cook enough for it to really work and have fresh onions all the time...

thanks for the suggestions though, i will definetly try and pick up some more things as i go...


ps: next to the onion powder on the shelf was bottles of MSG, what would possess anyone to actually buy it for regular use? (i think it will make a great gag gift)