Essential herbs and spices

redmel1621

Sola wrote: »

I'm presuming you're talking about dried herbs as opposed to freshly-grown ones?

For dried herbs/spices I use sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves, dill, asaffron, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, tamarind (paste), cumin, turmeric, cardamom, vanilla pods, cloves (whole and ground), cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, fennel seeds, caraway seeds, celery salt, minced garlic, mint, paprika, ginger, coriander seeds, black mustard seeds, chervil, hyssop, lovage, savory, tarragon, star anise, capers, cayenne, chillies, galangal. One I don't use is asafoetida - very stinky.

Some of those are bought, some homegrown; I grow other stuff like basil, chives, lemon balm and coriander seasonally. I also buy mixes like herbes de Provence, fines herbes, Italian seasoning.

If I were starting out half a dozen, I'd go for oregano, caraway seeds, rosemary, cumin, nutmeg (gorgeous in cauliflower cheese), Chinese 5 spice powder.

Yes I'm thinking the jars that you get from supermarket, also should i go for the shwartz range are they much better tasting as tesco own seem a lot cheaper, I would rather have the best tasting.

Mel x

Farway

redmel1621 wrote: »

Yes I'm thinking the jars that you get from supermarket, also should i go for the shwartz range are they much better tasting as tesco own seem a lot cheaper, I would rather have the best tasting.

Mel x

As they are all dried they all taste the same & you will never know the difference, get the Tesco ones and don't pay for a fancy jar

dannahaz

Hi Mel
It depends what types of food you want to cook.There are soooo many herbs and spices, and it's not worth buying everything unless you are going to use it.

A good place to start would be to look up recipes for the types of food you like, and make a list from that.

A generic basic lot would include: black peppercorns, mixed herbs, mixed spice, rosemary, thyme and probably cinammon.

If you like indian /spicy food food then I would add cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, chilli powder.

As you start to use more, then other excellent "generic herbs" would include sage, oregano.

Companies like Barts Spices also produce some pleasant herb/spice mixes, which can take the hassle out of selecting your own mix of herbs, if you aren't very confident. For example, italian seasoning, chicken seasoning etc etc etc.

Some herbs can be bought in a kind of paste, which makes them better than dried and a bit closer to fresh. Examples: Coriander, basil, chilli (plus garlic).

If you have any room in your garden you could grow some herbs yourself in pots. It's really easy. You can buy seeds, or you can buy small herb plants from a garden centre. I don't recommend buying the supermarket potted herbs for growing on, as you'll need to repot them as soon as you buy them, and even then they don't necessarily survive.

Herbs to grow yourself: Rosemary is an evergreen herb. Other good herbs, which you might need to sow each year include sage, thyme, oregano, tarragon. mint and basil (there is nothing which beats fresh basil)

Don't get overwhelmed, and don't think you have to get everything in one go.

Hope that helps.

pounds_and_pensive

I'd echo what dannahaz says about there being no need to get everything in one go. Even dried herbs and spices have a life-span, and there's a chance they could be past their best if you buy too long before you need them.

In my experience, there's no difference between Schwartz and supermarket's own - I think you're probably just paying for the label.

Zed42

pounds_and_pensive wrote: »

hopefully, the other night will now be the last time that I find I've actually got three jars of ginger in stock

A-ha, glad it's not only me who has several jars of ginger then, LOL.

As the OP asked, things I use all the time - mixed herbs, herbes de provence, bay leaves, oregano, chilli powder, paprika, Chinese 5 spice, black pepper ... and then there's the 30 other random jars which I've got ... <grin>

However, as someone said, better to have a select few which you use, than a load which look pretty, but go past their use by life. Oh and best to keep them somewhere dark and cool, than prettily on display ....

Lord_Lardington

Whilst fresh garlic definitely tastes the best I’m still a big fan of keeping a jar of the minced stuff on hand (cheaper from the Chinese supermarket than the regular supermarket if there’s one near you).

I don’t know why but I absolutely loathe peeling and chopping the stuff even though over the years, after watching a million cooking progs, I can peel, crush and chop a clove in almost no time. Odd how sometimes the tiniest task drives you mad.

LJM

i have a lot of spices and herbs i always keep a stock mixed herbs always handy i too agree with the minced garlic,i tend to get a different one each time i go shopping either to try or as a restock

jcr16

we have a shop called easy weight. and u can buy herbs in quanities from 10g. usually about 5p per 10g. so it a great way to buy just what u need.

i always keep in thyme( use this in spag bol and lasagne) also whole nutmeg, ( these are 10p each) fab for crumble's, lentil soup , spag bol. also dried mixed herb's , chilli powder and chilli flakes , paprika ( for cheese scones) , parsley for home amde garlic bread.

i've got loads more but those are one's that spring to mind i use loads.

Pollycat

Hi
I buy herbs and spices from Jonathan Graves, they come in packets but I save small glass jars and transfer them from the packets.
I use the Italian Seasoning one quite a lot (Lasagne, Moussaka etc).
Occasionally they have half-price sales on herbs and spices, too.

I don't like the minced garlic or garlic puree, I always use fresh.

I agree 100% with Zed42 about keeping them in a cupboard instead of on display.

Polly

pounds_and_pensive

I was in Lidl this morning and noticed that they have a spice rack with 12 herbs and spices in this week for £6.99. I can't remember what was in it beyond garlic and chilli, but it was all stuff used regularly by most people. I think it was intended to be a wall-hung rack, but it was free-standing on the Lidl shelf so would not fall over if put away in a cupboard.

I have bought the odd jar of Lidl herbs and spices in the past and found them to be as good as any other, so the spice rack might be a useful way of starting a collection.