Essential herbs and spices

Bongedone

I bought basil and mint in a pot at ASDA. I now have them in the windows. So long as you keep taking the leaves of every couple of weeks they will grow back.

wilko1010

I use loads of herbs and spices as its so much cheaper than convenience food (and better for you) I've been using Spice-master for a few years now
http://www.spice-master.com/

they are cheap as chips for most stuff and the large bags are best value, even taking in account postage I save a stack- I only order twice a year and stock up on all the stuff I use regular. They are a family concern and really friendly if you ever have cause to email them-they also send you stuff to try free if you spend over a tenner. I don't normally have cause to praise good service but these folk are great.

Nicki

Egghi

Being Italian I use fresh basil when I make my tomato sauce or caprese, dried oregano when I make pizza, fresh rosmary when I roast or grill chicken and fresh sage when I panfry meat in butter (or as a traditional sauce for tortellini "burro e salvia")

randomer

I have a few rather sad jars and would like to build up a bit of a collection to add more variety.
Which ones to you use on a regular basis and which are one hit wonders?;)

vij

must have for me

tumeric, cumin, fenugreek,chilli

nice to have are

cardamon, awaj seeds, tamarind purree

I have 100s but these are my first to grab

juliapenguin

The ones I use most are paprika, chilli paste, Cajun Seasoning and Season All. The last two are great on potato wedges done in the Remoska - one or the other, usually not both!

By the way, if you live anywhere at all near any 'ethnic' shops, look in there - they sell all the spices you could ever need in plastic bags for a fraction of the price of the little jars in the supermarkets. See if you can find a mate to share them with you, wash out your dusty old spice jars, and refill from the new packets. I live near the Curry Mile in Manchester but have incredibly limited kitchen cupboard space in my flat and I've had to restrain myself!

Gingernutmeg

It really depends what you like cooking most - ie sweet dishes, savoury, curries, chinese etc. I've got far too many spices and herbs but probably the ones I use most are things like Cumin, Coriander, Chilli powder, Cinnamon, whole Nutmegs, Cloves, Cardamom pods, ground Ginger, dried Chillies, Bay Leaves, Oregano, Thyme, Mint and Sage. I've also got lots of spice blends, but probably the ones I use most frequently are a spicy 'barbeque' spice blend (chillies, chocolate, herbs, garlic, dried onions), ras-el-hanout (a Moroccan spice blend with chilli and rose petals, it's fab in tagines and it makes a really nice marinade for barbequed chicken), dukkah (a Middle Eastern spice blend with sesame and herbs, great for seasoning or really nice with flat breads and oil), Chinese five spice, Garam Masala and Z'atar (another Middle Eastern spice blend with sumac) - oh, and basics like sweet mixed spice and mixed herbs. Seasoned Pioneers do really good whole spices and blends, although they're not the cheapest.

randomer

thanks all very useful ideas. I like the blends because they're so easy.:p. That site is excellent.

attentionseeker1

cumin, coriander, chilli powder, turmeric and garam masala/curry powder along with other storecupboard stuff (Lea and perrins, tomato pur!e, garlic, fresh ginger etc) would be enough to give you a good foundation for all Mexican and Indian dishes. As a foundation for Chinese, you need soy sauce(s) , sesame oil, rice wine and five spice.

I am half Asian and would say the majority of other spices- cloves, cardamom, mustard seeds etc are not necessary if you are on a budget, although of course they add a nice depth of flavour if you do have them!

I also go to Asian supermarkets and get packets of spices for about 50p each

RosyRed

Some of the blends I like are Asdas Moroccan rub,and Bonfire rub if they still do it,you can put it on chicken or meat etc before you cook them.Also Cajun spice blend,5 spice powder,Smoked paprika is nice as well.I have most Indian spices like cumin,coriander etc.cinnamon,nutmeg.Aldi and Lidl sometimes do herbs and spices cheap as well.As someone else said ,it really depends what you like to eat.HTH