Do you ever throw random spices into a meal?

[Snow.]

I haven't quite built up my spice cupboard yet, so when I see a recipe I really want... I completely ignore it and just start pouring random things that sound good from my spice cupboard into it.

9/10 times it turns out far better than I think. There's always that once in a while though where it practically makes me throw up and I have to dump it.

How often do you succeed in doing things like this?

 

[Andy M.]

First of all, if I see a "...recipe I really want...", I make it. Otherwise, why bother looking at recipes. If, after the first time I make a recipe I think it could be better, I experiment. However, not just randomly. I try to figure what flavors will go well in such a dish and try those.

 

[Snow.]

Well nothing else incites me to make randomly-spiced food. I don't completely ignore the recipe. I just use what I have of it, and for what I'm missing, I just substitute whatever smells or looks good to me. I never have any real substitutes, so it ends up being a different flavor than was intended by the recipe writer, but it usually turns out good.

Thanks for yelling at me.

 

[Andy M.]

Well nothing else incites me to make randomly-spiced food. I don't completely ignore the recipe. I just use what I have of it, and for what I'm missing, I just substitute whatever smells or looks good to me. I never have any real substitutes, so it ends up being a different flavor than was intended by the recipe writer, but it usually turns out good.

Thanks for yelling at me.

Sorry you took that as yelling. I was responding to your question by expressing my point of view. I was discussing cooking.

 

[jennyema]

No. I would never do that when cooking from a reliable recipe. It totally undoes the integrity of the dish.

And when inventing my own dishes , which I usually do, I never use spices or herbs randomly. I am very thoughtful in putting my dishes together.

So, no.

 

[roadfix]

NO, THAT WOULD BE CRAZY!! I WOULD NEVER RANDOMLY ADD SPICES!!
Now, that would be yelling.

Actually, I sometimes do experiment with spices and will randomly pour this and that. But I've also ruined many dishes doing that.

 

[Siegal]

There are no rules. Have fun with it.

 

[Kylie1969]

If I wanted to experiment with some tastes I probably would

 

[Addie]

I grew up with mostly Italian flavors and food. Or your standard American diet. So I use a mixture of Italian seasonings that contains oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, and parlsey. A little of it goes a long way. I love it in potato salad. Since I don't like cooked celery, I use ground celery seed in soups and stews. I love the flavor that cooked celery gives. the texture turns me right off though. I do not care for Indian foods (curry) or Oriental foods except for American Chiniese. But since the gall bladder attack I no longer eat that. I will use Worcestershire sauce if a recipe calls for it. But I do not put steak sauce on any of my meats. I will on a rare occassion use MSG on a piece of meat in leiu of salt. I can't use pepper. And it is one of my favorite spices. No, it is my favorite spice. I truly miss it on most of my foods. I have fond memories of my mother mashing my veggies together for me and putting a glob of butter with salt and pepper in there. I will also put about three flakes of red pepper in some dishes. and dry mustard is another of my favorites. I use that in my mac and cheese.

 

[jennyema]

I experiment all the time. That's a lot different than RANDOMLY adding herbs and spices to something you are cooking. Random means without plan or forethought. I think about and plan what I cook.

 

[CWS4322]

I most often don't use a recipe, I cook by taste or combine a couple of recipes to make a similar dish. I also plan meals around what I have on hand. I don't go to the grocery store with a list of things needed to make a dish.

For example, I prefer chilpolte chili powder instead of just chili powder. I have four different kinds of paprika (smoked, hot hungarian, sweet, and Spanish paprika). If I want to add a layer of "smokiness" to a dish that normally would include paprika, I'll use the smoked paprika (hmmm...maybe I'll add some smoked paprika to my corn-potato-shrimp chowder next time I make it). I love the curry powder a friend makes for me. I will add that and tumeric, some red pepper flakes to steamed green beans tossed with EVOO. I will add curry powder to cream of chicken soup. When it comes to meat, I generally just add salt and pepper (grilled steak, pork chops). I want to taste the meat. If I'm making something like pulled pork or sauerbraten or brining poultry, I will use more than just S&P. But, I do not randomly add spices and hope for the best (I usually do add garlic and often add some heat to dishes because I like a bit of heat). I know what layers of flavors I want to build into what I'm making and use the spices and herbs to achieve that. The only herb I'm a bit cautious about using is dried curry leaves. Too much of that can ruin a dish. There are definite combinations of spices used in different ethnic cuisine. Once you know these combinations, you can change a dish from one ethnic cuisine to another by using the spice combination found in the other cuisine. But no, I don't randomly toss in herbs and spices and hope for the best. I know what I like, fortunately, I like just about every spice and herb I've ever tried (except bananas, which are considered an herb plant).

 

[Rocklobster]

As much as I like to consider myself as creative, I adhere to a set of traditional rules as far as herbs and spices for certain foods. There are certain ones I like pairing with things and flavors that I just don't think I would like together. I have been trying different herbs with my traditional dishes as of late. But I have to like something before it goes in the pot so I guess it is never really random....

 

[no mayonnaise]

I never throw any spices into a dish. Sprinkle, drop, grind, pour, and sometimes even dump. But never throw.

 

[pacanis]

I never throw any spices into a dish. Sprinkle, drop, grind, pour, and sometimes even dump. But never throw.

How can you expect to say, BAM!

 

[puffin3]

You want to cook 'Snow food' be my guest. When you're ready to cook incredible food you'll need to follow the culinary masters like Escoffier et. As they say 'It's a matter of taste'. IMO ignoring even a basic simple recipe and throwing in whatever you want is the same as making culinary 'mud pies'. Enjoy the results.

 

[Addie]

How can you expect to say, BAM!

Thanks for the laugh.

 

[no mayonnaise]

You want to cook 'Snow food' be my guest. When you're ready to cook incredible food you'll need to follow the culinary masters like Escoffier et. As they say 'It's a matter of taste'. IMO ignoring even a basic simple recipe and throwing in whatever you want is the same as making culinary 'mud pies'. Enjoy the results.

Blindly following someone else doesn't lend itself to innovation. I applaud OP for taking chances and being creative, coloring outside the lines if you will. If every cook and chef just followed the culinary masters you refer to, nothing new would ever be created. I'm sure even Escoffier created some mud pies in his culinary career.

 

[buckytom]

well said, no mayo.

to answer snow's question, i have done that before with very mixed results. some very good, some bad. a couple of very bad, better order pizza.

i generally don't do it with existing recipes, though. i may modify a recipe somewhat to suit what i have on hand or a personal taste, but i don't try veer completely off course just for the heck of it. if it looks "like a recipe i want", i make the recipe, or at least something in the spirit of the recipe.

my best results were when i created non-recipe related things, or things that lend themselves to innovation. for instance, i've made really good rubs for pot roast, turkey legs/thighs(for the grill or smoker), roast chicken, or marinades for london broil that were pretty random and ended up working out better than i had hoped. i've also had success with making up my own stir frys, not trying to recreate a traditional asian dish.

my worst results were messing around too much with italian or italian-american food. the soul of italian food is simplicity, so adding too much ends up taking too much away in a sense. i especially don't like italian sauces that have like 14 different herbs and spices added to them.

i think the key to snow's success thus far was stated in the opening post. that the cupboard hasn't been built up too much, so success may be due to having a limited amount of herbs/spices that happen to go together naturally.

 

[no mayonnaise]

How can you expect to say, BAM!

I leave that to the pros on TV.

 

[Claire]

I have several shelves of cook books, that is to say at least a couple hundred. I rarely use one recipe. What I'm getting at here is that I look for a "spice family", don't just throw them in nilly-willy. In other words, I don't want my southeast Asian food coming out tasting Korean, and don't want my Greek food tasting Chinese. Just me.