angelwings
Assistant Cook
Hey everyone! I'm pretty much just getting into cooking and was wondering which herbs and spices do you find to be essential on your spice rack?
Thanks! x
Thanks! x
I would agree with your basic list. Past that I would purchase spices and herbs as needed. If you find a recipe that needs another spice, your choices are to purchase it when purchasing the other ingredients, or substitute. In any case, I would buy the smallest quantity from the highest turnover store I could find. Old spices are not worth using.Angelwings - first things first.
Number One is to keep in mind that dried herbs & spices have a definite shelf life, usually based at a year or less depending on where/how they are stored.
Number Two is to sit down & think about what you like to cook. For instance, I consider a jar of Penzey's "Hot Curry Powder" & "Vindaloo Powder" staples in my pantry, but if you don't like or cook a lot of hot Indian dishes, those would be a waste for you.
That said, if I were going to be on a desert island & were just granted the very bare basics (outside of salt & black peppercorns), I'd choose dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, granulated (not powdered) garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, & ground cayenne pepper. With these I could pretty much cook up quite a feast.
Now - depending on your cooking tastes, to these you could also add ground cumin, coriander, paprika (hot, sweet, smoked), Five-spice powder, granulated onion, celery seed, caraway seed, etc., etc. But again - it's all going to depend on the type of cooking you do.
If, as you say, you're just getting into cooking, I strongly suggest just buying what you need depending on the recipes you're making. No sense in wasting money on something that will be tasteless in 6 months & have to go into the trash.
Kosher salt, blk pepper, garlic.
Kosher salt, blk pepper, garlic.