8 Essential Herbs and Spices In My Kitchen
I don’t think there’s any question to my readers that I am a big fan of herbs and spices in cooking. From my article on The Health Benefits of Herbs and Spices to the second bullet on my previous post of Four Ways To Add Some Excitement To Your Diet, I’ve made it well-known that these versatile plants are very important to making your cooking fun. When I wrote my previous post on Ten Staples of A Well-Stocked Kitchen, I didn’t want to put a category for “Herbs and Spices,” feeling that such a broad category was a cop-out. This post is intended to give an in-depth breakdown of the herbs and spices that I use most in my kitchen and a few uses of them. My hope is that you’ll find a new way to use something here.
1. Garlic
Yes, it was included on my Ten Staples list and here it is again. It’s that important to my cooking. Garlic is highly versatile, featuring in most cuisines around the world for its pungency. I use garlic in nearly everything I cook, from eggs to big skillets of meat and vegetables, often half a bulb or more at a time. Yes, I like garlic a lot and usually add more to any recipe I’m following that calls for garlic. Luckily, it’s very healthful (see my article above).
2. Cumin
Cumin is another of my go-to spices, getting only slightly less use than garlic. I go through jars of the ground stuff fairly quickly, about every 2-3 weeks. I usually add cumin to my eggs, anything with ground beef, and sauteed vegetables. Pretty much anything is fair game as cumin lends a bit of a Mexican flavor to everything. It’s used in other cuisines, from the Mediterranean to India, but the smell always makes me think of a Mexican restaurant.
3. Basil
I don’t do a good deal of Italian cooking. But I still go through basil about as quickly as I go through cumin. My large daily salads are the culprit, getting quite a large dash most everyday. I probably go through 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp on each salad. Other uses are in making spaghetti sauce, which goes over top of spaghetti squash, not pasta, and in switching things up with the ground beef that I eat a good deal of.
4. Cinnamon
Cinnamon goes mainly on sweet potatoes and butternut or acorn squashes. I also occasionally add a bit to coffee or tea on the rare occasions I have either at home (my coffee and tea consumption typically happens at work). Cinnamon also adds an interesting dimension to chili or ground beef, as does cocoa (that’s a bonus tip!).
5. Ginger
Then there’s ginger, lending a bit of Chinese flair to my meals. One way that I use ginger, though I don’t make this very often anymore, was in a sesame salad dressing that I picked up from Robb Wolf. It is equal parts tahini and olive oil with a dash of ginger and some curry powder, plus a bit of pepper. The tahini gives it a nice stickiness that coats everything and the ginger combines nicely with the curry powder. A dash of tamari with a tablespoon of ginger added to most any meat works wonders. And I have to ask, is there anyone else that goes to a sushi restaurant and enjoys the pickled ginger as much as the sushi?
6. Cilantro
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a big fan of Mexican cooking. I love the flavors, probably a good reason why cumin and garlic are my main two spices. Cilantro is the third part of the Mexican triumvarite in my kitchen. I’ve been known to make a pesto out of cilantro instead of basil and serve it over top of chicken or steak. I also just cut up the fresh herb and throw it into a salad in place of the basil for something different. Of course, homemade salsas and guacamole are also recipients of a healthy dose of this herb.
7. Horseradish
Now, if you recall, I don’t eat a great deal of nightshades due to their propensity to promote inflammation. Unfortunately, I love spicy flavors. Enter horseradish. I don’t go through this very quickly because it doesn’t take much to give quite a punch to anything you add it to. The spiciness of horseradish is quite different than that of a jalapeno pepper, too much hitting more in the nose than in the mouth, but when you need a spicy fix, a little bit grated over the top of your food is a decent fill-in. Then again, sometimes you just need some hot peppers.
8. Pepper
This last one was easy. I add freshly grated pepper to nearly everything. Salads, steaks, chicken, pork, soups, stews, eggs, the list goes on. A good dose of pepper gives a nice spicy to everything.
Of course, I have more spices than that in my cabinet, but these are the ones that get the most use. Soups and stews get a bay leaf or two, but I don’t make soups and stews that often. If I decide to make a little dessert of grilled apples with honey, they get a dash of nutmeg to go with the cinnamon to give them a bit of crust-less apple pie flavor. Oregano, cloves, and turmeric are also found in my cabinet, but they don’t get used often enough to count. I should probably branch out a bit and use them more often before they go out of date and need to be discarded.
So what are your favorite spices?
About Scott
Scott Kustes loves to cook and loves to eat. He started Real Food University to help you get maximum enjoyment out of the meals that you eat. To find out more about how he has rebelled against the fast food culture and counting calories or carbs, join the Real Food Revolution.
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Great post Scott, I use all of those regularly myself except for horseradish which is a great idea to add some spiciness, thanks.
Regarding spices and herbs and the great health benefits that you can get by eating them regularly, how much generally do you need to eat to get those benefits? Teaspoon, tablespoon?
Hi, how you resolve the “garlic breath”?
Ciao
Stefano Italy
Garlic, cumin and cinn are my favorites. And probably in that order too:) Recently I also starting using more tumeric and curry as well. I too also enjoy and use a lot of tehina. I find it is great for thickening food, i.e skillet cooked ground meat and greens!!
And Passover time and post holiday, I too was using a lot of horseradish root!!
Well, I havent eaten sushi in a long time as I gave up on the rice and I find to go out for sashimi is not really worth much:) Yet when I was in my “sushi” all the time phase, I too ate the ginger first!! I have even made my own. Come to think of it, I can do it again and would have some “fresh” probiotics!! Thanks for the idea.
Scott,
Great post. Since switching to a Paleo-ish diet I’ve fallen in love with spices. A few staples in my pantry are
Italian Seasoning: great with any turkey, chicken dish and can really work well with turmeric on fennel and carrots.
Whole Mustard Seeds: Next time you make an omelet put a a few gigantic tablespoons into the eggs. The mustard seeds provide a lot of flavor and put a kick into it. It’s not spicy, but it’s good!
Sea Salt: Using just a little bit goes a long way and it’s so much tastier than regular table salt.
I also noticed that you do contrast hot/cold shower. Me too! It’s nice to know that I’m not the only runner that prefers them over ice baths.
Oh I love spices, working on a huge collection. Can’t say which one is my favourite, because I’m the kinda person that just switches to something new every 2 weeks or so.
Just recently I’ve ‘discovered’ a new one; Curcuma. It’s lovely with beef! Yumm.
Pickled ginger, I’m guilty!
Steve, I’m not sure what quantities are required for benefits. I figure if I’m eating them consistently, pretty much daily and at most every meal, I’m probably getting some health benefit from them. And if not, they make my food taste better, so it’s a can’t-lose.
steven_it, not sure how I resolve it. No one has ever complained, so I’m not sure I get garlic breath.
Sarena, I go through phases where I use a good bit of curry powder and then phases where it sits for a few months untouched. I should use it more often. Turmeric too.
Heather, interesting on the mustard seeds and eggs. I’ll have to try that one. Thanks! I don’t use much in the way of salt, though I do use sea salt when I do.
Naomi, what exactly is curcuma? I searched and see it as a genus to which turmeric belongs.
Thyme, especially now that my garden is coming back up. Great with chicken, great with pork, fantastic if you’re making a chicken stock or anything that requires simmering.
And it’s a wonderful perennial herb that grows just anywhere and will come back up forever. (Oregano is good for this, too.)
Otherwise, my list looks exactly like yours!
My all-time favorite that I put on almost everything is DILL. In second place is PAPRIKA. The garlic and horseradish are also favorite runners-up. Sesame seeds are wonderful on tomatoes especially. I love cinnamon but it’s hard to find a use for it following a low-carb/paleo diet.
Steve turmeric is probably what I am talking about. I’m having some difficulty translating all the food-stuffs to english, it just doesn’t appear in your regular dictionairy… Guess I got the genus instead of the actual spice, oops
Mmm, nice ode to spices.
My favorite spice is saffron. It’s expensive, but just a few threads used correctly add magic to a lot of dishes. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
Other favorites:
Turmeric – adds an interesting nuttiness and roundness to a lot of dishes, plus has been associated with helping prevent alzheimers
Smoked paprika – I discovered this when my friend was working in a store that sold foods from Spain, and sent me everything I needed to make my own paella. For a while I was putting it in everything. I got over that eventually, but a paella or a mushroom dish made with smoked paprika and saffron is still a favorite.
Fenugreek, whole cumin, other Indian spices – This year I’ve been cooking more Indian food (and actually Ethiopian food too) and enjoying the warmth and balance of the spices I’ve tried.
Fresh herbs – kind of a different category than dried spices, but some fresh thyme or dill or sage or tarragon is incomparable in a lot of dishes (meats, salads, soups, etc).
Debs
Food Is Love
I love rosemary and basil. Rosemary pork chops with some lemon juice and ground pepper taste great, and they’re good for you too.
Nina, I go through phases with thyme. I mainly use it in the summertime when I’m grilling a lot of chicken.
Kateryna, I actually broke out the dill last night after reading your comment. Put some on a roast that I threw in the oven. Quite tasty.
Debs, where do you find your saffron? I love smoked paprika, but haven’t had any in awhile. I need to stop by the pasta store here in town and pick some up. They seem to be the only ones that carry it. Then I just have to resist the urge to pick up some of the amazing Mediterranean breads that come from a local bakery. I don’t eat much paprika anymore though due to the nightshades factor. I also broke out the garam masala last night to change things up a bit.
Dan, rosemary is good stuff. It’s similar to my use of thyme…I go through phases, mostly in the summer.
Cheers
Scott
I typically get my saffron at The Spanish Table in Seattle, where it’s not so expensive as it is at some other places. I hear the spice store down the street from them also has nice, decently priced saffron.
I bought some more herb transplants for my garden today – a variety of basil that has tiny leaves, and which my grandmother grows, and lemon verbena. Lemon verbena is really nice in summer salads.
Debs
Food Is Love
Huh…..a lot of recent research has led me to believe that capsaicin actually REDUCES inflammation…
Interesting huh Marissa? Seems to be a lot of info out there to the contrary when you start digging into it.
Cheers
Scott
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I am very inspired by this site and will begin the challenge by tomorrow. My goal is to drop 30 pounds in 3 months, is that realistic? I will follow the challenge step by step and will tell how I am doing. Thanks Scott
To Stefano, garlic breath is resolved by eating a handful of parsly right after and half lemon juice.