Herbs/Spices

[TelephoneAngel]

Hey

Those of you who cook with herbs/spices, help out those of us who have a cupboard full of them and never use them!

What tastes good with what?

[MaggieTheCat]

What do you have, and what kind of foods do you like? It's really hard to give directions with herbs and spices. When I first started cooking after I moved in with my husband, I just had to experiment to see what went well with what, and what we liked. Two that I can think of right offhand that go well together are cumin and coriander. They're found a lot in Mexican dishes, and in Indian spice mixtures like garam masala and curry mixtures. Ginger and garlic also go really well together, especially in Asian dishes. Most herbs will go well together, like thyme, bayleaves, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, etc, and can pretty much be mix and matched any which way.

[ArcticChicken]

One thing you can do is read a lot of recipes, you'll start to see patterns.

Most herbs and spices taste like they smell, so if it smells good together, it'll probably taste good together.

[Der Cute]

Hm. Garlic fits on everything. Ginger can, except for pork IMO. And ginger is strong.

My rule of thumb is the lighter the meat, the lighter the spice.

So chicken gets lemon, rosemary, pepper, basil, cilantro, and some other lighter ones.

Pork gets sage, pepper, paprika, (I dont do much pork tbh)

Beef gets sage, pepper, oregano, paprika, darker smelling spices. Cumin, coriander.

Fish and taters get dill, lemon, butter, pepper, rosemary, thyme.

Start with spices that are equal to each other in color/taste. Like pepper and oregano (strong, dark smell). Or a lemon rosemary. Garlic oregano and basil.

Sometimes I'll sniff the spices and kinda dork around with them, and it comes out ok!

Psst who knows how to make adobo chicken?

[AccountingDrone]

Dont be afraid to also change things up - cinnamon and nutmeg can go with pork [fruited pork loin is excellent, you mix up a stuffing of raisins, chopped almonds, chopped onion, bread crumbs, a dash of pepper, a sprinkle of italian herbs and about 1/8th tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg all mixed together. Slice the pork loin to make it into a pouch, add the stuffing and sort of pinch the edges together around the stuffing, don't fill it too full. Wrap it in foil with a few tbsp of white wine and bake as normal.]

And this page might help.

[Jester]

What tastes good with what?

You need to narrow things down a bit. As in, "I want to cook this, what kind of herbs would work with it?"

Other than that, I would say experiment. That is how I discovered some of my greatest culinary successes, as well as some of my greatest culinary failures. And I have never been accused of under-seasoning!

Hm. Garlic fits on everything.

Garlic is, to me, one of the basic building blocks, along with salt, pepper, and oil. Yes, I love garlic, and use it in almost everything!

Ginger can, except for pork IMO. And ginger is strong.

Agreed that it is strong, but not that you can't use it with pork. Off the top of my head, I can see it going great with a good pork stir fry.

Ground ginger is often used in Asian cooking, btw.

My rule of thumb is the lighter the meat, the lighter the spice.

A decent generality, but ignores things like blackened fish and salted beef. Just saying.

So chicken gets lemon, rosemary, pepper, basil, cilantro, and some other lighter ones.

You can literally use anything on chicken. It is nature's blank canvas.

Start with spices that are equal to each other in color/taste.

Certain things do go together, though you wouldn't use all these combinations in every dish:

Basil & oregano.
Sage & thyme.
Most kinds of dried pepper (red pepper excluded).
Red pepper flakes with spicy dishes.
Ginger with Asian dishes.
Basil, oregano, and/or garlic with Italian dishes.
Cilantro, cumin, and/or coriander with Mexican or Latin dishes.
Paprika and/or cinnamon for sweet or Indian dishes.

Remember that fresh herbs are awesome, but don't have a long shelf life, so if you want to use them, make sure you have a recipe in place before you buy them. Dried spices and herbs last longer, but don't have the freshness or punch that fresh ones do.

Hope this all helps.

[Whiskey]

No love for cayenne, tumeric or curry??!

You guys arent my friends anymore. I put cayenne on damn near everything (especially in my eggs). Cilantro is my lord and savior of all things herbs. Oregano is wonderful.

edit: I fully endorse the poster below me's recommendation. Rosemary doesnt get enough love either.

[chrislb]

When I make burgers i like to add rosemary and oregano. Makes them smell and taste wonderful

[TelephoneAngel]

Thanks for the suggestions guys I will try them.

Up till now I only ever really use a handful of the various herbs and spices I actually have eg dill for fish, peppercorns for meat, mixed herbs for vegetable dishes and coriander for chicken.

Will be interesting to experiment more.

[Whiskey]

Will be interesting to experiment more.

will be interesting to see your food log


fake edit: i will bother you for forever. Or until I get bored. Give me two more days and ill be bored

[TelephoneAngel]

will be interesting to see your food log


fake edit: i will bother you for forever. Or until I get bored. Give me two more days and ill be bored

Keep at it Whiskey and thanks - every time I see you say this it makes me consider what I'm putting in my mouth even if I haven't posted about it so its all good.

[Whiskey]

Keep at it Whiskey and thanks - every time I see you say this it makes me consider what I'm putting in my mouth even if I haven't posted about it so its all good.

if youre serious, i'll bug you all the time. Not ALL THE TIME, but some people say they want to eat right, then get upset when you ask them what they've eaten. Some people just want to look like they want the accountability.

If you ever get into a work out regiment, maybe we could start a TA/Whiskey workout log and compare/contrast/critque/celebrate


edit: you should post about it though. Your daily plate/spark/whatever can be screen capped for macros/calorie content/etc

[Jester]

No love for cayenne, tumeric or curry??!

Haven't used much curry to date, though I am not against it. Have dabbled with tumeric. I include cayenne in my "various peppers" comment above, along with white pepper and black pepper....and even chili powder. I use them all.

Cilantro is my lord and savior of all things herbs.

I'm from Arizona. I love cilantro!

Will be interesting to experiment more.

Definitely check out various recipes on food.com and other food recipe sites.

[Whiskey]

I really dont know what tumeric is for (im too lazy to google).

I test damn near everything on eggs. I still dont know what tumeric is traditionally for, but it tastes good in my eggs.

Then I tried it on chicken before baking it. Yeap, still tastes good.

Spices/herbs are for YOU. If you like cilantro in your ice cream, go hard and put cilantro in it. The kitchen is a labratory, experiment and have fun! (and maybe be grossed out and throw out some food, it happens)

[Jester]

If you like cilantro in your ice cream, go hard and put cilantro in it.

I've had garlic ice cream. Loved it, though was disappointed it wasn't more garlicky. No, seriously, I was!

Spices/herbs are for YOU.

The kitchen is a labratory, experiment and have fun! (and maybe be grossed out and throw out some food, it happens)

Absofreakinglutely! As a bartender, I've served bloody marys with gin and mojitos with vodka. Personally, I wouldn't drink either one, but if that is what people like, they can knock themselves out. As you should do with your spices. Find what works for you.

Hell, people are often surprised (not always pleasantly) when they find out some of the odder ingredients I put in my chili. But ya know what? It freakin' works.

So go have fun, experiment, try new things out, and don't be afraid to fail. Some of my best dishes have been born from some of my most awful failures. Then again, some of my most awful failures I have been smart enough to leave in the grave.