Every Thursday I post recipes and cooking advice for working parents.
I’ve talked before about building a pantry so that you have the tools for nightly dinner preparation. For me, having a pantry along with getting a produce delivery each week, have been absolutely critical to cooking each night. I don’t have the time to grocery shop during the week, and anyway, it’s not something that I particularly enjoy. Keeping yourself out of the store also helps to save money.
Spices are the building blocks of a good pantry. Essentially, three of the five to six dinners I prepare each week are sautees of one kind of another. The spicing allows me to take roughly the same ingredients — vegetable, meat (sometimes), and pasta/grain/potato — and create different meals. While almost any high-quality, fresh spices will do, the list below offers some of the most useful and versatile.
By the way, many experts tell you to throw your spices out after six months, which makes them an expensive enterprise. I’ve never been able to bring myself to do this. While spices may taste better if used early in their life, as long as they have a strong smell, they are still usable. This can be up to a year if you store spices in a dark, cool place. Another tip: buy whole spices rather than ground. They keep much longer, and are equally easy to use, especially if you invest in a cheap mortar & pestle. Grinding the spices in the mortar is a good activity for kids.
My Spice Must-Haves
- Cinnamon can be used in savory or sweet dishes. I especially love it in braises, like this recipe for Cinnamon Braised Pork Carnitas, or this one for Braised Short Ribs with Figs & Cinnamon. You can get whole sticks and grind them, but I use cinnamon so frequently that I usually buy it pre-ground.
- Cumin seeds are a staple for a number of different ethnic dishes, I use cumin most often in preparing Mexican and Indian-style foods. The seeds last longer, and can be used whole, or toasted and ground. Some great Indian-style cumin recipes: Crispy Pan-fried Potatoes with Cumin Seeds and Red Split Lentils with Cabbage.
- Cardamom pods can be expensive, but they have such wonderful flavor that I make the splurge. Most recipes call for regular, or green cardamom. Some call for black pods, which have a smokier flavor; you can experiment to figure out which you like better. To use, crack and peel off the pod, and smash the black seeds with your mortar & pestle. Or put in a cheesecloth bag and throw in braises or stews. This is a simple recipe for Cardamom Honey Chicken, and here’s a good one for Cardamom Roasted Cauliflower.
- Cayenne pepper; even if you aren’t a fan of heat, a small amount of cayenne can enhance the flavor of a lot of dishes. Use sparingly, and complement with a creamy yogurt if you want to keep it mild. A couple of cayenne that are low on heat, but high on flavor: Curried Cauliflower Soup with Honey and Martha Stewart’s Macaroni & Cheese.
- Ginger; I like to use fresh ginger in cooking, but having the powdered kind around is a good idea. I find that it really adds a lot to your “baking pantry,” and can fill in for fresh ginger if you don’t have it on hand. This recipe for Fish with Orange, Ginger & Cloves really capitalizes on the spices to enhance the fish. If you’re a baker, try these Giant Ginger Cookies.
- Whole nutmegs last much longer than ground, have a more intense flavor, and are not at all difficult to grate. Invest in a grater with fines holes, and just grate in what you would otherwise measure from the jar. Nutmeg is a great asset in creamy sauces, like this recipe for Fusilli with Mushrooms and Nutmeg; meatballs, like these; and baking, like Armenian Nutmeg Cake.
- Paprika is made from dried red bell peppers, adds a lovely color to many dishes, and can have a range of tastes from sweet to spicy to smoky. You may need to experiment a bit to find the right variety for your cooking. Paprika is used frequently in Eastern European recipes, like Chicken Paprikash, and in Spanish-inspired cooking like the recipes here.
- Turmeric is a good staple if you like Indian or Middle Eastern foods, and also is used in many East Asian dishes. It infuses dishes with a deep yellow color, and is key to curries. Malay Yellow Rice and Persian Meat Patties both make good use of turmeric. This simple Indian recipe is a great starting point for exploring curries, and uses many of the ingredients above.
Spices To Skip
- Dried herbs: they really do lose flavor within six months, so not worth the investment if you don’t use them much.
- Garlic or onion powder: fresh garlic and onions taste so much better and are easy to substitute.
- Spice mixes: you can usually make your own with much better results.
Related links:
- The Prudent Homemaker offers tips on building a well-stocked pantry.
- Sweetnicks asked a bunch of food bloggers to share photos of their spice racks; a good place to get ideas for organizing.
- The Epicentre Encyclopedia of Spices is a useful resource.
- Penzey’s Spices is a high-quality purveyor that ships everywhere.
