Herbs & aromatics that improve the taste of meats Beef: garlic, onion, basil, thyme, summer savory, and rosemary Buffalo: rosemary, basil, garlic, and sage Fish: sage, fennel, parsley, dill, basil, and chives Lamb: mint, ginger, rosemary, garlic, and basil Pork: sweet marjoram, sage, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and basil Poultry: sage, basil, sweet marjoram, chervil, onion, and summer savory Veal: rosemary, garlic, thyme, tarragon, and basil
Herbs contain volatile oils that oxidize easily, so it is best to store dried seasonings in a cool, dry spot, away from heat and direct sunlight. Two of the worst locations are near a microwave exhaust fan and over the stove. If you store herbs and spices in the refrigerator, remove them at least thirty minutes before you plan to use them. Drying intensifies the flavor of herbs, so fresh herbs will tend to be milder than dried ones.
Bobby Cole may have comments on this, but we dry what we cannot keep alive in the house. Dryers/ desiccators need to be temp controlled to keep them from getting too warm. We usually keep them in a closed container in a fairly dark location, and heat the dried herbs slightly to "bring them to life" when cooling. We use fresh herbs almost all summer and into the early winter, then switch to dried ones.
That chili powder was a little excessive, wasn't it? All we had on the table was salt and pepper, but a lot of that other stuff made it in before the food ever hit the table. Actually, we often had horseradish on the table. That might be a Swedish versus Texas thing.
If your recipe calls for a herb or spice that you don't have, or which you cannot find in the store, there are some that can be satisfactorily substituted. Common substitutions Allspice: Cinnamon, plus a dash of cloves Aniseed: Fennel seed Basil: Oregano Caraway seed: Aniseed Chives: Scallion tops Cinnamon: Nutmeg Cloves: Allspice Cumin: Chili powder Dillweed: Fennel tops Ginger: Cardamom Mace: Allspice Parsley: Tarragon Thyme: Rosemary
Real cinnamon is harvested from the bark of the laurel tree. However, most cinnamon sold in the United States is actually cassia, generally imported from Vietnam, while real cinnamon generally comes from China or Indonesia. Cassia is a dark reddish-brown, while real cinnamon is a light tan color.
Herbs are often used in soups and stews, but they tend to lose much of their flavor after fifteen minutes of cooking. Whether fresh or dried, herbs should be added in the last ten minutes of cooking. If you have oversalted your soup or stew, add a can of peeled tomatoes if it's something that peeled tomatoes might go with. Otherwise, you can add a small amount of brown sugar; or stir in a slice or two of raw apple or potato, and let it simmer for few minutes, then discard the apple or potato slices. If you overdo the garlic in a soup or stew, put a few parsley flakes in a tea ball, and add that; the parsley will soak up the garlic. Crushing dried herbs before using them will boost their flavor.
I grew up on these seasonings: Salt, black and cayenne pepper, cinnamon, chili powder, onions, bell pepper, garlic and onion tops. Did not know until I was grown there actually were lots of other seasonings and spices.
My wife grew up in the Midwest, and thought the only "spices" were salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. After we married, she greatly expanded her cooking repertoire. I don't think she had even tasted spaghetti until she was out of high school. I, on the other hand, spent early years in an Italian neighborhood in suburban New York City. We had lots of herbs and lots of spices in our cooking.
We have friends who are Iranian (they call themselves “Persians”because most of the people down here have no idea that means they are from Iran), and Hosa is a terrific gardener. He has been bringing me some of the Persian basil (is it the same as Thai basil ?) and I have been using the leaves and then trimming and sprouting the stems to re-grow my own. Aside from adding it to stir fry or salads, I have no clue what Persian basil is used for, so I thought I would add it to this herb discussion and see what else anyone uses it for, or if they even do. What I read said that it was perennial, like mint. It also said that basil is perennial, and so far, I have never had any basil come up that I didn’t buy or plant. I will have to ask Hosa if he replants his every year, or if it is perennial here, I guess. Anyway, he just brought us a huge armful of it, and I have it in a container of water; so now I have to either dry some of it or figure out what to do with so much of this herb. Suggestions ? ?
Most spices have another benefit is the ORAC score Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity means they remove free radicals harmful to your body
Any herb, spice or seasoning can be obtained on the internet. Most of mine comes from the local Lhasa Karnak (https://lhasakarnak.com/ ), but anything they don't stock, like my beloved Hatch Green Chili Powder, I buy online: https://www.spicesinc.com/t-list-of-spices.aspx https://www.spicejungle.com/cooking-ingredients/spices https://www.myspicer.com/product-category/hard-to-find/
According to this site http://www.livelynnette.com/9-types-basil/, Persian Basil is different from Thai Basil, but it depends on who you ask. I've never used it, but found this https://www.thepersianfusion.com/persian-basil-demystified/.