True, but the same could be said for a lot of often used ingredients. I treat spices and seasonings the same as milk, half'n'half, butter, sugar, flour, etc., and keep tight watch over them. I have done up a grocery list on the computer, listing every item I buy, and each with a checkbox. Had the local copy shop print out 500 of them (probably enough to last five years), and always have one on the clipboard I got nailed to the door. Whenever I see I'm running low on an item, it gets checked, and if it looks to be something that can't wait, grocery shopping goes to the top of tomorrows to-do list. I can see that substitutes are useful in an emergency, but I can't think of any substitutes that are anywhere near as good as the real thing. Yes, you can keep some powdered milk in case you run out of the real deal, but the better solution in my experience is to keep what you need on hand, and if you cannot find it locally, then get it online.
I just caught up with this thread @Don Alaska so please forgive me for the lack of response. There is a heavy mistque concerning fresh versus dried herbs which favor in the direction of the fresh but in fact, beyond measuring the amounts, there is little if any difference. Some of the herbs that are grown in higher temperatures such as laurel, rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano will hold their original taste much longer when dried, but just about every dried herb will release its full flavor when it is rehydrated in a sauce such as a marinara or even used in a saute’. I mentioned that measuring the amounts is a little different between fresh and dried because in the drying techniques the herb’s flavors and (obvious) dimensions become more concentrated. There’s a little dispute over the ratio but I generally hold to the 3 to 1 rule of thumb. Unless it’s a corporate recipe, I never use the darned things but if one does call for a tsp of dried, I generally use 3 tsp’s of fresh but that can change at any time depending on the herb and texture especially when it’s a combination of herbs and spice such as one would find in a nice curry.
I was raised by old-fashioned salt and pepper cooks. We always had baking spices on the shelf but the only savory items we had were an old tin can of paprika for decorating salads and a box of Bell's poultry seasoning. Try this great recipe the next time you grill chicken! Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce 1 cup cooking oil 2 cups apple cider vinegar 3 T salt 1 T Bell's poultry seasoning 1/2 t pepper 1 egg
Bought some new tomato sauce I really like for spaghetti, but it has a "funny" smell I don't care for. The only ingredient listed I'm not familiar with is basil. " Basil has a delicious, aromatic fragrance note, with a green, slightly sharp and spicy edge that lends itself really well to men's scents." - The Perfume Society Could the funny smell be basil? Any men care to comment?
We almost always use basil in our Italian cooking. I am surprised you haven't discovered it yet @Nancy Hart. There are many types of it, so I don't know what kind is in your sauce, but I would assume it is one of the Italian varieties. I never noticed it having an unusual smell though. Maybe people use it in men's colognes and such. Don't use those either.
I have cinnamon every day in my vinegar shots and on top of cereal. Sometimes I'll shake it in my coffee. Since I use so much, I only have real cinnamon on hand because cassia contains an ingredient that's hard on your liver when taken in quantity. You'll mostly see real cinnamon under the label Ceylon Cinnamon. I buy sticks of the cassia to use where stick cinnamon is called for, but I've never had sticks of Ceylon cinnamon. Yup. I have a large mortar & pestle for when I'm using a quantity of spices (I'll grind the spices, the salt & the pepper together so they are incorporated with each other.) I also have one of these modified mortar & pestles to crush small quantities of herbs: The pestle fits snugly in the mortar so that regardless where in the mortar the spices are, they're gettin' smashed.
I've got one of those, too; only it never made its way back to the kitchen after I used it to crush pills when one of my cats got cancer several years ago.
I well remember the first wooden frame rack with herbs and spices. Cheap as chips as a wedding gift. Husband and I replaced the items over the years and the frame gave up about 2 years later. Daughter and I had fun fixing the latest miss-match of spices and herbs bottle. Happy to say that now, all the bottles are the same model and whole amounts to 21 spices and herbs from Cinnamon to Chinese Five Spice. In a solid SS rack inside our cupboard door. I buy most in bulk from Amazon, especially the onion powder as it is made from dried onions with no artificial flavour or preservatives. Just love it. Then on my lazy Susan, I've my two Pink Salt crystals and peppercorns grinders, onion powder shaker and ground black pepper shakers as well. Not a fan of granulated sugar, I've replaced this with liquid honey, great in coffees, maple syrup and flavoured syrup such as Mint for holiday hot chocolate and vanilla syrup for every day. I use all of these spices and herbs in various blends such as Mexican for fajitas and tacos. Louisiana spice blends, for paellas, gumbo and jerk chicken and more. Granted I have Garlic granules but most times it isn't used much (so just fir backup) as I prefer to use fresh garlic.
Yeh, I can see that no matter how many scrubbings, the confidence factor is gonna be pretty low. Reminds me of the woman who murdered her husband and caused all the poisoned Excedrin fear (then they put tamper seals on everything.) She crushed aquarium algaecide tablets with her mortar & pestle and put them in his Excedrin capsules. Silly twit failed to wash the thing out. That's how they caught her.
One of the seed packets that i got for the aerogarden was a Japanese/Korean herb called Shiso. It is also called Perilla, and several other names. It is a member of the mint family and comes in red, purple and variegated colors , as well as plain bright green, and the different colors have different flavors. I just started some in the aerogarden, and if we like it, I will plant some outside and grow it like we do the mint. https://thisnzlife.co.nz/why-shiso-is-a-must-have-herb-for-your-edible-garden/
It could be basil. I'm one of "those people" who doesn't like basil... at all. I have tried to like it but it just smells and tastes weird to me. If you go to a grocery store that sells fresh bundles of herbs, see if they have some fresh basil to sniff.
There are many different basils to sniff. I have about 8 different types growing at the moment. Some Thai basils are a different genus than the Italian type, so those could produce a different aroma.
I don't like 'Italian seasonings' . Probably their basil. I do love the smell of holy basil, Tulsi. I used to take it as a supplement. Might dig it up from the bottom of the bag.