Spice Up Your Life: Spice Cooking Tips for Beginners
Looking to elevate your dish from ordinary to extraordinary? Look no further than simple herbs and spices. A little more flavor is always better, whether savory and spicy or sweet and salty. Many spices also contain antioxidants, vitamins, and nutrients that benefit your health and digestive system. Read on to learn more about how you can cook with herbs and transform your meal from a simple, mundane dish to an incredible, memorable event.
Let's start with the basic spices everyone needs in their kitchen.
Oregano
Oregano, a perennial herb derived from the Mediterranean region, is both sweet and bitter and has a peppery taste. It's most often used in tomato and pizza sauces, but you can add it to salad dressings and marinades for meat and fish. Oregano also tastes delicious when added to olive oil. You can use it to dip bread and make pizza crust. Because of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties, you'll want to add it to as many dishes as possible. Try this quick Argentine condiment, Chimichurri, that tastes great on anything and is ready in just minutes.
Thyme
Thyme, rich in vitamins A and C, also grows in the Mediterranean and is used, like oregano, for salad dressings and marinades for meat. It can also be a great choice to flavor stews or soups. Thyme is minty and lemony and much less intense than oregano. If you want to try it out for the first time, check out this buttery, roasted carrot recipe that takes just 20 minutes to whip up. There are a lot of other delicious recipes that you can use for a casserole or meat dishes.
Basil
Basil is a fragrant herb linked to many health benefits (supporting liver health, fighting cancer, and reducing high blood sugar). So, for your next dish, pizza, soup, or tomato sauce, remember to add basil! You can also make a marinade for chicken or fish using simple but tasty ingredients like olive oil, basil, and chopped garlic. Check out some recipes here at our recipe section to learn how to incorporate basil in salads, side dishes, and dinners!
Cumin
Cumin, a parsley family member known for its antioxidants that can help prevent diseases like cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure, is a spice often found in Middle Eastern, Indian, and North African cuisine. It's a dried seed often mashed into powder with a warm, earthy, sweet, and bitter flavor. Most often used in meat and vegetable dishes, but you can also add it to soups and sauces. Check out this lamb sausage dish for something different!
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of the most widely used spices. Known for its health benefits like reducing cholesterol levels and lowering blood pressure, it's not just what's in your dessert. Indeed, cinnamon can also bring a delicious flavor profile to savory dishes. Remember, cinnamon pairs well with allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. Check out some recipes (like cinnamon-apple pork chops and spiced apple chili) to discover how to incorporate cinnamon into beautiful, savory dishes.
Cayenne Pepper
If you're looking for something to add a touch of heat, then cayenne pepper should be your go-to spice. Most commonly used in Central American and Asian dishes, cayenne pepper is also known as an excellent remedy for stomach problems and poor appetite. You can use it to flavor sauces, meat marinates, or add it to your next taco or fajita dish. Suppose you want to make something fun and different, like an Indian curry or a spicy Thai soup. In that case, you want to have this critical spice. You can even use it as a topping on your cheese omelet or deviled egg! Add a pinch or more, depending on how much heat you like.
Spice Blends
Many stores sell spice blends, making it easy to whip up a quick, tasty dish in no time. The advantage of using an already-made blend over making your own is that many spices blend companies have spent time developing and testing it, so it's more of a "tried-and-true" approach where there's not too much or too little of anything. We've listed some of our top picks below.
Italian Seasoning
Italian seasoning can be used to flavor a range of dishes. However, the most popular are Italian-American blends like lasagna, garlic bread, pizza sauce, chicken parmesan, soups (tomato, minestrone, or chicken noodles are good choices), pizza, meatballs, and even salads. Try adding it as a zesty topping for vegetables like potatoes and peppers.
If you need help figuring out where to start, check our recipes for great options.
Chili Powder
This spice mixture works well for various dishes, including stews, meats (think baby back ribs), beans, and chicken (tacos or fajitas, anyone?). Even though many premade spices are available, you can make some of your own if you have paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder handy. Add some cayenne pepper for a blast of heat.
Meat Seasoning
This spice combination can be used for various foods, including chicken, pork, and even gravy recipes. In fact, many people use it to add flavor to traditional roasted veggies like potatoes and Brussels sprouts. A variety of spices, such as thyme, nutmeg, rosemary, pepper, and marjoram, are used in this mix. Refrain from trying new things: some people add a bit of poultry seasoning in butter to serve with rolls, or it might even be added to corn muffin mix. This versatile addition is not limited to chicken or turkey alone.
Curry Powder
If you are looking for a different flavor profile, try curry powder. It is a traditional part of Indian cuisine. It is most often used to flavor meats, fish and vegetables. The ones that you will find in your supermarket generally contain a mix of turmeric, coriander, and cumin (all of which are rich in antioxidants and iron), as well as celery seed and cayenne pepper (known for their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties). If you want to try this spice, check out Taste of Home, which has a range of recipes, from Curried Beef Stew to Coconut Chicken Soup. Don't be afraid to experiment and try something new!
Spice it Up Tonight!
So, there you have it, a list of spices and spice blends that you can try to elevate your dishes or create new ones. Please share your experience with the herbs and blends in the comments below. We'd love to hear from you!
Keyword: spice cooking tips for beginners
Meta description: Unlock the secret to flavorful cooking with our beginner's guide to using spices! Essential tips for beginners to easy spice pairings and recipe ideas included.