The Care of Spices: Spices should be full-bodied and fresh; they do not improve with age. Exposure to air, heat and light whether for a brief time or standing over a long period of time when not exposed causes the spices to deteriorate. Spices need to be kept in air-tight containers, in a cool, dark place in your kitchen.
Kinds of Spices and Their Uses
Allspice: Flavor resembles a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- Whole: pickling, simmering meats and fish.
- Ground: cakes, puddings, relishes, fruit preserves.
Anise: Licorice flavor
- Coffee cakes, sweet rolls, cookies, candies, sweet pickles.
Basil:
- Dried leaves are used in rich soups, stews and tomato sauces.
Bay Leaves:
- Pickling, stews, spiced vinegars, soups, boiled fish, fish chowder, any tomato mixture, pot roasts.
Caraway Seed:
- Rye bread, sauerkraut, new cabbage, pork, liver, kidneys, canapé spreads.
Cardamon Seed:
- Danish pastry, bun breads, coffee cakes, sliced oranges, grape jelly, cookies.
Cassia / Cinnamon:
- Whole: pickling, preserving, puddings, stewed fruit, beverages.
- Ground: baked goods, mincemeat.
Cassia Buds: Pickling.
Cayenne:
- Meats, fish, sauces, egg dishes, cheese dishes, stews, dry and wet rubs, marinades.
Celery Salt:
- Fish, boiled or fried eggs, potato salad, salad dressings, tomato and kraut juices, bouillon.
Celery Seed:
- Fish, potato salad, tomato dishes, canapé spreads, pickling, salad dressings, stews, hamburgers.
Chili Peppers:
- Whole: pickling
- Broken: with soup, stews, salsas, dry and wet rubs, marinades.
Chili Powder:
- Chili con carne and other Mexican dishes, shellfish, cocktail sauces, boiled or scrambled eggs, gravy and stew seasoning, canned corn.
Cloves:
- Whole: roast pork or ham, pickling of fruits, spiced sweet sirups.
- Ground: baked goods, puddings, potato soup, borsch, stews.
Coriander:
- Whole: mixed pickles, apple pie, pea soup, gingerbread, cookies, cakes, biscuits, poultry stuffing, mixed green salads.
- Ground: in sausages, buns, on fresh pork, to flavor gin.
Curry Powder:
- Curry sauce, meat, fish, eggs, chicken, cream soup, tomato soup, French dressing, chicken soup, clam and fish chowder.
Dill Seed:
- Pickling, sauerkraut, salads, soups, fish and meat sauces, gravies, spiced vinegars, green apple pie
Fennel: Resembles anise in flavor.
- Boiled fish, pastries, apple pie, sweet pickles, candies.
Fines Herbes:
- Stews, soups, meat and fish stuffings, garnishing, omelets, fish sources, grilled meat, broth.
- To make: Chop separately 1/2 onion, 2 scallions, 2 sprigs parsley, 1/2 small leek, 1 tablespoon leaf marjoram.
Ginger:
- Root: chutneys, conserves, pickling, stewed dried fruits, applesauce.
- Ground: cakes, puddings, pies, cookies, canned fruits.
Mace:
- Blades: fish sauces, pickling, preserving, stewed cherries, fruit jellies, gingerbread, biscuits for serving with fruit salads.
- Ground: pound cakes and all yellow cakes, chocolate dishes, oyster stew.
Marjoram:
- Lamb, stews, soups, sausages, poultry seasonings.
Mixed Whole Spice:
- Pickling and preserving meats, vegetables, relishes, etc.; stews and gravies, coiled beets and cabbage.
Mustard, dry:
- Meats, sauces, gravies.
Nutmeg:
- Baked goods, sauces, puddings, vegetables.
Orégano:
- Soups, stews, tomato sauces, chicken, pork, ground beef, Mexican dishes, Mediterranean dishes, Italian dishes.
Paprika:
- Shellfish, fish, salad dressings, garnish, dry and wet rubs, marinades, in chorizo, chili, stews.
Pepper (Black and White):
- Whole: pickling, soups, broths, meats.
Poultry Seasoning:
- A prepared mixture of herbs and spices for poultry, meat and fish stuffings.
Rosemary:
- Preserves, sweet pickles, jams, sweet bland sauces, pork, chicken, garbanzo beans, soups.
Sage:
- Meat stuffings, head cheese, pork products, especially sausage.
Turmeric: A root of the ginger family generally used with mustard.
- Pickles, meats, eggs.
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