Introduction the the Spice Cabinet

 This is just a short (short? With me, who knows?) introduction to one of the reasons I started this blog, which is to talk about spices. I'm going to make an ongoing series (until I run out of spices to taste) discussing an herb or spice (the difference, if there is one, doesn't matter), its taste, its looks, and what things might be good to try adding it to. If I assemble enough recipes I might even start linking them below pages where their ingredients match up, but really, this is more about flavor pairings than any specific recipe.

With that said, the absolute best way to figure out what a spice is good for is the thing that everyone seems terrified to do, and that's to taste it. Just haul off and put a pinch in your mouth. You can worry about how it mellows when you cook it later; for now, taste it at its most intense so you know every note that it might have.

So, when I talk about how a spice tastes, it's because I've recently placed it on my tongue. I don't know why people are afraid to taste their spices neat, but I get that it's sometimes pretty intense. Still, there's no better way to get to know a new flavor. You can smell all you want, but chili peppers don't smell spicy, salt doesn't smell salty, and lemon doesn't smell sour. Smell is a big part of taste, but things smell different when you have them in your mouth.

In keeping with the theme of no shame I will not be telling you to only buy the most expensive spices straight off the boat from the islands and then throw them away if you don't use them within fifteen minutes. I once had a bottle of Five Spice which was old enough to vote, and with a little coaxing it still produced a delightful flavor. I'm not saying that fresh-ground isn't better, but sometimes we all have to shop in the dollar store, and those spices deserve love too. Hopefully I can show you how to get the most out of even the dingiest of spice drawers.

Welcome to my spice cabinet. You can see a picture of a few of the jars and bottles I'll be opening above, but if there's one place where I've splurged in my kitchen, it's on spices. They occupy several cabinets, actually. We'll meet even the ones at the back eventually.