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Questions tagged [spices]

Culinary use of spices, defined as the edible but non-leafy parts of certain plants.

Culinary differ from culinary primarily in which part of the plant they come from. Herbs are generally the leaves, and spices are generally anything else, including the bark (cinnamon), seeds (mustard), or roots (ginger).

Questions on a specific spice should also include the specific tag, e.g. .

Avoid the use of this tag for sugar and salt; they are not classified as spices.

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Why whole peppercorns?

Some recipes call for whole peppercorns. Why not crack them and use a lot less? In a cooking show I watched recently the host specifically said "Do not crack or grind them" but he did not explain why. The only reason I can think of is to make it…
Sly
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Do I need to remove clove stems before grinding?

I have whole cloves and need to crush/grind them. Should I break the berry parts off the much-harder stem and just grind that, or is the whole thing meant to be used? (I'm using a mortar and pestle, not a spice grinder, so non-mechanized…
Erica
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How to make homemade pinto beans taste like canned refried beans?

I see plenty of advice out there on how to make canned pinto beans taste delicious, but does anyone know how to recreate that cheapo refrito taste? I've tried countless combinations of freshly cooked pinto beans, salt, garlic, chili powder,…
anon
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How much salt should I add to a dish?

I find it hard to figure out how much salt to add to dishes. I'm always afraid I'll make it too salty. Recipes always call for salt to taste, but what does that mean? Is there a good rule of thumb?
papin
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Is curry ketchup just ketchup with curry powder?

We use both tomato ketchup and curry ketchup as condiments in Belgium. On the curry ketchup label, amongst other ingredients is "curry (1%)". So I tried adding curry powder to regular ketchup to see whether I could end up with curry ketchup, but I…
Mien
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Differences/Similarities between cinnamon and nutmeg

I read a while ago that nutmeg and cinnamon are really similar and you can easily substitute one for the other. Yet many recipes call for both cinnamon and nutmeg so it seems like there must be some kind of difference. What are the specific…
Kyra
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Are 'premium' spices worth the expense?

I have done some calculation. And I think that if I buy a jar of spice from the supermarket, it is about 25 times more expensive (it costs more and you get a fraction of the amount) that getting a bag from my local Asian store. I am perfectly happy…
Jeremy French
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What spices taste umami?

Are there natural spices that taste umami? I don't want to use MSG in my food, but I'd like to add some umami flavour.
configurator
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How do I keep soup from being bland?

I've been experimenting with soups recently and trying different recipes, and I've found that I often come out with a good soup that's a bit too bland in taste. And yes, salt and pepper makes a huge difference... but it needs something else. Beyond…
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Consuming cardamom pods

I'm making a dish that calls for six cardamom pods added while cooking. After the dish cooks, should I make the effort to locate and remove the pods? I'm assuming they're like Bay Leaves, unpleasant to chomp on but otherwise harmless.
awithrow
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Name of a greek spice that sounds like "bakari"

Many years ago, we brought back from Greece a spice that was suggested to us for preparing the Moussaka. The greek who sold it to us called it "bakari". Now we have used all our stock and I've tried to buy it from Belgium, but I can't find it.…
radouxju
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Oil separating from fried onion/spice mixture, why does it happen?

I was always taught when cooking Indian dishes to fry spices in a chopped/pureed onion and garlic mixture to release their flavour and essential oils. I was also taught that when the oil separates from the mixture, the spices are done and you can…
spiceyokooko
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How much Saffron to use?

I'm a bit confused with how much saffron to use in a paella recipe. I've seen numerous recipes that state to use 1gram. However I have a 1gram jar and that seems like a lot of saffron to me. I've spotted some recipes that say to use 1/2 a teaspoon…
Fadzy
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How to dry oregano?

I have oregano in my garden. But I only use it fresh. How should I properly dry the oregano so I can get something similar to oregano found in the stores?
Daniel Moura
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Are cardamom husks edible?

I have a recipe for a South Indian "allspice" mixture that includes cardamom among other spices. One begins with whole spices, toasted, and in the end they are ground in a coffee or spice grinder. Does one have to extract the black seeds within the…
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