Your top five (or so) staple spices

Fat_Bottomed_Girl
Fat_Bottomed_Girl Posts: 355 Member
in Recipes
-And what you use them for, if you are so inclined...
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Replies

  • Farburnfred
    Farburnfred Posts: 333 Member
    Have at least 5 for curries....curry powder, Garam masala, turmeric, coriander and cumin.. I also use lots of cinnamon and ginger. But I have tons of herbs and spices on my shelves!
  • torrmairi
    torrmairi Posts: 64 Member
    I must admit I don't season very much, but my top four are cinnamon, vanilla, cayenne and coriander. I put cinnamon onto apples and microwave or bake them (really good for a snack), vanilla in with my natural soy protein or anything I want a little sweeter, cayenne into anything tomato-based, and coriander is amazing in nearly everything savoury. I'm really keen on dill and cardamom, which are staples for basic Nordic cooking (think milky sauces and bread), but I haven't had them in recently.

    Oh and I put sriracha on most things, but that's not really a spice.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Garlic, ginger, dill, cinnamon, and hot pepper flakes.

    I use garlic in just about every savory dish I make. Ginger and garlic together is pretty awesome for asian style cooking. Fresh ginger on fruit or in smoothies. Cinnamon in my coffee, daily. I add cinnamon bits to the grounds before brewing. Dill as a seasoning for salads and seafood. And hot pepper flakes in my dinner just about every day. I like it hot.
  • Andrea419
    Andrea419 Posts: 83 Member
    Cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, curry powder, and ginger.
  • wrbiii
    wrbiii Posts: 151
    Garlic, Onion, Cayenne, Lemon (instead of lemon pepper... I've also gotten good at cooking with lemon instead of any kind of oil), and whatever variety of Mrs. Dash sounds good
  • paintlisapurple
    paintlisapurple Posts: 982 Member
    Whole fresh garlic, fresh ginger root, Hungarian paprika (spicy yum!), Parsley, and black pepper.
    It would take too long to tell you all the ways to use them.
    Paprika is a main staple in my twist of Hungarian Goulash.
    Garlic, parsley and black pepper go into my chicken soup.
    Everything except for the paprika goes into my stir fries along with whatever bit of Asian inspired sauce I am in the mood for at the moment, like Teriyaki (sp?), Hoisin, sweet & sour or what have you.
    Lord I love to cook and experiment with different flavors!
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    Aside from salt and black pepper...

    For dried spices, ancho chili powder, cumin, coriander, thyme, and (for my husband) cayenne.
    I also cook with fresh basil, cilantro, onion, garlic, shallots, and ginger all the time!
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Thyme, Oregano, Cumin

    Honorable mention: chili powder and cumin
  • tannyasawyer
    tannyasawyer Posts: 106 Member
    - Black pepper. If it's savoury, it's going in...

    - Salt. A little goes a looong way. Even in sweet foods (porridge, baked good, etc.) Takes away some of the sickly/bland flavour.

    - Cinnamon. Awesome stuff. Great in porridge. Supposed to help with sugar levels too!

    - Garlic. Looove garlic

    - Chinese Fivespice. Love this stuff, although I haven't used it for quite a while. Is great in small amounts on with pork and chicken.
  • kiittenforever
    kiittenforever Posts: 478 Member
    Black pepper on everything

    Minced garlic, basil, oregano - veggies, legumes, fish, pasta

    chilli pepper, club house cajun seasoning - veggies, legumes, fish, soups
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
    Lemon pepper, chili lime rub, southwest seasoning, Italian seasoning, garlic
  • amberaz
    amberaz Posts: 328 Member
    Garlic, onion, cumin, smoked paprika, basil

    Garlic and onion-dried and powdered-go in everything I cooke except breakfast
    Cumin I use for anything that need a very savory, rich flavor
    Smoked paprika goes in most things, it adds a rich sweet smoky flavor that compliments most things
    Basil is great because I grow in my garden and always have it fresh, it's a sweet herbal flavor that goes well with asian, italian and mexican dishes.
  • EricInArlington
    EricInArlington Posts: 531 Member
    Tabasco
    Slap Yo Mama
    Srriracha " red ****"
    cumin
    garlic salt
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Ground cumin. A giant jar of assorted "Italian Seasoning." Red pepper flakes. Black pepper. Chili powder.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    Most of the spices I keep in my place whole and I grind them after roasting the "seeds" as needed. More flavor. Anyways, since I'm Indian and my main culinary experience is in south eat asia and mid-eastern cuisine heres my list

    Turmeric powder
    Garam Masala
    Dried Chilli pepper. Or cayenne peppers
    cumin
    coriander seeds
    summac (try it on salads or put it on top of a cooked burger)
    chaat masala
    cardimom
    fennul
    yellow mustard seeds
    black mustard seeds
    chaat masala

    My list can go on and on. I use alot of spices >.<

    The main thing to remember is to know your spices and that spices should be used to compliment each other. Once you learn the nature of different spices, you can do amazing things with food!
  • TiffanySuscheck
    TiffanySuscheck Posts: 123 Member
    I only need 2: cayenne and cinnamon.

    I carry both in my purse and put them on anything and everything.
  • shoshi68
    shoshi68 Posts: 407 Member
    Ginger, garlic, chili pepper, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, turmeric, thyme.
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
    cumin
    garlic
    cayenne

    curry
    garlic
    ginger

    salt
    pepper

    adobo
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    curry for chicken
    adobo for everything
    garlic for everything
    pepper for everything
    salt for everything
    onion powder for everything
    sazon for everything
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Have at least 5 for curries....curry powder, Garam masala, turmeric, coriander and cumin.. I also use lots of cinnamon and ginger. But I have tons of herbs and spices on my shelves!

    YUM where is the LIKE button. I have a ton of spices and I use them for everything. I prepare all my food at home and it's funny when people see my diary they must think it is pretty boring with all the fruits and veggies, but the truth is that it's all yummy and it is because of SPICE.
  • gracieabem
    gracieabem Posts: 211
    Oooh, tough one. I use a lot!
    I love cinnamon in my oats.
    I love tarragon with chicken.
    I use a lot of cumin
    Garlic in nearly everything
    Chill flakes

    I love the freshness of ginger, but don't use it nearly as much as I would like.

    I use others, but not on a regular basis. It's one thing I would like to experiment a bit more with, trying to work out what flavours go well etc. Same for fresh herbs.
  • rmkramer003
    rmkramer003 Posts: 115 Member
    Garlic, Marjoram, Pepper, Ground mustard, Cinnamon, Basil, Thyme

    Aside from the ground mustard, I put them on anything I think they'll taste good in. Ground mustard I put into cheese sauce to bring out the flavor.
  • DoxieMama70
    DoxieMama70 Posts: 92 Member
    Garlic (salt and powder) - anything I can put it on
    Onion powder
    Chili powder
    Dill - love this on potatoes and salmon
    Black pepper - on pretty much anything
    Curry
    Oregano (also Italian blend)
    Cayenne Pepper - love some heat

    I have tons of spices in my cabinet, I am always experimenting.
  • linz1125
    linz1125 Posts: 441 Member
    Coriander, siriacha, and a local pork seasoning that I put on pork and chicken (it's called Shoups country seasoning). I just got a basil plant so hopefully I will be using that a lot too ( I can never find it fresh so when I found the plant I had to have it!). And I put garlic on everything!
  • aallegri
    aallegri Posts: 41
    Cinnamon in my coffee, on apples, on coconut manna, etc...

    Rosemary, basil, thyme and sage are the other four...I use them on meats and fish and veggies
  • IslandDreamer64
    IslandDreamer64 Posts: 258 Member
    Garlic, cayenne, onion, cinnamon, vanilla.
  • Temporalia
    Temporalia Posts: 1,151 Member
    Basil for anything, coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika and ginger :)
  • AlphamaleBAMF
    AlphamaleBAMF Posts: 373 Member
    I'll just say Cajun and Cinnamon. Cajun is like 5 anyway.
  • small_ninja
    small_ninja Posts: 365 Member
    I can't get enough of cumin (with a bit of oregano and paprika) for spicy dishes.

    Cinnamon + vanilla is a must for baked fruit.
  • kmbrooks15
    kmbrooks15 Posts: 941 Member
    Garlic pepper is a favorite for veggies and pasta. Old Bay is my go-to for fish. My other favorite is Everglades seasoning. It's only available in stores in Florida or online. It was developed in WWII; a guy from Florida went to Europe as a cook for the American troops. Their food was so bland that they were throwing it in the ocean! So he developed a seasoning that everyone loved so much they were putting it on everything, even scrambled eggs! When he returned home from the war, he further refined it and began selling it. It's good stuff, and you don't need a lot of it for flavor. It's good on pork, chicken, steak, veggies, eggs...it's a little strong for fish, though, in my opinion.

    I've never been a big veggie eater, but I've found that seasoning can go a long way toward making them palatable!

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