What are your "go to" seasonings/spices?

MyPaperBleedsInk

MyPaperBleedsInk

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I guess I'm not all too familiar with seasonings and spices (unless it's salt, pepper, or steak seasoning) and am curious as to what others mainly buy and what they use it for. I'll be needing to buy some soon when I move out, and I'm just not sure what works well with what.
 
I tend to put oregano on just about everything.

When I moved into my current house, I found that the former owner had a bit of an herb garden. Only two things purposefully planted are sweet oregano and rosemary. There's some spearmint growing in there too, on accident I think.

I like "spicy" oregano over sweet.

I also like just the basic "seasoning salt" on most meat.
 
Choosing just a couple would be really difficult. This is my herb & spice cupboard. The top shelf is for herbs. the bottom self is only spices. There is also a whole load of frozen herbs in the top drawer of the freezer, not to mention the herb patch by the kitchen door...

IMG_6338.JPG


The main ones I use and can't really live without would include ground coriander, ground cumin, sweet paprika, cayenne, chilli powder, tumeric, black or yellow mustard seeds, garlic, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, fresh coriander, mustard powder, fresh tamarind.
 
I think it depends on the types of foods you are preparing. I am always buying new spices for new recipes because I like to make new dishes a lot.
 
All depending on what I make I use specific seasonings.
My main seasonings I use are salt. pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
I use different meat spices depending on what I am making. :)
I always like to experiment though, I recently made a beef and broccoli dish and the seasonings added for the beef to soak in kind of threw me off. Did you ever hear of having soy sauce and brown sugar as some seasonings for beef?! (tasted amazing though when all ingredients and spices were used.)
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
Choosing just a couple would be really difficult. This is my herb & spice cupboard. The top shelf is for herbs. the bottom self is only spices. There is also a whole load of frozen herbs in the top drawer of the freezer, not to mention the herb patch by the kitchen door...

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The main ones I use and can't really live without would include ground coriander, ground cumin, sweet paprika, cayenne, chilli powder, tumeric, black or yellow mustard seeds, garlic, fresh thyme, fresh parsley, fresh coriander, mustard powder, fresh tamarind.
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Wow SatNavSaysStraightOn! You have an amazing selection there! :) Thank you for sharing your picture! I also use chili powder, cayenne and galic powder. In addition, I also use onion powder, salt and pepper. I enjoy experimenting with different seasonings and spices. I recently have been using more oregano and basil. I love to enhance the flavors of my meals.
 
As much as I try to keep my spice cabinet to a minimum, it's almost always a losing battle as I start accumulating more and more of them within a short amount of time. The biggest challenges for me are BBQ, Mexican and Asian dishes - which often use a lot of different spices. If I stuck with just Italian and American food, I would be fine with just a few things, but I always get the itch for some other cuisines from time to time.

I used to be a minimalist with seasonings, using just sea salt, ground black pepper and maybe some garlic powder and dried parsley on the rare occasion I didn't have their fresh counterparts on hand. My issue with pre-mixed spice blends and rubs is that they generally have too specific of a flavor profile, and I get bored with them rather quickly. I can taste Lawry's seasoned salt in dishes very distinctly, for example.

For a while, I started eyeballing in other seasonings such as paprika, cayenne, cumin, and others to add some extra color and flavor to dishes - but it would be hit or miss, sometimes I would over do it with a few of them and things just wouldn't taste balanced. More recently I've kind of settled on a combination of Morton's Season-All along with some extra dried parsley, together they add color and more depth of flavor, but still have a somewhat neutral overall flavor profile that can go in many directions.

I've also recently fallen in love with Dinosaur BBQ's recipe for their "red rub" which is the all purpose blend they use at their restaurants. Here is the recipe:
http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/01/15/home-schooled-bbq-chicken-wings-recipe

If you try it, make sure you use the smoked paprika, not the plain paprika as some reprints of this recipe list.
 
I also have a good selection of herbs and spices - although not as good as SatNav's, obviously! So I came at this question with the idea of what can't I do without? The answer to that is freshly ground pepper - either black or mixed peppercorns, smoked paprika and parsley, either fresh or freeze dried.

I don't use a lot of salt, although I do add a little to the vegetable cooking water. And I do like to use Worcestershire Sauce in quite a few dishes. Basically, if I had to, I could run my kitchen on those 5 seasonings. But I don't have to, thank goodness!
 
Sandra Piddock said:
I also have a good selection of herbs and spices - although not as good as SatNav's, obviously! So I came at this question with the idea of what can't I do without? The answer to that is freshly ground pepper - either black or mixed peppercorns, smoked paprika and parsley, either fresh or freeze dried.

I don't use a lot of salt, although I do add a little to the vegetable cooking water. And I do like to use Worcestershire Sauce in quite a few dishes. Basically, if I had to, I could run my kitchen on those 5 seasonings. But I don't have to, thank goodness!
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that selection has grown since then... I guess I could do without the star anise and perhaps some of the dried herbs.. but the rest (spices) gets used all of the time! Are you going to start a thread?
 
Garlic, basil, cumin, cinnamon, ginger are some of my favorites aside from salt and pepper. I really enjoy eating Mexican food and I tend to use those spices frequently. Cumin is one of my favorites! It just tastes so good to me.
 
Mine has to be "Lowry's Season All" Salt. I use it on just about everything. It is perfect if you want something slightly salty to marinate your steaks in before throwing them on the grill; that is my favorite use for it. It's also good to use on the veggies and my kids seem to eat them a lot quicker when I use the seasoning on them.
 
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