What are your top 10 Spices?

whitakermk

whitakermk

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We all have our favorites. There are certain spices that you can't live without in your kitchen. If you had to pick ten spices to use for a contest, or you could only have ten in your pantry, what would your Top Ten list of spices be?
 
If i only had to have 10 spices (not including herbs) then I would have
  1. Cumin seeds (easy to make ground Cumin out of)
  2. Coriander seeds (again easy to make ground coriander from)
  3. Asafoetida
  4. Black mustard seeds
  5. Mustard powder
  6. Paprika
  7. Turmeric
  8. Chilli powder
  9. Black cardamom pods
  10. Black pepper corns
If i have to include herbs in that list it would be a lot harder!
 
10 is a long list for me. I have been so poor for so much of my adulthood I just never got started using spices all that much because I saw them as an unnecessary expense. What I use most often are:
Cinnamon
Black Pepper
Alspice
Nutmeg
Chili Powder
Ginger
Cardamom

I take turmeric on occasion as a dietary supplement, but rarely cook with it because I don't care for the flavor.

I actually only use cinnamon and black pepper on a more than once a week basis, the others are only if I think of it, which isn't that often. I am so boring.
 
Well right now I can think of only 6 favorite spices that I normally use, and these are:

Curry
Oregano
Ginger
Cinnamon
Cayenne pepper
Cumin

Another one that I use, but very rarely, is mustard.
 
I love spices lots however i am going to list the ones that i use most frequent:

Cayenne Pepper
Rosemary
Curry
Ginger
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder

I cant ever imagine having my dishes without one of the above spices added; it's like i'm totally hooked on herbs and spices.
 
The ones I use most are:

basil
oregano
chili flakes (don't know if that's considered a spice?)
cumin
turmeric
ginger
dill
paprika
caraway seeds
bay leaves
 
DIna00 said:
The ones I use most are:

basil
oregano
chili flakes (don't know if that's considered a spice?)
cumin
turmeric
ginger
dill
paprika
caraway seeds
bay leaves
Click to expand...
Here in the UK, basil, oregano, dill and may leaves are not considered to be spices. They are all herbs! So I guess in answer to your question regarding chili flakes, here they are a spice, but in the US, I have no idea!

Not necessarily the most reliable source of information but the wiki link for spices days this which is what I was brought up to understand the difference as.

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetable substance primarily used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food. Sometimes a spice is used to hide other flavors.

Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are parts of leafy green plants used for flavoring or as a garnish
Click to expand...

In essence, spices are everything except the leafy party's of plants and herbs are the 'greenery'. Also as I understood it, spices went in at the beginning of coming, herbs at the end.
 
Well let's see if I can seperate my herbs from my spices here, this should be a challange. My top spices are:
1. Cinnamon
2. Nutmeg
3. Paprika
4. Black pepper
5. Cayanne pepper
6. red pepper flakes
7. mustard seed

There is 7, the rest would be all herbs for me. I am not a fan of cumin at all unless it is buried in some sort of Indian dish. I am surprised that no one included fennel seed in their list as this has been the trendy spice for the last couple of years. I don't like fennel either because it tastes too much like black licorice.
 
Sweet smoked paprika
Star anise whole
Coriander seeds
Black pepper whole
Saffron
Cummin
Cardamom
Cloves
Black onion seeds
Cinnamon sticks
I tend to keep a tray of savoury spices and a tray of sweet spices
 
My top ten would be:
Garlic
Black Pepper
Oregano
Paprika
Mustard Seeds
Cumin
Basil
Chili Powder
Cloves
Ginger
 
If I could only have 10 spices in my pantry the ones that I would choose are:
1. Cinnamon
2. Ginger
3. Garlic
4. Cayenne
5. Black pepper
6. Paprika
7. Cumin
8. Turmeric
9. Mustard seeds
10. Nutmeg

To be honest the only one I could really not live without would be cinnamon. It goes in practically everything I make. Especially into desserts. Having said that though, savory dishes just wouldn't be the same without being able to add Paprika, Garlic and Cayenne for me.
 
Not sure I can come up with 10 but these are the ones that I use the most:

1. Garlic Powder/Salt
2. Cayenne Pepper
3. Chili Powder
4. Montreal Steak Spice
5. Paprika
6. Oregano
7. Cinnamom
8. Black Pepper

I am sure I am forgetting a few but that is the ones I can recall right off hand.
 
  1. Saffron
  2. Fenugreek
  3. Cardamom (black and green)
  4. Aiwjan seeds (lovage seeds)
  5. Turmeric
  6. Cumin seeds
  7. Coriander seeds
  8. Star Anise
  9. Juniper berries
  10. Ginger
I didn't put chilli powder in the list because I can always substitute fresh chilli, so could live without the powder or flakes. This is quite a difficult call for me as I tend to rely on an extensive spice cupboard. But with the exception of the Juniper, I could make a mean curry from the above. Juniper went on the list because it isn't quite like anything else and is wonderful in pates and meat casseroles. And saffron, well, that's so versatile and great with fish as well as meat veg. I don't count garlic as a spice so I haven't included it!
 
Pepper
Paprika
Tumeric
Ginger
Cumin
Chilli flakes
Garlic
Cayenne

Thats all I can think of for now, but I am always using at least a couple of these in any meal I make! :happy: Black pepper being most popular! And I love paprika sprinkled on rice! :chef:
 
cinnamon, sage, thyme. cumin, basil, pepper, salt, garlic, nutmeg, red pepper. Thee are all spices that I use regularly. I like to make chicken and chili a lot so I often use these spices. I like most spices and enjoy them. Parsley should have made the list as well, as it is something that I often spinkle on my food, and is one of my favorite spices.
 
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