Luxuries Part 3 - Herbs and Spices Part 1

     Dry herbs and spices are probably the most valuable thing that you can have in your kitchen.  You can cook food without herbs and spices, but it just won't taste the same.  Ideally, herbs and spices are to be used to accent the natural flavors of food, not to mask them.  The problem is a small bottle of spice usually costs $3 or $4 depending on what you're getting and what brand you're buying.  For that reason, I'm classifying them as luxuries.  WE don't always have room in our budget for them, and we don't always know what we need.  There are also literally hundreds of herbs and spices, so for the next couple of weeks, we'll go over them, in alphabetical order, to discuss their flavors, their uses, and their importance.
     First things first.  Herbs and spices are drastically different.  Herbs are the leaves and stems of plants while spices are the seeds.  Despite their name, spices are not inherently spicy.  They are, however, far more pungent than herbs, so they can be used more sparingly.
     There are definitely herbs and spices that are a must for kitchens, but what do you do if you have a recipe for something that you don't have?  You don't want to buy a whole bottle of something you've never used before and might never use again.  In these cases, go down your local natural foods store and see if they sell spices in bulk.  My local Whole Foods store has a section of jars full of herbs and spices.  I can go and buy a tablespoon of Star Anise, if I need it instead of getting a bottle.  That tablespoon costs 20¢ - 30¢.  Way cheaper than a bottle!
     However, if you buy a bottle of a dried herb or spice, you can feel pretty good about it because they stay good what seems like forever.  They do lose their flavor over a very long time, but you'll probably need to replace them before you notice the absence of flavor.

• Allspice is the dried berry of what’s called an evergreen pimento tree.  It’s incredibly important in Caribbean dishes as well as some British cuisine.  It has the taste of a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  I rarely use it, but I have a tiny jar of it, just in case.  You can substitute a 50/50 mix of cinnamon and ground cloves or an equal mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg for allspice.
• Anise is the ground leaves of a flowering plant native to the Mediterranean.  Though it has uses in dishes across several cultures, I have never personally used it.  It has a licorice flavor.
• Basil is the leaves of a plant that originally came from India.  Sweet basil (usually printed without the sweet) is very common in Italian dishes as opposed to Thai basil, lemon basil, and holy basil which are used in Asian dishes.  I always, always, always have a bottle of dried basil in my stores.
• Bay Leaves are the leaves of the bay laurel tree.  These are rarely if ever left in a food when served.  Instead one or two bay leaves can flavor an entire soup or stock and are removed before serving.  If you don’t use these often, you can see if you can buy them one or 2 at a time to save some money.
• Caraway is the leaves of a plant native to Asia, Europe, and North Africa.  It has a licorice flavor, but is often used in breads like rye.  I’ve never personally used it, but if you feel like making some rye bread, finding some is going to be important.
• Cardamom is a spice native to the Middle East and Africa and, as such, is used in those dishes.  You can buy it in the pod, out of the pod, and ground.  Though ground cardamom has a lot less flavor than the stuff you’ll find in the pod, you may prefer that to grinding it.  However, this is a rare ingredient, to say the least.
• Cassia is the aromatic bark of an evergreen tree native to China.  This is also called Chinese cinnamon because of its similar taste to the cinnamon tree.  If you look on your bottle of cinnamon the next time you shop, it may list cassia as its main ingredient.  That’s because cassia is much less expensive than true cinnamon.  Cassia is supposed to have a much stronger, spicier taste than true cinnamon, but chances are you won’t notice it.  I have cinnamon of one kind or another in my cabinets all the time.
• Cayenne pepper is a spicy red powder made from chilies from French Guiana.  In fact, it’s one of the major reasons Europe liked this continent.  Because of its spiciness, it’s used in all kinds of dishes from all over the world.  If your family doesn’t do spicy, don’t buy this.
• Celery seed has an intense form of the flavor you know from celery.  It’s used in very few things, though our family uses it in tuna salad.  You probably don’t need it.
• Chives are those little green things you find on your baked potato at Wendy’s.  They’re sold dry, but I hate them.  If you like them, more power to you, but I’d rather mince my own chives when I need them.
• Cilantro is also known as Mexican parsley, though it’s native to Eastern Europe.  It seems that many people have a volatile relationship with cilantro as one of the first websites that pops up on Google is dedicated to banning the herb.  However, I personally like it.  Fresh cilantro is really important in Hispanic sauces while the dried herb is used in dishes from around the world.  The issue is that it’s a very strong herb, so use care with it.
• Cinnamon is the name of the tree that gave us the spice that we associate so strongly with Christmas.  As I mentioned before, cinnamon in a bottle is either cassia or true cinnamon.  True cinnamon is supposed to be mild and softer on the tongue.  It’s also usually more expensive.
• Cloves are the dried flower buds of a plant indigenous to Indonesia.  They have a deep pungent taste – so much so that you rarely need more than 2 to 3 cloves to spice an entire pot of apple cider.  In my mind, they are the spice equivalent of bay leaves.  You don’t need many and you take them out before you serve.  You can buy ground cloves, but they’ll hold their flavor much better if you buy them whole.  Also, if you have a toothache, you can put a clove near the gum where it hurts as they work as a local anaesthetic.
• Coriander is another word for cilantro, though it’s usually used to talk about the seeds of the plant.  There are plenty of uses for coriander seeds, but don’t buy them, if you don’t need them.

Next week we'll cover cumin through nutmeg.  Did I miss something?   What's your favorite herb/spice?   Questions?   Comments?   Tweet to @cookingcheap