Since then, I've stopped adding parsley for reasons I'll mention in a minute, but I still add sage, rosemary, and thyme to anything in the Italian genre regardless of what the recipe says. I've also started adding oregano and basil. In fact, when I started my kitchen in my first apartment, those five are the first herbs I bought to make my kitchen run.
So, now you know my five favorite spices. They pretty much explain why I adore cooking Italian food. I'm sure you have your own or will find your own, and I can't wait to hear about them! Without any further ado, I give you the final installment of spices.
- Oregano is the leaf of a flowering plant in the mint family that’s native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. It has a strong taste that’s less sweet than basil and is very pungent. It’s a central herb in pizza sauce and many beef dishes.
- Paprika is a mixture of ground, dried peppers. There are several varieties of paprika, and depending on the country from which yours comes, they vary from mild to spicy. Interestingly enough, this is one of the few words that are remarkably similar across languages. In most stores, you’ll find either Spanish paprika or Hungarian paprika. Spanish paprika comes in three varieties – mild (dulce), moderate (agridulce), and spicy (picante). Hungarian paprika is usually very mild and pungent. That’s the kind you’ll usually find simply labeled “paprika” on your grocer’s shelves.
- Parsley is a leafy plant that’s related to cilantro. By itself, a sprig of parsley is actually a great breath freshener, but when added to a dish, I haven’t found that it adds anything. That’s why I stopped cooking with it, and stopped buying it dry altogether. When I want to use some parsley, I buy a bunch at the store for under 50¢ and chop it myself.
- Peppercorn also known as pepper is the dried fruit of a flowering plant native Southeast Asia and china. It comes in several different color varieties dependent on how the fruit is treated before you get it. You can get black pepper, white pepper, green pepper, and pink pepper (not actually pepper) in whole peppercorn varieties. You can also get ground black and white pepper. You’ll use more black pepper than any other kind, and someday, I’m going to write a full article just on pepper to explain all the ins and outs of it. Buy ground black pepper to refill your pepper shaker and we’ll discuss everything else later.
- Rosemary is hands down my favorite herb of all time. I love, love, love, love, love rosemary. If I could figure out how to put it in every single dish I cook, I would. Rosemary is the leaf of an evergreen bush. In fact, you can probably find it in the hedges outside businesses everywhere. Heck, I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve pulled leaves off of them to chew on while walking around. Rosemary has a resonant flavor and aroma that is very similar to pine.
- Saffron is an herb you’ll probably never use. Not only is it usually used in either Spanish or Middle Eastern dishes, it’s freaking expensive. Seriously, this is the most expensive thing by weight in my kitchen, and I buy it cheap. At Trader Joes, I can buy 0.035 ounces of this stuff for $5. That’s $142 an ounce. Most saffron is $25 for a smaller amount. It averages about $500 per ounce which, at the time I wrote this was a third the price of an ounce of gold. Why is it so expensive? Because saffron is the stigma of the Spanish crocus and can only be harvested by hand. It takes over 8,000 flowers to make 3.5 ounces. Lots of work. Why do I have it? Because it has an amazing metallic/sweet taste that you just can’t get anywhere else. The next time Buddhist monks walk by in their yellow robes, the smell that follows them is saffron. That’s right, saffron is also a yellow dye for clothing. Guess what color it turns food!
- Sage is a flowering plant that literally grows everywhere. Garden sage is native to Europe and Asia minor. Mountain sage grows in the mountains in the U.S. It has a woody flavor and goes great on poultry and pork.
- Savory is related to both rosemary and thyme. It has a slightly salty, spicy flavor that is used as a salt substitute sometimes. It’s common in bean dishes as well as Italian dishes that need a little zest.
- Star Anise is an eight-pointed spice that has the seeds of the Chinese anise plant which is a type of evergreen. Interestingly enough, though they taste similar, star anise and anise are not related at all. They were named as such because they both have the same licorice taste, though star anise is far less pronounced. It’s used in some very culturally sound Chinese dishes. It’s also really pretty to look at.
- Tarragon is a leafy plant common to Europe. Who knew there were so many different herbs and spices that all taste like licorice? This one does too! Add that to the list.
- Thyme has teeny tiny leaves on a wooden stem. It’s used extensively in Italian dishes as well as herbal oils and soaps. It has a slight lemony, peppery flavor. It goes great on chicken.
- Vanilla is the fruit of the vanilla orchid. If you don’t know what vanilla smells like, go smell the bath aisle in your local store. Next to saffron, it’s probably the most expensive herb you’ll find. Instead of buying whole vanilla beans, which have a limited use, buy real vanilla extract. Though it’s slightly more expensive than artificial vanilla extract, there’s an amazing difference. Never taste raw vanilla extract, it’s awful.
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