Herb & Spice Advice

Herb vs Spice

Although I sometimes refer to herbs as spices or vice-versa, they’re not technically the same thing. Herbs are the leaves or flowers of a plant, where spices are (mostly) the fruit, the seeds, pods, stems, bark, roots, and other parts of the plant. Both are used to season food.

A quick mention, this is my favorite spot to find high-quality spices, and even containers for custom blends if you’re crafty and making spice blends like this one.

GermanWholeSpice — An herb and spice blend.

According to The United States National Arboretum, “Herbs, in the culinary sense, are leaves of plants that can be used either fresh or dried to season food. In the botanical sense, an herb is any plant that does not have woody perennial stems like a tree or shrub.” Now that we’ve cleared that up, on to the fun stuff.

Fresh vs Dried

One of my memorable “Oh, NOW I GET IT” moments regarding the use of fresh vs dried herbs happened while making “Gram’s Meat & Mushroom Sauce” — a recipe from my husband’s grandmother on his mom’s side. This dish is the stuff of legends. If and when I ever get the family blessing to adapt and share this recipe, you want it. Anyhow, it calls for FRESH SAGE AND OREGANO, and a cup of red wine, preferably (in my opinion mostly for flavor but also because its Pa Brien’s favorite…Gram’s husband and one of my heroes) really good Chianti. I made the recipe the third or fourth time and due to life happening, didn’t have fresh sage or red wine. BIG FAIL.

Sure it was edible, Even good. Really good, I’d say (the recipe gets all the credit). But once you’ve had it the right way, you can really miss that magic. Part fresh sage, part good Chianti. So now I’m sold. My favorite resource for a quick-check when I write a recipe is here. I can’t hope to write it better, so I give you my favorite place to check in on fresh vs. dry. IT MATTERS!

Whole vs Ground

Whole herbs and spices last longer on the shelf. So if you can purchase your spices whole and grind them later or use them whole in slow-cooked dishes, you’ll get more life out of them. Another option is to purchase in smaller quantities at a spice shop. Be sure to ask the experts there about what is the best way to store each spice or herb. When in doubt: Airtight!

EverythingMillPepperCorns — A Spice Mill Filled with Peppercorns.

Be sure to get yourself a great grinder for your spice blends. This makes it easy to keep the spices whole until you need them.

Gardening

WindowGarden — Lots of herbs can be grown indoors where there is good light.

Growing herbs and spices can be fun, affordable and will give your dishes an added layer of freshness. Fresh herbs can be used on salads, sandwiches, pizzas and even in cocktails. You can also dry or freeze, and store them.

multiHerbPot0 — Trader Joe’s sells a potted herb garden like this. This was planted for me by my Mother-In-Law last Summer in a large terracotta pot and came back beautifully this year after the Winter.

You can choose plants ready to put into a pot or in the ground, or you can start herbs from seeds. Be sure to get high-quality potting soil, peat moss and a good organic plant food suited for edible plants. Ask your local nursery for tips about growing in your zone.

OreganoPot — Oregano in a pot from the local Farmer’s Market.

Some of the easiest herbs and spices to get started with are mint, basil, chives, dill, cilantro (when it goes to seed you get coriander!!!), sage, oregano, and thyme.

RosemaryShrub — Rosemary growing in the ground. In many zones, this will come back bigger every Spring.

These make an excellent window sill container garden or can be planted in the ground where they get the appropriate amount of sun, water, and drainage. Be sure to prune basil often, as it encourages more growth.

Shopping for spices

Spice shopping makes an excellent hobby for when you travel and can be much more exciting than just throwing jars in a cart at the grocery store.

TravelHerbsSpices — Spices from my honeymoon, trips to New Orleans, the Pacific Northwest, Texas Wine Country, and Germany.

Even just picking something out in a nearby town on a day trip makes your spice cabinet more interesting and inspiring. Buy blends from the region you’re visiting, and ask the seller for advice on how to use them.

Spices look pretty displayed in small mason jars, or Boston rounds. Be creative and let your spices set your imagination to work. When you love your ingredients, cooking becomes more fun. What’s better than reminiscing about a great vacation while you cook with a glass of wine and some beautiful spices?

Toasting

This little trick wakes up the flavor in your whole spices. All it takes is a pan and the spices plus heat. Simply place your whole spices such as cumin seeds, coriander, cardamom, peppercorns…you get the drift….in a dry pan and turn the burner on underneath.

The aroma tells the story. Be sure to shake the pan a bit as the spices heat up, and if you see smoke, you’re done! Pour the spices out into a metal or glass bowl and let them cool down. Now it is time to use them…ground or whole, depending on your recipe. There really never seems to be a bad situation for toasting. So if you have time, do it!

Storing

Try different methods of storing herbs and spices, including freezing, drying, infusing into oil or vinegar, and even decorative swaths or wreaths.

Grind and blend your own spices for recipes you use frequently in your kitchen. They last about six months in a cool, dry place so consider making spices for marinades and rubs for the Summer months in the late Winter, and for soup, chili, stew, holiday cooking and baking at the end of Summer for Fall and Winter.

StorageHerbFreeze — This is parsley, ready to go in the freezer.

Freeze fresh herbs for up to three months. These can be used just like fresh herbs in finishing dishes, and even as garnishes. Here’s a great freezing tool that I use with all of my fresh herbs when they’re about to take a turn in the fridge.

Mortar and Pestle

If you love your mortar and pestle, you know how this works. Place your herbs and spices in the mortar and get on down with that pestle. Crushing your whole herbs and spices feels great. It can be tough to achieve a quick result, so if you’re impatient (or if you have a broken arm or a bad back) you might go for the grinder. But for my money, I love the visceral and fragrant technique provided by a great mortar and pestle.

MortarPestle — My prized mortar & pestle. A gift from my parents, who won it at an auction to support the Geological Society of America.

Bouquet Garni & Infusions

Admittedly, I am somewhat new to this term. I always just called it “spices in cheesecloth“, which describes it well. But once I learned the term (thanks Mom!!), I realized this concept has roots in multiple schools of cooking. I came to the concept via necessity. Knowing that cooking sauce and stock with whole veggies yields a great slow-cooking result, I figured whole herbs must add to the slow and low concept. But I got sick of all the straining and filtering at the end. So there you have it…I thought hey, wrap those whole spices in cheesecloth and tie the herbs by the stems. Make it easy on myself. Ha! I am not the first to think of it. But I’m excited when this kind of thing happens. I described this little technique to my mom, who promptly told me the term “bouquet garni”. Well, I’ll be dipped in stock! You can even use these handy little muslin bags instead of cheesecloth.

BoquetGarniStockPot — Bouquet Garni in the stock pot with fresh herbs and vegetables.

Salt & Pepper

The backbone of seasoning savory dishes: salt and pepper. Yet another opportunity to step up the game. Sometimes less is more, and salt & pepper don’t need any friends. But when they do, they both kinda go with everything you cook in the savory realm. A little salt brings out the magic of garlic, spicy spices like cayenne or chili powder, and so on. Keep it next to the stove…use it fresh and give it respect! The pepper mill and salt & pepper shaker set are custom work by Pearle Northrop. Her work can be found here.

PearlePepSalt — Gorgeous hand-painted peppermill and salt & pepper shaker set by Pearle Northrop.

SaltKeeper — Salt boxes make an easy-to-use storage system for multiple types of salt. Pictured here top to bottom: Herbed Falk Salt, Smoked Sea Salt, Falk Salt (Swedish flake salt), all in my three-tiered Salt Box

PeppercornMix — Multi-colored peppercorns are pretty, and add dimension to your dishes. Some for heat, some for spice. White pepper adds heat.

I was going to add some recipes for spice blends and rubs, but I will be breaking that into a new post because there are too many to list in an already lengthy post. Link to come.