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I went to Wrought's wedding this weekend, and was in the process of packing before leaving. She said I could use her kitchen to make stuff for all of us, but that she's still got most of her stuff in storage, so please to bring spices. Cool. I could do that! PS, the party was awesome, and the food was top notch. No complaints. Minor background info: she has a drat good stove, a giant sink that gives screaming hot water, an oven, a grill (actually more than one grill), and a microwave. We could go shopping at the local stores for ingredients, but seeing as how it's 2 hours away from the really big cities with a strong immigrant population/culture, I wasn't exactly going to be able to find obscure or highly specific things. As in, I'd need to go to the more fancy stores to get leeks, and not the regular grocery stores. This meant that because she had limited stuff at home, and limited options to get things quickly (amazon does deliver, but this is stuff I wanted on hand at all times), I'd need to bring my most important spices. Immediately into my box went mustard seed (black), cumin seed, sesame seed, urad daal, turmeric, asafoetida (LG brand, of course), salt (diamond Kosher for life, because Wrought is a Morton's Kosher fan, and only has that evil stuff around), and black pepper. If I'd had a bit more room, I'd also have packed thyme (dried), and whole red chilies (dried). However, I figured thyme is a spice I can find in pretty much any store that sells spices, and that most of the people hanging out with us can't really take super spicy food anyway, so the red chilies would have been a waste to carry with me. The mustard/cumin/urad daal/asafoetida is an obvious one, because it goes into pretty drat near every South Indian dish ever in some combination or other. The turmeric is because I love how it tastes, and it also gets used in a ton of South Indian cooking. Sesame seeds are because I can't really schlep around that Indian sesame oil with me everywhere I go, and I like the flavour that sesame gives to things. Frying sesame seeds in oil doesn't at all substitute for the good South Indian sesame oil (Idhayam brand only, please), but it gets the taste broadly close enough that I find myself reaching for it quite often. The salt, I'm picky about because if you are used to Diamond Kosher salt, and switch over to Morton Kosher salt, you end up salt bombing your food. The black pepper I'm picky about, because I go through a LOT of it in a year. Again, South Indian food is replete with black pepper, as it's native to our shores. I buy the whole peppercorns, grind it into one of those small spice shakers, and go through it in about a week or two before having to grind more. Pepper grinders do not get me the fineness that I want along with the quantity that I get through. Why thyme? It's one of the herbs that works really really well when it's dried. Basil loses its charm. Curry leaves have to be fresh or frozen, or you might as well skip them. Oregano is fine, but I don't find myself reaching for it that often. Thyme I use any time I have brown lentils, mushrooms, or anything else that's super earthy. It got me to thinking. If you had to limit yourself to only packing 10 spices (because of space constraints), what would you end up choosing? I'm not giving salt for free. It needs to take up a slot if it's essential for you. If I wasn't so loving picky about salt, I could have taken my chances that the grocery store will have Diamond Kosher, or just used the Morton's. Ask me how I know that it's not alway the case that the store carries Diamond.  Same with the pepper. If I was confident enough that I could get the quality of black peppercorns that I'm used to from the Indian market (because they have a much more frequent turnover rate than the mainstream stores), and was willing to take my chances with what I'd find at the local stores, I could have just used whatever. But, because I use so much of it, and I'm used to a certain quality, that wasn't something that I could comfortably compromise on. For the purpose of this exercise, I'd say that anything that you'd use to season your food I'd count as a spice, even if that thing is a curry paste, a spice blend, a sauce, or other liquid. Because I'm South Indian, my food doesn't have a ton of wine, or stock, or vinegar. If we want souring, we'll reach for lemon/lime, or tamarind. I didn't bother with packing garlic powder, because I prefer fresh garlic anyways, and because I'm vegan, I'm not using a bunch of dry rubs and whatnot. I didn't bother with onion for the same reason. None of these things went into my packing, because I was fine doing without, or buying them locally. If you have confidence that you can get ______ locally, I'd say don't waste the slot. However, if you are picky about something (like a specific type of hot sauce, or specific brand of vinegar). This is less for a challenge about really doing the thing, and more of a thought experiment. I'm curious to see what the rest of you guys would take.
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Sep 25, 2023 23:09
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I mean, it depends on what I think I'll have to cook, but my primary versatile spices are probably: 1. Paprika (Sweet) 2. Paprika (Smoked) I think paprika is just the spice I reach the most for. Scrambled eggs? Add some paprika. Roasting veggies? Paprika. Making a sauce? Paprika. Can't go wrong with it. 3. Salt, (Not because I'm picky about salt, but because not having *any* will absolutely ruin most dishes, so I'm not risking it) 4. Cumin (Ultra-versatile, and with paprika can be made to make most dishes amazing, also combines well with the garlic powder) The first four are the ones I don't think I could really do without. If we really have no sources of an acid (lemon? Lime? Vinegar?) then I'd swap one of the paprikas for lime juice. 5. Garlic Powder (I prefer fresh garlic, but I'm assuming I'm going to be limited in what I can procure, and it works well for rubs), 6. Garam Masala (I know, I'll be crucified for not making my own, but the pre-mixed versions from my local indian grocery are a life-saver when i can't grind my own spice mix, and using it to make a daal or spicing up roasted veggies is just an easy dinner), 7. Red wine vinegar (Honestly, there's a variety in my pantry and i'd probably pick one depending travel constraints) I'm assuming I can secure a *reasonable* olive oil, because otherwise, I'd probably drop the Garam Masala for it, and just go slightly more mexican/european in the dish variety If I'm planning on making a lot of weekday meals, I'd either go Japanese or Chinese, and I think Japanese is easier to pack for, especially if I can secure some sugar and some ok sesame oil, though I can make without the sesame oil. It depends on if we're going to have access to relatively fresh ingredients though. 8. Sake 9. Soy Sauce 10. Mirin If I were going to make a bunch of chinese food, instead I'd do 5. Schezuan Peppercorns 6. Dried Chili Peppers 7. Chinkiang Vinegar 8. Shaoxing wine 9. Soy Sauce 10. Doubanjiang OR Fermented Black beans. Really depends on where I'm going, for how long, and who I'm planning on feeding.
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Sep 26, 2023 04:26
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Oooh, this is a fun challenge. My number one would definitely be herbes de Provence, since a particularly blissful holiday in France where this blend of herbs was stored in a HUGE mason jar in the cottage kitchen, routinely topped up by the owners from their garden, it’s been my go to for a quick way to provide depth to any vaguely western European cuisine, which is probably my culinary comfort zone. 1. Herbes de Provence 2. Habanero Tabasco sauce 3. Molasses 4. Smoked paprika 5. Whole black peppercorns 6. Butter 7. Cumin 8. Worcestershire sauce 9. Celery salt 10. Colmans mustard powder
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Sep 26, 2023 06:38
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I usually cheat this by getting commercially available spice blends but this is interesting.
If we are including fresh herbs in here my list changes dramatically.
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Sep 26, 2023 14:49
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Grandicap posted:Apple Cider Vinegar (I think Apple Cider is my most reached for Vinegar, but this could be swapped for red wine vinegar pretty easily) My most reached for vinegar is definitely white wine, we go through about five bottles for every one of anything else
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Sep 26, 2023 15:59
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* checks pantry * In no particular order: Lawry's seasoned salt Montreal steak spice Soy sauce Huy Fong garlic chili sauce Huy Fong sriracha Mirin Korean red pepper powder Old Bay Ketchup Chinese black vinegar
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Sep 26, 2023 23:23
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-- #01: Cumin -- #02: Cinnamon -- #03: Nutmeg For all of the above, if I'm cooking a recipe that calls for one of those spices, and the only thing I have access to is the pre-ground version, I will seriously consider just not making the recipe. Once you get used to how much different recipes taste using whole, home-toasted spices, it's difficult to go back. -- #04: Pink/black peppercorn blend The "four peppercorn blend mixes" are easily the best upgrade you'll ever make to a home-cooked steak, and pretty much anywhere else that you'd want to put on a grind of fresh black pepper. Watch out for mixes that like to include other spices like coriander; nothing wrong with coriander, just not what I want in my pepper grinder. -- #05: Garlic powder Any recipe I make that calls for garlic (which is pretty much every non-dessert recipe I cook), I typically put both in fresh garlic and garlic powder - I had long felt like adding both created a different flavor profile than either on their own, and watching the following video on the topic has cemented my opinion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgES_Oj6-tQ -- #06: Cayenne Goes in everything. Savory, sweet, a big spoonful or a little dash, literally goes in everything. Bam. -- #07: Smoked paprika One of those things I can't really think of a good substitute for. Liquid smoke has its place but I wouldn't say it's the same. -- #08: Tony Chachere's There are just too many recipes in deep southern cooking that benefit from a dash or two of Cachere's. Soul food, cajun/creole, blandass yankee dishes, you name it. -- #09: Old Bay I'm pretty sure Old Bay is the foundation of all American seafood recipes. -- #10: Marie Sharp's hot sauce Both as an ingredient and as an accompanyment to the finished product. Not super-hot, and with a sweet, tropical note from the habenero base. Easily my favorite hot sauce, and goes with drat near any type of cuisine I can think of. Special shout-outs go to cardamom, fennel, star anise, cloves, coriander, turmeric, bay leaves, and cashews - I don't need these as often as most of the above, but if I know I'm going to be cooking a specific cuisine or set of recipes they absolutely travel with me. Accept no substitutes for whole, freshly ground & toasted spices. 
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Sep 27, 2023 02:17
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If you don't already have a Dino, seriously consider obtaining one. Seriously. This godforsaken forum gave me a brother. (no, really- my parents call him their son and he visits them without me.) I will add to this discussion the concept of the Indian spice flinger, one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. Get one. https://www.amazon.com/KSJONE-Container-Compartments-Stainless-Transparent/dp/B09SG2KS8R/ Dino and I have a running joke that when he gets hungry he starts the rice and blooms the spices and then decides what he wants to eat. When I get hungry I start the pasta water, throw a knob of butter into a saute pan, dice some shallots and then decide what I want to eat. If my house is on fire and I have a dinner to cater, I am running out with the following: salt (Morton coarse kosher. Die mad.) grinder of black pepper balsamic vinegar Penzeys Italian seasoning (might technically be cheating) white pepper cinnamon herbes de provence (also cheating)
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Sep 27, 2023 05:07
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Wroughtirony posted:Penzeys Italian seasoning Definitely not cheating, but potentially redundant in my view. Having both Italian seasoning and herbes de Provence seems like taking up two slots with two very similar herb blends…
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Sep 27, 2023 05:55
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Smoked paprika, Morton kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper will get me through 90% of my meals. I use cayenne and cumin a lot too. As for spice blends, Lawry's makes the best garlic salt. Slap Ya Mama is a great Cajun blend. Chef Prudhomme's Pizza and Pasta Magic is a favorite of mine, but it can be tough to find here sometimes.
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Sep 28, 2023 03:37
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Seconding the Slap Ya Mama blend.
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Sep 28, 2023 03:59
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cancelling Wrought for preferring morton's over diamond
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Sep 28, 2023 05:32
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This is a good question, and I put more thought into it than I'd intended. In rough order of how I'd grab things in putting together my essential list (but not necessarily how much I'd need them):
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Sep 28, 2023 15:22
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IT'S JUST SALT, IT'S DOESN'T MATTER WHICH BRAND YOU USE
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Sep 28, 2023 15:35
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Diamond Crystal has a lighter texture and is less dense than Morton's, so I can confidently measure things in pinches using it that will be oversalted if I use Morton's. I know by feel how much is the right amount of salt to grab for a pot of beans and what it looks like to sprinkle the amount of Diamond I use on anything, and when I've used Mortons, I routinely oversalt. It's why I gotta grab that brand, and I know I don't always find it in stores
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Sep 28, 2023 15:40
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I use table salt because it's fine, we don't add iodine to ours in the UK
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Sep 28, 2023 15:44
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Wungus posted:Diamond Crystal has a lighter texture and is less dense than Morton's, so I can confidently measure things in pinches using it that will be oversalted if I use Morton's. I know by feel how much is the right amount of salt to grab for a pot of beans and what it looks like to sprinkle the amount of Diamond I use on anything, and when I've used Mortons, I routinely oversalt. It's why I gotta grab that brand, and I know I don't always find it in stores This is accurate, but doesn't make it better, it is what you are used to. If you calibrated your pinches to table salt or Mortons or whatever it would be you undersalting if you grabbed Diamond.
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Sep 28, 2023 15:55
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White pepper ( good Malaysian water washed) Hódi paprika Decent sherry vinegar (or PX vin if it's summer) Cumin seed Thyme honey Chimayo Chiles Sage ( home dried whole leaf) Mexican oregano Vanilla sugar Vanilla noyaux The last two only come with if I'm planning on baking. Most white pepper gets too funky for me, but the good Malaysian stuff is smoky and hot. Life changing if you toast it and add it to any breading. Thyme honey for biscuits, vinaigrette, meat and veggie glazes and rubs. I use sage and Chiles everywhere and getting consistently good sage and Chiles takes more work than I care to spend.
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Sep 28, 2023 16:09
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Salt Black pepper Cumin Red pepper flakes Smoked paprika Oregano Garlic powder Thyme Tony’s or equivalent Cajun seasoning Chupacabra blend if I’m grilling / chili powder (or dried chilis to make a blend) for other Recently I learned I can get away with eyeballing all spices except sage. I over-saged a wild rice casserole and now I’m extremely sensitive to it.
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Sep 28, 2023 17:05
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prayer group posted:cancelling Wrought for preferring morton's over diamond Pistols at dawn after a night out in Vegas? Say, May-ish?
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Sep 28, 2023 21:18
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calmly explaining the situation to tsa after they demand to know why my fanny pack labeled "essential spices" has three kinds of soy sauce and a gun in it
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Sep 28, 2023 23:25
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Grandicap posted:This is accurate, but doesn't make it better, it is what you are used to. If you calibrated your pinches to table salt or Mortons or whatever it would be you undersalting if you grabbed Diamond. Just to make it clear. Wrought is family at this point, and I love her dearly. I call her parents mom and dad, and they call me their son. Any ribbing I’ve sent her way about salt preference is threaded through with a wink and a grin. Of course salt is salt, and you reach for whatever you like. None is better than the other, and it’s always best to use what you are used to. If your local table salt doesn’t have anti clumping agents and iodine added, by all means use it. If you’re used to Diamond Kosher because the crystals are super fluffy and dissolve very quickly, reach for that. If you’re used to Morton’s whose grains are flat and a titch thicker, and probably best for koshering meat because that’s what the point of kosher salt is you goddamned Diamond loving hipsters, then by all means use it. At the end of the day, cooking is definitely a thing a lot of us do by feel, and switching to a different tool mid stream can and has caused disasters. It’s why when I need to make a really important meal, I’m so fussy about the spices (including salt!) I’m using, because this isn’t a small pot of mashed potatoes that I can sub out with something else. This is a 5 gallon pot of mushroom chowder that’s got several many $$$$ dried and fresh mushrooms going in. All that said. I’m curious. Would you all be interested in a separate thread about most essential cookware and most essential kitchen tools? Because I brought those too, and I have different criteria for those.
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Sep 29, 2023 12:34
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prayer group posted:calmly explaining the situation to tsa after they demand to know why my fanny pack labeled "essential spices" has three kinds of soy sauce and a gun in it literally my dad: "so if one of you harms the other during this duel, are you charged with a-salt?"
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Sep 29, 2023 17:40
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#1 and #2 are salt and whole black peppercorns, there's a reason black pepper is such a popular spice the world over that it's taken for granted and considered so default that every recipe book in the world will just assume you already have it in your kitchen. Honestly you could go a long way with just salt and pepper as seasonings. You can make a perfectly fine roast chicken or salmon filet with just salt and pepper and oil or butter. Salt and pepper go on everything. Try cooking without them for a week. You will fail. Undisputed GOAT seasonings. Continuing in no particular order: whole cumin turmeric powder kashmiri chili powder whole cloves coriander cinnamon cardamom I cook a lot of Indian dishes, and I have a crappy old blade coffee grinder that I use exclusively for grinding spices. It takes very little time to heat some whole cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cardamom and cloves in a dry pan until you hear the seeds start to pop and then grind them for a fresh garam masala that will be way better than whatever store bought powder has been sittin the back of your cupboard for years. Whole spices keep better than pre-ground too! And those individual spices are all quite versatile and can be used for lots of things besides curry. Whole cumin by itself is great as a base for any stir fry with some garlic and ginger and onions, plus it goes well on things like pork chops or fish as well. Cloves, cinnamon and cardamom are great for both savory meat dishes and sweet baking. I love to put ground cardamom in things like milk bread or panna cotta or even creme brulée Kashmiri chili powder has become my go to instead of cayenne or any other red chili, I like the flavour and it's not too overpoweringly hot in reasonable quantities. Turmeric is essential for masoor dal (red lentil) dishes which I make fairly regularly. Last spot is hard, maybe vanilla, maybe nutmeg. If i'm doing any dessert / sweet baking vanilla probably gets the pick as an essential. Scientastic posted:IT'S JUST SALT, IT'S DOESN'T MATTER WHICH BRAND YOU USE P.S. you noticed what no one has picked for their top 10 here? Bay Leaves.
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Mar 9, 2024 20:48
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Scientastic posted:I use table salt because it's fine, we don't add iodine to ours in the UK It's not the iodine I object to. It's the anti clumping agents. Also, the super fine grains. Entropic, that's because none of us are Bengali. Bay leaves are a starting part of drat near every recipe they make. It's wild. They go mustard oil, bay leaves, dried chilies, and then whatever spices.
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Mar 9, 2024 21:18
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