A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth (Wikipedia, “Spice”). The following is a list of the spices that I have in my spice cabinet. I have attempted to describe the basic flavor as well as a few suggested uses.
It is not, by any means, a complete list of all spices in use; neither are they all integral to a standard collection. I would recommend that when ‘setting up house’ (or any reason that someone is venturing into the kitchen for the first time) a person should accumulate a small ‘essential’ collection (see ‘The Pantry’) and make additional purchases as recipes and/or taste buds call for them, as I myself do. I will try to keep this list up to date.
Allspice: Pungent and sweet, similar to a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove; used mostly in baked goods although I also add it to Indian food (among other things)
Basil: Sweet; best known for use in tomato and Italian recipes
Bay Leaves: Woodsy; use in meats, pickling, sauces, soups, and stews
Celery Salt: Bitter; used in salads (such as egg or potato), pickling, and stuffing; I use a lot of it on my tuna
Chili Powder: Hot; soups, stews, and Mexican food
Chives: Onion or garlic flavor; Honestly, I never use them–my husband likes them in tomato soup or on baked potatoes, though
Cinnamon: Sweet and pungent; generally used in baked goods and breakfast foods but it pops up in the most surprising recipes!
Cloves: Sweet, easily overpowering; used in baked goods, soups, and stews
Cream of Tartar: tastes metallic alone, hardly noticeable in food; gives volume to recipes high in egg whites
Cumin: Bitter, nutty, and hot; flavoring meat and Mexican style dishes
Curry: Blend of 10-30 Indian spices in varying proportions; Indian dishes
Dill Weed: Pungent, tangy; use with fish, pickling, salads, sauces, potatoes
Garlic Powder: From the onion family; great in almost anything (except desert…)
Garlic Salt: See above (I also like to keep minced garlic in the fridge)
Ginger: Sweet and spicy; baking and Asian dishes
Italian Seasoning: Contains marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano, and basil; used principally in Italian dishes
Lemon Peel: Citrus; seafood, poultry, baked goods
Lemon Pepper: blend of lemon and pepper; used with just about any meat
Mustard: Hot, pungent; meat, sauces, gravies
Nutmeg: nutty, warm, sweet, and spicy; used in baked goods, cream soups, and sauces; I think that it tastes just like cinnamon and since it is generally called for with cinnamon and in equal proportions, I usually leave it out and double the cinnamon (although not everyone agrees)
Onion Powder: Guess what it tastes like!; like garlic, it is good in almost everything (except desert)
Oregano: strong; use in Italian and Mexican dishes and with soups, sauces, and meats
Paprika: slightly bitter; Hungarian dishes, seafood, eggs, soups, and salads
Parsley: peppery; garnish, sauces, soups, and stews
Pepper: Hot; used in almost everything
Pepper Corn: Hot; meats and soups
Poultry Seasoning: A mixture of spices to be used on meats or in stuffing
Red Pepper: Hot; eggs, cheeses, Cajun
Rosemary: sweet blend of lemon and pine flavors; used on roasts (especially lamb) as well as soups and stuffing
Saffron: Pungent; rice, poultry, sauces, stews (bouillabaisse), Spanish and Italian dishes
Salt: Heightens other flavors to a point, then becomes bitter; found in nearly every recipe
Thyme: Pungent and tea-like; any meat as well as many soups
