So many times, when you pick up a recipe, it asks for a specific blend of spices, only to discover you don’t have said spice mixture in your cupboard. You’ve got some coriander and some cumin… but no garam masala. Rather than stocking your kitchen with an odd little jar of something that’ll be out of date in three years time, sometimes the answer are to learn what goes into the combinations.
Most spice mixtures is variations on a handful of building blocks. Once you know those building blocks, the structure of spice mixes, you understand why one spice is used with another. You also see why a few common ones can turns everyday ingredients into something else entirely. The chart is broken down by heat level and region (above), explaining the why behind the who.
How to Use Spice Mixes in Cooking
For instance, take Indian cuisine. Because of the use of garam masala, a spice mix that typically depends on warm scents such as cardamom and cinnamon (as opposed to heady heat-generators), it’s frequently added near the conclusion of cooking in order to retain its volatile scent. In contrast, Morocco’s ras el hanout can have over three dozen ingredient. Literally translated, the name means “head of the shop,” indicating this is merchant’s finest assortment.
These differences are obvious in the visual guide, distinguishing between African fire and Asian warmth. Now when your tagines fail to impress or your curries turn out bland, you know not to guess, simply pair the spice blend with the cultural tradition which it was intended for.
The same goes for knowing your heat levels: Some spice blends gets their punch from volume (lots of paprika for color and a little warmth). Others rely on potent capsaicin carriers like scotch bonnet peppers or Sichuan peppercorns. This infographic breaks it out, from gentle herbal blends to ones as fiery than Jamaican jerk seasoning.
That way, when you’re cooking up something delicate like a piece of fish, you know not to make it spicy. And if you’re serving for company, you can adjust the meal to suit their tastes, without testing each batch yourself.
And one advantage of blending your own: it’s fresh. Jars purchased from a store sits on a shelf for weeks or even months. With each week they loses some strength. If you grind spices yourself from whole seeds and toasted seeds, you get aromatic compounds released that just aren’t present in pre-ground powder. That minute in a dry skillet unlocks oils that can transforms a dish from being dusted with dullness into something with vibrancy. Want to make your food taste like a pro? You gotta do this. Just a tiny bit of work, but the payoff in complexity and aroma is huge.
The storage of these spices is equally important. The lighter and warmer the environment, the less strong your spice becomes. Store them in air-tight containers and off the stove. Your blends will keep longer and remain true to form. It’s best to prepare only what you need in smaller amounts too. Why would you make so much five-spice powder that will last for six months, only to have it stale in two? Smaller amounts is more vibrant, fresh and usable. This avoids waste and keeps your cooking varied different than routine.
It all comes down to this: Spice blends are about balance. They bring contrasting forces like earthy cumin and citrusy coriander, sweet cinnamon and sharp black pepper into harmony on our palates. It doesn’t matter if you’re braising lamb with baharat or roasting chicken with herbes de Provence; the end result is always the same. To make the main ingredient shine, not steal the spotlight.
Follow the ratios in the guide as a jumping off point, then tweak them according to your taste buds. Soon enough, cooking isn’t so much about following rules, it’s about understanding flavor relationships. This change in perspective will alter the way you cook. What was once a bunch of random jars becomes a toolkit for creativity. It is a pantry.
Knowing precisely what sounds good and what doesn’t, you’ll be playing around confidently, muting some notes and bringing others to the front of the mix. Do one, master that one, do another. Soon you would of didnt even need a recipe. Just an instinct.