Food without herbs and spices cannot be imagined…

General Information | Herbs & Spices from A-Z | Aniseed | Angostura | Basil | Bayleaf | Caraway | Chilli | Chives | Cloves | Dill | Estragon | Fennel | Ginger | Juniper | Nutmeg | Oregano | Parsley | Pepper | Quendel | Rosemary | Salt | Thyme | Vanilla | Ysop | cinnamon

Storing herbs and spices wrongly or for too long can be detrimental to the flavour, therefore it is better to buy small quantities that will be used in a short space of time. Expensive spices should be stored in vacuum, not see-through containers. Herbs and spices that are seldom used should be packed in small portions and frozen, thus they can be kept indefinately. It is very important not to add the required flavourings directly over the saucepan that is nicely cooking on the stove, the steam will spoil the rest of the spices and herbs in their container, it is far better to use a teaspoon to add the required flavouring. Salt pots that are often used, should have a few corns of rice added to the salt, the rice absorbs any moisture that might enter the pot, which will make the salt lumpy and therefore clog the small pouring holes.

In Europe in the middle ages, herbs and spices were very difficult to get hold of, mostly only the sea faring nations were lucky enough to have them and then they were so expensive that only the rich could use them. The favourite spice was and still is pepper, which is often weight for weight the same price as gold. Herbs and spices are one of the reasons lands in Asia were colonised. In the 18th century the prices became far more reasonable and ordinary people were able to afford them. Even when today herbs and spices don’t have quite the same importance as they did hundreds of years ago, one thing has not changed, the producers of the various herbs and spices we so need are always at the end of the line, they earn very little money and are the first to suffer when times are hard.

 

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General information