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Kitchen Essentials: Herbs and Spices

 

The key to healthy, flavorful, and delicious cooking is having a variety of spices and herbs on hand at all times. Jonathan and I have put time and energy into building our spice and herb collection and it has paid off in spades. Rarely do we find a recipe (even the most exotic) that calls for a spice or herb we don’t have on hand. And we love delighting the palettes of our friends and family with seasonings they may not be familiar with.

We prefer to stock all of our dried spices and herbs from Penzey’s, but many of those that we’ve listed below can be found at any grocery store. If there is a particular herb or spice you’re wondering about how you might use, I’d be happy to share some recipes if you send me an email with the seasoning in question.

Herbs & Spices (A-H)
adobo
allspice, ground
almond extract
anise seed, whole
bangkok blend
basil
bay leaves
brady street cheese sprinkle
cajun seasoning
caraway seed
cardamon, ground
cayenne pepper, ground
celery flakes
celery seed, ground
chili piquin (mexican)
chives
cilantro
cinnamon, ground
cinnamon, sticks
citrus grill seasoning
cloves, ground
cloves, whole
coriander, ground
coriander, whole
cream of tartar
cumin seed, ground
cumin seed, whole
curry powder, sweet
dill seed
dill weed
epazote
fennel seed, ground
fennel seed, whole
fenugreek seed, ground
galangal, ground
galangal, whole
galena street rub
garlic, ground
garlic salt
ginger, ground
ginger, crystallized
greek seasoning
green chile blend
ham glaze
herbs de provence

Herbs & Spices (J-Z)
jalepeno, dried
jerk seasoning
kaffir lime leaves, whole
kalajeera (indian herb)
lamb seasoning
lavender
lemon extract
lemongrass
lemon peel, ground
lemon pepper
mahlab, ground
marjoram
mint
mustard seed, brown, whole
mustard seed, yellow, ground
mustard seed, yellow, whole
nutmeg, ground
nutmeg, whole
old bay seasoning
orange peel, ground
oregano
paprika, sweet, ground
peppercorn, ground
peppercorn, whole
pizza seasoning
pickling spice
poppy seed
poultry seasoning
pumpkin pie spice
red pepper flakes
saffron, whole
sage, ground
sandwich sprinkle
savory
star anise, whole
steak seasoning
tarragon
thyme
tumeric root, ground
turkish seasoning
tuscan sunset italian seasoning
vanilla beans, whole
wasabi, ground
white pepper, ground
zatar seasoning

Fresh Herbs and Spices (from the garden):
basil, sweet
basil, boxwood
basil, thai
chives
marjoram
mint
oregano
parsley
rosemary
thyme
chocolate mint
orange mint
dill
basil, purple
ginger root
lemongrass

Comments

mlindquis said…
We had so many spices like you have, but when I moved from IL and went through them so many were expired. I find it so frustrating to throw away a little-used spice, but they apparently lose potency? Do you have a bulk supplier so you can buy less at a time to prevent this? Vanilla beans and saffron hurt particularly badly to pitch.
Jenni Stephens said…
As I mentioned, we use Penzey's and with them you can order by the jar, or by the bag to refill your jars. They sell vanilla beans 3 to a tube and you'd be hard pressed to not use them before they go bad, since vanilla is a frequent ingredient in baking. Saffron they sell in various sizes, and i find the smallest baggie will be used up (and i only use saffron about 4 times a year) before it has expired.

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