Favorite Surprise Spice/Herb

[Chris Porter]

When I was young, my spice kit was primarily salt, pepper, Italian herb mix, and cinnamon. As I got more into cooking, it's expanded rapidly, and it turns out that none of the above are my favorites any more. As I was filling out a grocery list for some vegetarian meals (thank you vm!), it occurred to me that I've shifted my favorite over to an entirely unexpected herb: French thyme. It's my go-to when I am creating off-the-cuff dinners, a little bit of it, and there is a delicate smell of sweet grass freshness to the meal. And works great in meats and beans!

So it got me thinking, is there an herb/spice you initially didn't even think of using, but now are inordinately fond of?

[Qingdai]

Dill. Eggs, fish you name it. It's the bomb.

[Vivisectus]

I am an obsessive herb and spice collector. Sometimes I buy them even when I have no idea what they are, and then go and find a recipe that uses it, just to justify having it in my spice-rack.

One of the ones I had barely heard of was Mace. As it turns out, it is absolutely required for a good chicken soup, but just a small pinch.

Then there is Smoked Paprika, which really finishes off tomato soups and sauces.

Cumin, Ground Coriander and Turmeric. Somehow it just goes with anything asian.

[Janet]

I'm kind of amazed that I use oregano at all. It's not my go-to spice, but considering my mother never used it, my using it at all is a surprise. My most used spice is parsley. I toss it in just about anything.

[Qingdai]

I think of parsley as more of a vegetable than a spice. I'm always a little pissed when Chunks buys a bunch of it. Mostly because I grow it in the yard, but also because it seems like a bunch is far more than I use.

Tarragon has been surprising me lately too.
Come to think of it, I use oregano more than anything else, Greek, Mexican, Italian and Spanish food all call for copious amounts of oregano.

[livius drusus]

I was surprised by how much use I got out of thyme when I planted some. It was a bit of a random buy, but once I got to know it, it surpassed my former favorite (basil) in my herb esteem. Try lemon thyme, Chris. The leaves are bicolored and super pretty and the bouquet has just a wee hint of citrusiness that lends a burst of brightness to everything you use it in.

I was also surprised by how much I love fresh oregano. I think out of all the fresh herbs, it's the one that holds up best to cooking. It's tough as hell and the fresh taste is so much more complex than the dry stuff -- which, mind you, I'm not badmouthing at all because I also love it -- while dried oregano has just a single note. A delicious one, but just one.

Q, I'm with you on the tarragon. I had no idea it was so amazing. My mom hates liquorice, so we didn't have a great many anice-themed foods in rotation. I didn't even realize that tarragon was in the liquoricey arena until I bought some years ago for my first container herb garden. It's magical. It turns any of the three major salad sandwich groups (tuna, chicken and egg) into immediate gourmet fare.

Fun fact I found out the hard way: yet again, the Messican version is different from the original Mediterranean version. Mexican tarragon isn't tarragon; it's in the oregano family. It still tastes like anice, but it's stronger, less subtle. It's also about 4 million times easier to grow than the French variety. French tarragon is a delicate little princess. Mexican tarragon grows like a triple canopy jungle of kelp and kudzu. After a storm it just explodes. So awesome.

[Qingdai]

The french tarragon has taken over my garden, but I was planting it in an eggshell rich compost. The woman I buy my herb from was impressed when I told her.

[livius drusus]

Cool! You must have given it the perfect environment. Mine was planted in a container so there was no chance of it taking a walk anyway, but even so it was a sloooow grower and a limited producer. The opposite of its Messican facsimile.

[ravenscape]

The home grown spices that I use the most are oregano, thyme and kaffir lime leaves. I treasure every bit of my tarragon, but it's hard to grow enough to go hog wild with it.

I use cumin seed and coriander seed by the handful when I cook, but they don't really count as surprise spices.

The one I am surprised I love, am surprised every time I taste it, am surprised at what it does to everything it touches, is cardamom pod. Green and black pods, both.

[lisarea]

This might not count because I haven't even started using it yet, but I read this thing about sumac not long ago, and it struck me that this is very likely the thing that's missing I've been trying to figure out when I make a lot of middle eastern type things.

Then, just recently and after I'd read that, we've gone a couple of times to this weird little Greek/Middle Eastern place nearby that makes maybe the best kabob I've ever had, and there are three big jars of sumac sitting up there on the counter at the front. So while I haven't tested this yet, I predict a bright future for me and sumac.

And on that whole 'something's missing I don't know what,' bay leaves always surprise me. I don't think I can even pin down the 'bay leaf' flavor in things I use it in, but if I leave out the bay leaves in something I normally use them in, it always seems off in some inarticulable way. Like things will taste kind of jangly and dissonant without it, as though bay leaves are less significant as a flavor in themselves than they are as the officiant to the marriage of the other flavors.

[ravenscape]

I think you will find that sumac is the missing spice in your Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. I learned about the spice from my father in law. He learned about it from a Greek friend who shared a lamb recipe and a small jar of sumac with him.

It's an interesting spice - comes in a variety of colors from a startling bright red to a dark expresso-bean brown.

[Janet]

Also, bay leaves will keep away weevils so you should spread some around your cupboards. I don't know if that's scientifically proven, but that's what my mom told me.

[Vivisectus]

Intriguing! Also, fuck you! Now I will have to find some sumac, somehow, because I am that neurotic.

[Sock Puppet]

Ooh, Ima try the bay leaves thing, then. I had the Terminix guy over just this weekend, and he said the little bastards getting into everything in the pantry were rice weevils. It appears they were introduced by a package of dry rice noodles. I don't even like getting A Taste of Thai stuff 'cause it's overpriced, but I was lazy.

[livius drusus]

That is fucked up. You should sue, seriously.

[Sock Puppet]

Meh, I already threw that shit out, so it's not like I could prove it. Mebbe I'll email them a nastygram to see if I can get some free stuff. I'd use it on sauce or summat, though -- that way the weevils will at least be boiled and possibly al dente.

[lisarea]

Oh, hey. This is neither a spice nor an herb, but it is something I didn't used to think of much, but makes a gigantic difference in a whole lot of things I make now. Wine! My parents never cooked with it, and obviously I didn't cook with it when I was a kid or anything, but since I started using it in cooking, it's become really important.

I don't even drink wine barely ever (I have devoted my liver to beer, because OMG I love beer so much), but if I were a secret ingredient kind of guy, which I am not, there are like 900 different things where my secret ingredient would be wine. Like today, I am making pot roast, which I perfected a few years ago through a long course of trial and error, and the biggest factor in making it extraordinary is using lots and lots of red wine. And seriously, I do make the best pot roast ever.

It also goes in almost all of my tomato based sauces and ragouts and things like that, too, and it's pretty much crucial.

[Ymir's blood]

Some folks like water, some folks like wine, but I like a taste, of straight strychnine. You may think it's funny that I like this stuff but once you've tried it you can't get enough. The wine is red and poison is blue. Strychnine is good for what's ailing you.

[Vivisectus]

Originally Posted by lisarea

Oh, hey. This is neither a spice nor an herb, but it is something I didn't used to think of much, but makes a gigantic difference in a whole lot of things I make now. Wine! My parents never cooked with it, and obviously I didn't cook with it when I was a kid or anything, but since I started using it in cooking, it's become really important.

I don't even drink wine barely ever (I have devoted my liver to beer, because OMG I love beer so much), but if I were a secret ingredient kind of guy, which I am not, there are like 900 different things where my secret ingredient would be wine. Like today, I am making pot roast, which I perfected a few years ago through a long course of trial and error, and the biggest factor in making it extraordinary is using lots and lots of red wine. And seriously, I do make the best pot roast ever.

It also goes in almost all of my tomato based sauces and ragouts and things like that, too, and it's pretty much crucial.

Second that. A good robust red will do wonders for your potroast, beef stew, or bolognese sauce.

[Agent Orange]

Originally Posted by lisarea

Oh, hey. This is neither a spice nor an herb, but it is something I didn't used to think of much, but makes a gigantic difference in a whole lot of things I make now. Wine! My parents never cooked with it, and obviously I didn't cook with it when I was a kid or anything, but since I started using it in cooking, it's become really important.

I don't even drink wine barely ever (I have devoted my liver to beer, because OMG I love beer so much), but if I were a secret ingredient kind of guy, which I am not, there are like 900 different things where my secret ingredient would be wine. Like today, I am making pot roast, which I perfected a few years ago through a long course of trial and error, and the biggest factor in making it extraordinary is using lots and lots of red wine. And seriously, I do make the best pot roast ever.

It also goes in almost all of my tomato based sauces and ragouts and things like that, too, and it's pretty much crucial.

Third-ed. I use wine in everything possible. I use half a bottle of red when I make onion soup, and let it cook down until the pot is almost dry and THEN add my beef broth...fucking delish; I use it to deglaze a pan and then make a sauce; I'll cook a cup of white down to a couple teaspoons and use it in my honey-mustard vinaigrette; white wine has been known to find its way into my risotto. There is a complexity and sophistication added when cooking with wine that can't be rivaled.

Also, I'll have you know that guinness makes for a fantastic cake batter ingredient.

As far as herbs or spices are concerned: My favorite herb is thyme...it is very versatile as it can be used in heavy winter meals, it is a key ingredient in my onion soup, and can also be used in lighter summer meals. I find that when experimenting, nine times out of ten, thyme will end up in my dish. My favorite spice is cumin. This may be the mexican-food lover in me coming out, because I use it in my tomatillo salsa, guacamole, and for spice rubs on a variety of meats as well. It's distinctive, but unoffensive to my guests, and (again) adds a lot of complexity as I see it as a more earthy flavor.

[Qingdai]

White wine is also a good substitute for water in pie crust, so one of my friends told me. I'm waiting for samples.

[Vivisectus]

Guinness also works well together with beef stock to make a hearty winter stew. Also add loads of thyme and a bayleaf for best results.

[Vivisectus]

Originally Posted by Agent Orange

Third-ed. I use wine in everything possible. I use half a bottle of red when I make onion soup, and let it cook down until the pot is almost dry and THEN add my beef broth...fucking delish; I use it to deglaze a pan and then make a sauce; I'll cook a cup of white down to a couple teaspoons and use it in my honey-mustard vinaigrette; white wine has been known to find its way into my risotto. There is a complexity and sophistication added when cooking with wine that can't be rivaled.

Also, I'll have you know that guinness makes for a fantastic cake batter ingredient.

As far as herbs or spices are concerned: My favorite herb is thyme...it is very versatile as it can be used in heavy winter meals, it is a key ingredient in my onion soup, and can also be used in lighter summer meals. I find that when experimenting, nine times out of ten, thyme will end up in my dish. My favorite spice is cumin. This may be the mexican-food lover in me coming out, because I use it in my tomatillo salsa, guacamole, and for spice rubs on a variety of meats as well. It's distinctive, but unoffensive to my guests, and (again) adds a lot of complexity as I see it as a more earthy flavor.

Ooooh now you have done it - now I have got to go and make some onion soup. Haven't done it in ages. What's your recipe?

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

White wine is also a good substitute for water in pie crust, so one of my friends told me. I'm waiting for samples.

I've seen and used the vodka trick, but not wine. I might get one of those juicebox sized things of white wine and try it just because it sounds weird.

[livius drusus]

I've had little shortbready cookie type things that were made with wine. Very delicious.