I have a reasonable understanding about how to balance sweetness and acidity. I have a good idea of how much umami to add (as much as possible, duh), and I can add salt to taste. Bitterness I just keep to a minimum.
But when it comes to adding spices, I have not been able to come up with a good method. I find that adding spices to taste is not very effective, because the flavors and spice level changes considerably as the soup cools down or as you mix the curry with rice. I also don’t know how to make a spice mix that will blend nicely, and I never know exactly how much to add. I just roll the dice each time and hope for the best.
Is any of you a spice master? I am looking for tips about how to improve my spice game.
I find recipes funny when they add like a 1/4 teaspoon of spice when you are not even going to notice it in the final product. So whenever I’m cooking without a recipe, I add wayyy more spice. I see it this way. If I ever add too much, at least it won’t be bland. And I will know which spice is too much because I will taste it too much.
And I have a bad memory for flavors. So I just put a finger on the top of the spice shaker and taste it to remind myself what that spice is like. And then I taste how the food is tasting so far as well. That helps me when I’m thinking about what spices to add.
Spices (and herbs) can be tricky. Here’s a pretty good first look at understanding and using them: https://www.spiceitupp.com/dummies-guide-to-cooking-with-spices/
The most common issue that I’ve noticed is in approach. People think of spices as the final flourish on a dish and wait to add or even think about them until the end of cooking. Instead of that, you want to be thinking about the final flavors from the start. Depending on what you’re going for you might want to have spices be the first thing you add like toasting cumin in your cooking oil to get its flavor deep and subtle in you meal or a quick grind of pepper at the end to have it fresh and popping out at you. Or anywhere in between those two.
Oh, and don’t buy spice blends that have salt in them.
Thanks for the tips and the guide!
Maybe my brain is just not built for imagining tastes, because I find it difficult to think about the final flavor. Or I just need more mindful practice.
Now that you mention it, I rarely cook with herbs, only when I am following a specific recipe. At some point I did experimented with fresh thyme and ended up with many small tough burnt pieces of thyme in my food.
Whenever possible, I buy the individual spices in bulk. The price of spices and mixes in my city’s supermarket is so ridiculous. A container with 24 grams of cumin seeds costs 3.45 euros, making it 145 euros per kilo. At the Indian shop literally next to it they sell a 300 gram bag for 3 euros, and the quality is indistinguishable.
I wouldn’t buy spices in bulk, because the aroma quickly dissipates, especially when not appropriately stored. Also, I’d try to get fresh herbs whenever possible & either use them as is or let them air-dry for a couple of weeks.
And always keep in mind that herbs are delicate, so never leave them in the pan/oveh on high heat, unless you adjust the amount of water accordingly.
Finally, you can always sprinkle some spices & herbs over the finished dish to add some zing to it.
