Spice and Herb Blends

[nakji]

I know that a lot of people grind their own whole spices, but last night I was in the initial stages of preparing HKDave's African Chicken recipe, when I realized I didn't have any five-spice powder. It was too late at night to go out, so I turned to our five-spice powder topic. Sure enough, I had all the constituent parts and it was easy to whip up a batch. It turned out so fragrant and powerful, that I got to thinking about what other spice blends I should be making.

I know garam masala is a classic, and I love bread made with herbes de Provence...what else is out there?

[catdaddy]

Ground dried chipolte morita, black pepper, and flakey kosher salt on a thick ribeye destined for the grill.

[Peter the eater]

Acadian and Quebecois herbes salées are an excellent way to combine and preserve herbs.

Typically, one gets a mason jar and starts laying down various fresh herbs, layer by layer, with a coarse salt layer in between, pressing lightly every time. When one's jar is almost full, add cold water and let sit (laisser macérer) for several days.

A garden variety herbes salées would likely have chives, parsley, savory, and onion.

[Anna N]

Acadian and Quebecois herbes salées are an excellent way to combine and preserve herbs.

. . .

Peter, can you describe how you would use these herbs? Have googled but don't get much in the way of an explanation. My herb garden is going nuts this year and would love a different way to preserve some for the winter.

[Peter the eater]

Acadian and Quebecois herbes salées are an excellent way to combine and preserve herbs.

. . .

Peter, can you describe how you would use these herbs? Have googled but don't get much in the way of an explanation. My herb garden is going nuts this year and would love a different way to preserve some for the winter.

My herb garden looks like it may go nuts any day. There was some talk of Acadian salted herbs here starting at #86 post. Basically, it's a way of adding salt and herb seasoning to pork pies when the winter is getting long. It's tastier than the dry herbs I get from the Ronco Dehydraer, but also much saltier. Herbes salées is very much old school. You can buy them in jars, with stuff like celery and grated carrot as well. I'll see if I can find some helpful links.

[Doodad]

We make our own berbere spice blend because it is hard to find around here. I found one brand one time, but it really was not all that good.

[nakji]

We make our own berbere spice blend because it is hard to find around here.

What do you put in it, and what do you use it for?