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little used spices,herbs


phifly04

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Cleaning out the old spice cabinet and came across a bottle of mace,i never use it and so was wondering what are some spices/herbs in your cabinet that never see the light of day?

Dave s

"Food is our common ground,a universal experience"

James Beard

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Hmm, I bought fenugreek and Fennel seed at the indian grocer a while ago, and have no idea what in the world to do with them.

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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I have a jar of mace. I have this fixation that it belongs with blueberries. I think that comes from my daughter's fixation on Gerber's Blueberry Buckle 33 years ago. The label said it had mace in it. That is about the only time I use it.

I found some savory and I don't know why I have it much less what I would use it for.

I love fennel seeds in anything Italian. My favorite Italian sausage has that in it. It is the main note in my Italianish eggplant gratin.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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I have a jar of mace. I have this fixation that it belongs with blueberries. I think that comes from my daughter's fixation on Gerber's Blueberry Buckle 33 years ago. The label said it had mace in it. That is about the only time I use it.

I found some savory and I don't know why I have it much less what I would use it for.

I love fennel seeds in anything Italian. My favorite Italian sausage has that in it. It is the main note in my Italianish eggplant gratin.

Mace is derived from the nutmeg, and generally "works" with whatever you'd put nutmeg in.

Savory comes in two varieties, summer and plain old. I love summer savory with green beans almondine, or beans just steamed with butter! YUM :wub:

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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Caraway

Mustard powder

Chili flakes

Tarragon

“"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully.

"It's the same thing," he said.”

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I have a jar of mace. I have this fixation that it belongs with blueberries. I think that comes from my daughter's fixation on Gerber's Blueberry Buckle 33 years ago. The label said it had mace in it. That is about the only time I use it.

I found some savory and I don't know why I have it much less what I would use it for.

I love fennel seeds in anything Italian. My favorite Italian sausage has that in it. It is the main note in my Italianish eggplant gratin.

Mace is also very good when added to pie crust, sweet dumplings, and other rich bread doughs.

Savory, use a bit for meat pies!

I love fennel, seed, bulb, and fern! But then I have this monstrous fennel that grows to about 6' 2" every year, so I better. Great in almost anything Italian with sausage. My fav It'n sausage has fennel seed in it too. It's what gives it that particular flavor to me that says, yes this is Italian sausage!

Of all silly things, for some reason I have a bottle and a tin of whole cloves -- and how often do I use that? Maybe twice a year?

Edit to add: Yes, mace is actually the thin outer skin of the nutmeg -- no wonder it's pricier! A distinct flavor from nutmeg, yet complatible.

Edited by lovebenton0 (log)

Judith Love

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Fennel Seed and Anise Seed -- they are the same thing, right?

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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Fennel Seed and Anise Seed -- they are the same thing, right?

Um, actually, no. Fennel seed is from the fennel plant, and does have a sort of anise taste, but savory, not sweet. Anise seed,OTOH, has a sweet taste, as well as licorice-y taste, if my memory serves me right... :raz:

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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Mace is also very good when added to pie crust, sweet dumplings, and other rich bread doughs.

My grandmother's pumpkin pie recipe uses mace.

1-1/2 cups pumpkin

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 T flour

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp mace

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix all ingredients and put in a pie shell. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350. Continue baking for another 35-45 minutes.

Even people who hate pumpkin pie like this one...

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yes anise does have the licorice flavor to it...my mother used to use it in some sort of cookie recipe when i was a kid...my sisters loved it...but for me..i couldnt stand the taste...i was never much into licorice whips either

a recipe is merely a suggestion

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Caraway

Mustard powder

Chili flakes

Tarragon

Caraway: crush lightly and add to sauerkraut or pork stew

Mustard powder: add to the roux when you make a white sauce (especially if you use a white sauce as the base of a cheese sauce)

Chili flakes: you really don't have ideas of what to do with them? :huh: Next time you make spaghetti with oil and garlic, add a sprinkle of them.

Tarragon: throw it out. Dried tarragon is nasty, and OLD dried tarragon is tasteless. :raz:

And NulloModo: add fenugreek to mashed potatoes. :wub:

Edited by Suzanne F (log)
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Caraway

Mustard powder

Chili flakes

Tarragon

I have all these and use them.

Caraway - eastern european dishes like sauerkraut need caraway to be "right"

Mustard powder - salad dressing, rubs

Chili flakes - all kinds of uses. Asian dishes. Use this and cayenne for adding a nice hotness

Tarragon - When I don't have any fresh herbs, I use dried tarragon in my vinaigrette.

Now I'm still waiting to use my fenugreek but I know Indian dishes will want that once I start making them... :sad:

Edited because I see these have been replied to already! :laugh:

However, I disagree about tarragon. I think it has a slight tarragon flavor and isn't too bad. I do the same with the dried chives I have left.

Edited AGAIN because I want to ask Suzanne about fenugreek. They come in crunchy big bits - do you really put those into the mashed potatoes or do you grind them up?

Edited by sequim (log)
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Carraway seeds are great with kraut, as mentioned above, or anything you want to add a Rye-breadish flavor too, I use it in Chili as well.

Chili Flakes - Wow, this is one of my oft-used spices. Use it in anything Italian, anything tex-mex, anything schezuan, hell, just use it in anything. A nice added bite and subtle heat without being overpowering. They also can add heat without a distinct chile taste if you just want to kick up certain dishes. I go through a huge (like 1 lb) container of these buggers every month... You are talking about the stuff they have in the glass jars at any pizzaria, right?

He don't mix meat and dairy,

He don't eat humble pie,

So sing a miserere

And hang the bastard high!

- Richard Wilbur and John LaTouche from Candide

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Savory comes in two varieties, summer and plain old. I love summer savory with green beans almondine, or beans just steamed with butter! YUM :wub:

'Plain old' would be winter savoury, so named because it is perennial in northern climates. It is stronger in flavour than the subtle (and presumably fresh) summer savoury mentioned here.

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Savory comes in two varieties, summer and plain old. I love summer savory with green beans almondine, or beans just steamed with butter! YUM :wub:

'Plain old' would be winter savoury, so named because it is perennial in northern climates. It is stronger in flavour than the subtle (and presumably fresh) summer savoury mentioned here.

We grow winter savory in our herb garden. While I know that the fresh is best and this thread is for dried herbs in the cupboard I have to add my two cents - I use savory in place of rosemary quite often. Crush some up and rub all over some pork and you will be in heaven!!!

Dried spices I don't really use - poultry seasoning, all spice, dried basil, lemon pepper (i don't know why i bought that!)

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At work, the only spices I never use are Sysco blends called things like "Montreal steak seasoning" that I inherited when I started my job and just can't bring myself to toss.

I do have a lot of single-use spices, though, which makes it hard to keep a fresh jar on hand for when I make that single dish. Celery seed is a great example of this--I use it only in slaw. Is there anything else that's good with celery seed?

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At work, the only spices I never use are Sysco blends called things like "Montreal steak seasoning" that I inherited when I started my job and just can't bring myself to toss.

I do have a lot of single-use spices, though, which makes it hard to keep a fresh jar on hand for when I make that single dish. Celery seed is a great example of this--I use it only in slaw. Is there anything else that's good with celery seed?

Deviled eggs. Stuffed celery.

Sour cream/cream cheese based dips and salad dressings.

Pickles.

Potatoes in most forms- potato salad, sauteed, mashed, soup, etc.

Shelley: Would you like some pie?

Gordon: MASSIVE, MASSIVE QUANTITIES AND A GLASS OF WATER, SWEETHEART. MY SOCKS ARE ON FIRE.

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My dad puts celery seed on sliced tomatoes, then puts the tomatoes in a green salad.

I like to use it in tuna salad (the boyfriend doesn't like celery, but doesn't seem to mind the celery seed) and ground up with salt & pepper for sprinkling on chicken. Or mixed with butter that I rub on chicken before roasting.

I cleaned out my spices as part of the kitchen remodel. If I couldn't remember the last time I used it, I threw it away.

Savory's tasty in pot pies. As fifi mentioned, fennel seed is just great in anything you want to taste Italian-y. I used it in an apple/ground chicken/walnut stuffing for pork chops, too. I thought it smelled nice next to the apple, so I figured it'd taste okay, too. . .and it did.

Diana

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