Saturday Share - 12 Basic Herbs & Spices

I often post a recipe on Saturday, but today I thought I’d do something a bit different, but still related to cooking at home.

Certain basic ingredients including an inventory of herbs and spices should always be on hand if you cook at home. 

Every home cook usually has some kind of flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cooking oil, pasta, and some canned goods like a tomato products, vegetables, fruit, and maybe some convenience items like cream soups.

The basics I want to cover today are flavoring ingredients like salt, black pepper, herbs, and spices—the items that add pizzazz to a dish. What herbs and spices you may ask since there are so many? Here’s a starter list.

Image by Steve Buissinne,  Pixabay

12 BASIC HERBS & SPICES 

1. Allspice comes from a pea-sized fruit that grows in Jamaica, Mexico, Central and South America. It has a delicate flavor and is aromatic, resembling a blend of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

It’s used to season and flavor everything from meats to pickles to baked goods.

2. Basil is the dried leaves and stems of an herb originally grown in the Mediterranean region but is now grown just about everywhere. It’s cultivated easily in containers or in the garden.

I made the mistake of planting it in my garden. In this climate with its long-growing season, the basil went wild. Pretty soon it was popping up everywhere. Now I make sure to clip the seed stalks as soon as a blossom appears.

Bay Leaf, PublicDomainPictures, Pixabay

3. Bay Leaves, the dried leaves of the Bay Laurel, an evergreen tree, also originally from the Mediterranean. 

You can actually order a bay laurel tree from the large nurseries and plant it in your yard. I haven’t done that yet, but I want to get one. 

It has a “sweet” herbaceous note that goes well with a large variety of dishes—spaghetti sauces, soups, stews, sauces, etc.

4. Dill is a small dark seed from the dill plant, originally grown in India.You’re most familiar with this as dill pickles, but it’s used in many dishes like sauerkraut, potato salad, noodles, dressings and sauces.

5. Mace is the dried outer red covering of the nutmeg seed and has a delicate, bright, peppery taste with citrus notes. 

When whole, it’s used in pickling, stewing fruit, flavoring fish and fish sauces. When ground, it’s in baked goods. It gives doughnuts their  distinctive taste

Image, Nutmeg by Agnieszka, Pixabay

6. Nutmeg is sweeter than mace and has a “warm” nuttier taste. In the photo at right, you can see the red covering that is ground into Mace.

Joan Reeves aka SlingWords: The Word Slinging Adventures of Joan Reeves

Source: https://slingwords.blogspot.com/2025/10/saturday-share-12-basic-herbs-spices.html