Spiceaholic

Oct 30, 2020 06:10:43

My name is John, and I am a spiceaholic.

Oct 30, 2020 06:13:05

And ....

Oct 30, 2020 06:14:55

And...

Oct 30, 2020 06:21:24

Pish tosh. Let's talk when you binge-shop at bulk barn with the largest-size mason jars. Trays of them. I have, and it didn't even seem ridiculous at the time.

My brother-in-law keeps his spices that way, and in a drawer a mason jar deep, with labels on the lids.

You, my friend, might have a slight storage issue, and an opportunity to keep and organise things better for yourself. My brother-in-law, he's a spiceaholic.

Oh, and I typically consume two teaspoons per day of turmeric and cinnamon, and a teaspoon of ginger, just because I like the taste in my coffee and oatmeal. I have experimented with cumin and coriander, which were interesting, but not a winning combination on their own, and until recently, would put cayenne in everything, including the aforementioned spiced coffee and oatmeal.

I have been accused of turning everything into a curry, and yes, I do put garam masala in cookies, oatmeal, soups, and breads, as well as the prescribed traditional indian dishes.

So if you're a spiceaholic, welcome to the club. Incidentally, they do go stale, so tight-fitting lids is a must.

What are your favourite, or most used combinations?

-CK

Oct 30, 2020 07:35:14

It's not just me!😀 In our 840 sq foot house with limited kitchen space, I have an entire cabinet of spices. When my husband makes comments on my "excessive" (his word, never mine) collection, I have gotten to where I just respond, "you like my cooking, right?" and "you can enjoy the food without all the travel".

One of our biggest spice addictions has been fresh ground pepper. I just use the $2 yard sale coffee grinder that has been chugging along for 25 -where did the time go- years. I probably go through a 1 lb bag of peppercorns in 6 months tops.

Chris, we also are big turmeric, ginger, cinnamon users. Adding black pepper to turmeric is supposed to boost health benefits. I don't know about that but I like the taste. I finally got a piece of ginger to grow a plant. Now I just have to read up on right way to harvest it.

Turmeric spice chicken for dinner tonight!

Oct 30, 2020 07:56:47

I used to do pepper with my turmeric, and you're right. It tastes great, and it's supposed to increase uptake of curcumin (I think it's a flavonoid), but it does so by limiting the body's ability to filter a bunch of stuff. Also, apparently, curcumin is only one of a number of beneficial components of turmeric's makeup, and I have read that if you encourage your body to OD on curcumin, there are no available spots for uptake of these other goodies. I think the words I am looking for are flavonoids, or flavones, or phytochemicals, or some other. I would love to know, it just hasn't stuck yet.

Now considering all of these spices come powdered, I think there'd be some very specific addictive behaviour I'd be looking for before I would deem a healthy spice enthusiasm an addiction. Mind you, my brand-new toothbrush is already tumeric-stained, as I have coffee and oatmeal in the morning with my spices of choice, so make of that what you will.

Okay, fine! I might have a problem, okay? No those aren't turmeric tracks. What's on my upper lip? Probably toothpaste. Definitely not cinnamon and ginger. Shut up! Don't look at me that way.

-CK

Oct 30, 2020 08:18:09

My people!! I have two drawers full of spices (maybe more, there are some other places too). Especially here, where most people have only cinnamon in their spice drawer (even pepper is pushing it), some people think I'm nuts.
Guests who come for dinner, however, usually are pretty happy about it.

Oct 30, 2020 08:47:14

Spice is life.

-CK

Oct 30, 2020 09:07:36

Chris, thanks so much for that info.

As far as having oatmeal with your spice, I totally get that. When at breakfast with a friend, I was asked if I would like some grits with my pepper. Have to say the turmeric stained toothbrush- that's impressive👍

Oct 30, 2020 09:08:02

Count your blessings!!
I am a condimentoholic! every dressing known to man!
Barbecue sauces galore, and Steak sauces without number,
Picante, and chili sauces in every color and heat range,
Mole's, Soy, Wasabi, Worcestershire, anything piquant.
My beloved assures me we waste food because there's no room in the fridge!

Oct 30, 2020 09:24:09

mmm, spiceahol.

yeah, our collection is pretty big too, with a lot of older containers being reused for homemade blends...it’s nice having all the basic ingredients handy if we’re suddenly in the mood for creole, or ras el hanout, or berbere, or.......

Oct 30, 2020 09:47:37

Hi All;
My Name is Thomas and I am a spiceaholic!

Gosh if enough admit this we might need a forum all to ourselves!
These are just my bigger stashes of spices... other cupboards are overflowing as well.
Don't let the old MCcormic container scare you...Its got cinnamon still, just high quality organic .

Roberto pokachinni · Oct 30, 2020 10:09:52

You guys are beginners - as pointed out, ground spices don't keep well...
*Real* spiceaholics go for the real thing - home dried when possible, stored in a cold place (like in 3 baskets in my fridge), whole seeds which can be crushed just before use, and I'd *never* buy powdered ginger any more when I can have a small piece of root in my freezer I can micro-plane into a dish any time I need a little.

I admit I haven't tried to grow ginger yet - but I've read about it, and I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure I'm quite warm enough. It's hard - not impossible - to justify building a greenhouse just to grow my own ginger. I'll keep you posted...

Oct 30, 2020 11:52:10

Hi Thomas,

Is that a coffee grinder. If so. Give the back story .....please.

Oct 30, 2020 11:56:10

Jay Angler wrote:

I admit I haven't tried to grow ginger yet - but I've read about it, and I'm thinking about it, but I'm not sure I'm quite warm enough. It's hard - not impossible - to justify building a greenhouse just to grow my own ginger. I'll keep you posted...

I'm growing ginger now. I'm 50/50 on its changes but I do have one beautiful 18" stem.

Oct 30, 2020 11:57:38

I have a piece of advice for you fine people: Don't ever go to a Penzey's Spices store. Let my experience guide you.

Oct 30, 2020 13:27:38

My girlfriend OWNS a tea and spice business, and an herb farm!
It began in our (certified) home kitchen!! I could smell the spices before laying a hand on the doorknob when I got home.
Thankfully production and storage happens elsewhere now.

Our largest drawer is the spice drawer, and it is overflowing... and has to be put back "just so" in order to close...
And there's usually some bulk stuff in a box on the counter, and test batches being tested.

Oct 30, 2020 13:50:13

Hi John;
I got that coffee grinder from my mom.
Who got it from her mom.
I don't know where or when grandma got it.
Mom found it and brought it home after granny passed.
She gave it to me a few years later after I told her I was grinding my own beans.

Oct 30, 2020 13:56:31

Rob Lineberger wrote:I have a piece of advice for you fine people: Don't ever go to a Penzey's Spices store. Let my experience guide you.

Lest you think I'm kidding, here are the ones I bought and hardly, if ever, used:

Oct 30, 2020 13:57:25

The ones I use a lot:

Oct 30, 2020 14:05:07

Let's move on to some of the big ones:

smoked paprika

Oh and the ones crammed into random locations:

white hulles seasme seeds

(source)

Also I have other spices. It's getting out of hand. But yeah, Penzey's.

Oct 30, 2020 14:12:57

Let's not forget dried stuff.

Oct 30, 2020 14:35:25

Ok Rob,

You convinced me. You are part of the club. Unfortunately, I am out of apples.

Oh yes, meetings on Wednesdays at 9. Pumpkin Spiced Coffee and Ginger Snaps to be served.

Oct 30, 2020 14:41:06

Hi Thomas,

It looked special. I have been looking for serious grinder as opposed to the junk I have been finding.......now, what days did you say you would be away for work? ......and how far are you from the southern tip of Illinois?

Oct 30, 2020 15:11:55

Jay Angler wrote:You guys are beginners - as pointed out, ground spices don't keep well...
*Real* spiceaholics go for the real thing - home dried when possible, stored in a cold place (like in 3 baskets in my fridge)...

I forgot about the herbs and stuff in the freezer! I also have mystery jars of dried stuff the labels came off of. I get to open and sniff to figure out what I'm cooking with. It occurs to me now of course that I should take a sharpie and write on the jars next time to save a lot of future work...

Oct 30, 2020 15:19:57

Oh, my. I just brought(another) two bags full, from the Mennonite store, today... I really do need to take inventory, and make sure everything is properly rotated. I'm sure there must be *something* we're missing, for some obscure recipe we've always wanted to try...

Oct 30, 2020 15:43:01

and I was starting to think that I was way off center building a giant oversized spice rack that is about 3'x4'.

Oct 30, 2020 15:50:39

Ha Ha Bruce;
Maybe you might rebuild that to 4 x 8'...

Oct 30, 2020 15:59:59

Rob Lineberger wrote:I have a piece of advice for you fine people: Don't ever go to a Penzey's Spices store. Let my experience guide you.

Rob, I have a number of the same spices. If the sweet curry is too boring for you, it can be improved (for me anyway) with red pepper flakes or Badia Sazon caliente. Mixing it with Jamaican style curry powder helped too. On the bad side, I'm intrigued by some of your blends and will have to investigate them further.

Unfortunately I don't have to go to the store, since they helpfully sell online. Free shipping with $40 spend...😏

Oct 30, 2020 16:09:33

oh my! you all must cook some interesting meals

I've been a few types of 'aholics' but I bow to the spice addicts in this thread

...will follow with interest.

Oct 30, 2020 16:15:05

Tina Hillel wrote:

Unfortunately I don't have to go to the store, since they helpfully sell online. Free shipping with $40 spend...😏

Aha! I'm an enabler. :) good tips and good shopping!

Oct 30, 2020 17:36:50

John & I both came out of pro kitchens (there's a REASON we're round!). He is a retired chef, classically trained in French, and apprenticed in Japanese. I used to be a baker, and am an herbalist, and use a lot of spices with my herbs.

Oct 30, 2020 17:52:42

my spice collecting went a bit haywire when I found an asian supermarket several years ago that has probably more than two aisles of herbs and spices plus tons of fresh stuff including hard to find fresh things like turmeric and whole bunch of things I have yet to understand.

Oct 30, 2020 18:28:21

I'm going to have to join this club, I was going to take a photo of my cupboard but the camera decided the battery is to low, so I will do that tomorrow. In my defense I only have one cupboard full, but it is a large cupboard and I don't have any blends they are all individual spices.

Oct 30, 2020 18:51:11

Okay, I am NOT in this club. We were considered weird in the neighborhood where I grew up because the entire back of the double cabinet was a two tier rack of spices. As a kid I’d about once a year just sample everything. Yes, I was odd, still am.

But... I bought a large bottle of powdered tumeric, never used it, haven’t. I have an almost new, organic bottle too. Only used in curries and the last time I had curry maybe the last, forever. My stomach revolted.

So, I have all this tumeric and a twitchy tummy. How should I use it?

Oct 30, 2020 19:39:39

Jennie Little wrote:

So, I have all this turmeric and a twitchy tummy. How should I use it?

Some very nice permie posted a recipe using turmeric in a pesto like recipe. We used the idea in a pesto recipe we were already making using a variety of greens and it was really nice.

My son's GF says turmeric is more for colour than flavor, so could your twitchy tummy be reacting to something else in the curry? (She's off the boat from India, so her idea of "curry" is *much* more potent than anything I would serve, so her "not much flavor" may be different compared to North American palettes.)

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