Herbs and Spices to Increase the Heat in Your Kitchen

One of the simplest ways to add flavor to your food is by using herbs and spices. Spices add layers of flavor making any dish pop on your palette. Most of us are familiar with the more common herbs like parsley, thyme and oregano. But there are many other herbs/spices that you can add to your spice rack and you will be able to create zesty Mexican, Indian and Latin American style dishes to impress your friends and family and shock your taste buds ,creating a revolution.

Here are a few spices that you might want to consider adding to your repertoire.

Cardamom, used in Indian curries, Danish pastries and to coffee for Middle Eastern accent

Chili powder for Mexican salsas, Thai curry and can be mixed with garlic to create a flavor rich meat rub

Cilantro - fantastic in Mexican style salsas and most Latin American dishes

Coriander, often found in Indian curries and used in Moroccan tagine (Coriander is actually the seeds of the Cilantro herb)

Cumin - great for Mexican salsas, Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern dishes

Saffron - lends it's highly perfumed taste to Spanish style paella, Hungarian goulash and Italian risotto, Cajun and Mexican spice mix

Dried Spice Blends, Another Great Option for Flavorful Cooking

Chinese Five-Spice - this is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, Szechuan pepper, star anise and ginger. Great in stir friend vegetables, marinades for duck, lamb and pork

Curry Powder - This mixture that frequently contains fenugreek, coriander, turmeric, fennel, cloves, cardamom, cumin, chile and allspice. Curry can be added to chicken, lamb, fish, goat and shrimp.

Garam Masala - Indian blend made of cloves, green cardamom, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon. Make a paste and add to the pot towards the end of cooking for seafood dishes and meat stews or combine with curry powder when making curried meats.

Herbes de Provence - fragrant mixture of dried herbs typical of southern French cooking. Exact recipes vary, but thyme, savory, rosemary and fennel or tarragon are typical. Marjoram or basil are sometimes included.

Storing Dry Spices and Spice Mixes

Store your dry spices in a cool place away from the stove, humidity or strong light. Ground up spices can keep their flavor for up a year and whole spices like cloves and cardamom seeds can last more than for years if stored correctly.

Fresh Herb / Food Combinations

Here are some ideas to help you start combining fresh herbs with your foods.

BASIL - a natural snipped in with tomatoes; terrific in fresh pesto; other possibilities include pasta sauce, peas, zucchini

CHIVES - dips, potatoes, tomatoes

CILANTRO - Mexican, Asian and Caribbean cooking; salsas, tomatoes

DILL - carrots, fish, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes

MINT - carrots, fruit salads, parsley, peas, tabouli, tea

OREGANO - peppers, tomatoes, pasta dishes

PARSLEY - Naturals for parsley include potato salad, tabouli. (The Italian parsley is more strongly flavored).

ROSEMARY - For flavorful lamb, pork, roasted potatoes, soups, stews, tomatoes

SAGE - poultry seasoning, stuffing

TARRAGON - chicken, eggs, fish

THYME - chicken, fish, eggs, lima beans, potatoes, poultry, summer squash, tomatoes

Storing fresh herbs

Cut herbs with short stalks should be wrapped in a plastic bag (left open, not sealed). Bunches of herbs with longer stalks like cilantro, can be treated like cut flowers. Trim the stalks on a diagonal, sit the cut stalks in an 8 ounce glass or jug with an inch or two of water in the bottom. Change the water daily and make sure that there are no leaves near the bottom of the stalk that is sitting in the water at the bottom of your container. Cut herbs of this type can last several days stored this way.

Visit your local ethnic grocers for a wide selection of spices while you can shop the larger grocery chains and farmer's markets to find cut herbs.

Why not get some new herbs and spices, and experiment with the tastes and flavors. Increase the heat in your kitchen!