How to Get the Best Flavors and Best Prices on Your Spices

As much as practical for you, avoid the pre-packaged herbs and spices sold for exorbitant prices in the grocery stores. Beside the really high prices, these pre-packed products may not be very fresh, taking something away from the full flavor you want to appreciate.

1-Find the Best Suppliers

It's better to buy small amounts of each spice or dried herb from a wholesale source. Places like your local Whole Foods Grocer, Economy Candy in New York City, thespicehouse.com and penzeys.com are all excellent sources for spice purchases by the pound, half pound, or a few ounces. Besides the enormous reduction in cost, items procured from these sources tend to be very fresh in comparison to the aforementioned pre-packed versions.

Once you have your fresher dry spices, you'll want to get glass spice jars to store any portion that you grind for immediate use, as well as airtight containers to store the whole spices in a dark, humidity and light free location. Places like Ikea, World Market, Ross Discount Stores and even your local $1 or 99 Cent Store may have glass jars and other containers suitable for this purpose.

2- Roasting and Toasting Whole Spices

Some spices like cinnamon and cloves for example, will generate a sweeter flavor when ground at home than the off-the-shelf version.

The finer the spices are ground or milled, the more powerful their flavor will be in the finished dish. However, soft spices like cardamom pods and juniper berries do not need to be ground but bruising them is enough to release their aroma. Bruise by pressing down on them with the blade of a knife. Before you can grind spices though, you will need to roast or toast them.

Use a small, heavy skillet for this. Heat the dry pan over low heat and add the whole spices. Keep the spices moving by shaking the pan or using a wooden spatula to stir things around. Toast for 1 to 4 minutes. The heat releases natural oils from the spices, bringing out their best aromas and flavors. Some spices-like poppy seeds-"pop" when they are ready, while others darken. The obvious sign that it's time to turn the fire off is that the spice becomes aromatic and smells toasty. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely before grinding.

3- Grind Your Own

Since all spices release the most and best of their flavors when freshly grounded, it is best to grind your own. You will want to get a small, deep mortar and pestle set as well as a coffee grinder dedicated specifically to spice grinding. Use your mortar pestle when you want a more coarse grind, while the coffee grinder will produce a fine mill of your spices with even more intense flavors.

Grinding Spices

A coffee grinder will crush most spices, especially tough, woody cinnamon and cloves. Grind your spices or crush if using a mortar/ pestle, and bottle off. Easy ways to clean your mill afterward include grinding a small piece of bread or a couple tablespoons raw rice. Store any spice you did not toast and grind in a dry, humidity free place. You are all set now with fresh, inexpensive spices to spice up any meal.