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SEASONING SMARTS
How to store, use, and enjoy spices.
WRITTEN BY ANN LINDEMANN
They can transform a dish from “meh” to marvelous with just a shake, but many people still are stumped when it comes to storing, using, and enjoying spices. High Quality Organics’ Dawn Wykoff offers us her spice wisdom.
Storage 101
Optimally, keep them in a cool, dark place. If you prefer to keep them on the counter, opt for a sealed dark container.
“A lot of us (myself included) have them near our stove, for instance, as a convenience,” Wykoff says. “I just know that it will speed up the deterioration of my spices a little and I’m OK with that.”
How does one know if a spice still is in its prime?
“If they pass the three criteria — visually they look the same, aromatically they smell the same, and organoleptically (means affecting the sense organs) they taste the same — I keep ’em,” she says.
Advice for the Spice Challenged
“I say to those folks, ‘We were all spice challenged at one time in our lives, so don’t worry about that and have fun trying them individually first,'” she says. “Once you have found the ones you like or are drawn to, start experimenting with them.”
She says the five most common spices in seasoning blends are salt, pepper, paprika, garlic, and onion.
“I like making a mixture of any combination of those and then adding an experimental spice,” she says.
Each ethnic cuisine, she says, has its own set of spices and herbs that are indigenous to that culture.
“If you start playing with them one at a time that way,” she says, “it’s kind of fun!”
One Taste at a Time
Wykoff says it’s important to taste spices individually first.
“Because even an individual spice has a range of flavor due to the fact that it is an organic material,” she explains.
The spice’s flavor also can vary slightly due to its country of origin, season of harvest, and botanical identification.
