How to Season With Herbs & Spices

Herbs and spices can liven up any dish.

Herbs and spices enhance the flavor of food without adding unhealthy ingredients like salt or fat. In fact, according to the Diabetes Self Management website, many herbs and spices, such as cinnamon and ginger, add health benefits to your meal. Most grocery stores stock many kinds of dried herbs and spices. Although fresh herbs, used directly from a garden, may contain more nutritional value, dried herbs are convenient and add plenty of flavor to food.

Things You'll Need

• Dried (bottled) or fresh herbs
• Bottled spices (clove, chili powder and cinnamon, for example)

Instructions

1. Match herbs and spices to the type of cuisine you are cooking, unless you are feeling adventurous. Some examples: cilantro is used commonly in Mexican foods; cumin is a spice often added to Mediterranean dishes; thyme, garlic and sage are frequently used in Italian cuisine; and ginger is added to many Asian foods and used in Japan for sushi.

2. Add only a small amount (such as a sprinkle from a shaker bottle) of herbs or spices at a time. You can always add more as necessary, but once you’ve added an herb or spice it is usually impossible to remove. With many herbs and spices, a little goes a long way. Always taste test before adding more.

3. Wait until the food is nearly cooked to add herbs, for optimal flavor. Diabetes Self Management advises this, especially if the herbs are fresh. The cooking process will diminish the flavor of some herbs. For example, if you make lasagna and want to add a little extra herbal flavor, sprinkle a little oregano on the top when it is about 10 minutes from being fully cooked.

4. Add spices to meat and to accompanying sauces as they cook. If you are making chili for example, start browning the meat and add the chili spices directly to the meat as it browns. Then, add more chili powder when you add the tomato sauce and other ingredients. This gives the chili a richer flavor through and through and makes it taste as if it has been cooking for hours. This principle can be applied to other meats and spices.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're using fresh herbs, you'll need to add two to four times as much as dried herbs to gain the same intensity of flavor.

• If you aren't sure if an herb or spice will taste good with any dish, cook a small portion separately, adding the herb or spice to it alone. When it is done cooking, taste test. This way you can experiment with herbs and spices without having to worry you'll accidentally ruin a whole meal.

References

• Diabetes Self Management: Cooking With Herbs And Spices