Friday, December 12, 2014

The Ultimate Infographic Guide to Flavoring With Spices


If you love to eat, then you are probably familiar with spices. We often see them in grocery shelves or in our kitchens just an arm's reach away whenever we need them. Spices have been around for centuries, and they are very important of the history of our world:
Spices have been the inspiration for trade, exploration, war, and poetry since the beginning of civilization. That ground pepper you shake on your salad was once worth its weight in gold; the nutmeg you grate onto holiday eggnog once fueled a war that gained Long Island for England.
It's a good thing we don't have to wage war just to get that bottle of ground pepper, right?


Spices are often used for flavoring, coloring, or preserving food. The use of spices can easily transform bland meals by adding a depth of flavor in every bite. That's why people in the ancient days weren't afriad to get their hands on these gems - they just wanted to eat delicious food. Chefs from around the world are always trying to craft the perfect blend of spices for their signature dishes. They experiment until they get the proportions right. It's a process of trial and error, but thankfully there are best-practices (as shown below) that beginners like us can follow.

I can't say I'm an expert when it comes to spices, but I do normally use bay leaves, basil, garlic, ginger, rosemary and thyme in my recipes. I should try to experiment with recipes involving the other spices listed here. Maybe some cayenne pepper or cumin?

Oh and contrary to popular belief salt is not a spice. Salt is a mineral.

Here's the ultimate infographic guide to flavoring with spices, from cooksmarts.com;


Make good use of this guide to elevate your recipes. Bookmark or print this infographic so that you can easily review this handy guide to help elevate your cooking. Don't forget to share it with your friends!

This post is part of a series on Essential Infographics For Serious Foodies.

Don't miss out! You can follow me on Facebook or subscribe to Chef Jay's Kitchen by email to get updates on new articles. To check out my restaurant reviews, follow me on Zomato.

Cheers, 
Chef Jay

No comments:

Post a Comment