Wisconsin Forums

[MrKhay]

First off, let me say, finding the flavors in herbs and spices (and the combination of) requires alot of practice, and alot of patience.
Start by choosing a particular spice combination, and cooking a food using it. Do this a couple times a week, and get a feel for the amount to use, and the various combinations that work for you. At the end of a year, you should have a good idea of what works well together, and what should go solo. A few spices to mention are onion, garlic, shallot, chives, celery, parsley, basil, cilantro, fennel, bay leaf, tarragon, thyme, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, coriander, dill, cumin, curry, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning, saffron, mint, cloves, allspice, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, lemon, mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce, but not limited to.

Then you can move on to some of the more exotic seasonings or begin to learn how to blend spices, which will take some of the flavors you’ve learned about in entirely new directions. You can certainly spend more than a year on that!

The good news is, a lot of the work has been done for you. Cuisines have evolved around the world over hundreds of years and millions of recipes have been developed based on pairing certain herbs and spices with certain ingredients. Various online recipe databases will be of great help, as you can quickly scan many recipes that blend salmon & dill, beef & leeks & oregano, and cabbage & mustard seed & celery seed, etc.

If you're serious about achieving the pinnacle of herb and spice use, you should invest in a good reference book. There are several in print. For instance, there is Adriana’s Spice Caravan (Canada, UK), Cooking with Spices for Dummies (Canada, UK) The Spice & Herb Bible (Canada, UK), Cooking with Herbs and Spices (Canada, UK), and Seasoning Savvy (Canada, UK).

Adriana's Spice Caravan seems to be the best for the spice and herb using novice, with a global perspective, lots of interesting tidbits on the history and lore of the flavors, and a good running commentary on how the herbs and spices are traditionally used.

A guide developed by the late The late Milo Miloradovich, author of an out-of-print edition of Cooking with Herbs and Spices, follows. 50 years have passed since the book was first published, so there may be some spices and herbs missing, but still, this list is a good place to begin.

Fish &
Shellfish

Basil
Bay Leaf
Cayenne Pepper
Celery
Chervil
Chives
Curry Powder
Dill
Fennel Seed
Garlic
Horseradish
Lovage
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard
Onion
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper
Rosemary
Saffron
Savory
Tarragon
Thyme
Watercress




Meats

Allspice
Anise
Basil
Caraway Seed
Cayenne Pepper
Celery
Chervil
Chili Powder
Chives
Cloves
Coriander
Cumin Seed
Curry Powder
Dill
Fennel Seed
Ginger
Horseradish
Mace
Marjoram
Mint
Nutmeg
Onion
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper
Poultry Seasoning
Rosemary
Saffron
Sage
Savory
Sesame Seed
Shallot
Tarragon
Thyme
Watercress




Game & Poultry

Anise
Basil
Bay Leaf
Caraway Seed
Celery
Chives
Cumin
Curry Powder
Garlic
Horseradish
Lovage Seed
Marjoram
Onion
Oregano
Parsley
Rosemary
Saffron
Sage
Savory
Shallot
Tarragon
Thyme
Watercress




Vegetables

Anise
Basil
Bay Leaf
Borage
Caraway Seed
Celery
Chili Powder
Coriander
Cumin
Curry Powder
Dill
Fennel
Lovage
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard Seed
Nutmeg
Onion
Oregano
Parsley
Pepper
Poppy Seed
Rosemary
Saffron
Sage
Savory
Sesame Seed
Tarragon
Thyme




Soups & Chowders

Anise
Basil
Bay Leaf
Caraway
Cardamom
Celery
Chervil
Chives
Cloves
Coriander
Cumin
Dill
Fennel
Garlic
Leek
Mace
Marigold
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard Seed
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Poppy Seed
Poultry Seasoning
Rosemary
Saffron
Sage
Savory
Sesame Seed
Sorrel
Tarragon
Thyme
Watercress




Salads & Dressings

Basil
Bay Leaf
Borage
Caraway Seed
Cardamom
Celery
Chervil
Chili Powder
Chives
Coriander
Curry Powder
Dill
Fennel
Garlic
Horseradish
Lovage
Marjoram
Mint
Mustard Seed
Nasturtium
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pepper
Poppy Seed
Rosemary
Saffron
Savory
Scallions
Sesame Seed
Shallot
Tarragon
Thyme
Watercress




Desserts

Allspice
Anise
Basil
Bay Leaf
Borage
Caraway Seed
Cardamom
Cassia
Cinnamon
Coriander
Cumin
Fennel
Ginger
Mace
Mint
Nutmeg
Poppy Seed
Rosemary
Saffron
Savory
Sesame Seed