COOKING and SPICE HELP PLEASE!!!?

Question

I love to cook and am really good. But when it comes to the "spice's" I get sooooo confused! How do you know which spice taste's good with what? I add parsley to almost everything! But I used bay leaves the other night on pork chop's and yuck! I didn't think that was a good combination! Anyone have any spice idea's? Or combination's that they like? Thank's!!

Answer 1

Hi, I hope this helps.
Purchase a Better Homes and Gardens or a Betty Crocker cookbook for beginners. I wish I had one of these cookbooks when I started housekeeping. This is a large book with lots of recipes and many pages of information such as, spices and their uses, how to chop, dice, etc anything, how much sweetening for fresh fruit to make pies or freeze fruits, etc. The how to list is grand.

I have learned before this though certain things just go together.
Such as:
Pork : is complimented by brown sugar, cumin, nutmeg, ground red pepper, paprika, orange sauces, jalepeno peppers, garlic
For instance:
Boil down orange juice and a little apple cider vinegar until reduced by more than half, add some brown sugar or honey, a little finely chopped jalepeno pepper, some nutmeg, scrumptious over pork.

Beef: Bay leaves, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, italian spices, garlic,peppercorns whole
For instance:
Just brown your roast on both sides on medium high heat with 2 tbsp. oil. Add 24 oz. of organic beef broth in box or 24 oz. water, celery (2 stalks with some of the yellow leaf) cut up in big pieces, 5 carrots cut in big chunks, and 1 med. onion (not sweet). Put bay leafs (2) and 10 peppercorns in a small piece of cheesecloth ( big enough to tie securely into a bundle). Bake at 350 about 1 1/2 hours. discard veggies and bundle. Add frshly quarted potatoes, carrots and 2 or thee quarted onions. Bake 3/4 hour. Scrumptious.

Fruit
Blackberries love lemon zest
Blueberries love a little cinnamon
Cherries love a little almond flavoring
Peaches love nutmeg or cinnamon

Chicken loves about any spice. Not bay leaves though. Sage, thyme, parsely, are especially good.

Ham loves cloves, brown sugar, etc.
For a quick dinner, use presliced good quality ham, bake some sweet potatoes in a microwave, melt some butter in a skillet add a little 14th tsp. ground clove and brown sugar; add sliced ham and just cook until warm but not really hot. Scoop out the sweet potato, add a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Serve the hot sweet potato along side the ham, with a small salad and crusty bread hot. MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm Good

I could go on forever, but great fun experimenting to you!

Answer 2

paprika and sea salt are a great combination on
- pork chops
-lobster
-chicken(add pepper also, you can put all together with a little flour to fry...once done the trick is to bake at 350 for 10min to seal in the crispness)
Garlic powder, sea salt, pepper together
steaks
baked potatoes
cumin, bay leaf, sea salt, basil, etc. are good for stews
But remember to smell your spices, get used to the smell and taste just a bit to remember. After a while you will have a more expanded pallet, Unusually reccomend getting a Betty Crocker Red Cook Book...she explains the aromas and tastes of spices...another good way is to look at recipes online, certain spice combinations just don't work...so they can give you a guideline for what DOES work. But just remember to think SIMPLE...never go overboard! You can always add more, but you cant take out what you've put in. Cooking is all about spices, and the use of them.
Go to this website...it has a minimal overview of what spices work in what foods...

Answer 3

My dear girl. Bay leaves are usually used in stews and soups. You can use rosemary on porkchops but beware because it's like oregano....very strong so be careful how much you use. If it's dreid spices they're considerably more pungent than fresh.

With pork (especially pork roast or loin) I prefer taking they roast, rubbing it down with salt, pepper and alittle allspice. Take a handful of freshly peeled garlic cloves and with a paring knife, punch openings into the top of the roast. Put the cloves into the allspice/salt pepper mixture to coat. Place each of the garlic cloves into the openings you made, coat the top of the roast with the rest of the mixture. In the oven for 30 minutes at 425. Take out, lower the temp to 350 and after the roast rests on the counter for 30 minutes, place back into the oven again and cook for an hour. When the temp reaches 160 inside the roast, remove, let rest for 15 minutes, carve and serve.

Answer 4

You can start off by smelling them they usually taste like their smells.
Like most of your other answers...most of the labels will give you indications of what it can be used for.
Just remember to smell them first. Most people don't know this but your spices do get old. The way to tell is by smelling it. If there is no smell then it is no good. Try to change out seasonings every 3-4 weeks.

Garlic and onion powder is good on almost everything. including fish.
Other spices like cumin and cayenne pepper have a bit of smokiness to them and some mild heat. (be carefull with the cayenne pepper)
You can also learn alot from the cooking channel.

Answer 5

I know how you feel, I used to be really confused when I used spices. Here's some ideas:

Mexican Seasoning (great on ground meat, chicken and pork chops)
* Chili Powder
* Cumin
* S&P
* Onion Powder

Italian Seasoning (great on chicken, ground meat, or pork chops)
* S&P
* Onion Powder
* Garlic Salt (don't use too much because you have already put Salt in the recipe)
* Basil
* Oregano
* Rosemary
* Sage

Greek Seasoning (great on chicken, fish and lamb)
* S&P
* Oregano
* Fresh garlic
* Fresh
* Grated Lemon Peel

Answer 6

Cooking with spices can be tricky. A lot of times the back of spice labels will tell you what that particular spice would be good on. Instead of ruining your meal on a guess, try out Foodnetwork.com. You can type in the type of dish you wish to prepare and get ideas on what kind of spices they are using in recipes. You are not going to like some spices because everyone has different tastes. I for instance don't care for cilantro.

Answer 7

You want a safe spice to keep on hand that tastes good on everything? McCormicks Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning. I put that on just about everything! Along with Garlic pepper/salt. Bay leaves are best with chicken, especially in soups, but you have to remove the leaves prior to serving your meal. And Old Bay seasoning is good for sea foods, salads, poultry and meats. But I swear by Garlic salt.

Answer 8

Cooking is an adventure, take the time to explore all the different herb and spice combinations. Don't be afraid to try something new. The greatests chefs in the world are the ones who go out on a limb and try the unthinkable. Have fun!

Answer 9

ALLSPICE: Potato Soup, Tomato Sauce, Poached Fish, Ham, Meatloaf, Spinach, Cabbage, Pumpkin Pie, Egg Dishes

BASIL: Tomato Soup, Vegetable Soup, Beef Stew, Spaghetti Sauce, Fish, Tuna, Fried Chicken, Beef, Pork, Pizza, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumber, French/Russian Dressing, Omelets, Souffles

MARJORAM: Chicken Soup, Potato Soup, Brown Sauce, Gravy, Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Pork, Veal, Potatoes, Zucchini, Chicken Salad, French Dressing, Omelets, Scrambled Eggs, Souffles

OREGANO: Bouillon, Stew, Broiled Fish, Chicken, Hamburger, Pizza, Spaghetti, Broccoli, Cabbage, Mushrooms, Onions, Tomatoes, Guacamole

THYME: Clam Chowder, Stew, Tuna, Fried Chicken, Poultry Stuffing, Roasts, Carrots, Green Beans, Mushrooms, Peas, Potatoes, Chicken Salad, Omelets, Scrambled Eggs, Souffles,
Biscuits, Corn Bread

Answer 10

first bay leaves goes well with pork may you used more than 1 bay leaf as it is a powerful spicwe as like with your parsley you can add more...you need to experiment and read the amounts of the spice you use that is why we have recipes to guide you thru these amounts i would suggest following them until you learn how strong and the amount to use of the different spices...