Matching Food With Spices
Choosing spices in food preparation is very important. You can have the best ingredients to cook but a wrong choice and combination of spices and herbs can make your food taste 'bad'. Knowing and selecting spices and herbs is one of the keys to enjoying cooking.
Spices and herbs enhance the flavour of food and are medicinal.
Below is a list of foods and the spices and herbs that enhance their flavour.
Beef: Use basil, bay, chili, cilantro, curry, cumin, garlic, marjoram, mustard,
oregano, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, or thyme or a combination of them.
Fish: Fish is best cooked with anise star, basil, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, celery seed, chives, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger lemon peel, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, saffron, sage, savory, tarragon, and marjoram
Egg: For eggs use basil, chervil, chili, chives, curry, dill, fennel, ginger lemon peel, marjoram, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, sage, tarragon, thyme
Chicken: Allspice, basil, bay leaf, cinnamon, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, mustard, paprika, rosemary, saffron, sage, savory draws out the best flavour in chicken.
Lamb: Basil, bay leaf, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, curry, dill, garlic, marjoram, mint, mustard, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon, thyme
Pork: Cloves and ginger are ideal for cooking pork and pork dishes.
Cheese: Basil, caraway, celery seed, chervil, chili, chives, coriander, cumin, dill, garlic, horseradish, lemon peel, marjoram, mint, mustard, nutmeg, paprika, parsley, pepper, sage, tarragon, and thyme
Potatoes: Basil, caraway, celery seed, chervil, chives, coriander, dill, marjoram, oregano, paprika, parsley, poppy seed, and rosemary.
Salad dressings: basil, celery seed, chives, dill, fennel, garlic, horseradish, marjoram, mustard, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, rosemary, and saffron.
Salads: Caraway, chives, dill, garlic, lemon peel, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme.
Soups: Basil, bay, chervil, chili, chives, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, marjoram, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, thyme.
Tomatoes: Basil, bay, celery seed, cinnamon, chili, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, gumbo file, lemongrass, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory, tarragon, thyme
Fruits: Allspice, anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, mint
Tips for selecting spices and herbs.
Thyme, Tarragon and Basil go with most foods.
To get a hot taste in food use: Chilli peppers, Cilantro, Cumin, Garlic and Ginger.
For a spicey taste use: Cinnamon, black pepper and star anise.
For a sweet taste use: allspice, anise, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg.
For a sharp taste use: celery, chili peppers, cummin, curry, ginger and black pepper.
Now you have a short paring list, go on and enjoy cooking.