DRY HERBS & SPICES

Herbs are used to enhance the natural flavour of food. They are used with a proclivity to add freshness, balance and exquisite taste to every dish. They may also be used for presentations; as they make a dish look livelier.

Many people use the term broadly to mean all seasonings. In fact, spices are really the seeds, fruit, roots, buds or bark of aromatic plants that usually grow in tropical countries.

In the past, spices were used to mask the taste of foods that had spoiled. Nowadays, we use spices to titillate our taste buds and try something new. Spices can transform an everyday dish into a signature dish that gets its flavour from the cook’s secret blend. In concocting such blends, cooks must of course take into account their guests’ tolerance for hot foods.

Spices are sold whole, ground, powdered, as flakes or in bags. For maximum fragrance and flavour, buy spices whole and crush them just before using them. The aroma of ground and powdered spices fade more quickly. Keep spices in airtight bottles or jars, away from heat and light. Never store spices close to the e stove. Smell spices periodically and discard any that have lost their aroma.