Butter chicken is one of my favourite dishes, at least my version of butter chicken. There is one ingredient that Butter Chicken calls for and it's fenugreek leaves, or kasuri methi which is hard to find in my country (well, not that hard but it's more pricy), but there are fenugreek leaves that are meant to be fed to rabbits, and they are much cheaper and widely available. Is there any difference between rabbit fenugreek and human fenugreek or can I just buy a 1kg pack of rabbit food for my curry

I've tried many blends and they're always way too salty, even when applied sparingly to whatever I'm making. I understand the primary ingredient in them is salt, but there's something in them that makes them taste extra salty, moreso than salt on its own.

There's also some blends that use more than one type of salt. For example, this one brand of Cajun seasoning I got recently has both regular salt and celery salt. I mean, what's the point of that? It's also the low sodium version, but stills tastes kinda too salty, just not as much as the regular.

Nowadays, I tend to go for the sodium-free versions of blends, but they're typically harder to find and priced higher than the regular ones, for some reason.

Does anyone else feel this way? Also, can anyone recommend good-tasting blends where salt is not the first ingredient listed, or, even better, has just enough salt to acheieve a nice balance of it and other spices?

This seemed like as good place as any to ask. Hope it’s okay.

What would you add to this list?

Salt

Pepper

Garlic

Paprika

Celery powder

It feels like it’s missing something to me. Mustard? Thyme? Please and thanks for the recommendations, all.

Penzey's spices are excellent. I used Penzey's for years, both online and in store, but have not for the past few years because of the political bent that Bill Penzey inserted into the business. Food is a common denominator of humanity, and does not need politics added to it. I thought the initial post-2016 insanity would settle, but apparently he still feels that half of the country is racist. I can't bring myself to spend money to support this.

So I ask, who is SECOND best?

Hello! Has anyone here ever heard of tamoline? My partner’s family has spoken of this spice before, but there’s no record of it online.

We’re unsure if it’s a specific pepper or a blend. It was used for chili. It might be an old school central Illinois thing? Any help would be appreciated.

I want to be able to eat sambal for example.

I buy cayenne in bulk. However my recent shipment came in looking and smelling bizarre.

What they sent was a light ginger-blonde color and it has a very unique, familiar smell that I can’t put my finger on. It’s got a citrus tang like sumac and brief hint of sweetness (both notes I’d expect in ripe peppers) but mixed with a starchy and vaguely chalky smell in the ballpark of uncooked rice and play-dough. I risked a taste and it’s got heat to it, doesn’t taste or look blended with anything. Doesn’t taste like cayenne either.

Any guesses? Maybe a different pepper? The smell is giving me intense deja vu. It comes in a light-proof package, says it doesn’t expire until 2027 but kinda looks like super old cayenne pics I see online. Anyone ever get a good smell off cayenne that’s old enough to change color to compare to my description?

I plan to call in Monday to check with my supplier but I assume they’ll just tell me to throw it out and won’t go into detail because of liability.

They used to sell Pot Herbs and it's just 2 herbs; marjoram and another. It may be tarragon. I used to know it and I got the ratio just about right. It was like a 6:1 or 8:3, something.

It made plain broth great!

Was told it was a type of curry that a friend grew in their garden. Wondering what the official name is, so I can know how to use it. If you have recipes please let me know.

Roasted garlic powder processing……

So I try to make garlic powder out of garlic I’ve slow roasted in my smoker. I’ll smoke it at 250 for several hours in cast iron until it’s golden brown and sweet.

After smoking I’ll mash it up and roll it out on my dehydrator mats and dehydrate for up to 2 days.

My problem is that I can never get it past the fruit leather texture stage. I’ll take that gummy product and freeze it before I try to grind it and that works sometimes but not always.

Is there another process or step I could try other than freeze drying which I’m afraid is my next step???

My father passed unexpectedly a couple of months ago. He made his own spice blend and I haven’t been able to locate the recipe in his paperwork. Perhaps he had it in his head, not on paper. I would like to recreate it, or something similar. Do you recognize any of the spices from the pic?

It was low salt, but we liked the size of the herbs. They discontinued it. Looking for a replacement!

I make a Cajun mac and cheese with cajun seasoning and andouille sausage and it is overall great and I’m glad I came up with this idea as me, my dad, and a family friend who tried it loved it, but Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning itself being salt heavy. My plan is using the seasoning as salt and adding the rest of the ingredients (black pepper, red pepper, granulated garlic) separately.

What is the ratio of black pepper, red pepper, and granulated garlic in Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning?

Edit: another question I have is that by red pepper does it mean grounded up red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper?

As the title suggests, I live in a humid climate which causes my spices to absorb moisture and clump together. My house flooded last year which didn't help the matter. Now I'm trying to figure out a better way to store my spices. I have some little shelves for spices and seasonings but I don't think they serve much benefit if the humidity is still getting to them. I thought about using silica gel canisters in the jars but that doesn't seem effective for full jars. My next thought was a plastic tote and a dehydrator in the tote. As of right now, that seems to be my best idea.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

A few of my spice blends contain powdered fruit, has anyone here done that themselves, how did you do it?

What are people’s favorite sazón recipes? I made a lot for a recipe from NYTimes (okra and shrimp). What should I do with the rest of it?

I accidentally forgot to label this spice in my container - can someone help me identify this 🙏

Welcome to the 30th Monthly Spice Discussion.

In an effort to collectively build a wiki for every existing spice, there will be a monthly open discussion about a spice.

This month's discussion will be about Elderflower: Sambucus nigra (Western Europe)

The only place to post your giveaways, sales & advertisements for this month.

^(For any question you can message the mod team in the sidebar.)

I can't believe I've never heard of this spice. It is truly amazing, a godspice, if you will. It has an aroma and flavor profile unlike anything I've ever experienced. If incense were a spice, it would be cardamom. I put a pod's worth of seeds in the grinder with my coffee beans and it takes my generic Member's Mark coffee to "serious gourmet sh**" levels. It's also one heck of a diuretic, especially after a weekend of high sodium intake resulting in water retention. It also makes me feel fantastic moodwise.

I debated paying $30 for a 1-lb bag on Amazon, but it was the cheapest by quantity at $1.78/oz, so I went ahead and did it. It will last for a long time for sure and turns a cheap cup of Joe into something you get at a 5-star restaurant or diner. I didn't think of it at the time, but I have an Indian grocery near my house and probably could have scored a bag for cheap there. Will check that out next time.

Edit: For some reason, I want to drop a peppercorn or two in with my coffee beans and cardamom seeds. Never tried it, but something tells me the two spices would marry up well.

In an effort to up my cooking game a little, I have searched out the best whole foods I can find locally and have enjoyed the improved flavor profile. While they are sometimes more expensive, the quality and taste is worth it to me.

My question is around spices. Is there a discernible difference between the average McCormick spice picked up from the local grocery store and something more specialized from an online source like the spice house?

I make spinach gratin with stir fried onions and chicken mince, and we love it, but I'd like to try and spice it a little yet I don't know what could go well in it.

I had a beef stew with these spices, I would love to know what each is, but I do think one is cinnamon. Thanks

https://preview.redd.it/qso7d11jbhed1.jpg?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=85e9325d2b42295f8d2fabbe914a5204caf39711

So I’ve been growing some cayenne and paprika peppers this year to dry and make my own fresh spices. I’ve been doing it for 2 years now but this is my first year doing paprika. Since I don’t like normal paprika and almost exclusively use smoked paprika, I was planning on smoking my peppers this year. Problem is as far from right now I have quite a few cayennes ready to go but only one paprika. I don’t want to fire up my smoker for just one small pepper so I had the idea last night of smoking some of my cayennes along with the paprika. My question is this: is smoked cayenne even a thing or is it a terrible idea?