Tis the Season for Spices | Civil Eats

Tis the Season for Spices

It’s nesting time again. This time of year I go into Martha Stewart mode. New bedspreads, getting things repaired around the house, culling cookbooks. This year I tried something else as a part of the nesting. I threw out all my spices and bought new ones. This came after someone told me that spices and herbs only keep their flavor for a year. After that, it is the equivalent to adding sawdust to your food.

I didn’t really believe it. After all I have had some of the spices for at least—well, since we moved into this house (too embarrassed to tell you how long that is). So before I threw them in the dumpster, I took them all out and examined them. I opened them up and smelled them. Sure enough, most had no smell, no taste, no nothing. So out they went. I just kept a couple of things I know I bought this year. I got rid of at least 30 bottles, jars and little plastic bags. There was some anxiety, because I had never pitched this much stuff. Then I went shopping.

It was suggested that I didn’t go to the grocery store and buy off the shelf, as the spices may have been sitting for several months anyway. So I ordered from Penzeys, a spice specialist. Yes there is such a thing as a specialty store that deals in spices and seasonings. Even better is the fact that they do the majority of their business on line. I could sit home in my pajamas and get this done. I ordered the stuff I use a lot of, like white pepper, tarragon, basil and chili powder. But I also ordered the exotic stuff. There are always seasonings you need if you are going to cook some international dish that you read about in the magazines. Funny how you never seem to have any vindaloo curry powder at home when you need it.

So I ordered some of this and some of that. I got in some trouble because I had no idea how much 4 ounces really was. In some things 4 ounces is a small package, but in other cases, say bay leaves, it comes in something that looks like a zippered gallon bag. What would one ever do with that much bay leaf? Make lots of soup I guess.

When my order came, it was like Christmas. Bag after bag offered its own promise. As the fall nester, I couldn’t help picturing myself making all this cool stuff. How did I ever cook before now? My enthusiasm was more than unbridled. And then came the discovery that fresh dried herbs and seasonings actually have a smell. They have a taste. It is the real deal. It’s fall and I am going to cook some great stuff with real flavor. I do get carried away.

I took the leftovers and gave them to friends in little plastic bags. They too were surprised at what real thyme smells like. The autumn nesting kicked in with them too, and some started going through their cookbooks to see how they could use these little treats.

newsmatch 2023 banner - donate to support civil eats

To me, nothing says fall or winter like wonderful homecooked food. You can’t really do chicken pot pie in the summer, nor do you want to bake fresh bread from scratch in August. But fall offers the possibilities and promise. The kitchen becomes the most magical place. The new spices are like fairy dust calling the eager cook to come play.

I love the leaves and the pumpkins. I’m into apple cider and fireplaces. But I now have a new fall ritual that will help me spice up the season.

Photos by Claudecf and RobAtSGH

We’ll bring the news to you.

Get the weekly Civil Eats newsletter, delivered to your inbox.

Andrea King Collier is a freelance writer, a Knight Digital Media Fellow, and former W.K. Kellogg/IATP Food and Society Policy Fellow. Read more >

Like the story?
Join the conversation.

  1. B2
    Next time try the compost pile instead of the dumpster. Buy less and use what you buy. Better yet, grow your own herbs and spices.

More from

General

Featured

Volunteers from DTE Energy pack prepackaged boxes for delivery to churches and homebound seniors at Focus: HOPE, a local agency located in Detroit, Michigan that operates the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) in a client choice model so that participants can select the foods they want. (Photo credit: Preston Keres, USDA)

The Government Spends Billions on Food. Who Benefits?

In this week’s Field Report: A push to improve federal food purchasing heats up, the first food-focused COP kicks off, dust storms accelerate, and new evidence suggests that fair-trade certifications are failing to protect farmworkers.

Popular

With Season 2, ‘High on the Hog’ Deepens the Story of the Nation’s Black Food Traditions

Stephen Satterfield and Jessica B. Harris watching the sunset at the beach, in a still from Netflix's High on the Hog Season 2. (Photo courtesy of Netflix)

Building a Case for Investment in Regenerative Agriculture on Indigenous Farms

Jess Brewer gathers livestock at Brewer Ranch on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. (Photo courtesy of Intertribal Agriculture Council, www.indianag.org)

Walmart and EDF Forged an Unlikely Partnership. 17 Years Later, What’s Changed?

Aerial view of cargo containers, semi trailers, industrial warehouse, storage building and loading docks, renewable energy plants, Bavaria, Germany

Relocalizing the Food System to Fight a ‘Farm-Free Future’