Spice Blends

As we learned in the preceeding columns, the pantry is the backbone of the kitchen. With a well-stocked pantry, we are always prepared to provide a meal for our family. A handful of leftover pasta tossed into the stock you made over the weekend becomes a quick, good busy day lunch, while a bowl of tuna salad for sandwiches is just a shelf away.

A couple of years ago when I wrote about the herb and spice pantry, I noted that there were some spice blends that are traditionally specific to households and that the best blend for those was the household one. I didn't provide recipes for those at the time but our month of stocking the pantry is a good time to make and maintain our own spice blends. Below are the spice blends we use in our urban home along with the original recipes for them. None is meant to be interpreted as slavishly authentic to its cuisine, but every one has been perfected over decades of homekeeping.

Precise measurements are important to achieving the correct balance in a spice blend. Use measuring spoons and cups accurately calibrated to universal weights and measures. Novelty measures cannot be counted on to provide this; good kitchen measuring tools can be obtained here and here. A spice funnel is invaluable when working with dry spices; here is a good one. Once you have made your spice blend, scoop into a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid; here is a good one. Finally, remember that spices age; almost none will last longer than a year. Accordingly, these recipes make a supply of the blend that should last for a few months.

Spice Blends
You can obtain bulk spices and herbs in some supermarkets and specialty shops. Penzey's is a good online source.

Tools

Clean medium-sized ceramic or metal bowl

Clean plate

Measuring spoons in 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 teaspoon

Measuring spoons in 1/2 and 1 tablespoon

Thin-blade butter knife

Spice funnel

Small wire whisk

1 safe-blade spice- or coffee grinder

1 small scoop

Small silicon spatulas

Glass jars with tight-fitting lids

Wash-off labels

Food-safe marker

 

Basic Technique

1. Use the correctly sized measuring spoon to scoop out each ingredient where a specific measure is given.
2. Hold the filled measuring spoon over the plate. Use the blade of the butter knife to cut across the top of the measure, so that any extra falls onto the plate.
3. Transfer the measure to the bowl.
4. Follow steps 1 and 2 until all of the measured ingredients are measured, leveled and deposited.
5. Add loose measures if any.
6. Use the whisk to mix the ingredients thoroughly together.
7. Fit the mouth of a clean glass jar with the spice funnel.
8. Use the scoop to transfer the mixture into the funnel. It may be necessary to shake the funnel occasionally to get all of the spice blend into the jar.

• For mixtures with large ingredients, such as pickling spice, use the scoop to transfer the mixture directly into the jar.
• If warranted, use a small silicon spatula to get the last of the spice blend into the jar.
• Use the marker to write the name of the blend and the date blended on a label. Affix the label to the jar.
• Wash all of the mixing and measuring tools before making the next blend.

Blackening is a Cajun cooking technique in which fish, chicken, vegetables or rice is coated in a rich, hot spice blend before cooking. Appropriate to delta cooking, blackening is a complex flavor: it should not be just hot but pack heat, sweetness, and smokiness into every bite.
 

Blackening Seasoning
2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2 teaspoons Hungarian hot paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dark brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 

No household proprietary spice blend is more specific to household than curry. In Indian cooking, curry is a dish but not necessarily a spice; in British cooking, curry is both. Thus the hot yellow curry powder we all know is actually British, but it wouldn't exist as either a consumer product or a gastric force to be reckoned with absent its Indian origin. Good prepared curry powders to exist; we like Sun Madras Curry Powder. More important to your home pantry is a homemade Garam Masala, which is the fundamental spice blend of Indian cooking, including but not limited to curries. For cooking many Indian dishes, you may need curry leaves, which are available in spice stores and Asian markets.
 

Garam Masala

1 cinnamon stick

3 dried bay leaves

1/4 cup cumin seeds

1/4 cup coriander seeds

1 tablespoon green cardamom pods

1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns

1/2 tablespoon white peppercorns

2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 tablespoon fenugreek

1/2 tablespoon dried mustard

1/2 tablespoon ground turmeric

Add all of the whole ingredients to a small frying pan. Turn the burner to medium high and move the pan back and forth over the heat, agitating the ingredients, until the ingredients begin to give off their fragrance, approximately one minute. Turn off the heat and move the pan off of the burner until the pan and the spices are cool enough to touch. Transfer the cooled toasted spices to the well of a safe-blade spice or coffee grinder. Grind the mixture until it is medium-fine. The mixture should be very fragrant. It is okay if some large pieces remain. Mix the dried mustard and ground turmeric into the ground spices. 

 

Chili Seasoning

1 tablespoon arbol or pequin chile powder

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground coffee

1/2 teaspoon table salt

 

Steak Rub

This recipe was published in Urban Home Blog's Guide to Steak, but it's so good it's worth repeating here.

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

1/2 tablespoon hot paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram

1/2 teaspoon dried mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground coffee

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon table salt

 

Pickling Spice

4 bay leaves, crumbled

1-1/2 tablespoons dill seed

1-1/2 tablespoons mustard seed

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 tablespoon fennel seed

1/2 tablespoon whole cloves

1/2 tablespoon coriander

1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon juniper berries

1/2 teaspoon whole allspice

Almost all baked goods are best spiced by following individual recipes, but both apple and pumpkin pie spices are good reliables to keep on hand. Note the difference between the two: the hot-sweet flavor profile of Urban Home Blog's official recipe for apple pie spice enhances the sweetness of the apples, whereas the flavor profile for pumpkin pie spice enhances the darker, subtler flavor of pumpkin.

 

Apple Pie Spice

1/4 cup ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

 

Pumpkin Pie Spice

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

4 teaspoons ground nutmeg

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground mace

 

Cinnamon Sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground allspice

 

Vanilla Sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean

Lay the vanilla bean lengthways on a clean cutting board and safely use a sharp knife to slice the vanilla bean lengthways into two long strips. Working carefully to protect the vanilla bean seeds, hold each half over the sugar. Carefully scrape the knife down the inside of the bean so that the tiny seeds fall into the sugar. They will also stick to the knife; swirl the knife in the sugar to release those seeds into the sugar. Place the scraped vanilla bean into a glass jar for future use as an infusing agent.