Spice Seasoning Mixes

There's nothing like making your own spice mixes! Not only is it incredibly cheaper, but it tastes soooooooo much better! I can't remember the last time I bought any mixes; the only ones that I have tried were free samples from Penzey's. One of the things that I don't like about pre-mixed, as well as many of the recipes that I see, is the dried garlic and onion powder (I never have liked them), as well as some of the herbs that aren't any good when they are dried, such as basil and parsley. I'll stick with the fresh, for those ingredients.

And having a number of these items in your pantry saves a lot of time in the long run. I always have a few Thai curry pastes in the freezer, and a number of Indian masalas in small jars, to save an enormous amount of time making those kinds of dishes. And I always have salsa negra in the fridge, to add that chipotle flavor to dishes, and nam prik pao, to add that flavor, which is not really attainable using a small amount of fresh ingredients in a dish.

I just made a pint each of classic Thai red curry paste, and green curry paste, and, since I used the last of the sambar powder, I made a batch of that, using a new recipe that sounds good. Here's the link to it:

Mumsey Many years ago, I didn't like Indian food (though I did use curry powder in many dishes, but that's not the same), as well as many middle eastern foods, due to the strong flavor of raw cinnamon, and sometimes cloves, in so much of the food. And all of the spice mixes I bought for these cuisines (even some curry powder), had these "raw" spices in them. And the first Indian cookbook I ever got (by the "best selling Indian CB author" at the time, though I forget the name or the title), gave recipes for masalas, but not one had toasted spices, and she said to simply use store bought, if we didn't want to bother with it. Looking back now, I know that this was why my first attempt at Indian cooking was not something that I liked.

It wasn't until I got the book Mangos and Curry Leaves, (which I only bought because it was by the authors of Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, which is a great book) did I start making dishes that I liked. This book had a recipe for garam masala, in which every spice was toasted, and, to me, this was a revelation! The toasting mellowed the spices, and with those raw cinnamon and clove flavors gone, it didn't taste like I had sprinkled apple pie spice in my savory dishes. This was the only spice mix in that book, but it gave me a hint of what I was doing wrong all these years, and what I was getting in restaurants. And, in two later books that I got, I learned about many more spice mixes, as well as the regions they came from, and the ones that I like the most are those from the southern regions, as they almost always toast the spices.

Another spice mix that I always have on hand is Chinese 5 spice powder. This is mainly star anise flavor, with cloves, cinnamon, szechwan pepper, and ginger. I have had some brands that didn't have enough star anise. Funny thing is, my favorite brand is actually from Thailand. Since I don't use it frequently, I keep a small jar in the fridge, and the rest in a foodsaver pack in the freezer - a good way to preserve ground spices.

Educate us, wheelgarden1.  What do you do with it?

yum... I love star anise. I use the ingredients of your 5 spice mix (only whole, instead of powdered) plus some others to make plum or wild sour cherry chutney with star anise, fresh ginger, whole cloves, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, hot red chile and a splash of red wine vinegar and honey or sugar.