Hungarian paprika is awesome, I like to mix the sweet and hot varieties 50-50, and often use smoked paprika on top of that. I like paprika
Smoked paprika ‼
The only 5 spices you'll ever need:
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Salt
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Pepper
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Onion powder
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Garlic powder
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MSG
There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that doesn't benefit from these 5. You can always add other spices, too, but these are the baseline for every single dish that isn't meant to be sweet. And even on some sweet stuff, it's pretty good. I tried it on waffles once and it was amazing.
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Salt, garlic, ancho chili powder, marjoram
Garlic, Onion, Paprika, Lemon Pepper, Gochugaru.
Bay leaves in savory dishes
Nutmeg on/in sweet things
Smoked paprika. It just adds so much depth to anything that I add it to! I'm also a big fan of cumin and turmeric.
Salt, Pepper, Cumin and nutmeg
Bebir (Aleppo pepper) - it's a very mild red smoked chili that has incredible earthiness, and only a soupçon of warmth. I put this in everything, even dishes that are supposed to taste bright
Espresso - I make lazy pot espresso and save the dregs. I put the coffee in so many dishes. Sometimes where the base ingredients are too acidic or sweet. But I will also add it in gravy, sauces, stews, braise my meat with it. A couple tablespoons in a pot of spicy soup. It's so versatile and deep
Cane sugars - raw, turbinado, or demerara - minimally processed where the molasses remains in the crystals. I know sugar has a bad reputation in our insane twisted diet lifestyle, but it's fine for a cooking, and it's amazing to caramelize things when frying or to take the edge off acidity. You need the tiniest amount. I will also pulverize it in a mortar and pestle... A teaspoon sprinkled on kettle corn is ludicrously delicious
Does cooking with espresso mean all your food is caffeinated? Or does it cook out eventually like alcohol?
That's a good question.
I don't know if the molecule is destroyed or transformed.
But I use so little that it wouldn't affect anybody anyways... I don't even think a child who is naive to the molecule would feel a thing
Edit... My curiosity got the best of me, I wasn't able to Google the answer directly, but I found articles asking if reheating coffee destroys the molecule. Apparently an organic chemist got involved and stated that the molecules pretty stable, it will only break down around 350 F. So that would mean most of my food probably has the full effect of whatever caffeine was there.
I accidentally poisoned a love interest when I made her lasagna with espresso in the sauce. Turned out she was allergic to coffee, not caffeine. I didn't know... but whoops a daisy lol
I use paprika in pretty much everything I cook
Black pepper and chili flake are my go-to. Chipotle powder too. I'm also a sucker for za'atar, which is amazing on roasted potatoes.
Cinnamon. Love it to bits.
Yeah, cinnamon ("true" and cassia) bark is a great spice!
“All the spices!” lol I really enjoy Tarragon and Black Garlic. Not necessarily together.
Salt and pepper in every dish. Hands down my favorite.
I mean its in nearly every dang recipe, at least salt almost always is.
table salt and ground black pepper are the undisputed most powerful power couple of all western food
Smoked paprika, turmeric, coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon
And salt/pepper
Chili flakes, garlic powder, cumin & coriander combo, turmeric are my top spices.
Aromat.
I wanna say cilantro, but...
Can't go wrong with a combination of garlic, ginger, and chili pepper.
Sichuan peppercorn, dried chiles, and coriander seed are probably my top 3.
I have this roasted garlic paprika blend I really love and use as a shortcut for a lot of dishes. It's got other spices too but it's just delicious. I think it is McCormick.
My next favorites are Johnny's seasoning salt, black pepper, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, basil, Italian seasoning. All of these would go in a vegetable soup.
MSG is also nice in moderation. And cinnamon for sweet things of course.
Based on frequency/amount of use, cumin.
Based on my favorite flavors, mustard seed, oregano, smoked paprika, lemon thyme, dill.
(The above excludes the obvious salt and pepper, as well as onion and garlic since I use those in enough quantity to be considered full-blown veggies, not spices.)
Sumac! And garlic, paprika, and asafoetida. Love ‘em all
Oh my God sumac is so good as a topping on slightly oily beef... Droool
Do chilli flakes and black pepper count? Otherwise I don't really use spices... The food is plenty seasoned by the mountain of garlic and black pepper I use
Paprika, everywhere
Also Madras Curry
Whichever has a discount when I'm shopping.
Tumeric paprika and cumin on potatoes.
Paprika garlic and chilli on chicken.
Coriander/cilantro on everything asian.
And a tiny bit of salt and sugar on all.
Black pepper. Chili pepper. Sichuan peppercorns ...
... you might be spotting a pattern?
Mala lover?
Definitely. Also Chongqing hot pots.
Probably cayenne pepper.
I'm horrible in cooking, so basil and garlic powder. And maybe white pepper. I have no idea how to use the other spice tbh.
Braai spice
