Tasting Notes

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavour, colour, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. In the kitchen, spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavouring.

Herbs

Basil - Tastes italian, goes well in tomato sauces and perking up shitty pizzas

Bay leaves - See thyme, tastes different, does the same job.

Borage - bit like cucumber in taste, can decorate with the blue flowers and use it in a leaf salad too. More of a chef wankery herb than anything.

Chives - weak onion flavour. Not really anything it can't work with unless the flavours get too rich. Salads, light sauces, chopped up and sprinkled as chef wank.

Coriander - every cuisine in the world with the possible exception of inuit types use this stuff. Leaves - gentle citrus lift, seeds - stronger citrus flavours with nutty overtones too, roots - kick to the face strength compared to the other two, used in thai stuff for the potency. All bits lose flavour quickly when picked/ground/chopped.

Dill - good for tea apparently, I wouldn't know, I'm not often away from red tea or earl grey. You've probably all seen it in pickle jars, it's good for fish sauces and with white meats. A bit in an oil/wine vinegar dressing is nice on greenery too. Gentle flowery flavour, bit grassy and lifting.

Lemongrass - lemony, bitter bright flavour for thai/oriental stuff. Pretty much essential when paired with chilli and galangal/ginger to make thai dishes. Goes very woody when dried, needs soaking. Don't let it get damp or it will go the same was as normal grass silage would, stink from all the unstable esters and whatnot.

Marjoram - tastes a bit like oregano but sweeter, very strong. Good in a herb crust on chicken.

Mint - pepper/spear/pennyroyal - good in thick spicy Mediterranean/near east cuisine. I'm a fan of this in a five bean/apricot/chick pea stew, handfuls of the stuff along with loads of coriander make a wonderful aroma, just drop it all in at the very last second.

Oregano - Another one for tomato sauces, classic in italian and mexican, so good in chillis etc. also, parasites don't like it, which is handy.

Rosemary - lamb gravy needs this stuff in. You can also chop it up weeny and bash it into butter for a wonderful herby butter. Strong, slightly astringent flavours, slightly cough medicine in large amounts. Adds depth and richness unless you use too much, then it adds toilet duck flavours. Possibly stops shaky old person mental diseases

Tarragon - sublime taste in rich fish sauces like veloute, quite strong aniseed flavour. Only needs a few wispy strands to get the flavour lacing through the sauce. Soggy bits taste fucking terrible, trim harshly.

Thyme - Makes stuff taste rich and awesome, great in stews/pies/chilli, also awesome in sauces, good with sheep based products.

Spices

Cayenne Pepper - Spicy thing, makes stuff have heat, not overpowering, quite distinct taste.

Caraway seeds and cumin seeds in a pepper mill make a sort of instant curry powder.

Cumin - Pretty much curry flavour, also good in chilli and on potato wedges.

Five spice - Makes stuff taste a bit chinesey, often containts Onion, Star Anise, Garlic, Black Pepper, Fennel, Ginger, Cassia (tastes like cinnamon) and Cloves

Garlic - Wards off vampires, attracts the french. the finer your chop it, the garlicier it is, if you just smash it or slice it, it's nice and sweet.

Juniper berries and a clove spice up veg soups and stocks if you grind them up well.

Salt - Tastes salty, also acts as a flavour enhancer, worth buying Maldon sea salt for general use, it's much nicer than table salt.