I'm embarrassed to admit that I tend to buy some of these and end up never using them, sometimes because I find out that I don't like the taste and sometimes I just completely forget about them. The only ones that I always got to finish all the way through are curry powder, garlic powder, and hamburger seasoning. Mostly because I use all of these in fried rice which I cook regularly. Which bottled seasonings do you guys always make sure you have, and what do you use them on? I'm hoping to get some suggestions on which ones to try out and hopefully figure out where I could use them most.
You should ask around and see if any markets or stores near you sell spices by weight. A store by me sells spices by the OZ and I love it! I can buy just as much as I need for a recipe. It beats buying $6/8 containers at once. My basics are chili flakes, chili powder, curry powder, ground mustard, garlic, onion, mustard, italian, ginger, oregano, parsley, smoked paprika, and fresh ground pepper. Beyond that if I need them I'll pick them up at the store. If you invest in a spice set it'll cost you a pretty penny but if you cook regularly you'll use the spices every day and pay for itself before you know it!
One of my favorites lately is a dirt cheap spice blend I've been using on everything, Spice Time garlic & pepper seasoning: It's basically just a blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little sugar. I really like it in place of stuff like Lawry's Seasoned Salt or Morton Season-All since it's not loaded with paprika and too many other flavors. There is a time and a place for those blends as well, but I get tired of them if I use them on everything. This seasoning instead is much more universal and has just the right ratio of all it's ingredients. Plus that little bit of sugar in it really does make a difference when cooking. It gives the food a more "umami" like quality and rounds out the savory/salty flavors. I've seen the sugar thing often done in Asian recipes, such as ones that use salty ingredients like soy sauce and fish sauce - they often call for a little sugar to offset the saltiness. The other added benefit is that sugar caramelizes nicely on the surface of whatever it is you are cooking, so sauteed stuff gets a nice golden color and grilled stuff gets great grill marks on it. That said, I also have a large collection of spices I will probably never use again, like Mace, Nutmeg, Yellow Curry Powder, etc... One in particular that really drives me nuts is the bottle of Garam Masala I have. You can smell it plain as day even with the lid screwed on tight - the odor just seeps out everywhere and permeates everything.
