What are your favorite spices? Salt and pepper are great right off the bat. I use them everywhere, and liberally. These are the classics for a reason I love herbs that can be grown in your garden to spice things up as well. Rosemary is delicious on roasts, and I also put in on potatoes in the oven. I use thyme for chicken, and basil for my sauces. Also people undervalue garlic and onion powder, those can add great flavors to BBQ meats and stews.
I didn't know salt was a spice But joking aside, I've tried lots of spices before and never liked most of them. These days the only spice I use is Cayenne. Occasionally I can add a little bit of parsley to some meals I prepare but that's maybe once in a month?
Cinnamon is a favorite for me. I put cinnamon in my coffee, oat meal and when I make cookies or muffins, I add cinnamon to the batter. Other than salt and pepper, rosemary is a favorite, I like to add rosemary to my veggies when they are cooking, I love the aroma of rosemary. I don't know if you would call Old Bay Seasoning a spice but I do use it alot when I cook.
By far the most used spice in my kitchen would be garlic. I love garlic in all of its forms. Minced garlic, garlic powder, fresh garlic, pickled garlic, etc. Each type has a particular use in cooking and sometimes I will use more than one type to get the results I am looking for. One of the most interesting side dishes I made recently was so simple I can't understand why I never thought of it before, Garlic Mac & Cheese with chives. Tasted like a gooey garlic cheese bread that just fills your mouth with happiness.
Salt, pepper and garlic are probably the most used. I think I may use them in just about every meal we have. Following up would be basil and parsley (even though I don't really think these qualify as spices).
Black pepper, white pepper, and cayenne pepper are my favorites! They're simple, but I feel like I use them almost daily.
We love chili peppers, particularly the small ones. We love these peppers so much that we dry a batch of them for storing so we have enough stock of dried chili pepper in our pantry when not in season. Garlic is also a favorite. When in peak season, we use garlic on all of our dishes. During off season we buy the dried minced garlic from our local deli. Turmeric is also an important spice we use daily. We chop a small amount, the size of a thumbnail and mince the fresh turmeric to mix with rice during cooking. We also use turmeric for making sambal sauce that's perfect for grilled chicken. Those are my top 3 spices.
