Articles under the Herbs & Spices topic that contain recipes and formulas for creating your own seasoning blends using fresh herbs and dried spices.
"Speak not - whisper not;
Here blowest thyme and bergamot;
Softly on the evening hour,
Sweet herbs in their spices shower."
Walter de la Mare, The Sunken Garden, 1917
I love creating my own unique herb and spice blends. If you happen to be an avid herb gardener, like I am, you can go outside and pick the ingredients fresh from your garden. I'm spoiled - I live in SE Florida so my herb garden grows year round. I very rarely have to use dried herbal ingredients in any of my seasoning mixes.
Sometimes you can't find the exact seasonings you need in your grocery store so you may want to try making your own seasoning blends. If you are using dried ingredients, you can make up small batches to have on hand whenever a recipe calls for a particular spice or herb blend. Many grocery stores now sell packages of fresh herbs, on a year round basis, in the fresh produce section.
I have even seen tubes of ground, fresh herbs displayed right next to the pacakages of fresh herbs. Some of my friends swear by these herbs in a tube, however, I have never found the tubes of herbs to be very appetizing. They are like some kind of weird astronaut food. I tried the tube of cilantro once - YUCK!!!! Nothing like fresh cilantro, I threw it right into the garbage. Just another reason to support local food producers and use seasonal ingredients whenever possible.
Classic French Herb Blends; Bouquet Garni, Fines Herbes and Herbs de Provence.
Traditional Spice Blends; Cinnamon Sugar, Lemon Pepper, Poultry Seasoning and More.
Ethnic Spice Blends; Harissa, Garam Masala, Curry Powder, Chinese Five Spice Powder and More.
Common Herbal Substitutes; Lemon, Basil and Savory - Replacing One Herb with Another.
