Stew, stew and spices

[vanbrat]

My wonderful D I L made me a big, huge pot of stew this last weekend. She is a great cook but their kitchen is super tiny so when she comes over for any longer then 1 day, she takes over the kitchen for at least one meal. And my house always smells soooooo good. She made a very good stew this time, but I missed the spices and herbs she put in it. She had her own blend in a little baggy. She is a master with those tiny things.

So, what are your favorite herbs and seasonings? I cook with enough garlic to kill every vampire within a mile of my kitchen, and I take enough garlic in my van kitchen to keep them away to. I also use a ton of onions both dried and fresh. I have 18 tiny jars of herbs that travel with me, and they are on the back wall of the kitchen in the van. Hubby just sighs and rolls his eyes a bit when I fill the kitchen before a trip but then again, he does like my cooking. Everything has parsley and lots of chives and sometimes coriander and thyme and basil and cumin and sage etc. I had to learn to cook without garlic for a while as I had a kido in my care that was allergic to garlic. Boy was that a challenge! Is there something, other than salt and pepper you won't do without?

 

[Sky King]

Garlic is a natural antibiotic. My wife makes the best chili & adds brown sugar which eliminates any digestion issues some people have and gives it a great flavor

 

[INTJohn]

Yeah; I second on the garlic. I don’t use salt & pepper at all.
100% pure garlic powder.

 

[eDJ_]

vanbrat wrote:

Is there something, other than salt and pepper you won't do without?

Yes, there are numerous things and copy cat hack's to make seasonings that incorporate several herbs & spices into one small container. Lawry's Seasoning Salt was one of the first I experienced as a kid. (and there are copy cat recipes to make your own and save $$$) Nomads may not have much room so these "Multiple Seasoning" concoctions make a lot of sense. Also, there are numerous types of salt which impart different flavor profiles. If you get a chance taste a bit of table salt....and then a bit of Kosher salt.....and see the differernce. A lot of processing for pickling, rubs & brines for meat cooking rely on Kosher salt.

Similar with pepper. Black pepper has one flavor profile and white pepper has another. These both grow on the same tree. There are green pepper corns too and they are more flavorful than black as they are harvested earlier. (white has a sharper quality and black is more potent, while green is fresh & tangy) Over all salt and pepper are often under rated. Black pepper is the most commonly used spice/herb in the world.

When you wonder what herbs & spices to use to brightern the flavor of a stew, consider what is in the stew. There are herbs & spices that work well with each of those items. Your seasoning can be built around that data.

This website "spice rack" showcases many pairings of herbs and spices with vegetables, meats, grains, fish & seafood, etc. These charts come from 1940's & 50's women's magazines. Anyone can learn to season the food they prepair
using this information.

Remember too......many of the best recipes use only a few items in them including the seasonings.

Spice Rack is in the edjautoservices site in the Time to Eat section.

Spice Rack



.

 

[vanbrat]

I agree whole heartedly there are lots of good different salts and if ever we get back down to the Oregon coast, I want to go to the salt factory there and check them out. My dad liked a mixture of peppers, and he ate lots of it. I love to add different spices. Ginger is one that is so yummy in lots of things it adds a bit of a fresh little bite to so many things..... DIL is really good with ginger too, she adds it to just about everything. I used to just use it for sweets, but I am learning from her to add it to so much more. She also got me into sweet chili sauce. That stuff so yummy!