The Beginner’s Pantry: Starting a Spice Rack from Scratch
September 12, 2011
•Le Cordon Bleu
•Chicago
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The Beginner’s Pantry: Starting a Spice Rack from Scratch
As any chef at a Chicago cooking school knows it is essential to keep a few key spices and seasoning on hand to bring out the flavors in foods that you prepare. If you are just getting started in the culinary arts here are some basic items that you will need to start your own spice rack
Salt & Pepper
While this may seem obvious, the importance of these two seasonings cannot be overemphasized. If you are preparing the perfect cut of steak often times a little salt and pepper is the only spice necessary to really bring out the meats flavor. Start with both sea and kosher salt and a variety of whole pepper corns as well as good quality grinders so that you can always add the freshest salt and pepper to your dishes.
Sweet Spices
Every pantry needs two distinctive types of spices; those for baking and those for cooking. Your baking spices will all be sweet in flavor. The most popular baking spices are cinnamon, nutmeg, ground or whole cloves, ginger and vanilla extract. It is a good idea to also include cream of tartar since it is included in many common baking recipes you can also add anything that suits your own individual baking habits such as pumpkin pie spice or almond extract, every home spice rack will be a little different.
Savory Spices
Now that you have all of your baking needs covered you will want to assemble the most commonly called for cooking spices. Parsley, rosemary, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, cumin and cilantro will give you a good base for preparing most meat, poultry and pasta dishes. If you like making Mexican or other spicy cuisine be sure to stock cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper. Other good additions to the home spice rack include anise, fennel, curry powder and turmeric.
Spice Mixes
If you would like to prepare a flavorful meal and want to save time there are also a variety of seasoning mixes you can keep on hand. Jerk seasoning is perfect for making spicy Caribbean style chicken, Cajun seasoning will compliment most seafood dishes and garlic or lemon salt will add instant flavor to any sauce or meat dish.
Once you have assembled all of your spices you will want to find a space in your kitchen that is dry, dark and cool. This will help extend the life of your spices. Try designating one shelf for sweet spices and another for savory this will make finding the right spice much easier in the middle of preparing a meal. With a well stocked spice rack you will find that you can experiment with a wide variety of recipes. If you would like to learn more about the culinary arts Chicago cooking schools offer a wide variety of classes that will be just as helpful to the experienced cook as they are to the beginner.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago. Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago offers culinary arts and pâtisserie and baking training programs in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu/Chicago for more information.
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