Essential Spices/Seasonings/Flavors

Okay, so you don't need an entire cabinet to do some really very excellent cooking and baking.  I will outline what I think the most basic spice essentials are to make a wide variety of dishes and baked goods.  Each spice is linked to a descriptive page.

Most Essential:

• Garlic
• Let's face it: it's good in everything (and good for your heart)
• I like to buy it in bulbs so that I have more options of mincing, chopping, or using whole; however, the pre-minced jars of garlic do have some merit for their ease
• There is a remarkable variety of garlic so I encourage you to try different ones.  At some farmer's markets, you may find a stand that deals entirely in garlic so you can sample and learn different uses for the plant.
• Kosher Salt
• The coarse grind and strong flavor of Kosher salt means that you can use less of it than traditional varieties.  Additionally, the coarse grind is also good as a means to help break up herbs in things like pestos
• Coarse Grind Black Pepper
• Again, coarse grind means strong flavor.  Go big and get the large "restaurant grade" containers at a local restaurant supply store
• Italian Seasoning
• Contains a mixture of commonly used herbs in Italian cooking: basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary.
• Remarkable versatile in a wide variety of cooking.
• Cayenne Pepper
• Easy addition to simply add some heat to your dishes.
• Chili Powder
• contains cayenne, often, but sometimes other spices too.  Often lends a smoky flavor.
• This is a place where spending more may yield a better product, but the cheap stuff is okay too
• Cinnamon
• Pretty much essential to any dessert making, but also has uses in cooking.  For instance, a bit of cinnamon in chili or stew makes for a very interesting and delicious dish
• You can buy the ground cinnamon or have fun with grating the cinnamon sticks yourself.  I've found that by grinding my own (using a zester, actually), I got a very strong flavor
• Vanilla
• Again, essential for baking.
• Be sure to buy the "pure vanilla extract", not the imitation

Less Essential but very nice to have

• Cumin
• A big part of Spanish cooking and you'll find it in the southwest too.  A marvelous addition to soups
• Paprika
• To a lot of people, just a garnish, but paprika adds a subtle, earthy flavor to many dishes.  I love it in sweet corn, chard, and many vegetable soups
• All of the ingredients of your Italian Seasoning
• Having them all separately allows you more control over the final flavor of your dishes.  Also, allows you to make things with Greek flavoring (more oregano), or a traditional rosemary lamb dish, etc.
• A much cheaper alternative to saffron if you want to make yellow rice
• Bay Leaves
• A great flavor enhancer and addition to many soups and sauces
• Also a natural bug repellant
• Almond Extract
• A nice thing to have to flavor various pastries, frostings, etc.
• In fact, having several pure extracts (not imitation flavorings), like lemon and orange create a lot of versatility in your baking production.
• Curry
• Pretty self-explanatory for what to use this for
• Ginger
• This ingredient has many more uses than many people believe.
• A great addition to some soups (black bean, squash, etc.), curries, marinades, etc.
• Also versatile for digestion issues: add some to tea or just eat some plain pickled ginger and you'll feel great.
• And ginger cookies-->yum!
• I do like to get whole ginger for the same reason as buying whole garlic: I can grate it if I want or chop it or slice it for pickling.  If you're just going to want minced ginger, I'd recommend the kind that comes in a tube and is refrigerated.  It's often by the produce at the store.  The ginger in the jar has almost no flavor, so don't waste your money.

There's certainly many many more spices to be had, but these are the most very essential.