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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Buying spices - where, how much, how to store, etc.
So those of you that read my blog sometimes might have seen that I'm trying to cook more. I have a few things I'm going to try to make in the next few weeks. My goal is to make at least one, but hopefully 2+, dinners a week. Enough to have leftovers for my lunch the next day and possibly H's snack/breakfast.
A lot of these recipes call for spices and herbs that are fresh, but in small amounts. Rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel (both dried and fresh).
Do you normally just buy them fresh and allow some of it to spoil and then toss it? Do you buy them dried to avoid the waste? Can you freeze them?
Also - where do you buy them usually?
Lastly - what's the best place to buy olive oil - Costco? TJ's?
Re: Buying spices - where, how much, how to store, etc.
If you look at your dried spices, there will usually be a recommendation as to how much dried spice is equal to fresh. It's typically one teaspoon dried to 1 tablespoon fresh.
If a recipe is asking for you add fresh herbs right at the end, I would try to go fresh. Dried herbs add flavor after they've been in a dish for a while - good for pasta sauces. If I have to add herbs right at the beginning, I usually use dried.
You can freeze herbs. I've heard the best way is to mince the herb, and then put in in an ice cube tray with water. Once frozen, you can pull out those ice cubes as needed and just throw them into recipes. Just make sure to measure the herbs before you put them in the tray (about 1 tablespoon each).
I buy some fresh herbs as needed, but I also have a big planter on my deck with parsley, basil, and thyme. Herbs are kind of high-maintenance (they need to be watered a lot), but I like I can get some as needed and not throw away those little packets.
WOW!! Thanks Marshy! Bookmarked this.
Of course I trust advice coming from a Master FARMER.
LOL! I forgot to say, sometimes I freeze whole herbs, but they get freezer burn if frozen for too long. Just make sure to wash and DRY very well and double-bag them if you do that.
I've always bought my olive oil at Von's - just Bertolli or some other similar brand.
looking back now, I wish I would have purchased bulk herbs - they are usually cheaper and you can buy in smaller amounts. I remember hearing that dried herbs only last about a year, so buying at costco is pretty pointless unless you are cooking for an army. you can buy little containers at ikea for cheap, I'm sure. also, TJs has really cheap spices, I even bought some when I went home - the grocery stores easily charge $5 for a bottle, it was like 1.99 at TJs.
I don't usually follow recipe herb instructions to the T - if I have dried on hand, I just throw in a few sprinkles. especially if a recipe calls for 3-4 fresh herbs, that sh!t adds up at the grocery store.
I grow a lot of herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme, chives, and mint) and have the rest in dried form in one of those spinning things that I got a billion years ago from a Le Gourmet Chef outlet. I need to replace those spices -- you're really only supposed to keep dried ones for a year or 18 months after opening.
Some friends bought me a box of assorted Penzey's spices for Christmas. They are $$$, but SO GOOD. You can smell the quality as soon as you open them. As far as other fresh herbs, ditto C on the ice cube thing. Ice cube trays are also good for storing stock in easy-to-use form.
i've found a lot of spices for super cheap at fresh & easy. i've bought fresh ones before, but they always end up going bad and i hate throwing them out.
good to know they can be frozen, although i lack space in my freezer
guess i'll stick to dried ones.
Henry's also has the bulk spices. You can just buy what you need.
I have also heard Penzey's spices are great and they are not that expensive but you have to pay shipping unless you want to trek up to Torrance (the closest location).
I buy my olive oil at Costco. I cook with it almost every night so I go through it pretty quickly so it does not go bad.
I have also used the frozen cubed basil from Trader Joe's and I have also seen tubes of spices in the produce department.
Diane I buy my spices at Smart and Final. They are in bulk and pretty inexpensive. I spend the same price on the big bottles as I do on the small ones from the grocery store. Good luck!
This is what I use. Only like $1.99 at Trader Joes