1-2 favourite herb or spice

[skhill]

I just noticed I'm low on cumin. Again. So that'd have to be my favorite spice, with cinamon a close second. Herbs: basil, absolutely...

But it seems like I need to restock catnip most often (there are 3 little junkies in my house).

[OakLeaf]

I couldn't choose one or two. Yeesh, what season of the year is it? Are the veggies in my garden or my fridge sweet, tart, earthy, pungent, green, ...? Am I cooking Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern or Indian, or branching out to some other cuisine?

Shootingstar... really? If you isolate it, and take a bite out of freshly harvested Italian parsley, the flavor doesn't seem strong to you, so that you can taste what it adds to risotti, soups, salads, etc.?


ETA: Okay, some people would consider garlic a seasoning, and I guess if I had to pick one flavor that would seriously hamper my repertoire if it was missing, that would be it. But to me, garlic is a vegetable.

[shootingstar]

ETA: Okay, some people would consider garlic a seasoning, and I guess if I had to pick one flavor that would seriously hamper my repertoire if it was missing, that would be it. But to me, garlic is a vegetable.

Well, true I forgot about garlic..same category as onion. Most definitely it is a 'spice'. I actually didn't start having garlic in home cooked dishes until I left home. My parents actually came from a garlic growing region of China but...they avoided using garlic at home.

I know this sounds abit wierd. But I was told in times of starvation, people ate garlic bulbs. Maybe that was the turn-off, raw garlic. Dunno.

[tangentgirl]

If we are counting garlic, then yes, definitely garlic. Mmmmmm.

I have a little dried mix I like to make up and call the 3 Amigos: thyme, basil and oregano. It goes on almost everything.

[ASammy1]

Most definitely garlic! Mmmm parsley... And rosemary... And oregano... Oh, and I LOVE fresh ground pepper.

[arielmoon]

Garlic and fresh basil. LOVE IT!

[GLC1968]

Just two?

Garlic, most definitely.
Vying for the second spot would be cinnamon, rosemary, basil, oregano & pepper.

[shootingstar]

But it seems like I need to restock catnip most often (there are 3 little junkies in my house).

Cute.

Oakleaf, I should qualify that once I had a tabouleh dish that was made with a ton of Italian parsley..it was so strong that I disliked it. It must have been a cup of fresh parsley in that dish.

But yes, any parsley of normal amounts in any dish, I can't really taste it much at all. I know there are different varieties of parsley. For instance, a sprig of parsely on a dish..doesn't add any taste for me. Even if it's an hors d'oeuvre.

Guess asking a gardener this question, is like eeny-miney-mo, which herb shall it be? Like choosing chocolate bon-bon variety.

In terms of sweet spice, we use interestingly...aniseed. He uses it more than I because of the sorts of dishes he makes. He'll add it to certain salad dressings, some savoury sauces and of course roasting pears, etc. crushed aniseed is very nice. And combined with grated /minced ginger root.

I used to dislike aniseed because it remind me of Old fusty European traditions. But then, I became more familiar with certain quality baked European desserts which made me convert.

[zoom-zoom]

Garlic and ginger are definitely my faves...I LOVE Asian cuisine.