What spices do you keep on hand?

At the grocery store, I buy mariana sauce rather than traditional pasta sauce because usually the pasta sauce is flavored with meat or added cheeses and I can't be sure it's vegetarian. To compensate, when I'm heating the sauce, I add an Italian seasoning blend to give it a little more flavor. No complaints yet ;)  

So when I ran out of Italian seasoning the other day, I didn't want to run to the store in the middle of heating my sauce. I starting wondering if I had to buy more or if I already had all the spices on hand to make my own (found a recipe here if you're interested). I was close! (no basil or rosemary) 

It got me thinking, what spices do you keep on hand? We go through Italian seasoning, black pepper, parsley, onion powder and Old Bay easily, but what about all those other spices in the pantry? I usually buy specifically with a recipe or dish in mind, but the Garam Masala and Montreal Chicken seasoning were gifts from my parents. (I love edible gifts!)

So here they are:
What spices are in your pantry?

Comments

  1. Hmmm... well due to my allergies I can't use most of those spice mixtures because they always seem to have something that I can't have in them. So the ones I always keep on hand are basil, oregano, garlic powder (for when I'm too lazy to use the real thing), rosemary, turmeric, paprika, ground red chili (not chili powder because that usually has cumin in it), cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, ground mustard, bay leaf, ginger, and of course good old salt and pepper! Come to think of it... that's pretty much all the spices I can have because I think I'm allergic to the rest. Well, except for szechuan peppercorns and wasabi - both of which I find WAY too disgusting to consume!

    I've never heard of Old Bay though... what is it?

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    1. That's terrible - I know you've mentioned your food allergies before, but I didn't realize that included spices! I have garlic powder and onion powder for when I'm feeling lazy too :)

      I just looked up Old Bay on wikipedia - it was invented in Maryland and I guess it's an East Coast thing. It's really popular around here for seafood, french fries, potato chips . . here's the list of what it contains: mustard, paprika, celery salt, bay leaf, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mace, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. I like it because it has a little kick, but it's not too spicy (if that makes any sense).

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  2. My favourites are chilli flakes, cumin, coriander and cinnamon :) I've never even heard of Old Bay - is it a mix or a single spice?

    I posted about my favourite spices a while ago: http://www.economiesofkale.com/2013/09/favourite-spices/

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    1. Old Bay is a mix - I just looked it up and realized it's a regional thing. It was invented in Maryland, and mostly popular on the East Coast of the US . . it's got: mustard, paprika, celery salt, bay leaf, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mace, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger! It's perfect on crabs, and I like it on french fries instead of salt. :)

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  3. I have 40 spice jars. My favourites that I use in just about everything are ginger, allspice, cumin and basil. Where I live, summer savoury is widely used in soups, stews. stuffings, etc.

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    1. Summer savory - love that name! I need to get some ginger, I usually make gingersnaps for Thanksgiving and Christmas, mmm :) What else do you use ginger for?

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  4. We tend to use a lot of Oregano, Smoked Paprika and Chinese Five Spice more than anything else at the moment!

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    1. Oregano, yum! And I just saw a soup recipe that called for smoked paprika . . I need to check that out.

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  5. Good question, I think I inventoried them somewhere a while back. There's a few to make 'taco' spice, as I hate the packaging and the unknowns of buying it. The BF will even mix it so that's a win! Definitely cinnamon, ground ginger, cumin, cardamon (ground and seeds), chili powder and flakes. What else? Ground coriander seeds. I'm sure we have pepercorns, but they get ground up. Mixed herbs (seldom use those), Bay leaves (far too many). Actually I had a 'spice' party for my first housewarming, didn't work as well as my imaginings, but still! Garlic powder is a recent edition, but we don't have this 'Bay' business.

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    1. It's nice that your BF will mix the taco spice for you! The blog I found the Italian mix on had lists for tons of other spice mixes, so I'll be checking over there before buying any more. I would struggle to use bay leaves . . I only use them once in a blue moon in soup.

      Yeah, Old Bay is just a East Coast thing in the US. Bummer.

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    2. I hear of Old Bay a little on some blogs.

      We use bay leaves to flavour mince for lasagne - which I know as a vego you don't eat. What else? Can't really think! They do stop pantry moths though, so good even if you don't use them.

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    3. How interesting! Wikipedia says bay leaves will also keep away flies so I'll have to buy some next spring. We live near a swamp, and get flies every summer.

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  6. Oops! I tried to leave a comment on this post a while back but I was on my phone...phone seems to have eaten it (happens often...) We have those same spices plus a few extra. I used to buy so many flavoured "jars" of sauces and mixes. I feel embarrassed thinking back! Now we just use our spices for a seemingly endless variety of dishes.

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    1. No worries, I used to buy a ton of premade stuff too! I'm slowly getting better about making my own :)

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  7. I have dozens. one drawer of 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46305352@N00/8667139392/

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