I’m sure you’ve stood in the aisle at the grocery store in front of all those racks, looking for just the right bottle to shake into your food. Everything from the common black pepper to the slightly more exotic tumeric. Hell, maybe you’ve even purchased some saffron. But, what are all these things? Are they herbs? Spices? Seasonings?
Here’s a quick breakdown, so you know what you’re holding in your hand.
Seasoning
Any recipe or TV cook will often remind you “season as you go” or “season to taste”, but what does this mean? In most cooking, seasoning is the addition of salt and black pepper. Salt is, well, salty, but also does a magic trick of enhancing the flavors of the ingredients in a dish.
Sprinkle some salt on a tomato, and you taste a bolder tomato. Do the same to steak, and you get a beefier flavor. Plus, our bodies love salt. It’s a crucial chemical in making all that wonderful biochemistry function properly.
The use of black pepper is a little more complicated. Black pepper really became a staple of seasoning in 17th century France when chefs rediscovered the little, dried berry that had been heavily used by Roman soldiers. There are unproven stories that Louis the XIV loved adding black pepper to all his dishes, and as the king goes, so does France. It became the rage to eat like royalty, and the tradition has stuck around.
Herbs
This is a much easier definition: herbs come from the leaf of a plant. Basil, oregano, cilantro (sometimes called “the soap herb”), chives, dill, etc. These are all herbs. Many come in both fresh and dried varieties. Flavors will be different depending on the usage and when you include the herb in a dish, so experiment. But, a rule of thumb is that dried herbs are cooked, and fresh should be added at the end of cooking.
Spices
By process of elimination, everything else is a spice. Roots, stems, flowers, berries, seeds, etc. These are spices. Yes, technically black pepper is a berry, therefor a spice, but it’s commonly used in seasoning a dish, so that’s where it gets lumped. Just like herbs, you can have spices in a variety of forms. Whole, ground, fresh, and dried are all options.
Some plants yield both herbs and spices. For example, cilantro is the leaf, but coriander is the seed.
By combing herbs, spices, and seasoning, you can get many wonderful flavors. If you don’t want to experiment, feel free to contact Two Guys Spices for ready-to-use blends.