As we all know Herbs and Spices play an important role in our kitchen and have been used since ancient times. They come with so many benefits and add unique flavor and color to our food. I believe they are essential culinary components in any kind of cooking.
As we all know Herbs and Spices play an important role in our kitchen and have been used since ancient times. They come with so many benefits and add unique flavor and color to our food. I believe they are essential culinary components in any kind of cooking.
In this article, I would like to talk about what is the smart way to make use of herbs and spices in our kitchen and what are their health benefits.
Herbs and Spices can be used all year round but I feel the best time to experiment with fresh herbs and spices is spring and summer where you can get all the flavor you need with little effort.
Here are some smart ways to use them:
- Usually, in our fridge we find some herbs just laying around, you should throw them in a salad for extra freshness and flavor, or chop and add them in a homemade salad dressing.
- You can also chop and freeze fresh herbs by putting it in an ice cube tray for later use.
- Fresh herbs like mint, orange, or lemon pair very well with chicken or seafood recipe.
- You can use whole spices such as cloves, cinnamon, etc in recipes that require lengthy cooking because the length of cooking helps to extract the flavor and spread it throughout the food.
- Did you know that if you chop fresh herbs very fine you will get more flavor because the more cut surface exposed the more flavor will be released? Use a kitchen shear or a knife whatever you are comfortable with.
- If you are making cold foods such as a dip, salad dressing, or a sauce add herbs overnight as this will allow flavors to blend very well and you will be amazed by the aroma of that fresh herb.
- Everybody uses a different form of spice in their kitchen, some use powder while others use more crumbled. Remember powdered spices are stronger than crumbled spices since the flavoring chemicals tend to mix with the food easily.
- When you are cooking a dish that can be cooked quickly try to use dried herbs and make sure you crush them this way they can infuse the oil or cooking liquid. You can always use a mortar and pestle for crushing them.
- It’s really up to you what kind of spices and herbs you want to use but you should know that whole dried spices and herbs release their flavors slower than ground ones, so add them toward the beginning of the cooking process.
- Try to add fresh herbs near the end or just before serving to retain their flavor and aroma.
- The benefit of herbs and spices is that they can be used besides serving on a plate. They can easily be used to make delicious drinks. You can make a relaxing tea (that also helps calm the digestive system), steep peppermint or chamomile leaves in hot water using a tea strainer for 10-12 minutes.
- You can make a smoothie even healthier, add turmeric or finely grated ginger and benefit from their amazing anti-inflammatory properties.
- Spice blends that contain seeds are very healthy as they contain powerhouse phytonutrients that add fiber, protein, and healthy fats to your diet. Use blends like Cinnamon and nutmeg with chia seeds.
Substitutes to salt and sugar
Herbs & Spices reduce the need to add sugar, salt, and make a meal appetizing if you want to reduce salt in your dish. You can simply choose savory or biting spices and herbs, blends, and vegetable seasonings. Some choices are black pepper, garlic powder or granules, curry powder, cumin, dill seeds, basil, ginger, coriander, onion, tarragon, and oregano. The full flavor herbs and spices can help you reduce the amount of added salt used in your cooking.
Try to use sweet spices. They are appealing in sweet dishes, and the amount of sugar may be reduced because they give the impression of greater sweetness.
Herbs and spices can aid in healthy digestion and metabolism. They are full of antioxidants like phenolic and Flavonoids which can help prevent cancer and reduce inflammation throughout the body especially when they are paired with vegetables and whole grains.
The aroma that you get from fresh herbs delights the senses which help revitalize the body.
I hope this article will help you.
