Mastering the Art of Herbs & Spices

In my quest to learn to be able to excel still more in combining herbs and spices in my cooking for the best overall flavor and variety, I have wanted to explore more in detail this fine art. My question has always been: what combines well with this spice? What spice would go well with this meat, vegetable, etc? And the list goes on. I recently came across this list of herbs and their uses and wanted to share it with you. I am printing this out and taping it inside my spice cupboard. “One secret of distinguishing oneself as a good cook is knowing how to use herbs and spices properly. Tips for Using Herbs To substitute fresh for dried herbs in a recipe, add three or four times more fresh herbs than the recipe calls for, and usually add at the end of the recipe.Experiment with soaking dried herbs for ten minutes or so before adding to a dish. Herbs & Spice Combinations Guide to Herbs & Spices I kept to the most common spices. Cumin: Beans, vegetables, curries Kitchen Tip Tuesdays!

What is self-rising flour? Self-rising flour has an almost magical sound to it. And if you look at recipes that call for it, you’ll see that they do not call for the addition of salt or leavening agents, though biscuits, cakes and breads made with seem to rise up just fine. The reason for this is that self-rising flour is actually nothing of the sort. It is flour that has a leavening agent – baking powder – and salt added to it during packaging. Since the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the flour, you will get the same nice lift to your baked goods every time you use it. If you don’t have self-rising flour and you have a recipe that calls for it, you can make your own by combining 1 cup all purpose flour with 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt. Now that being said, it is also worth noting that there are several brands of self-rising flour that have a lower protein content than all purpose flour (11% protein).