Which single spice you dislike most?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird how many of you dislike cumin and other spices common to Indian cooking - I think they’re the most wonderful, and they’re also very healthful. It makes me sad how late in life I ‘discovered’ Indian food and cooking.

My Indian cooking skills are limited to loving Indian dishes out there that someone who knows how to put together does in perfect manner.

I can follow a recipe and make things happen but I am never sure what I should be getting there.

I always end up going to the spice store, buy a jar of each spice that recipe calls for..
I end up having seven .. ten jars of spices and maybe also one or two mixes like some Rogan Josh or another ..
and then after I spend few hours mixing and stewing and spicing and yougurthing and adding more spices..
I still have NO idea where I ended..

We eat, we like it but I don't know how Indian it ended up or was it just an accidental point. I don't have this state of taste that I would know where I am needing to get with this.

Few months later I still have those all spices that are not good for anything but Indian dishes so I hope that in few months I will feel like making another dish.. in the meantime those little jars look at me with sadness, I truly need to get my act together and take some
Indian cooking class to learn where the flavor needs to be.

[Anonymous]

Saffron, yuck

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Caraway seeds! Ruins a food for me every time.

Sooo good in sauerkraut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caraway seeds! Ruins a food for me every time.

Sooo good in sauerkraut.

Amazing in bread!!!

and have you ever tried to make it as a tea? OMG how soothing for the tummy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saffron, yuck

It has a flavor?

When I eat saffron rice I only thought it is added for color. I find no flavor in this dish. It is just a blah rice to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird how many of you dislike cumin and other spices common to Indian cooking - I think they’re the most wonderful, and they’re also very healthful. It makes me sad how late in life I ‘discovered’ Indian food and cooking.

My Indian cooking skills are limited to loving Indian dishes out there that someone who knows how to put together does in perfect manner.

I can follow a recipe and make things happen but I am never sure what I should be getting there.

I always end up going to the spice store, buy a jar of each spice that recipe calls for..
I end up having seven .. ten jars of spices and maybe also one or two mixes like some Rogan Josh or another ..
and then after I spend few hours mixing and stewing and spicing and yougurthing and adding more spices..
I still have NO idea where I ended..

We eat, we like it but I don't know how Indian it ended up or was it just an accidental point. I don't have this state of taste that I would know where I am needing to get with this.

Few months later I still have those all spices that are not good for anything but Indian dishes so I hope that in few months I will feel like making another dish.. in the meantime those little jars look at me with sadness, I truly need to get my act together and take some
Indian cooking class to learn where the flavor needs to be.

I learned from recipes online. Originally I was buying Patak simmer sauces and adding more heat (I love heat!), but I really wanted to learn to make the dishes authentically so I started googling and found several Indian cooks who post recipes (and often with those cool videos accompanying) and I went from there. Now I’m just mad about cooking Indian - I mostly just do various curries and the occasional balti because that’s what I like the most. I’ve been thinking of trying my hand at biryanis next, but I’m not sick of curries yet!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saffron, yuck

It has a flavor?

When I eat saffron rice I only thought it is added for color. I find no flavor in this dish. It is just a blah rice to me.

Real saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. If you're buying it in powdered form, it is definitely fake. Usually a blend of turmeric and other spices that may or may not actually contain minuscule amounts of saffron. Threads you buy in the US are almost Spanish saffron. Passable, but nothing like the Iranian saffron that makes the flavor so legendary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird how many of you dislike cumin and other spices common to Indian cooking - I think they’re the most wonderful, and they’re also very healthful. It makes me sad how late in life I ‘discovered’ Indian food and cooking.

My Indian cooking skills are limited to loving Indian dishes out there that someone who knows how to put together does in perfect manner.

I can follow a recipe and make things happen but I am never sure what I should be getting there.

I always end up going to the spice store, buy a jar of each spice that recipe calls for..
I end up having seven .. ten jars of spices and maybe also one or two mixes like some Rogan Josh or another ..
and then after I spend few hours mixing and stewing and spicing and yougurthing and adding more spices..
I still have NO idea where I ended..

We eat, we like it but I don't know how Indian it ended up or was it just an accidental point. I don't have this state of taste that I would know where I am needing to get with this.

Few months later I still have those all spices that are not good for anything but Indian dishes so I hope that in few months I will feel like making another dish.. in the meantime those little jars look at me with sadness, I truly need to get my act together and take some
Indian cooking class to learn where the flavor needs to be.

Once you make the investment in stocking the staples like cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, and a spicy pepper, most "special" mixes are just blends of the spices you already have. Check ingredients before buying a new jar.

An Instant Pot can make some pretty good curries in the fraction of the time it takes to stew things "authentically" for hours on the stove. I would say that a pressure cooker is essential for Indian cuisine.

You don't have to cook Indian dishes to use "Indian" spices. Omelettes, scrambled eggs, pastas, dips, and a lot of other everyday dishes taste even better with spice blends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saffron, yuck

It has a flavor?

When I eat saffron rice I only thought it is added for color. I find no flavor in this dish. It is just a blah rice to me.

Real saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. If you're buying it in powdered form, it is definitely fake. Usually a blend of turmeric and other spices that may or may not actually contain minuscule amounts of saffron. Threads you buy in the US are almost Spanish saffron. Passable, but nothing like the Iranian saffron that makes the flavor so legendary.

Threads you buy in the US are almost *always Spanish saffron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Caraway seeds! Ruins a food for me every time.

Sooo good in sauerkraut.

Amazing in bread!!!

and have you ever tried to make it as a tea? OMG how soothing for the tummy.

Omg, come sit by me. You are the first person who knows about caraway tea. My grandma used to make it (in Ukraine).

Oh, and do you like to smell your fingers after rubbing caraway seeds into your pot or cup? I wish there was a perfume like it, it's my favourite smell in the world. To all caraway haters - it doesn't smell like caraway seeds as you know them! At all.

Sorry, it was a long post, or actually an ode to caraway tea, and it obviously doesn't belong to this thread... Just couldn't help myself 😃

[Anonymous]

I love them ALL.

I have a spice drawer and a huge spice rack - both chock-full. Every kind of salt, pepper. Whole & ground. Bulk of favorites.

I dislike how turmeric stains, but I still use it.

[Anonymous]

Thyme. I love literally all spices, but even a flake of thyme ruins a dish for me

[Anonymous]

Oregano. I don’t even know why.

[Anonymous]

I love them all but in the right thing. Like, don't put cardamom in my cookies! Do love it in Indian cuisine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love them all but in the right thing. Like, don't put cardamom in my cookies! Do love it in Indian cuisine.

I love cardamom in cookies & pastries!

I’m going to go sniff some right now.