Guide to herbs and spices: from P to T

A simple way of making healthy and tasty dishes is to add herbs and spices to your recipes. It’s a good way of enhancing the flavour of your cooking, without piling on fatty ingredients. These tips will set you on the road to success.

First things first. The following tips explain how to best use herbs and spices:

•  You'll want to chop fresh herbs and crush the seeds just before using.
•  Use them in cooked dishes but only add them to the mix during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
•  If you're using herbs in uncooked dishes, add them one hour before serving so their flavours have time to marry with other ingredients.
• Grind dried spices yourself for the freshest taste or buy them ready-ground, in which case you should replenish your stocks regularly.

You see them on the supermarket all the time but just what are they and how can you use them. Read on for a quick guide on common herbs and spices.
Paprika
 
Like cayenne, paprika is a product of ground dried red chili peppers. However, it is sweeter and milder than chili powder. Hungarian paprika is among the best and is particularly aromatic. It is used in goulashes and other slow-cooked dishes.

Parsley

This comes in curly-leaf and flat-leaf varieties. They are interchangeable, both adding a fresh taste to potatoes, grains, mushrooms, salads, sauces and meat dishes. Chewing fresh parsley is said to freshen the breath.

Rosemary

This herb has an intense, earthy taste. Use it in marinades and for flavouring barbecued, grilled and roast meat such as lamb. It also complements beans, peas, mushrooms and zucchini.

Saffron

The most expensive of all spices, saffron is obtained from the stamens of a single variety of crocus. Its very fine threads are used to flavour and colour rice dishes, vegetable soups, seafood dishes and sweet rolls.

Sage

This aromatic herb has a woodsy flavour that is popular in Italian cooking. It teams well with tomatoes and garlic and also complements onions, legumes, pork, poultry and stuffing.

Sea salt

Comes in coarse granules. Depending on its source, it has subtle flavours from trace minerals. As well as its use as a food flavouring, it is a preserving medium in pickling and drying. It is used to make Asian soy and fish sauces and shrimp paste. Food without any salt added will be bland. While too much salt is bad for the heart, too little is a danger in hot climates and during exercise when the body loses salt through sweating.

Summer savoury

This is a delightful, peppery herb that spices up green beans, dried beans, cabbages, potatoes and Brussels sprouts, as well as fish, poultry and pork.

Tarragon

Popular in French cuisine, tarragon has a mild anise flavour. Stir through scrambled eggs or sprinkle on carrots, greens, seafood and chicken.

Thyme

Light, spicy-flavoured thyme complements salad greens, carrots and mushrooms. It goes well with oil-rich fish. It is a key ingredient, with parsley and bay, in a bouquet garni.

A basic knowledge of popular herbs and spices and how they can be used in your recipes makes cooking more fun. It also gives you the chance to spice up food without overdoing it on fats and salts. Follow these tips for successful and creative cooking with herbs and spices.