What whole spices do you keep on hand?

[centralpadiner]

I got a Kuhn Rikon vase spice grinder for Christmas, and imagined myself having a drawer full of those little insert containers loaded with a multitude of exotic spices available for grinding fresh whenever the mood or the recipe would strike. But, now that I am thinking about what I want, I'm a little lost. Besides pepper, what are the best spices to keep on hand whole, and can be ground for use in what is essentially a pepper mill? I know I can use it for sea salt and thought of coriander seeds.

What would you keep on hand? Cloves? Cardamom? Aleppo pepper?

[Mike In Concan]

Fennel seed, star anise, coriander seed, cumin seed, anise seed, various pepper corns, Szechhuan pepper corns and a big stone mortor and pestal

[CDouglas]

Allspice
Cumin
Caraway
Mustard

[boogiebaby]

I do a lot of Indian cooking, so I have a lot of whole spices. I use them whole most of the time, but grind them occasionally, depending on what I'm making. I grind them only when I need them -- I don't grind and keep.

Keep whole spices on hand:
Green cardamom
Black cardamom
Cloves
Fennel Seeds
Dried Red Chillis
Ajwain (not sure of the English name)
Star Anise
Coriander Seeds
Black Peppercorns
Cinnamon Sticks
Fenugreek Seeds
Black Cumin Seeds (kala jeera)
Cumin Seeds
Mustard Seeds
Bay Leaves

[escondido123]

I've been getting into Indian cooking lately so have more whole spices than I used to:
Black and yellow mustard seeds, Cumin seeds, Fenugreek seeds, Curry leaves, Cinnamon
Cardamom, Black sesame seeds, dried red chile, Star anise, Fennel seeds, Dried Ginger finger, Nutmeg, Black Pepper. I do my grinding in an old coffee grinder which I clean by whirring up a piece of white bread.

[lilgi]

Very nice idea about the white bread. I like the idea of using the mortar and pestle myself.

[hypomyces]

A a good starter group of spices allowing a wide variety of international recipes:
Allspice
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Cloves
Corriander
Cumin
Fennel
Mustard seeds (brown if possible)
Peppers (black, white, cubebe, Sichuan)
Star anise

[ediblyasian]

Cardamon, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, coriander seeds, mustard, black pepper, cassia bark, salem leaves, fenugreek, star anise, dried chillies.

I only grind enough for a recipe because the flavour difference between fresh and stored is very noticeable for many of these and I don't have a blade processor so to grind the quantity needed is much easier :) I have only tried storing ground fennel seed once in the freezer but coincidentally I used it within a few days of grinding. There certainly wans't any noticeable difference in that period of time.

[Harters]

Cloves, cardamon, nutmeg & coriander usually.

[smartie]

nutmeg
cinnamon

[lilgi]

coriander

[goodhealthgourmet]

i always use a grater or microplane for cinnamon & nutmeg...i know it's silly but i'm paranoid that they'll damage the blade in my grinder!

[smartie]

yes I use a grater too!

[goodhealthgourmet]

ah, okay. since the OP was talking about spices for their new vase grinder, i thought you meant you use a grinder for yours :)

[centralpadiner]

LOL! I have to admit, my first thought was, " how will that work in my grinder?" but you beat me to it, GHG. :)

Love all the suggestions, everyone! I'm drooling!

[lilgi]

ghg, I took your advice and got some cardamom pods last week. Actually as I'm typing I realized I'd forgotten to open the bottle for the scent. There should be a difference from an older bottle of ground, no? Will do so now as I pour myself another cup of coffee.

[goodhealthgourmet]

yes ma'am! you should notice less of a floral element, more citrus & mint...

[lilgi]

On my ground cardamom I only get strong lemon/citrus scent flavor. But the pods are like a fantastic, exotic bouquet! Love, love, love...and can't wait to try ;)

[goodhealthgourmet]

interesting - to me, ground cardamom usually has an overpowering floral scent. anyway, i suspected you might be pleased with the pods ;) enjoy!

[ediblyasian]

Hi ghg,

I found your comment really interesting wrt "an overpowering floral scent". That is now my reaction to it. Quite disappointing as I just can't be near the aroma of anything with cardamon including 5 spice and garam masala. I find that my tolerance is down to 1/8 of a teaspoon when the recipe says 1½ tsp. I'm now not including it any spice mix.

I have no idea what caused this but it's damned annoying. Not aware of any other problems associated with it..

Wondering if you know of similar situations? Thanks for your time.

[lilgi]

Weird ghg, I tried to look for the post where you told me about the pods, and can't remember where it came up. It looks like I only posted on the cardamom/coriander one (not there), but anyway I mentioned the strong citrus on that thread and later on to you, only because I was only one of a few people describing my ground cardamom this way. Not for any other reason than this was nagging me (I know you mentioned the black ones too, but I bought the green ones).

In any case, I bought the pods because of something you told me. Not important at all, but I'd be curious if you happen to find that post.

Now this is completely ot but you're good with spices and I'm looking for a real strong floral vanilla. I picked one up by Frontier (Tahitian vanilla) that was meh. If you know of any please let me know even if I must special order. Or let me know if I should open a thread. Thanks so much!

[goodhealthgourmet]

our cardamom discussion began here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/379665#6183596

re: vanilla, Tahitian is the most floral variety, but you said you want strong, and it's also the most fleeting. extract is tricky, sometimes it's better to buy the whole beans and either use the "caviar" (seeds) or make your own extract. as far as sources go, several CHers have highly recommended this site over the years:
http://www.saffron.com/

and Arizona Vanilla Company is another good one:
http://www.arizonavanilla.com/

[lilgi]

Thanks ghg. yep confused because I know I was saying that the ground cardamom is citrusy and it's the only one I had (no floral notes at all). So opening the bottle of pods was a nice bouquet of citrus and some floral. The scent that dropped from the ground in my bottle was floral and not citrus. Either way, I'm glad you made me buy the pods, can't wait to try them.

I'm not sure about making my own vanilla yet, but I'll look into it. Meantime I'll look at the two sites you mentioned. Thanks again wonderful ghg!

[goodhealthgourmet]

making your own vanilla extract is *absurdly* easy - the hardest part is waiting for it to be ready!

here's a great how-to:
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archi...

[lilgi]

Makes sense since I'm looking for extra boost from my vanilla. Thanks, I'll give it a whirl.

[goodhealthgourmet]

a cardamom recipe for you, from today's LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/...

[lilgi]

I can't remember the last time I had rice pudding, I might be talking eons here. That looks good, ty!

Just wondering, (now that I have a bottle of pods), are there any savory recipes with Cardamom that you can recommend? There are a number of spices/condiments in Indian cooking that I have to stay away from, so as a general rule it's the only cuisine I can't enjoy. Anything else is okay ;)

Edit: Ghg nvm, I was able to do a quick search and came up with a few (don't know why I didn't think of it sooner).

[lilgi]

1/2 teaspoon fresh/crushed took my pear tarte tatin to a whole different level. Very potent stuff, I love it!

[Delucacheesemonger]

The two you selected are so spot on. Nutmeg freshly ground is so wonderful compared to the stuff in a ready ground can, feh

[spiceman09]

i especially like to grind cumin, coriander, mustard seeds (especially brown), grains of paradise and some cloves from time to time as well. I also agree with luckyfatima that you should only grind fennel and cardamom in smaller batches.

i also find heating in a skillet for a couple minutes before grinding to really brings out the flavor. enjoy your new grinder.

[goodhealthgourmet]

yes to all the ones you mentioned, plus juniper berries, allspice, star anise, annatto seeds, celery seed, fennel, cumin, caraway, mustard seed, grains of paradise...

[centralpadiner]

GHG, I have always used juniper berry, star anise, celery seed, fennel and mustard seed whole . . . okay, not the mustard seed, I do keep Coleman's mustard around. Do you find yourself grinding those others often? Just curious as to how you use them, thanks.

[goodhealthgourmet]

- ground juniper berry: marinades or spice rubs for meat, or in meat-based stews.
- star anise: homemade five-spice powder, rubs, or any baked goods where i want the anise flavor
- celery seed: i always grind before using in *anything* because they get stuck in my teeth, which i hate!
- ground fennel seed: tomato sauce, seafood dishes or soups (e.g. bouillabaisse), pork rubs, and anywhere else that i want the flavor without [again] getting seeds stuck in my teeth.

[chefathome]

+1 and mahleb, kala jeera, ajwain, sumac berries, cubeb peppers, long peppers, chicory root, fenugreek, loomi...my spice cupboards are full but I buy in small amounts to keep fresh. I also grind cacao beans sometimes for dry rubs.

And don't forget to grind, usually after dry roasting, all kinds of dried chiles! And dried zest of lime, orange, lemon. I frequently grind dried mushrooms for many uses.

[luckyfatima]

Cardamom loses it's perfume very quickly once ground. So does fennel seed. I usually grind those two fresh in tiny quantities to season a dish.

Fairly often, I also grind fresh garam masala (so I have the whole spice ingredients for that on hand), dried red chile, cumin seeds, and white poppy seeds. With all of these I dry roast them and allow to cool before grinding.