Are you confused between herbs and spices? Then allow me to clear your confusion. Herbs are fresh, tender and fragrant leaves of plants without the woody stems example basil and parsley. Whereas spices are generally dry and are derived from seeds, fruits, stems, bark or roots of different trees and plants example cayenne pepper, cinnamon bark etc. But the similarity lies in the fact that both herbs and spices are used to add flavor in your cooking.
Here are some steps and tips for you that will help you in selecting and storing spices and herbs.
- Select fresh herbs with a clean fragrance and the leaves should be bright colored without any wilting.
- Use fresh herbs for cooking. If you want to keep your herbs fresh at least for 10 days then submerge the herb stem in a glass of water.
- You can even stock dried herbs like thyme, tarragon and oregano for quick use while cooking.
- Before selecting dried herbs check the color of dried herbs. The color shouldn’t be too brown and should retain a little of their original color.
- Before selecting spices check their smell. It should be pungent and aromatic. It is better to buy dried herbs and spices from a busy market to ensure that they are kept in the shelves more than 6 months.
- For buying fresh seasonal herbs browse farmer’s market. You may come across vendors selling dried herbs with some exotic offers.
- Store your spices in an airtight containers this will ensure better flavor for a longer time. You can even date your stored spices so that you don’t use them after 6 months.
- To grind whole spices such as mustard and cumin at home use clean coffee grinder.
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