[Sca-cooks] Top 20 Multiuse Herbs and Spices plus Salt

S CLEMENGER sclemenger at msn.com
Tue Sep 4 19:43:44 PDT 2007


I'd go for the core group-plus...
Hmmm (in no particular order):
1.  Mint (multiple use, multiple cuisines, grows in garden)
2.  Calendula (multiple use--culinary and textile and medicinal, grows in garden) (like crazy)
3.  Garlic (need I say more--yes, grows in garden)
4.  Peppercorns (imported)
5.  Cumin (don't know if it grows locally--I use it in a variety of modern dishes)
6.  Cilantro/coriander (grows locally, variety of cuisines)
7.  True Cinnamon (imported, many cuisines)
8.  Ginger--fresh/candied/dried (multiple uses, cuisines, imported)
9.  Oregano (grows in garden) (mostly mediterranean cuisines, IIRC)
10.  Basil (grows in garden) (primarily food, although I've read that you can dye with the purple varieties)
11.  Onions (various...can I include shallots as a sub-group? <g>)
12.  Thyme (grows like the weed it is...smells *amazing* when I'm in that part of the garden!)
13.  Lavender (multiple uses and cuisines--some cultivars (is that the right word?) grow locally)
14.  Sesame seed (good for oils and on own, used in multiple cuisines)
15.  Mustard seeds (I assume they grow locally) (multiple uses and cuisines)
16.  Capsicum peppers, if non-period stuff is allowed--some varieties grow locally; useful in variety of cuisines 
17.  Nutmeg/mace (same plant, so two for one? <g>)
18.  Dill (grows locally)
19.  Cardamom
20.  Rosemary
(last two, just 'cuz)
--Maire, not including sage 'cuz that crap grows *everywhere* in Artemisia!

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sharon Gordon<mailto:gordonse at one.net> 
  To: Cooks within the SCA<mailto:sca-cooks at ansteorra.org> 
  Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2007 10:29 AM
  Subject: [Sca-cooks] Top 20 Multiuse Herbs and Spices plus Salt


  If you could have only 20 cooking herbs and spices (plus salt as the 21st item) and wanted at least half of them to be multiuse, what would you choose?   Would you focus on spices of a particular cuisine or select a core group that works for many cuisines and maybe a few for spscific suisines?  Would you stick to herbs and spices that can be grown in your area or would you choose the world as your garden?

  Herbs and Spices may be fresh or dried or otherwise preserved.  

  For the multiuse part consider what else the herb or spice could be used for in addition to cooking.  It might be good for medicine, cosmetics and toiletries, dyes, or other uses.  Even better if it has more than one additional use :-).  More than 10 of them can be multiuse if you like.

  (PS this does not include condiments like vinegar, prepared mustard (Mustard seed is ok), or fish sauce.  That's a future question.)

  Sharon
  gordonse at one.net<mailto:gordonse at one.net>
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