Friday, October 30, 2009

Great Spice Racks

By Donna Jonston

A spice rack is a stable feature of each kitchen - yes, even if you never cook. Face it, it looks good and it makes you seem like you do cook. Spice racks are available in department shops, specialty stores, kitchen accessory stores, and online . Keep in mind this stuff also make nice house warming gifts, or any-occasion gift for an individual that likes to cook. Spice racks come in several different sizes and styles : wood, metal, plastic, and acrylic. They also come in countertop style, wall mounted style, and in drawer style.

So the next question is after getting a spice rack, what spices should be placed in it? Some spice racks can be purchased with spices included in nice containers ( again in either wood, metal, plastic, or acrylic ). Some spice rack continues has the kind of spice preprinted on the apex of every one of the individual boxes.

Spices are outlined as a dried seed, root, bark, fruit, leaf or vegetables used in little quantities to add flavor or color to your food. You may commonly find the following spices in a spice rack, particularly if you purchase a spice rack that already contains spices : rosemary, dill seed, basil, bay leaves, cardamom, caraway, marjoram, paprika, parsley, thyme, mustard powder, and tarragon. Refills of these spices can be discovered at grocery stores, connoisseur stores, health and organic food stores, and online.

Rosemary - used to flavor roasted birds, fish, beef, and plants.
Dill seed - employed in spreads, salads, vegetables, stews, soups, and pickling.
Basil - used to flavor stuffing, soup, stews, sauces, chickens, fish, and meet.
Bay leaves - employed in many dishes throughout the world, particularly in soups, sauces, and stews or seasoning of fish, meat or poultry.
Cardamom - used mainly in dishes from the Near and Far East.
araway - used mainly in dishes from Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe,a d Scandinavia.
Paprika - used principally with Hungarian dishes, employed in the remainder of the world as a garnish.
Parsley - used to flavour soups, sauces, stews, rice dishes, veggies, and fish.
Thyme - used to flavor beef, lamb, veal, fish, poultry, stuffing,veggies, and casseroles.
Mustard powder - used to flavour developed eggs, beets, barbecue sauces, baked beans, and many beef dishes.
Tarragon - used to flavour salads, tartar sauces, and veal.


There are benefits and downsides of getting a spice rack that already contains spices. The advantage of buying one with spices included is that you will not have to purchase them individually which would be an additional expense, and take the time to individually fill each container. On the other hand, if you are going to buy the rack without the spices included, and the containers don't have the names of the spices preprinted on them, you can fill the spice boxes yourself with the spices that you use most often.

The benefits of having a spice rack in your kitchen, assuming you do cook, is most definitely organization and the convenience of having all your spices in one location, and a space saver in a kitchen that can all too easily become cluttered. Just a word of advice on the position of your spice rack, don't place it too closely to the oven because heat from the cooker can be harmful to the virility of the spices.

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