The spice shelf
This is the whole shelf, not a short list. Spice is the one place where buying well changes the food immediately, so it gets its own page rather than one line on the tools list.
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How I buy them
Whole wherever it exists, in small amounts, replaced more often than most people would think necessary. Ground spice sitting in a cabinet for three years is the reason a lot of home cooking tastes flat. I look for a single origin where it is offered, no anti caking agents, and a company willing to tell you the harvest year.
Ceylon cinnamon sticks
Ceylon rather than cassia, and whole rather than ground, because a stick holds its oils until you break it. This is the one that goes into stock, into rice, and into anything simmering long enough to pull the flavor out.
Ceylon cinnamon, ground
The same spice in the form you want at seven in the morning. Ground Ceylon is softer and sweeter than the cassia sold as plain cinnamon in most stores, and it is what I keep near the oats and the baking pans.
Nutmeg, ground
Used in small amounts and used often. A little goes into greens, into anything creamy, and into the Texas Sunrise Shake (Everyday House Blend). Buy the smallest jar you can, because nutmeg fades faster than it looks like it should.
Cardamom, ground
Bright and floral, and easy to overdo. It belongs at the sweet end of the shelf with the cinnamon and the vanilla, and in small pinches in savory rice.
Clove, ground
One of the strongest things on the shelf, so it gets measured rather than shaken. A quarter teaspoon changes a whole pot. I keep it ground because whole cloves have to come back out again.
Allspice, ground
One jar that reads like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg at once, which is why it carries so much of the Texas Sunrise Shake (Everyday House Blend). Worth having even if you already own all three.
Ginger, ground
Dried ginger is its own spice, not a stand in for fresh. Warmer, drier, and sharper. This is the one that goes into blends and into baking, while the fresh root goes into the pan.
Vanilla powder
Ground vanilla rather than extract, so no alcohol and no added sugar go in with it. It measures like a spice, which makes it usable in places a liquid extract would not work.
Coriander, ground
The seed, not the leaf. Ground coriander is warm and faintly citrusy and tastes nothing like the fresh herb off the same plant, which is why people who think they dislike it often do not. It is one of the quiet ones that turns up in most of the blends.
Micro Ingredients organic whole rainbow peppercorns
Organic whole peppercorns in a mix of colors, for the grinder.
Spicy Organic whole coriander seeds
Organic coriander seeds, whole, to toast or grind as I need them.
Where they go
Most of this shelf exists to feed five blends. If you are starting out, make the Texas Sunrise Shake (Everyday House Blend) first and buy toward that rather than buying everything at once.
Chipotle, smaller jar: Simply Organic chipotle powder, 2.65 oz
Organic chipotle powder, in the smaller jar.
Chipotle, larger size: organic chipotle powder, 4 oz
Organic chipotle powder, in the larger size.