Published on W Network's website, www.wnetwork.com
Written by Julia Rim

How many times have you slaved over a culinary creation to find it was missing that certain something? Skip the salt and instead add some savoury spices to transform the dull to the delectable!

Lisa Slater, Bakery Team Leader for Toronto’s Whole Foods Market, says people overlook spices because they’re afraid they won't like the taste or will ruin a dish with too much of it.

“Add them bit by bit to your dishes,” she says. To use spices effectively she says, “Trying herbs in eggs first enables me to sample them in an inexpensive medium, and baking spices in hot milk is another interesting way of getting familiar with them.”

Slater has been a Bakery Team leader for the Whole Foods Market for over a year. Founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, it is now the largest purveyor of all-natural and organic foods in the world. Slater has also owned and operated various restaurants as well as co-founded Eat to the Beat, an all-women chef breast cancer fund-raising event.

She says if you come from an Asian or East Indian household, chances are you will have a larger array of spices in your kitchen than Italian or French. You can, however get spices almost anywhere but look for a busy store where turnover is high so spices are freshest. Especially if the spice is too obscure, it probably means it has been sitting on the shelf for months. The best time to buy spices is right before use.

Slater says spices lose their flavour as soon as air hits them. Light is also bad for them. For these reasons, one should keep them tightly covered and in a dark cabinet.

Terry Henderson, personal chef and founder of the Personal Chef Alliance, says he gets spices in small amounts at a bulk food store so he can get the freshest ones. The Personal Chef Alliance, formed in 2001, helps personal chefs exchange information as well as help potential clients locate them. Henderson has a wide range of clients; he has also cooked for actors Denzel Washington, Jim Caviezel and Brittany Murphy.

He says you can get familiar with spices by adding something different to your dishes, for example, to a sauce or gravy. “Most chefs get to be where they are because they experiment,” he says. “So it’s really just a matter of getting into the kitchen and playing around with flavours. Just a little, and what a difference in flavour! This is how you will learn!”

Broaden your scope for spices and enhance the flavour of your dishes by considering these suggestions:

• white and black pepper for general seasoning
• thyme, oregano, basil for sauces, stews and salad dressings
• bay leaf for soups and stews
• rosemary for soups, stews and baking bread
• cumin for Tex-Mex, Mexican, Indian and Middle-Eastern dishes
• curry powder for soups, carrot or sweet potato dishes and Indian-inspired dishes like curries
• turmeric often for curry dishes; root has an aromatic and spicy fragrance
• chili powder or chili flakes for meat sauces; hot and pungent
• paprika for chicken, beef, potatoes and eggs; adds colour without too much heat like cayenne pepper
• tarragon is nice for fish and egg dishes
• mustard seed for broiled or boiled meat and sauces; commonly used in paste form
• garlic harmonizes perfectly with ginger, pepper, chilies; subtle flavour when cooked or fried
• ginger is refreshing, lemon-like, pungent taste; finely chopped and soaked for hours before use
• saffron for rice dishes; slightly bitter in taste
• cloves for meat dishes, aromatizing rice dishes, also for baking
• cinnamon bridges the gap between sweet and sour flavours e.g. Apple Strudel
• nutmeg generally for baking; best when grated from the nut, not powder form
• vanilla for desserts and sweet dishes; aromatic

Don't forget many herbs have their fresh equivalents (like basil, thyme, and oregano) that taste different from their dry equivalents. They enhance the distinctiveness of a dish and make it taste vibrant and fresh.

Note: The Chef Alliance (formerly the Canadian Personal Chef Alliance) has been under the helm of CHEF Sonia since 2005; Chef Henderson is no longer a member of The Chef Alliance.