this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2025
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Cool Guides

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curate a nice exotic rack (media.piefed.world)
submitted 4 days ago by j4k3@piefed.world to c/coolguides@lemmy.ca
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[–] Taldan@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

These lists are terrible. Get rid of the herb/spice blends. Curry powder, cajun seasoning, ras al hanout, and herbs de province are redundant. Their base components are already included, and you're far better off mixing them based on the dish you're making

Thai should include lemongrass and shallot, among a million other mistakes in this. No reason not to include cayenne is Mexican food

I could rant for a long time. Ignore these lists, use a wide variety of spices. Prioritize fresh when you can. Spices have a shelf life even when dried

[–] CanadianCorhen@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

Would love a detailed, quality list, having a short hand when throwing together a meal is always ideal

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 51 points 4 days ago (3 children)

A bit lazy to list "Cajun seasoning" as one of the main Cajun spices.

[–] epyon22@programming.dev 38 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (2 children)

Same this with curry powder 😂. Both are basically just combinations of the other spices listed.

[–] Cenzorrll@lemmy.world 26 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And garam masala

[–] wisemanzero@lemmy.world 21 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And ras al hanout

[–] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zip 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

And herbes de province

[–] Zombie@feddit.uk 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

And all-spice 🥁

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago

You gotta add curry powder to your powdered curry spices if you want the true boss power

[–] jaxxed@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

Similarly, the North African Ras el-hanout (head of the shop) is a spice blend.

[–] jaxxed@lemmy.world -2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

From my u derstanding, za'ataar is basically just oregano.

[–] uhmbah@lemmy.ca 3 points 3 days ago

Uhm... sumac anyone?

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 34 points 4 days ago (3 children)

Thai is missing both lemongrass and chillies which are like the two main spices I think of with Thai food.

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 16 points 4 days ago

Thai basil (holy basil) is also different than regular basil. It should be noted that it’s not the same as Mediterranean basil.

[–] whotookkarl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 days ago

And Mexican missing cilantro

[–] Geobloke@aussie.zone 4 points 3 days ago

And galangal

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 15 points 4 days ago

Hungarian:

  • Smoked paprika
  • Sweet paprika
  • Spicy paprika
  • Pepper
  • Salt
  • Fennel
  • Thyme
  • Tarragon
  • Marjoram
  • Dill
  • Lemon balm
[–] r4venw@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 days ago (2 children)

It would have been extra awesome had the spices been sorted alphabetically in each category so you could compare cuisines without having to scan each entire list

[–] Jack@lemmy.ca 17 points 3 days ago (1 children)

[–] r4venw@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 days ago

Dude thats amazing. Deserves its own post

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[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 13 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Everyone sleeping on dill. It's a travesty!

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

Accidentally killed mine this spring. What do you do with it? Figured I'd learn once I got some going.

[–] jaxxed@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

N0t in the Baltics they ain't

[–] solidsmoke@lemmy.world 11 points 4 days ago

Shouldn't be regular basil under Thai, it should be Thai basil. They are different.

[–] biofaust@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

How is ginger in any way Mediterranean?

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

How about Asians?

"Best I got is one tiny country."

[–] Tudsamfa@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

India is literally the most populous country though?

[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Need to add the UK lol

[–] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 5 points 3 days ago

Salt, pepper and all-purpose curry powder please.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What even counts as UK food? Maybe its harder for me to say because I live here so to me a lot of it is just food. There are probably things I see as normal foods but someone outside the UK may not have heard of it and I am going to be unaware of that.

Look at regional recipes perhaps? Cornish pasty or haggis. Well both of those have black pepper and that is certainly a very common ingredient here for pretty much anything savoury.

Garlic is fairly popular, IIRC it was once considered as something for the poors because it grows easily here while the rich would have imported more exotic spices. This would likely influence a lot of recipes that get written down too, and why things like curry are pretty popular.

[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

There's a London dish called Eel Jelly that used to popular when the Thames was full of them. I'm genuinely curious about it since I'm not British and I hear all the time "Haha colonialism they don't even use the spices" so I'm wondering what they actually use in traditional recipes. I'd guess onion, garlic and leek with pepper coming in with the Indian colonisation instead of immigrants.

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 1 points 3 days ago

Not from London but found a few recipes online and it appears to always include: eels, gelatin, onion, black peppercorns, salt, vinegar. Then sometimes: bay leaves, carrots, parsley, lemon juice, cloves, fish stock.

[–] cyborganism@piefed.ca 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

The UK:

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)
  • Mustard
  • Horseradish
  • Garlic
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Parsley
  • Chives
  • Paprika
  • Ginger
  • Nutmeg
  • Cinnamon
  • Curry Powder
  • Bay leaves
[–] Jhex@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

WOW, I have them all right now, and a few extra ones... except Ras El Hanout

[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I love a nice exotic rack, especially when it's on top of some thick dark wood.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 points 3 days ago

...Where do I put my salt and pepper? 🤷‍♂️

[–] suff@piefed.social 2 points 4 days ago

Misses lemon grass

[–] ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago

Fuck yeah coolguides

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago (2 children)

What do you (all) think the most important things are in a spice rack?

I've used all these spices, but for a lot of them I tend to use the fresh version: fresh garlic, cilantro / coriander, ginger, and cinnamon in stick form. I like making Mexican, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Italian and often "General European" food. So, maybe for me, the powdered / bottled priority is:

  1. Oregano
  2. Thyme
  3. Basil
  4. Cumin
  5. Chili Powder
  6. Paprika
  7. Bay Leaves
  8. Cloves
  9. Star Anise
  10. Cardamom seeds
[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That's a decent selection, but I would miss the pepper and coriander.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Ha, that's what I'm trying to avoid. It's easy to just buy all the spices, but I'm trying to limit it to the ones I actually use. For coriander, I just use fresh cilantro / coriander. I very rarely use coriander powder. Pepper, obviously, but that doesn't live in the spice drawer.

From your setup, "Dill Weed"? Do you ever use that? Dry parsley? Dry chives? Pumpkin Pie Spice? I don't think I've ever used any of those. Also, you have celery salt, kosher(ing) salt, truffle salt and salt substitute. Do you really use all of them?

I do have to say, your setup is great. Everything in the same kind of bottle, everything labelled well (even the 3 special ones), and all alphabetically sorted. I bet your kitchen is a great place to cook.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago

Dill weed is great for making lemon dill roasted potatoes. They go great with spanakopita.

Dry chives I put in last weeks mashed potatoes, and dried parsley in a stew ( I like fresh but it is good as a backup).

The pumpkin pie spice is actually an imported Indian finishing spice my Indian coworker brought over for me. You put a pinch of it into the dish of say curry/lentils right at serving. I put it as Pumpkin Pie spice because it seems to be a mix of cloves, nutmeg, Cinnamon and a few other things. It reminded me of Pumpkin Pie spices enough that I skip the regular pie recipe and just put a few spoons of that into the pumpkin filling. People love it.

Celery salt, because as a vegan to get a chicken/turkey type broth soup celery and sage can trick your taste buds into tasting chicken like.

Kosher Salt is for my homemade bread, it is super course and it does a better job of letting the yeast rise (while still controlling it).

Salt Substitute is actually Black Salt (already had the label stuck on the jar). Its a sulfer like mineral salt made by burning something. Since we are vegan if you want anything to smell and taste eggy, like an eggless salad, this does exactly that. But also adds good flavour in recipes.

Truffle Salt-- hard to source here so still empty right now.

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Cardamom, cumin, chilli powder, paprika, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, cayenne, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

No European dishes then? No oregano, thyme, basil?

[–] Hegar@fedia.io 2 points 4 days ago

No not really. I honestly don't cook a lot, or well, but I'm not really into european food.

[–] IndridCold@lemmy.ca 0 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They left out the list for "American"

  • Mayonnaise
  • Corn syrup
  • Guns
  • Jesus
[–] Hagdos@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Oh no, a post that's not about the US! Quick, let's make it about the US anyway!

[–] IndridCold@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

Why not? Americans are fun to laugh at.

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