Spice Up Your New Year with these 7 Amazing Spice Blends
Discover > Texas Home Cooking > Spice Up Your New Year with these 7 Amazing Spice Blends
Spice plays a huge role in making the flavors of a certain dish shine. Historically, spices have made empires through the spice trade. Nowadays, you donât have to scour the world for the spice islands just to get to your next curry fix. A blend of spices has become readily-available in markets or you can learn how to make spice blends for your favorite spice mixes like curry.
Being the designated cook in our household of two, Iâm planning to blast into the New Year with a fully replenished spice rack. Through my years of home-cooking experience, I have grown to love certain spice mixes or mix of herbs that goes well with my preferred dishes and weekly meal preps. These mixes of spices have proven to be the most versatile out of all and goes well with a wide variety of meats, vegetables, and even salads.
From barbecue spices to use in your next dry-rub to a curry spice mix recipe thatâs sure to spice up your favorite beef or chicken curry, here are the 7 spice mixes thatâs going to add that much needed kick to your New Year!
Blends of Spices for Home Cooking Recipes
1.) Blackened Seasoning
Crafted in the 1980s by Chef Paul Prudhomme, Blackened Seasoning adds a smoky taste, heat, and popping color to any dish that you prefer. This Creole, and Cajun inspired flavorful mix contains ingredients like chili pepper, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, (how long does garlic powder last?) oregano, thyme, and salt. Blackened Seasoning goes well with a wide variety of food such as vegetable dishes, pork, shrimp, steak, and chicken.
Blackened Seasoning gives every Sunday barbecue that much needed kick and an awesome flavor profile thatâs sure to keep you grilling some more.
2.) Curry Mix
The legendary Curry Mix is known all around the world as a great pairing with rice. Itâs not just a mix of herbs. Rather, this mix of turmeric, cumin, coriander, and other spices originates from the Indian Tamil word âkariâ which translates to a sauce eaten with rice. The Curry Mix is one of the foundations in many Asian countries and has been used by Indian Cuisine since 2000 BCE. Currently, countries with their own versions of curry are India, Thailand, and Japan.
The legendary curry mix is, and will always will be, my personal favorite and the go-to staple spice mix for end-of-the-day cooks like me.
3.) Jerk Seasoning
Native to the island of Jamaica, jerk seasoning (how long does jerk seasoning last?) adds a more earthy and smoky taste with a touch of sweetness to a wide variety of dishes. Learn how to make this spice blend from the tropics. It is generally composed of dried Scotch Bonnets, and allspice â making for a spice mix with a huge amount of heat. Renditions of this popular spice mix also use a combination of herbs, spices, and even brown sugar. This spice mix recipe is perfect for a wide variety of dishes, Jerk Seasoning is added to lamb, goat, beef, vegetables, sausages, crustaceans, season fish, and tofu (how long does tofu last?).
Jerk Seasoning is a great addition to your spice rack for the wide variety of meats it can season.
4.) Taco Seasoning
Being in Texas, Tacos Seasoning is probably one of the main go-to of most Texan kitchens and a popular blend of spices. Taco Seasoning (how long does taco seasoning last?) packs with it a bit of Mexican heritage and, with different versions of it around, has grown into a flavorful spice mix that can be used on a variety of dishes.
The seasoning is a mix of herbs, like cumin and oregano that finishes off with a bit of spice and heat. Popularly used in meats to be used in Tacos, less known are its uses in seasoning salads, soups, fries, dips, and barbecues.
Get to know more about Taco Seasoning and take a deep dive into what makes this spice mix unique
5.) Chimichurri Mix
Originating from Argentina, the Chimichurri Mix translates to the hodgepodge mix of spices that looks back at the colonial roots of the region. This South American staple sauce generally contains parsley, cilantro, and garlic. When you learn how to make this spice blend, youâll realize there are some renditions of this mix that adds vinegar and other acids â giving seasoned dishes a bit of a tang.
The overall flavor for this spice mix gives recipe dishes a refreshing grass taste that is to be followed by a pungent kick. The Chimichurri comes in either Verde or Rojo that goes well with grilled meats, marinade, salad dressing, and even as a dipping sauce.
The South American Chimichurri gives your dishes a refreshing taste with its mix of different ingredients inspired by history.
6.) Italian Seasoning
This traditional pre-blended mixture is one of my staple spice mixes that I use with a wide variety of dishes. This blend of spices originated in the Mediterranean â particularly during the time when the ancient Greeks and Romans mixed and matched this wonderful blend. Eventually, America adopted this blend to their liking since it is reminiscent of the original Italian mix of seasonings that isnât readily available on the American continent. This mix of oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, and coriander give it that distinct piney and earthy flavors that finishes with a bit of tang, sweet undertones, and mint.
The traditional Italian Seasoning should be your go-to spice mix for a wide variety of dishes.
7.) Chili Mix
The fiery Chili Mix is a blend of spices and a mix of herbs that shouts out its very namesake through its flavor profile. Despite disputing origin stories, the chili was first described in 1828 by J.C. Clopper when he visited San Antonio from Houston. And by the mid-1880s, San Antonio Women, also known as âchilli queensâ started selling chilie in the markets around the area. Nowadays, chili can be made based out of a mix of different spices which is generally composed of cumin and chili powder with garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, paprika, and pepper in varying amounts depending on the specific recipe being used.
The blend of different spices and a flavorful heat is packed into a neat little spice mix known as the classic Chili Mix
These spice blends, in my own opinion, should already be in your rack. Each blend of spices allows for a wide variety of dishes that you can cook at home. Whenever I come home from a busy farmers market day, these spices always gives the necessary foundation for my weekly meal prep and even through the New Year.
Want to test out the spice combinations in the kitchen and need some fresh seafood? Check out these 8 Markets To Buy Fresh Seafood From in Texas.
