Spices 101 ~ Tips and Tricks in Your Kitchen

Dust off your Kitchen Spices for a Health Boost!

Let’s be honest: I bet you have some spices in your kitchen now bought in original jars that are overpriced, pre-ground, stale and old!!!

Did you know that after a year you should

really replace your kitchen herbs and spices?

In this demo video, you’ll learn which spices are best bought in powder, which are best bought whole, how to process them and how to be practical and economical about them. Of course, they have a lot of health benefits. However, today I also want to focus on the what and the how to save you money, bring back more yum factor and pleasure from the extra flavor, and keep it practical. The health benefits are a wonderful bonus! Here are some of the fun things discussed in the video:

1. Get Your Spices Organic Please, so They’re not Irradiated.

Many herbs, seasonings and spices are irradiated, exposed to HALF A BILLION chest X-ray’s worth of gamma radiation. This irradiation is not just cosmetic and carries certain risks, listed below. Fortunately, FDA requires this information on the products, so look for a label with the “Treated by Radiation” or “Treated by Irradiation” Radura symbol. You should see this round pink label on any herb or spice that has been irradiated.

According to Green Med Info:

“Despite the irresponsible promotion of this process as safe, food irradiation destroys much of the vitamin content of food, produces a number of toxic byproducts: formaldehyde, benzene, and formic acid, as well as unique radiolytic products, e.g. 2-alklycyclobutanoes, that have been demonstrated to be cytotoxic (damages cells), genotoxic (damages DNA), and carcinogenic (causes cancer) in test tube and animal studies.”

2. Grind or not to Grind?

In the video you’ll see my favorite spice tools and learn what they are and are not best for. I will also show you what to grind with which tool, and the spices that should not be ground!

3. Best Tools for Specific Spices

You’ll learn the best uses of a mortar and pestle, a coffee grinder, and a micro plane.

4. Benefit of Getting Culinary Spices in Bulk

You’ll learn some of benefits of buying in bulk, e.g.:

• Richer Flavor – fresher, better quality
• More Savings – branding and packaging increases your cost; buy what you need at a time
• Less Used – freshly ground spices are much more potent, so you will need less in a recipe

5. I’ll Show You My Best Tips for the Spices:

Culinary herbs and spices have their personalities, and knowing that can make a world of difference in how delicious and rewarding your experience with them can be. Here are the culinary spices we will discuss:

• Fresh ginger (I will teach you some amazing tips on that!)
• Coriander
• Cumin
• Nutmeg
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric
• Clove
• Star of anise
• Cardamom

Enjoy the video. I hope as a result, you will switch to organic whole spices, buy a coffee grinder, and grind most of them as needed for the amazing flavor you did not know you were missing!!!

To your health!

Dr. Kasia Kines