How to Become a Spice-Pairing Superstar

Article posted in: Lifestyle

How do you get excited about eating healthy food everyday? Spice it up! With their rich aromas and potent flavors, spices turn ordinary ingredients into a feast for your senses. Even better, spices pump up the taste of your food without adding calories or salt to it. Using spices is easy, even if you’re not a master chef. Just remember a few basic pairings and then you can experiment to create combos you love.

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When it comes to spices, a little goes a long way. Use too much and you may overpower—rather than enhance—the food’s natural flavors. Remember this simple rule of thumb: No more than 1/4 teaspoon of dried spice or 3/4 teaspoon of fresh spices per pound of other ingredients. Whole spices need to go in to a dish about an hour before it’s done cooking, but wait until there’s just 15 minutes before the end of cooking to use ground spices.

CHICKEN
Best spices: Cumin, curry powder, mace, paprika

FISH
Best spices: Allspice, saffron, sesame seed, turmeric

BEEF
Best spices: Black pepper, caraway, mustard, nutmeg

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PORK
Best spices: Cayenne, cloves, coriander, juniper berries

LAMB
Best spices: Cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek, sumac

EGGS
Best spices: Chives, celery seed, mustard

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PASTA
Best spices: Garlic, red pepper, chili powder

RICE
Best spices: Saffron, star anise, turmeric

ASPARAGUS
Best spices: Coriander, ginger, sesame

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BEETS
Best spices: Allspice, caraway, cloves, ginger

BROCCOLI
Best spices: Curry, garlic, red pepper

CARROTS
Best spices: Cinnamon, ginger, mace

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CAULIFLOWER
Best spices: Coriander, cumin, paprika

CUCUMBERS
Best spices: Coriander, dill, mustard

EGGPLANT
Best spices: Cloves, cumin, curry powder

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GREEN BEANS
Best spices: Fenugreek, ginger, sesame

LENTILS
Best spices: Cardamom, cumin, turmeric

KALE
Best spices: Garlic, nutmeg, red pepper

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POTATOES
Best spices: Caraway, paprika, turmeric

SWEET POTATOES
Best spices: Allspice, cinnamon, ginger

TOMATOES
Best spices: Capers, celery seed, coriander

WINTER SQUASH
Best spices: Cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg

ZUCCHINI
Best spices: Coriander, garlic, red pepper

FRUIT
Best spices: Cardamom, star anise, vanilla

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