I have an addiction. When I open the spice cabinet, spices tumble out. This is not just in one cabinet but in at least 3. Plus, there are “counter” spices, the spices that never get put away. Not to mention refrigerated ones, like black garlic paste or gochujang.
I am in a Facebook group called Born to Egg, it’s a group for people who are into kamado style grilling and smoking. The Big Green Egg, Kamado Joe, Akorn are the type of grills most members have, but it is not limited to only those in any way. The group welcomes any kind of grilling/smoking and is a really fun place to hang out. And now I am waaaayyyy off track!
The reason I brought up the group is there was recently a thread about spice cabinets and storage. You really don’t realize how many spices you have until someone asks you to borrow one or you move and realize you have 3 boxes of spices and herbs to relocate. They just sort of, accumulate.
Most of the brave people who posted their spice cabinets had very nicely organized cabinets with lazy susans and risers. And then there was mine, stacks of jars and packages, seeming to levitate to stay where they were last placed. Spices from all corners of the world, just waiting to tumble out of that tiny space.
Thanks to online shopping, it has gotten very easy to try out new regional flavors and cuisine from foreign coutries. This means spices that were not easily available, now are. Most of the time you can even get free delivery, courtesy of Amazon.com. Flavors from the Pacific Rim, Asia, Cajun Country, India, and so many more locations we haven’t had a chance to explore until recently. It is no wonder why our cabinets have so many choices other than salt and pepper. Even those two seasonings have so much more to offer – Hawaiian Black Salt, Himalyan Pink Salt, Grey Sea Salt, Pink Peppercorn, Green or Red Peppercorn, each with their own flavor profile. It is crazy when you think about our Grandmother’s cabinets and the few choices they had. Even crazier to comprehend the flavors they could put in those dishes with what they had available!
Don’t be afraid to open your cabinet and try something new! Explore what is offered online. Go to Asia on Monday and travel to France on Tuesday! Visit Mexico on Friday and hop on over the pond to Louisiana on Saturday. Open your world during what has become a very long quaratine. Travel is nearly non-existant, but a flavor journey is only an online order away!
