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How Much and When

How Much and When

Remember ½. You don’t want to overpower the food you want to enhance its flavors so except in a very few instances you want to use herbs and spices sparingly. Start off with 1/2 teaspoon of spice for any dish that serves four to six people. And for herbs, use 1/2 teaspoon for powders and 1-1/2 teaspoon for dried or chopped.

Because oils are concentrated in the drying process, it takes about half the quantity of dried herbs as fresh.
It is best to add ground or cut spices and herbs around the midway point or towards the end of the cooking process, so that their flavors won’t disappear.
During the preparation of salad dressings, blend the ingredients of the salad with the seasonings several hours before they are needed and then refrigerate. This allows the flavors to bond.
Don’t overestimate red peppers or any spice blends with red pepper in them as at first their tastes usually appear somewhat mild – but their heat will sneak up on you and you don’t want them to overwhelm you!
With fish you want to marinate in lemon juice and herbs and then refrigerate for several hours before cooking. You can also place the herbs across fish before steaming.