Oh boy. This is a tough one to go through, my cupboard is literally over flowing with spices from all over the world. Every time I visit a new country or go to Greece, I always buy at least 4 of the local spice mixes or traditional spices that country is known for. In addition to adding a ton of flavor to your meals, many spices have a ton of added healthy benefits to them, so be liberal with all of it, except for the salt…you’ll want to watch your sodium intake. That being said, feel free to build a collection all the different types of salt that is out there! There’s flavored like lavender, raspberry, herb or smoked sea salt, salt that is still in rock form (referring to you Himalayan Pink), and one of my favorites from England, the crunchy Maldon variety.
Heres the list of spices in my toasty cupboard:
- Allspice
- Cardamon
- Cayenne Pepper
- Chili Pepper Flakes
- Cinnamon
- Cloves (whole)
- Cocao Powder
- Cumin
- Fennel Seeds
- Furikake Mix
- Ginger (ground)
- Liquid Smoke
- Lavender (whole buds)
- Mahlab (ground) you can find this online or at Greek speciality stores
- Mastic (ground) you can find this online or at Greek speciality stores
- Nutmeg (whole)
- Oregano
- Pepper (whole) its better when you grind it yourself for black and rainbow, the white can be ground
- Rosemary
- Saffron threads
- Salt, I use sea salt and have about 8-9 types
- Sesame Seeds ( black and toasted white, you can also toast the white ones yourself)
- Smoked Paprika (Spanish or Hungarian)
- Sweet Paprika (Spanish or Hungarian)
- Thyme
- Za’atar Blend