Well, now you can start playing with combinations of roasted spices. After all, variety is the spice of life!

Cooking with spices sounds easy, but to make spices taste as rich and vibrant as they possibly can, there are a few tips to know! Of course, you can have them raw and just toss them in or on your favorite food and it would be totally fine… However, did you know that some spices are stronger when cooked?

Indeed, cooking spices intensifies their aroma by breaking down their essential oils and then releasing their aromatics in a different form. Though, be careful! Some spices roast well- some will burn or simply lose their flavor. Also, ground spices will burn almost instantly if dry roasted, so please follow the few tips below!

TIP 1. CHOOSE IT CAREFULLY

Cook ground spices that are in the list of whole spices that are commonly roasted and known to develop a better aroma when cooked. Also, do not cook different spices in the same pan at the same time. The spices will toast and brown at different speeds, and so you’re either left with some that aren’t toasted or some that are burnt!

 

TIP 2. KEEP IT MOIST

Cook your ground spices by mixing them with whichever liquid you're using — vinegar, stock, or water — before heating them in the pan, oven, or cooking them with dressing. Ground spices will burn easily, even when you're cooking in oil! 

 

TIP 3. DON’T BURN IT

Constantly stir over low heat, stirring every few seconds to ensure the spices don’t burn. Cook until the liquid has evaporated and the spices start to release a strong fragrant smell! Remove from the pan immediately once the aromatics intensify and be careful not to burn your spices. In less than one minute, the spices are fragrant, the oil is flavored, and the pan is ready for the other ingredients!

 

BONUS. INFUSED IT

You can of course make toasted, roasted spices paste, but also infused spice oils that open up their aromatics nicely and add new flavors, often adding a deeper, roasted, and earthier aroma to any of your favorite dishes.

 

You see, it's spice & easy and heating ground spices in oil first before cooking will make all the difference.