Building a Spice Collection

If you're looking for jars and containers for spices or spice racks, this isn't the post for you. I have barely sorted out my problems with the spice section of my kitchen (which is basically spices shoved into old glass Bonne Maman jars or anything with a lid), so I don't think I can yet be of use to anyone in these matters, but what I can do is help you build a spice collection because it's not as easy as you think.

Another thing I should mention is that I am a multi-cuisinal (this is not a real word) cook. If you are too, then you should start by sorting out the spices you currently have according to what types of cuisines you cook. Many cuisines use the same spices for example Mexican and Indian both use a lot of cumin, fine cayenne powder, and coriander powder. There are also spices I consider cuisine indifferent like onion powder, garlic powder, salts, different types of peppercorns, and paprika.

First make a list of what cuisines you tend to cook most often.

I regularly cook:

French
Korean
Italian
Indian
Chinese
Japanese
Thai
American (Southern, New England, Cajun, Tex-Mex)

While I cook other cuisines as well such as Vietnamese, English, Malayasian, Indonesian, etc. the above list are the cuisines I cook at least 2 or 3 times a month. Being half French and half Korean, I cook these cuisines most often, but I do like to keep my meals ethnically diverse.

Once you make your list of cuisines start to think of the spices you must have in order to create your meals.

Here are my lists:

French:
Rosemary
Bay leaves
Thyme (Thyme Flowers)
Marjoram
Tarragon
Basil
Lavander
Chervil (which looks like parsley but has a bit of anise taste to it)
Sage
Cumin (for duck a l'orange)
Mint
Cloves
Nutmeg (for red meat and desserts)
Saffron
Cardamon (desserts)
Cinnamon
Fennel

Korean:

Now Korean is more complicated because very few dried spices are used in Korean cooking. This doesn't mean you don't need a lot of space in your refrigerator or on your counter for the basics. You cannot and I mean cannot cook Korean cuisine without soy sauce, sesame seed oil, cayenne pepper (both finely ground and crushed), soybean paste (called gangjang), red pepper paste (called gochujang), sesame seeds (both white and black), garlic, green onions, ginger, and lots of flavoured vinegars.

You also need one off things that make all the difference in Korean cooking like brine shrimp, sea salt, anchovy powder, dried chestnuts or chestnut powder, and fish sauce.

Italian:

Basil
Garlic
Pepper
Saffron
Coriander (seeds)
Oregano
Borage (a bit like cucumber)
Ginger (used only in southern Italy)
Nutmeg
Bay Leaves
Fennel
Juniper
Majoram
Myrtle (used in Sardinia)
Parsley (flat leafed)
Rosemary
Sage

Now without listing all of the spices for all the cooking I do, you can already see where spices crossover between two cuisines, in this instance French and Italian. The best way to build a spice collection is to not only know what spices are used in multiple cuisines you cook, but also which ones are rather rare.

In Indian cooking you can't make aloo gobi without mango powder or garam masala. In Cajun cooking you need to have file powder or your gumbos won't thicken properly (and remember you serve file at the table, do not add it to directly to your pot of gumbo! I was severely chastised by a lady in New Orleans for telling her I added it directly to my gumbo and promised I would never do it again). In Mexican cooking a lot of spices from Indian cooking are also used, but you can't make proper Mexican food without all the various peppers used in Mexican cuisine like jalapenos, poblanos, and chipotles.

Once you make your list save yourself a bit of money by buying the most often used spices in bulk either at the grocery store or if you live in Paris at the Indian shops either at La Chapelle (Metro Line 2) or rue Saint-Denis (Metro Line 7,8.9). They're not only cheaper, but you can buy in bulk. I buy bay leaves at the Indian shops for example because I can have 250g for 2,00 euros whereas at a French supermarket 40g will cost me about 3,00 euros.

The good news about either building your spice collection or building from your existing collection (I counted and I have almost 100 different types of spices) is that it can also help you experiment.

I make Indian Tex-Mex for example where I switch up a few things by using nan instead of tortillas and make raita with sour cream instead of yogurt and instead of beef curry I make Mexican style carne guisada (beef stew). I also make fusion French-Korean food where I add a bit of gochujang or encrust pork tenderloin in roasted sesame seeds and make a ginger-wine sauce. With the right spice collection, anything and everything is possible.

Of course having almost 100 different types of spices takes up room and isn't always easy to manage, but take a page from cooking shows. Measure your spices out into tiny little glass bowls beforehand and the searching through everything becomes less of a nuisance because it's annoying to have to search for something when you're at a crucial point in cooking.

Plus, while I might not have a beautiful spice rack, I have given up aesthetics for practicality and for the environment. I never throw away any glass jar, not even olive oil bottles because I reuse everything. I simply wait until I have a fair amount of bottles to de-label, fill the sink up with hot water, let them soak, and once they're clean and label free I store them until I need them. It also means that when a bottle breaks or cracks I haven't lost whatever money I invested in spice jars because I simply need to finish up the mustard to replace it.

Be aware that dried spices do lose their freshness, especially when exposed to sunlight and humidity, and should be thrown out after about a year. Also, do some research because certain spices shouldn't be kept next to each other on a spice rack unless the containers are airtight. I learned this lesson when I kept my asofetida next to my garlic powder. It was not tasty as asofetida is foul until added to food and everything I added garlic powder to didn't turn out quite right.

What unusual spices do you have in your spice collection? Mine would probably have to be the powdered galangal I bought in Holland because it's very hard to find in France. I've used it to make a curry rub for a roasted chicken with great success. I love it's subtle flavour that is similar to ginger, but still has a little extra omph.

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Spice Racks & Pot Racks

I like to think I'm a serious cook. I can make just about anything provided I've tried the dish before (I call it reverse food engineering) and once I've got the basics, I can adapt recipes very easily. In Paris one has to learn how to cook in their kitchen because space is more often than not the issue. 

My first apartment in Paris for example had a nice stove and a dishwasher but there was only one small sink, one small section of counter space that was at a practical level, an island counter that could only be used by giants, and almost no place to put the refrigerator.

My second apartment in Paris had more counter space and lots of cupboard space, but was narrow enough that two people couldn't stand back to back. It was more of an alley than a kitchen and opening the cupboards or the oven was a problem. There were two stove burners in the counter, which was a nice space saver, but two burners means your timing for different parts of the meal had to be planned perfectly.

The kitchen is a bit weird in my third flat as well. The sink area is recessed in the back of the kitchen with a smaller four burner stove with oven and a counter for working that is about three feet long. There isn't ample cupboard space though, and this is where the problem begins. When I bought the dishes and pots and pans I had plenty of cupboard space.

The celings aren't high enough, even at my underwhelming height of 5'5 (165 cm) for a hanging pot rack and there isn't a lot of extra space. In New York I didn't have a problem with the ceiling height being too low, in fact it was the opposite. I couldn't find a pot rack with long enough chains so I would actually be able to reach my pots and pans without sucking down human growth hormone shakes or needing a ladder.

What I decided to do was make the most of the limited wall space. I bought some grid wall, normally used in stores and boutiques (see an example here: Gridwall ) and then sorted out all my pots and pans from what could be hung up and what couldn't. You can buy "s hooks" just about anywhere and they're cheap. Buy a few extras if you think you'll buy more pans during your time in your apartment or house. Then simply attach the gridwall securely to the wall (use anchors) and use the entire grid to hang up your things.

That's one problem solved. If you're in France you could probably find the gridwall at any Bricorama or Castorama, but if you're in Paris (or other parts of Europe) you can make use of a wonderful place called Retif that sells equipment for stores and boutiques. There is a hitch, which is you're supposed to be a "professionel", but it's easy to get around by saying you'll FAX them your VAT (tax identification number for businesses) at a later date. I have a VAT number and an account there, but I've brought friends to buy stuff and it worked out fine. I did a search for "grille", since grid wall doesn't translate exactly (grille mur would be the closest translation) and came up with all these inexpensive results: Grille Mur.

Now one other problem remains. The spice rack.

Getting a pot or pan from an elusive cupboard or rack is much less of a pain in the derriere than having to sort through all your spices when time may be of the essence. At the moment I have a small shelf above the stove where I keep all my spices. It's quite an ecclectic collection of repurposed Bonne Maman, mustard, and other condiment jars and coffee cans and basically anything that can hold spices. In other words, the aesthetics of my spice jars means very little to me. What I want is enough space to keep all the spices I use in my everyday cooking, which varies from spices for French, Korean, Japanese, Indian, American, Creole, and Mexican.

A Google image search leads me to believe that many people don't have my same problem. Every photo I get when I search for "creative spice racks" looks more elegant than my collection of haphazard jars and bottles deserve. Where is the form that meets the function?

If you have a creative spice rack idea you've been dying to share, I am dying to know. Otherwise I can already envision the chaos that will take over my soon-to-be kitchen. As of now, I'm thinking a wire basket placed on top of the fridge is going to be the temporary solution.

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