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The nice thing about herbs and spices is that you only have to buy them once and they will last a long time.
I noticed several people listing cilantro and ginger as expensive...is that a regional thing? I can buy a bunch of cilantro for 50 cents, and fresh ginger root is usually about two dollars a pound, and it never takes more than about a quarter-sized piece for a recipe (I just break off a piece the size that I need, bag it, and buy that piece).
I think fresh herbs are inexpensive. Cilantro is 50 cents a bunch here as well. Shallots are 10 to 30 cents each. Parsley, basil, and most other herbs are around a dollar for a bunch.
I think fresh herbs are an easy and inexpensive way to kick up the flavor and nutrition of almost any meal.
For city folk with access to ethnic markets, herbs are generally considerably cheaper at an Indian or Mexican bodega than at the supermarket. Same goes for dried herbs (usually sold in plastic packets instead of jars.
Ginger, garlic, shallots, all cheap. Plus it's relatively easy to grow many herbs in a window box. Particularly stuff like rosemary, thyme, mint and basil. Cilantro has been hit and miss for me - either doesn't come up or I'm drowning in it.
For city folk with access to ethnic markets, herbs are generally considerably cheaper at an Indian or Mexican bodega than at the supermarket. Same goes for dried herbs (usually sold in plastic packets instead of jars.
I get mine at a Mexican supermarket. They come in those plastic packets which are harder to store than bottles but almost everything is around $1.00. I can't believe that McCormick gets off charging the prices they do when I can get the same stuff for 1/5 the price.
My sister is a "good" cook...she heats up a pre-cooked hamburger patty, mixes a box of mac from a blue box and opens a can of peas....she is so tired from cooking....geez.
Some good points here about expensive herbs & spices.
I find that I can afford to maybe buy one bottle or can of spice per week....so i accumulate these items over the course of a month or two. Its not such a big hit on the food budget. Also, Wal-Mart carrys half-sizes of spices which could get costly in the full size. Or I buy some stuff raw (like fresh ginger root is cheaper than a can or bottle of dried and ground ginger).
For city folk with access to ethnic markets, herbs are generally considerably cheaper at an Indian or Mexican bodega than at the supermarket. Same goes for dried herbs (usually sold in plastic packets instead of jars.
Yeah, I found that out last week! Luckily I have two Indian markets within walking distance.
Some good points here about expensive herbs & spices.
I find that I can afford to maybe buy one bottle or can of spice per week....so i accumulate these items over the course of a month or two. Its not such a big hit on the food budget. Also, Wal-Mart carrys half-sizes of spices which could get costly in the full size. Or I buy some stuff raw (like fresh ginger root is cheaper than a can or bottle of dried and ground ginger).
If you don't already, wrap your ginger up and stick it in the freezer. You can then grate or slice off what you need for a recipe, and it stays good a lot longer that way.
The nice thing about herbs and spices is that you only have to buy them once and they will last a long time.
I noticed several people listing cilantro and ginger as expensive...is that a regional thing? I can buy a bunch of cilantro for 50 cents, and fresh ginger root is usually about two dollars a pound, and it never takes more than about a quarter-sized piece for a recipe (I just break off a piece the size that I need, bag it, and buy that piece).
A bunch of cilantro around here costs around $1.99. And you use maybe 4 sprigs of it, and the rest wilts and turns brown before you need to use it again, so you throw it away.
That's the #1 problem with using fresh herbs; if you have to buy them, you have to buy them by the bunch. You can't buy just a few sprigs of dill. You have to buy a bundled bunch of it, and be willing to throw away whatever you're not using in the recipe. These herbs will only last so long in the fridge before they wilt; they're not as hardy as lettuce.
And when the recipe calls for fresh herbs, it doesn't mean fresh from the McCormick's jar, and it doesn't mean fresh from the freezer. It means fresh, as in, cut from the soil, and not dried nor frozen.
I grow most of my own herbs, but when I need cilantro, I have to buy it. And since I wouldn't normally use it more than once in a week's time, I have to buy it knowing that most of it will be thrown away.
Inexpensive, yes. Cost efficient, absolutely not, even a little bit. I'd much rather just cook something else, than have to buy a big bunch of something and throw most of it away. So when it's time for my annual attempt at roasting a chicken, I'm all for buying a whole bunch of dill. I use most of it in the stock and the rest I toss into my week's salads. But that's pretty much the only time I'd ever buy it, and I don't use it enough to bother growing it.
Oregano, I use all year round, every week. But fresh oregano tastes horrible; it is meant to be used dried, not fresh. Rosemary is another one I grow - and it is meant to be used fresh. Anyone who buys it in the jar, and hasn't ever had fresh rosemary, has no idea what they're missing. It's a total waste of money to buy dried rosemary.
Many of these spices people use, they're buying jars of it and keeping it in a spice rack or in their cabinet. But many of those spices don't taste much at all like their original composition fresh from the soil or stem. It's important to learn which herbs and spices can be used dried, frozen, dehydrated, and which should never be used that way. And - as in the case of oregano, which -should- be used dried, as opposed to fresh.
You'll spend, and waste, a lot less money when you learn which are which. Pro-tip: winter savory tastes just as good as summer savory, can be used the same way (mostly with chicken and duck), but continues to grow productively well past the first frost. It turns silvery-green in the winter, and "freshens" its look after the thaw.
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