Useless (or semi-useless) spices?

[innocent jogger]

(It's my first thread so please point out any retardation and don't hold back.)

Has anybody else experimented with shit like bay leaves and (non-smoked) paprika among other things? Paprika is useful for color and can dull a flavor (I guess) but I have made a lot of stews and soups (using the same recipes) with and without bay leaves and I can't tell the difference, Don't get me started on saffron either.

 

[Character from a movie]

Maybe the bay leaves you use lost flavor because they're too "old". Try getting new ones or adding more bay leaves to your food. I use 2 or 3 small leaves when I prepare tomato sauce.
Same with saffron, especially if it's powdered. If you live in the US, I'm sure you can get decent saffron. The good thing about it is that you only need a tiny bit in your food because it has a very strong flavor.

 

[TheArtilleryman]

Dried coriander. It has NO flavour compared to fresh coriander, it just makes the food look nicer because its got specks of green herb on it.

I purchased a bottle of star anise over a year ago and still havent found anything I'd like to add it to.

 

[quaawaa]

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

 

[innocent jogger]

Maybe the bay leaves you use lost flavor because they're too "old".

The ones I am talking about are fresh (according to the sell-by date) but I have never noticed a discernible flavor when using bay leaves ever. Either my taste buds are broken or bay leaves are a long con.

Dried coriander. It has NO flavour compared to fresh coriander, it just makes the food look nicer because its got specks of green herb on it.

I guess I have never come across that. Coriander has a great "Cap'n Crunch" flavor, and is good (in small doses with southwestern US food). It's weird that it is another part of cilantro tho. LOL

I purchased a bottle of star anise over a year ago and still havent found anything I'd like to add it to.

It's good to sprinkle over certain Asian dishes ("five-spice" is better) in moderation. I could never see myself using a whole container at home in my lifetime.

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

It's good on breakfast potatoes aka "American Fries", etc..

 

[Fastest Hand In The East]

Salt and sugar were invented by the jews to make food tasty so the white man remains fat and docile.

 

[Irregardless]

Yup exactly like you said, non-smoked Paprika is almost useless and bay leaves are basically meaningless unless they're soaked in whatever you're making for like an hour. Also things like mustard powder and celery seed/salt have no taste in low quantities.

 

[Cloaca Rimjob]

Can anyone describe the taste of parsley?

 

[Helvítis Túristi]

Paprika is useful for color and can dull a flavor (I guess)

It's good on breakfast potatoes aka "American Fries", etc..

Paprika bad, but paprika mixed with industrial dust is good? Are you a nigger OP?

 

[DumbDude43]

how is paprika useless? the flavor is pretty strong and distinct, smoked or not

 

[pork and beans]

shit like bay leaves

do not disrespect bay leaves, wow...it adds aroma, it makes the flavors stronger and it is a natural preservative... an absolute basic to things like lentel stew...

And smoked paprika is good, too. not spicy at all, but super tasty. It's great in sauces and SUPER common in stuff like marinated pork loin.

Both are very, very cheap and and absolute staple of cooking. They aren't incredible but they do their job well.

so the white man remains fat and docile

sugar yes, but salt doesnt have any calories, does it? Technically you could eat a minuscule portion with lots of salt so that your stomach hurts and you eat less. Too much sodium bad, though.

 

[Thomas Paine]

breakfast potatoes

What fucking third-world niggerland are you from?

I have met people from all over the globe and not once have I heard fries called breakfast potatoes

 

[mindlessobserver]

What fucking third-world niggerland are you from?

I have met people from all over the globe and not once have I heard fries called breakfast potatoes

i do this too though. Cut potato in small cubes. Soak in salt water for an hour. Then deep fry using the "fry twice" method. After that toss in salt, paprika, black pepper and garlic powder.

Shit is absolutely amazing, especially with either maple syrup or hot sauce drizzled on to preference. Dish is called "home fries". Some people add onions and/or peppers too.

It's a southern thang, not necessarily a nigga thang

 

[Party Hat Wurmple]

Bay Leaves are a staple of Cajun cooking. Those dishes literally are not the same without them. Paprika is a duller spice sure, but it's vital in some dishes, usually poultry.

 

[Thomas Paine]

i do this too though. Cut potato in small cubes. Soak in salt water for an hour. Then deep fry using the "fry twice" method. After that toss in salt, paprika, black pepper and garlic powder.

Shit is absolutely amazing, especially with either maple syrup or hot sauce drizzled on to preference. Dish is called "home fries". Some people add onions and/or peppers too.

It's a southern thang, not necessarily a nigga thang

I'm a Southerner.

There is a huge difference between fries and other potato dishes like home fries, hashbrowns, etc.

Maybe I'm just being too autistic to a foreigner about potatoes.

 

[Uncle Sid]

All you need is salt, pepper, hot sauce, and Herbs de Provence. Anything else is superfluous.

 

[The Mass Shooter Ron Soye]

I purchased a bottle of star anise over a year ago and still havent found anything I'd like to add it to.

I agree with jogger, put a little in something like stir-fry.

 

[mindlessobserver]

I'm always confused by White pepper. Does anyone use it for anything?

 

[Chongqing]

how is paprika useless? the flavor is pretty strong and distinct, smoked or not

I can't taste it all. When I had my last jar of it, I licked my finger and coated it with the paprika powder so I could try it by itself. It had no discernable taste for me.

I also can't taste much of tumeric. I know it has a smell, and it tastes the way it smells. But for me it's as subtle as boiling water, letting it cool, and then drinking the water you boiled. Yes, it does have a taste, but it's so subtle. Maybe it's just the taste of the metal container it was transported in, I don't know. The people I cook for can taste it. Meanwhile, I'll use a portion of it to turn my steamed rice yellow (for the anti-inflamation properties) and I can't taste the difference compared to regular white rice.

Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

Wrong thread.


I also agree with OP that I haven't found an adequate use for bayleaves.

 

[Higgs Bonbon]

I'm always confused by White pepper. Does anyone use it for anything?

White pepper has been soaked so as to remove the skin, which contains some of the pepperyness, so they're milder. Some describe the difference as 'earthy'.