9 Spices, Seasonings & Sweeteners Tips

Reliable recipes and top-quality equipment will get you far, but knowing how to get the most from your seasoning can make a big difference.

It’s amazing how adding salt and pepper can easily enhance the taste of your dish. But it is not as simple as it sounds! Sometimes the dish is too salty or too bland and you don’t know where it went wrong. We have all been there, so here are 8 spices, and seasoning tips that will surely help you bring out the flavor!

1. Homemade Seasonings: Stop buying the expensive seasoning packets at the store. To save money, look up seasoning combinations on the Internet, make them and store them in jars

2. Safe Snips: To avoid getting too much hot pepper on your hands, hold a pepper by the stem and snip it with kitchen scissors directly into the recipe. Your hands won’t touch the spicy flesh or seeds.

3. Simple Syrup: Make a simple syrup to sweeten tea easily. Mix 1 cup each of water and sugar and warm on the stove over medium heat, stirring until sugar is completely liquefied. Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

4. Restore Your Honey: If your honey has crystallized, place the container in very warm water for 5-10 minutes to bring it back to its liquid state. Repeat as needed.

5. Slippery Seeds: Need citrus juice? Lemons, limes, and oranges can be squeezed over a grater or sieve placed on a bowl. The juice flows into the bowl and the seeds stay out.

6. Frozen Zest: After juicing a citrus fruit, don’t just toss it. Take the time to remove the zest

7. Small Spices: Need to take spices along for camping or travel? Use empty TicTac containers to carry small portions that are easily dispensed.

8. Fresh Herbs: Grow or buy fresh herbs and freeze them in zipper plastic bags. They're far better tasting than dried bottled herbs from the store.

9. Chill Instead Of Chopping: Keep parsley in the freezer in a zipper plastic bag. When needed, take it out and rub the bag briskly between your hands. The parsley will break apart.