It is difficult to imagine modern cooking without various herbs, spices and spices. They give color, flavor to a dish and can help create something special from familiar foods.
Herbs and spices (as opposed to spices) are herbal products. They are obtained from various parts of plants: leaves, stems, inflorescences, fruits, bark. In cooking, they are often used in dried form, only in the region of growth can they be used both dry and fresh.
When preparing food, you should take into account the peculiarities of using various herbs and spices. If a cold appetizer, salad or dessert is being prepared, then the dish should be allowed to infuse so that it is saturated with the taste and aroma of the spices added to it. When preparing a hot dish, you should do the opposite, adding herbs and spices shortly before preparing the dish, and if the dish is low-fat, then they can be put before serving. This is to ensure that the flavor and aroma of the seasonings do not evaporate along with the steam.
It is better to use fresh herbs and spices, so they fully convey their taste and aroma to your dish. But this use case is not always possible. In this situation, the most popular preservation method is used - drying. Store dried spices in bowls with a tight-fitting lid. For better preservation of their taste and aroma qualities, spices and herbs are stored as a whole, and crushed before use. However, even if such simple storage rules are observed, dried flowers gradually lose their properties and qualities, therefore it is better to store them at home for no more than a year and only in a small amount, which is needed for cooking.
Another good preservation method is to prepare vinegar tinctures. Although the possibilities of eating them in this form are limited, the tincture can be stored for an unlimited amount of time.
When using them, especially sharp and pungent formulations, observe moderation. If you have any disease, you should not use seasonings that contribute to the development of the disease. But with the correct use of herbs and spices, they have a positive effect on the body.
