Herbs and spices?

[Rabbitheadlights]

Firstly I'm aware there are much more important things occuring in the world right now and that there is also a cost of living crisis.

However I subscribe to several cookery forums and recently it seems to be a popular opinion that herbs and spices are a luxury? For me they are an integral part of cooking and any meal, they are in fact what makes food joyful and I don't consider them a luxury at all.

Aibu??

Agreed, they're just part of my stocks. However if they all run out at once it'd be expensive to replace so guess it's a luxury if you're starting out from scratch. Fresh herbs I suppose are more luxury unless you're growing them.

@Alittlenonsensenowandthen I agree that the purchasing of several at once could be expensive and thus considered a luxury however the thought train seems to be for example, a bolognaise is fine with just garlic. Basil, oregano, chili etc are not necessary and frivolous even. Maybe it's just because lots of people are cutting back and this is one small way if doing that?

A little goes a long way though. I would hate to eat bland, boring food all the time.

I’ve got a wall of herbs and spices.

as they run out I tend to go to either the world food aisle (Asda is particularly good) and buy the larger packets as they’re less than the price of the jars, or where I work there’s 3 good Asian/Indian supermarkets to stock up from.

They can be an economy because they can make cheap basic food much more palatable, delicious in fact.

Look at vegetable pakoras for example. Wouldn't be half as interesting without the spice.

I would be looking to find better cookery forums to be honest. If you enjoy cooking and are used to having a decent store cupboard of herbs, spices dry goods etc then there won't be much enjoyment from one like this. I was a member of a few via facebook and they were of the fry mince with an onion, tin of tomatoes and garlic for bolognese mindset. They would then stick it in a dish and call it cottage pie. It became frustrating and I lost interest.

Well they are ‘extras’ so of course they are going to be a luxury for someone on a limited budget.
They are an integral part for you because you can afford it.
Per portion it doesn’t add much but you obviously need to buy much more than you need for a meal and unfortunately some people can’t justify that.

Basic herbs and spices are the cornerstone of cooking. But when I was on the breadline, I ate very bland food as I couldn't even consider spicing it all up. I had salt and pepper and probably chilli powder back then and never even considered buying loads of herbs and spices as I didn't have the headspace when each meal was eeked out.

They are also medicinal. And as a pp said, you can grow many herbs and spices yourself for peanuts.

But it is a bit nonsensical. Look at the nations that use a lot of spices in their traditional cookery. It's not necessarily the richest nations in the world. A few spices are expensive but the majority are pretty reasonable and blends can be bought very cheaply. They can tenderise cheaper cuts of meat and make basic root vegetables into a gourmet dish. Let's face it you don't need a cookery forum to tell you how to cook beans on toast!

Is this a "budget" cookery forum, like a Jack Monroe sort of thing, or a more food-focused one? I am on a couple of cooking forums, and I find people tend to go the other way ("you can't possibly make a bouillabaisse with PERSIAN saffron! It must be Spanish, otherwise you might as well give it to the cat").

Herbs and spices are not a luxury, they are what makes food enjoyable rather than just fuel. As someone said upthread, buying spices from the World Foods aisle, or from an Asian supermarket if you have one locally, is much cheaper than buying the little jars from Schwarz!

Would anyone be able to recommend any forums? I cook for my family but I’m not a good cook or a natural one. My food is on the tasty side of bland, but only just! I tend to use salt, pepper, mixed herbs and smoked paprika and that’s about it. I’ve got a little garden space and an allotment to grow herbs - I’ve got parsley in the garden and rosemary and oregano in the allotment, but I don’t use them!

id love to be able to learn and pick up ideas through a forum.

I suppose when I was a student I would only have a few very basic things like chilli powder, curry powder, black pepper and maybe some Italian herbs. It isn't just the cost aspect but also that many people like me from poor backgrounds were just never given any education on spices in food and grew up eating bland and got used to it. I do think having a full spice rack with all the cloves and smoked paprika and rosemary etc is quite a middle class thing.

Same. Some people think cooking with spice is just throwing salt and pepper in 🤢. Herbs, spices, marinades are essential.

Herbs and spices are essential in my opinion. I get them in bulk from a cash and carry. It's expensive to buy when you but it nut cheaper in the long run.

I like both spicy foods and non spicy myself. Salt and white pepper can be lovely in a vegetable soup for example which just contains vegetable stock, onions, carrots and green beans. But it's nice to have spicy food too otherwise everything ends up being more of the same.

Although I do realise pepper is a spice! Most people just think of it as seasoning though.

As a student I initially had mixed herbs, pepper, curry powder, garlic powder and chilli powder. I cooked a fab range of dishes with just those things.

Ridiculous notion.

The 'price per use' is tiny.

Parsley - add to any pasta dishes whilst cooking onions, add to soups and stews, and anything that needs some green in it.

Rosemary - sprinkle onto flatbreads, or onto roast potatoes.

oregano, chop and add to pasta dishes and especially on pzzas.

Well to be fair, bolognese traditionally doesn't include any of garlic, chili, basil or oregano, but I would always put garlic in and maybe some oregano if I had some.

But you can add lots of flavour using herbs and spices without it costing a lot and it's not a luxury because they're generally the gateway to making tasty food for hardly any money, eg if you can make something like a dhal, and use turmeric, chilli powder, garlic and coriander leaf, it will taste great and cost pennies per portion for something really nutrious.

Instead of buying small Schwartz jars you can get Asian branded larger packs for well under a pound that last for ages, so the cost per recipe is almost nothing.

I buy the potted herbs from the cheaper supermarkets (about 50 p in Asda, Aldi or Lidl instead of 2 or 3 times that price in Sainsburys or Waitrose and repot them into a bigger pot to try and get them to grow a bit and last longer doesn't always work though.

For garlic and ginger, I get the big packs of frozen cubes that last ages, which is easier and far cheaper than fresh.

Herbs and spices are not a luxury, they are what makes food enjoyable rather than just fuel. As someone said upthread, buying spices from the World Foods aisle, or from an Asian supermarket if you have one locally, is much cheaper than buying the little jars from Schwarz!

what’s happened to the refill boxes for herb/spice jars? Supermarkets don’t seem to stock them now.

They're a part of most recipes and last a while. They're not even that expensive especially compared to how many things you can do with one packet/bottle. Even on a low income budget we had herbs and spiced...wouldn't classify that as a luxury just expected of anyone who had a kitchen to have.

@Thatswhyimacat I don't agree with that I grew up in the East end of London before gentrification, parents both left school at 14 without qualifications dad worked 60 weeks all his life in manual jobs, mum worked in nurseries or retail with cleaning jobs on top. Spices are cheap and cooking in bulk from scratch (often cheap cuts of meat that need slow cooking) is more affordable than buying processed foods. If you're poor you've got to be creative and spices help that. I learned to cook the most amazing dishes from India, Pakistan, West Indies, Africa from neighbours and friends of our family. All cooking for large families on tight budgets.

It's all relative. Herbs and spices are expensive to buy - expensive by quantity if you buy small supermarket packets, expensive in the outlay if you opt to buy in bulk.
when I got my first flat, Me and my partner had a £20 budget for food/household products per week and I asked for herbs and spices for my Christmas presents. I still remember which family member bought me savoury herbs and spices, the person who bought me sweet baking spices and and other expensive bits (eg a bottle of posh vanilla essence). If you've never had to worry about the cost of things like herbs and spices then you are lucky.

Food education is disgraceful in the UK, has been for a long time because parents and schools are working so hard to just meet the basic levels that there isn't any time for passing on skills, if indeed the skills are there.