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??

@RampantIvy that's really interesting how life experiences differ, because as I say, I'm the opposite where my parents' generation only ate curries from the takeaway and a tikka masala was an unusual food!

The original question asked if herbs and spices could really be considered a luxury and yes, for some they can and are.

worth reading some of the brilliant articles by Jack Monroe which highlights just why life and food shopping / meal prep are so difficult for those living in real poverty.

Even working with people in poverty and having lived on tight budgets myself, Jack's insight opened my eyes to so many more factors which I am lucky enough never to have personally experienced.

cookingonabootstrap.com/2022/04/12/its-not-about-the-pasta-kevin-jack-monroe/?amp=1

Not really, because they are about 50p and that provides for around 20 meals.

Eating bland every day won't kill you but it will make your life pretty damn miserable.

Spices also invariably have health benefits so it's win win and very worth it.

In a life where you're having to live on absolute basics, of course anything you buy "just" to add flavour, rather than calories is a luxury.

If you're not in such desperate straits, not so much.

bolognaise is fine with just garlic. Basil, oregano, chili etc are not necessary

Proper bolognese in fact contains none of these things.

It is such an Anglo-centric thing to say that the intrinsic ingredients of many cultures’ food is a luxury!

Eating bland every day won't kill you but it will make your life pretty damn miserable

But that's in your opinion and your taste @thebeespyjamas! Plenty of people do just fine with unseasoned food and therefore would obviously class herbs as a luxury. I like flavourful food but I can manage just fine with plain things too. My Grandparents as mentioned upthread never had anything other than salt and pepper in the house and had plenty fulfilled and happy lives.

I would be pretty miserable without shellfish and blue cheese as occasional parts of my diet but to others they are the very last thing they'd ever want to eat. My friend can barely go a meal without ketchup but it turns my stomach. Each to their own.

That would be unwise.

If you had even a pinch of a few spices you could spend it on a tin of tomatoes and a potato and eat a nutritious meal that will fill you up and also go further.

I grow most herbs so that’s not an expense and spices/sauces are my guilty pleasure. I might have a dedicated cupboard 😊Then when I’m foraging for dinner and using leftovers, always something tasty.

Second others who say big larger packs not Schwartz jars and go to Asian etc. supermarkets for good deals.

Chilli in a bolognese? Doesn't that make it more of a chilli?

I've had times when I can't afford herbs and spices. I've got a well stocked rack, but sometimes can't afford to replace things. If its a choice between potatoes and spice I'm picking potatoes.

Precisely. Do people think that all Indian / Pakistani / Chinese / African / Caribbean people in this country are loaded and live in luxury? Hardly - rates of poverty are high among BAME populations as well. Yet their food is interesting and flavourful, precisely because they use plenty of different herbs and spices. If you asked an Indian mum if spices are a luxury, she'd laugh at the idea.

Surely if you'd spent your last pound on eggs and found another you'd be much better advised to spend it on some bread or potatoes, maybe some veg to go with them, than a jar or dried herbs?

It would also be unwise because scrambled eggs with dried mixed herbs would be disgusting. DMH need long slow cooking to bring out the flavour. You might as well sharpen a pencil over your scrambled eggs...

Unfortunately Northern European food is traditionally so bland and tasteless that there that the default position at times of hardship is to consider herbs and spices a luxury. Does not happen in cultures where herbs and spices are widely used. I mean let’s face it, some people in this country still think Garlic is a seasoning.

Of course it makes sense that if you can spend your last 85p on a jar of mixed herbs from Tesco OR a bag of pasta that will make all your meals go further, then the pasta it is.

But PPs are quite right when they’ve said that herbs and spices can be what makes cheap cooking much more enjoyable. And to say that spices are an unnecessary luxury is disingenuous - because all those people living well below the poverty line in places like India and who cook with spices are what, profligate money wasters?

If you don’t like flavour then you’re free to have bland food. But for people trying to eat food they like but on a tight budget, herbs and spices can make a huge difference.

The cost per use may be tiny and herbs and spices are really good value in that respect, but the initial outlay is what's the issue. I guess salt and pepper can be quite cheap but beyond that, depending on where you're shopping, they can be quite expensive.

Where I live there's an initiative that grows herbs in the park and anyone from the general public is allowed to come and pick them. I think this is a brilliant idea. Although what I like about herbs is that they can be grown on a windowsill and don't require a garden.

AlohaMolly I enjoy the one-pot suppers from Spicery, which has introduced me to things like Jerk Chicken, and Tagine. You can filter out hotter recipes if you like (medium is fine if you don't like heat). What's nice is they give you the recipe for the spice mix to make it again. They sell the spices as well, great quality.

https://www.thespicery.com/easy-kits-shop?cat=134