Most used herbs and spices in cooking

[Oiwiththepoodlesalreadygg]

Hello, just wondering which dried spices and herbs you use most often in your everyday cooking? Going through my cupboards and I seem to have a huge collection of jars but most of them rarely get used!

My spice rack has space for 15 jars, so I'd love to cut down my collection to just 15 so that I can claw back much needed cupboard space. For reference, I mostly cook Mediterranean type food, sometimes Mexican and I rarely cook curries because I'm not very good at them. What herbs/ spices would you prioritise keeping?

Oregano (preferably Mexican), cumin, coriander, chilli, tarragon, basil (though it's better fresh), thyme, paprika, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, star anise, cayenne pepper, marjoram, sage.

Oregano, love it, goes on anything and gives me Mediterranean holiday vibes
Chilli flakes, both for chilli and for an easy extra zing on most things.
Saffron, delicious rice
Fennel seeds, great for extra depth in stews, or on fish.
Sweet paprika and smoked paprika, great for warmth/depth of flavour/colour

Fennel seed always
Nutmeg
Oregano
Tarragon
Thyme
Cumin
Paprika - smoked & sweet
Five spice
Coriander
Basil
.. onion/ garlic granules

oregano
different kinds of pepper (black, white, red, green)
chilli (those tiny dried ones
cumin
paprika (sweet, smoked)
herbs de provence
dried garlic
cajun spice mix
curry spice mix

forgot cinnamon & dried ginger.

Can always use frozen chilli & ginger rather than dried

Mine are
Smoked paprika
Oregano
Ground cumin
Turmeric
Thyme
Italian herbs
Cayenne
Chilli flakes

Trying to think in order of how much I use them
Oregano
Paprika
Thyme
Chilli flakes
Smoked garlic
Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds
Turmeric
Chipotle chilli flakes
Cinnamon
Nutmeg (whole)
Garam massalla
Cardamom
Five spice
Saffron

I also love sumac, but don't currently have any.

Dried ginger if I want to make cakes. I wouldn't use it for savoury stuff.

I regularly use:

Paprika (smoked and sweet)
Cumin
Red pepper flakes (add them to nearly everything these days)
Chili powder
Mustard powder
Cayenne
Fennel seeds
Curry powder

I have loads more but those are the ones I use every week. I generally use fresh herbs.

Thanks for all the responses so far! I can see cutting it down will be tricky...
My absolute must haves are definitely oregano, sweet and smoked paprika, thyme and cinnamon. But I could also make a case for almost everything else people have listed above... Maybe I just need a bigger spice rack!

I only ever use dried ginger and cloves at Christmas time... Thinking it might be better just to buy small amounts of those spices from a refill shop when I need them rather than keeping jars all year round

Definitely these:

Oregano
Thyme
Chilli flakes
Paprika
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Cajun spice mix
Cumin
Turmeric
Ginger

After that my spices are only used for curries

Used weekly -ish are : oregano, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, saffron, Chinese five spice, curry powder, chilli flakes/ powder, Berber mix
Used enough that I wouldn’t want to get rid: Turmeric, thyme, all spice, nutmeg, sesame seeds, ground ginger , cayenne, mixed herbs
Bought for one recipe/ why do I have them: Tarragon, mustard seeds, juniper, cloves, celery salt, fennel seeds, sage, mint, Szechuan pepper, lemongrass, caraway seeds, sumac, mixed spice

There aren't very many I use regularly... probably should ditch my old Schwartz carousel as some of the newer jars don't fit it anyway.

The ones in regular use are black pepper obv, smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, cinnamon, mixed spice and nutmeg. For curries (Indian or Thai) I usually use a paste though I've got some curry powder and garam masala. Also colmans mustard powder.

I've got fresh herbs in pots by the back door (chives, mint, oregano in season, rosemary, sage and thyme year round.) There's bay too but I've not tried it fresh yet, I believe it's supposed to be dried before use. Basil indoors.

Basil oregano and thyme go in everything!
Tarragon if you eat a lot of chicken
Rosemary if you like it on potatoes
Cayenne pepper
Cinnamon for baking and probably nutmeg too
I'd say cumin and coriander for curries but if you don't make/ eat those...
Paprika /smoked paprika
Sage for making your own stuffing

If you are short on space I'd say get mixed ones.

These are my core ones too.

We also love Jamaican everyday seasoning.

I forgot chilli, both mixed for 'con carne' and just chilli for a bit of heat.

Actually one of my favourites for that is in the fridge not the spice rack - Chipotle Tabasco.

I would clear your spice rack, and put the rest in a box. Get each jar out of the box as you use it. After a given length of time - or, if you are determined on just 15, when your spice rack is full - seal the box / throw remaining jars away. That way you will end up with the jars YOU use the most.

I have a whole drawer but my most used/the ones I would probably use in an average week are:
Herbes de provence
Oregano
Basil
Rosemary
Bay
Cumin
Smoked paprika
Chilli flakes
Cayenne
Turmeric
Garam masala
Coriander
Cinnamon
Garlic powder

Paprika
Mild curry powder
Cumin

@cantkeepawayforever that's a good idea! Wouldn't have thought of that. I'd be happy to have a few extra if they were actually used... Just trying to make as much space as possible as my cupboards feel so cluttered!

I do cook mostly (not only) Mediterranean, my choice would be:

• rosemary
• sage
• thyme
• oregano
• black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• garlic granules (just too convenient to drop)
• smoked paprika
• cinnamon
• cumin
• ground coriander
• turmeric
• Chinese 5 spices

I also keep frozen chopped parsley, basil and ginger (infinitely better than the dried versions), and a live basil plant on my window sill for easy picking.

I couldn't do without

Thyme
Bay leaf
Oregano
Chilli
Cumin
Paprika
Turmeric
Garam masala

I also like

Chilli flakes
Mustard seeds
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Basil

What do people use nutmeg for? I absolutely hate it.

i use
chili
paprika
coriander
cumin
black and white pepper
saffron
sumac
tumeric
zatar
bay leaves
tarragon
fresh basil

I must buy some thyme and oregano, I don’t know why I don’t have them. Don’t think I use anything else much. I have others like garlic, cinnamon, 5 spice, mixed spice etc and Garam masala but don’t really use them

I cook a lot of Indian, North African and Middle Eastern food so use the following very often.
Cumin seeds and powder
coriander seeds and powder
Turmeric
Garam Masala
Chilli flakes and powder
Fenugreek seeds
Mustard seeds
Allspice
Smoked Paprika
Cinnamon sticks and powder
Ras Al Hanout