Substitutions for spices - thyme, cumin, ginger root

[mandyky]

I cannot eat thyme - I get a headache. Would rosemary work?

I cannot get ginger root past my nose. Can I use extra garlic or just leave out ginger? Or should I try dried powder ginger? (I can tolerate that)

Haven't been able to afford cumin yet, working on it. I want to make homemade tamales, but I see cumin in a lot of other Mexican recipes.

Also a lot of recipes call for things like taco or burrito seasoning, or other brand names I am not familiar with. What spices are in these packages? I might have some individually.

[Warpy]

1. There is no substitute for fresh ginger root

but one way you might be able to use it is to use a mini chopper or blender to reduce it to a pulp. That way it'll cook down and you won't get anything but that flavor that blends so well with all the others without finding little chunks of ginger in your food.

I generally buy huge "hands" of ginger root and buzz it all up, put it on a cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls and freeze it. Then I put it into a baggie in the freezer for use anytime, nicely prechopped and premeasured.

Rosemary is a pretty good substitute for thyme in most things.

Taco seasoning is usually chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano, sugar, garlic powder and onion powder. I do my own as I cook whatever I'm filling the taco with.

[eleny]

2. I didn't know you could freeze ginger - thanks!

Mine always go bad since they wiggle to the back of the veggie bin. It's on my shopping list. I love the stuff. Do you ever use this fresh, mashed ginger in hot teas? I like ginger tea when I'm not feeling well but often opt to use the powder which mostly floats. It doesn't like to dissolve.

[Warpy]

6. I can't see why it wouldn't work in tea

but you might not want a whole teaspoon in a cup of tea. It would bite you back.

I love having freezer bags full of ginger "blobs" for stirfry whenever I need it. It freezes very well.

[troubleinwinter]

9. OMG!

I always keep a 'hand' of ginger frozen. I grate whatever amount I want while STILL FROZEN, and put the remainder back into the freezer. Just DON'T that the hand, as it will be mushy/squishy/nasty.

I neeeeed to have ginger available all the time, so have found this to work great, as long as you don't thaw it.

[anitar1]

11. And TJ's has a great granola with ginger , cashews and

sliced almonds.Their granola is boxed now.

[murphymom]

12. Keeping fresh ginger

I've had the same problem keeping ginger - what works for me is to peel it, put it in a little container with a lid, cover it with dry sherry and store it in the fridge. It actually keeps until I use it all up, plus the ginger-infused sherry makes a nice seasoning agent by itself.

[politicat]

3. Would you like me to send you cumin?

If you can crush it, the cumin seeds are really, really inexpensive out here. (Like $0.69 for 2 ounces, or about the same for an ounce and a half of ground.) We have a big Hispanic culture out here, so it's a common spice. For a buck and a couple of stamps, I can send you enough to last a few months. Just PM me your address. I gotta go replace my stash, too, so it's no trouble.

There's really no substitute for cumin; it is not a chile, and has a taste and smell all it's own. My ex hated it, thought it smelled like socks, but I adore the smell and taste. (My ex had LOTS of food issues.) It's pungent and a little bitter, but fresh smells glorious. If you can find a cheapo coffee grinder at a thrift store, that's the best way to deal with most spices, and you can get them a lot cheaper whole than ground.

Here's my recipe for taco seasoning. I make it in big lots and then use what I need.

1/4 cup instant minced onion
2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. crushed dried red pepper flakes (more or less, depends on the amount of heat I want)
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 Tbsp. instant minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin

This makes about 12 tablespoons, and I use it at 1 Tb per 8 ounces of meat or tofu. (I'm cooking for two, and we usually have refried beans with burritos.) After I brown the meat, a tablespoon of this plus 2-3 tablespoons of water go in the pan with the meat. Stir until coated, and simmer until it thickens.

[mandyky]

7. About the seeds - questions

Are they hard to grind by hand? I also have a small chopper (electric) that I use on veggies, but it did not work well on coffee beans I tried in it.

Are they plantable?

Some people use the seeds as spice too, right?
I think for the tamale recipe I am looking at, they mention seeds and ground cumin.

[politicat]

10. Cumin is a spice, the seeds of the Cuminum cyminum

http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/cumin.html

The plant can be grown, and in your climate it might do well, but they really like long, hot weather, and they're kind of a pain to harvest (i.e. it might not be worth the water for the few seeds you get from each plant). The plant itself has no culinary value, and it's not terribly attractive - it looks sort of like a white dill and sort of like Queen Anne's lace, which are considered weeds in your area.

You may be thinking instead of Coriander and Cilantro. Coriander and Cilantro are the seed and plant respectively, and cilantro will grow from ordinary coriander seeds. They're also much used in mexican, indian and asian cooking. I think cilantro is pretty, though I know some will disagree with me.

Cumin is fairly easy to grind once it is toasted (put it in a small, dry skillet over medium heat until the color changes from a tan to a nutmeg color) and grinds pretty easily in a mortar and pestle, as long as your hands and wrists are in good shape. (Mine aren't.) They're about the size and shape of caraway seeds (which, if you like rye bread, you know well.)

Depending on the tamale recipe, it could be asking for coriander, cumin, cilantro, or all three.

[spindrifter]

4. Cumin is the essence of spice!

Have you considered buying it bulk from a food coop or similar store. Without the packaging it works out to a lot less than the name brands. Also, you can buy only as much as you will need. Yes, powdered ginger is better than none. For thyme, you might try oregano.

[wildeyed]

5. Thyme, cumin, ginger root-

my favorites! The only thing missing would be fresh garlic.

I would just leave out whatever you don't like or can't eat and add more of what you do like.

[Tab]

8. I don't find thyme to be remotely similar to rosemary

I'm not a herb expert, so I can't offer a substitution, but I can say that rosemary probably wouldn't be it, unless there's some trick to converting it.

As for the others, do what works for you... most are how a particular person prepares a particular dish, but you can put anything you want into a dish - some things work better than others. You want more garlic? Put it in. But it's no substitute for ginger. If you can do powdered ginger, I guess it's better than no ginger at all.

[Warpy]

13. Well, of course it isn't

but the same foods that play nicely with thyme will also play nicely with rosemary.

If you don't get headaches from thyme, use it. If you do, then rosemary will make an acceptable seasoning. It won't be the same. It isn't supposed to be.