Many of my most popular workshops began as requests from readers, including one of my favorites: Indian Spices: Marvelous Masalas. The techniques I share apply to all sorts of spices, whether you’re making a spice mix for pumpkin pie or one for a curry. You can get a taste of these techniques in the recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon.

The blend of spices that go into this curry recipe often feature in preground masalas, but here the whole spices are mixed directly into the dish for bright bursts of flavor. Whole spices hold onto their flavor far longer than ground ones, so transitioning to keeping whole ones in your kitchen not only lets to grind them at home in small batches that stay fresh and fragrant but also gives you a ready unground supply for curries, pickles, your own spice blends, and more.

Learn more about cooking with whole spices and get the complete recipe for Potato, Mushroom, and Spinach Curry in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

I keep a wide variety of spices in my pantry, many of which I buy whole and then grind, a couple of tablespoons at a time, to keep in easy reach. I use a small electric coffee bean grinder or a mortar and pestle to break down these spices, even homegrown ones that I’ve saved after plants went to seed, like coriander, and other dried aromatics, like garlic cloves and smoked chilies.

I do the same with homegrown herbs: a season’s worth of quart jars filled with dried herbs, still with large whole leaves and sometimes even on their stems, live with my home-canned goods. I squish a handful of each type into smaller containers in my kitchen, and I pluck from these as I’m cooking, crushing them as I add them to the pan so that they release their flavor and aroma at the last possible moment.

If you stick your nose in a store-bought jar of ground cumin or basil and then smell one you just ground or crushed at home, the superior option becomes immediately clear. The difference between the two becomes even stronger when you compare a jar you bought months ago. The flavor you smell as you grind and crush your own spices and herbs will be just as pronounced on your tongue.

Excited about using whole spices in your kitchen? Here are just a few recipes on the blog to inspire you. Once you start keeping whole spices and herbs in your kitchen, use them in any of the dishes the recipe index.

• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Mix
• Sweet Spice Mix
• Drying Fresh Herbs
• DIY Herb Blends
• Homemade Vanilla Extract
• Salt-Preserved Herbs and Herb-Infused Salt
• Home-Smoked Chili Peppers

Not ready to up your spice game and just in search of more easy comfort food recipes? Check out this blog post.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.