How to Toast Spices

How to Toast Spices at Home 

Start with a heavy-bottomed skillet like cast iron, making sure it's large enough to spread all your spices out in a single layer. Set it over medium heat — no oil needed — and warm the pan for a few minutes.

Once it's warm, add in your whole spices, keeping them in a single layer.

Keep your spices moving, stirring or tossing them frequently. You'll notice a shift in as little as 30-60 seconds as the kitchen fills with fragrance. On lighter spices you'll notice a color shift, but on darker ones you may not see a big difference. Smaller seeds like sesame and mustard might pop and jump around to announce they’re ready!

Once toasted to perfection, transfer the spices immediately to a heatproof dish to avoid burning, and cool.

From there, grind them into a fragrant powder, toss them whole into a simmering pot, or fold them into your favorite spice blend. Seeds, barks, pods, and roots all benefit from a gentle toasting.

For inspiration, check out this list. 

Quick Tips 

• The longer you toast, the deeper the flavor — but like toast, once they’re burnt, there’s no going back. If you see or smell smoke, the spices are on the edge and should come off the heat immediately.
  
  
• Toasting chiles? Go easy. Make sure your space is well-ventilated and toast lightly. The smoke from heavily toasted chiles can be surprisingly caustic.
  
  
• Mixing spices? Size matters. If you’re toasting a few different spices together, choose ones of similar size so they toast at the same rate.
  
  
• Toast whole — not ground — spices. Ground spices tend to toast very quickly and can burn easily. If you want to enhance ground spices, choose a technique called "blooming." When making a dish, add oil, butter, or ghee to your heated pan and then stir in your spices. Let them warm in the hot oil for 30 seconds to a minute before adding your other ingredients. This is a much gentler way to get those toasted flavors without burning the ground spices.