When to add your spices

When cooking, it can be tempting to add everything at once. Toss the chili powder in with all the veggies, the meat, the broth and everything else. And while I won't deny that a dump meal is delightfully easy and fast, a little layering can go a long way towards building great flavor and it doesn't take all that much more time.

Here's the order I use when I cook:

While I'm getting everything chopped and ready to go, about halfway through, I get my pan heating. It's a good idea to start on lower heat and add your oil or fat to the cold pan, so everything heats up together.

Once I'm done chopping I turn up the heat to where I want it, and add my first layer of spices. These are going to be the deeply aromatic flavors that create the base of the dish, the foundation that everything else rests on. Cumin, Ginger, Coriander, Nutmeg, Allspice.

I let the spices sizzle in the oil for maybe ten or fifteen seconds if they're ground, or thirty for whole, then add my vegetable aromatics, like onions, garlic, shallots, and leeks. Sometimes I'll tip in a little broth to help them soften and cook without burning. The advantage of adding the spices to the oil before the onions is that they get a moment to bloom, transform, and spread their flavors into the oil, which in turn gives those flavors back to the onions.

After this I add the main components of my dish, meats and hearty vegetables that take longer to cook. Once everything is incorporated it's time to season again, adding another layer of the same spices, or additional notes to build complexity. This is also where I add my heat, like Cayenne or Paprika. You can put these in earlier along with the onions, but I like it about midway through, where they keep more of their bite.

An interesting thing about cooking spices is that their flavors really do transform as they cook, so if you add cumin at the start of a dish, in the oil, and then again in the middle or near the end, you'll get both the deep, earthy flavor of the tempered seeds, and the sharper, almost citrus note of cumin that's been cooked more gently. I love the range and fullness of flavor you can get with just one spice.

I tend to add herbs toward the very end of cooking, because they lose their bright, delicate flavors quickly. I add these when I stir in my fast-cooking ingredients, like leafy greens and delicate veggies I don't want to turn to mush. Basil, Tarragon, and Marjoram all do best added right at the end of cooking, while Oregano, Thyme, and Rosemary can take a little more heat and do fine any time after the halfway point.

Once the food is on plates, I might add one more touch of spice. Here a sprinkle of herbs, chile flakes, and a squeeze of citrus brings everything together and makes it sing.

The best advice I can give about making this feel like a fun and comfortable rhythm, rather than a complicated pain in the butt, is having everything you're going to use ready before you start. With everything close at hand there's no scramble, just the joy of the smells and sounds of food transforming into a meal. A little everyday magic.

 - Aubrey