What spices really are a love/hate thing?

Are there spices or flavorings that will ruin a dish for you or ones that are must haves?

by Anonymous

reply 45

January 27, 2024 12:25 AM

Cilantro and coriander are th…just nevermind.

by Anonymous

reply 1

January 25, 2024 5:09 PM

Bespoke spices that tear the very fabric of our relationships apart due to their polarizing flavors!

by Anonymous

reply 3

January 25, 2024 5:15 PM

Cilantro! Apparently it's a genetic thing whether or not you like it. I love it. Does it taste like soap for some people?

by Anonymous

reply 4

January 25, 2024 5:19 PM

Every spice has its place in cuisine. I love cilantro. I fond it refreshing and an a must for Mexican food. Cumin is also a must for Indian and Mexican.

by Anonymous

reply 6

January 25, 2024 5:21 PM

You missed an obvious one: anise and tarragon. Anything that tastes like black licorice. I actually don't like black licorice candy, I don't like stuff like Sambuca (black licorice-flavored liqueur). But I do like anise seed in sausage.

by Anonymous

reply 7

January 25, 2024 5:23 PM

Sorry, i do see anise

And yeah i think coriander and cumin are the same

by Anonymous

reply 8

January 25, 2024 5:27 PM

I love anus… err anise.

by Anonymous

reply 9

January 25, 2024 5:31 PM

GERD sufferer here. I've had my gallbladder out and my esophagus stretched during an upper endo. I also take several prescriptions. I still can't stand garlic, curry, cilantro, or anything else heartburn inducing. I wish I could enjoy foods like other people.

by Anonymous

reply 10

January 25, 2024 5:34 PM

Curry is a spice mixture, not a spice.

Allspice is actually a spice, not a spice mixture.

by Anonymous

reply 11

January 25, 2024 5:40 PM

Love cilantro but absolutely abhor parsley.

by Anonymous

reply 12

January 25, 2024 5:47 PM

Cumin smells and makes people smell like bad body odour. Not pheremones. Body odour. Black cumin is fine though, but it’s not really related.

[quote]Cilantro and coriander are th…just nevermind.

Coriander is the seed or spice. Cilantro is the herb which is not a spice.

Parsley also, not a spice.

OP said spices.

by Anonymous

reply 14

January 25, 2024 6:12 PM

Well coriander is both but OP means the seed.

by Anonymous

reply 15

January 25, 2024 6:13 PM

I hate cilantro. A tiny bit is OK but more than that - yuck.

by Anonymous

reply 16

January 25, 2024 6:14 PM

IMO, cumin is delicious. It adds so much oomph to food. It's one of my core spices that I use.

by Anonymous

reply 17

January 25, 2024 6:44 PM

[quote] i think coriander and cumin are the same

No, they're not. Cilantro is the plant that grows from the coriander seed.

Cumin is something else, which, yes, can smell like three-day-old armpits. Or else ass. I use it in many recipes where I also use chili peppers. I prefer it in meat dishes, though it's good in a purely vegetarian chili, too (one of which I hardly ever make).

I suppose cilantro is the most controversial herb listed in OP's poll. So many love it. Even more seem to hate it. I'm definitely a lover. I probably like caraway or fennel least on OP's list, but I don't think either is particularly controversial.

I haven't voted for anything yet, though.

by Anonymous

reply 18

January 25, 2024 6:54 PM

OP isn’t talking about cilantro though. He means the seed otherwise the thread would be about herbs as well.

by Anonymous

reply 19

January 25, 2024 7:18 PM

The Brits call cilantro "coriander" (both the herb and the seeds.) The leaves are also called Chinese parsley.

Offsite Link

by Anonymous

reply 20

January 25, 2024 7:21 PM

Asafoetida - the name tells you EXACTLY what you need to know about this spice.

by Anonymous

reply 21

January 25, 2024 7:24 PM

Cumin does indeed smell like body odor.

I used to like cilantro a lot, but the many negative opinions I keep reading have sensitized me to its downsides, so now I can only take a little.

I'm not crazy about caraway.

Everything else on the list is fine with me. I chose cumin for my answer.

by Anonymous

reply 23

January 25, 2024 7:28 PM

[quote]OP isn’t talking about cilantro though. He means the seed otherwise the thread would be about herbs as well.

Yet cilantro is the first thing on his list.

by Anonymous

reply 24

January 25, 2024 7:52 PM

"Seasoning" would have been more precise, OP.

by Anonymous

reply 25

January 25, 2024 8:58 PM

I thought coriander and cilantro are the same. Just different names in different countries.

by Anonymous

reply 26

January 25, 2024 9:03 PM

Oh never mind. Just read the thread in entirety. It wouldn’t load on the subway.

by Anonymous

reply 27

January 25, 2024 9:09 PM

[quote] Yet cilantro is the first thing on his list.

He’s talking about coriander seed, not cilantro.

by Anonymous

reply 28

January 26, 2024 6:25 AM

Some people do not like the taste of cilantro.

by Anonymous

reply 29

January 26, 2024 6:31 AM

I'm sorry for you Cilantro-Soap-Taste (CST) sufferers.

It's delicious. Not just in Mexican food, either.

by Anonymous

reply 30

January 26, 2024 6:35 AM

I love crushed fennel seed. There's a recipe I make a lot that's from an old vegetarian cookbook, and it's basically a crustless quiche or frittata, with sauteed zucchini, tomatoes, onion and cheese. In addition to S&P, the recipe calls for adding crushed fennel seed to the veggies while sautéing them. I now add them to things like soups and stews.

Another trick I learned along the way is to add a few cloves to soup when it's simmering -- it adds a nice flavor. I like most spices and regularly cook with all of the ones listed by the OP, except for carraway seed. I'm not sure why -- it just doesn't come up in recipes I use.

by Anonymous

reply 31

January 26, 2024 6:56 AM

Direct your whining at OP, r28. He’s the one who put both in his poll.

by Anonymous

reply 32

January 26, 2024 7:06 AM

Coriander seed doesn't have much of a taste.

by Anonymous

reply 33

January 26, 2024 7:11 AM

OP Here, worse than Hitler for putting cilantro in the poll, since it's an herb.

I thought I'd include it since it's so controversial. Silly me!

by Anonymous

reply 34

January 26, 2024 6:31 PM

I agree tarragon should be on the list.

by Anonymous

reply 35

January 26, 2024 7:43 PM

I once roasted a chicken with way too much tarragon in the cavity. It was inedible.

by Anonymous

reply 36

January 26, 2024 7:45 PM

I’ve never had tarragon in my cavity.

by Anonymous

reply 37

January 26, 2024 8:06 PM

I think most herbs would be revolting in excess, R36. Maybe because of the volatile compounds that make them so fragrant? I have an aversion to sage after a similar experience.

by Anonymous

reply 38

January 26, 2024 8:08 PM

I still haven’t recovered from a terrible rosemary overdose on what appeared at the time to be innocent garlic bread.

Permanent aversion.

by Anonymous

reply 39

January 26, 2024 8:12 PM

Oh, that would be bad. Rosemary is beautifully fragrant, but too much would be like medicine or eating a pine tree.

by Anonymous

reply 40

January 26, 2024 8:28 PM

I wonder what Anne of Cleves *really* looked like. She doesn't look so bad in the pic above, although i do recall hearing that the picture was very GENEROUS and generally made her look a lot better than what she looked like in person.

She must have been a pretty remarkable woman, regardless. Henry kept her taken care for the rest of her years, I believe. She's lucky she didn't end up losing her head because her looks were apparently lacking.

by Anonymous

reply 43

January 27, 2024 12:03 AM

[quote] although i do recall hearing that the picture was very GENEROUS and generally made her look a lot better than what she looked like in person.

I recall reading that too. I may have the wives confused here, but I seem to recall that Holbein’s portrait of her was very flattering compared to actuality (the photo filtering of its day). Henry was disappointed when meeting her, but the marriage was a fait accompli. It was never consummated, but he did personally like her a lot (which was unusual), so he maintained her in a royal lifestyle even after they divorced. She lived for a long time after the divorce and after he died.

by Anonymous

reply 44

January 27, 2024 12:16 AM

R43: men, gay or straight, can be VERY picky about desirable partners. Apparently, H8 found her a "mare" (horsey, plain) even if she would've seemed OK generally.

by Anonymous

reply 45

January 27, 2024 12:25 AM