Spice Blends
One of the most important parts of good cooking flavor is knowing the proper spice blends for the best effects. Some spices work well together while others will affect the food in a negative way. For example, you don't want to use spice blends like cumin with the sweeter spices like nutmeg. Each on their own would be flavor enhancing, but combined together, they would not be good matches for one another. The purpose of blending spices within a recipe is to enhance the natural flavor of the food you are cooking, and that means knowing which spices are compatible and which ones aren't. If you aren't sure, be sure to ask or do some research. Some things like pepper, basil, oregano, and bay leaves are a good blend for beef, although you may not want to use all of them at the same time. Some citrus blends may be good for fish or poultry, but would not necessarily enhance the flavor of beef or pork.
If you're looking to purchase prepared spice blends such as curry powder, allspice, and others, you want to make sure that you know what is included so that you don't add additional spices that may not blend well with the ones that are already in the blend. Some spice blends are more aromatic and stronger than others, so you need to make sure that you know the flavor that you are looking to create. It may seem simple to do, but with so many different spice blends, it's important to know the properties of each and how each one contributes to the flavor of your food. Keep a list of those that you use frequently so that you won't have to search for the perfect combination, but for others, you'll need to take the time to find out when the need arises.
