Is Your Kitchen Over Spicy?

When in Istanbul long ago, I had a great time perusing the spice market.

Is Your Kitchen Over Spiced?

Hmm . . . I recently read that the National Kitchen and Bath Association did a study. It showed that most kitchens have 18 cans of veggies on the shelves, 6 boxes of cereal, and 23 spices.

I hate being below average, but my kitchen just didn’t measure up. I had far fewer canned items (unless you want to count those I recovered from the recesses of a deep corner cabinet).

And I don’t have 6 boxes of cereal either—just one. But I won the lottery with my 75 spices. I even came upon a large container of fenugreek leaves, that I once used for a Mediterranean recipe.

There’s yet another small cabinet shelf full of spices in my condo

Pick Six Spices You Must Have on Hand

All this got me to thinking: what would I pick if I was only allowed six spices in my kitchen? (salt/pepper not counted.)

I grow basil, parsley, mint, oregano, and chives in my rock garden at the farm and use as needed. Fresh herbs and spices don’t increase my bottled collection, so they’re a freebie in this count.

Still, with so many spices in my kitchen, it was a tough call to come up with only six. I did my best.