Three Types of Flavorings Seasonings bring out the flavors in food and add complementary tastes,

Three Types of Flavorings

Seasonings bring out the flavors in food and add complementary tastes, all to enhance the eating experience.

Salt & Pepper

The two most original and widely used spices are salt and pepper. Typically what people think of when speaking of salt and pepper are white, granulated salt and pre-ground black pepper. But these are far from the only kinds of salt and pepper that exist. Rock salt is a great salt variation, with larger crystals for a bigger punch. Sea salt is cherished by many as a more natural culinary salt. There's also Kosher, iodized, pickling and black salt, among others. It's not uncommon to serve dishes unseasoned with a shaker of salt and a grinder full of peppercorns on hand. Pepper may be sold in flakes or ground into a powder. Salt, with the exception of rock salt, is usually granulated. Herbs & Spices

Most individual seasonings (we'll get to blends in a minute) are classified as either herbs or spices. Herbs are usually the fresh or dried leaves of succulent plants that tend to grow in particularly temperate climates. Spices generally refer to any seasoning made from the other parts of the plant beside the leaves, including the roots, stems, bark, seeds, fruit or buds. That said, these descriptions are not definitive, as chefs everywhere will use the two terms differently. Often, the term spices will be used to describe all seasonings, including herbs. Still other herbs and spices, like licorice, fennel, and star anise, merely have a similar flavor that only makes them seem related, even though they're not. Herbs and spices may be sold whole or ground.

Seasoning Blends

There is also a near-endless array of seasoning blends on the market, many of which are based on the unique culinary traditions of various cultures and ethnicities. Examples of some of these ethnic flavoring blends (as they're sometimes called) are Cajun, Creole, and Italian. Other seasoning blends will be designed to complement specific types of food, such as a fish or poultry flavoring blend, steak seasoning or a grilling blend. A common Indian spice blend is curry, erroneously believed to be an individual spice from the curry plant. Curry comes in a number of dry blends, including red curry, yellow curry, and green curry, as well as a liquid curry paste.