Spice mix explained

Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, and other seasoned salts are traditionally sold pre-made by grocers, and sometimes baking blends such as pumpkin pie spice are also available. These spice mixes are also easily made by the home cook for later use.

Masala

Masala (from Hindi/Urdu masalah, based on Arabic masalih)^{[1] [2]} is a term from the Indian subcontinent for a spice mix. A masala can be either a combination of dried (and usually dry-roasted) spices, or a paste (such as vindaloo masala) made from a mixture of spices and other ingredients—often garlic, ginger, onions, chilli paste and tomato. Masalas are used extensively in Indian cuisine to add spice and flavour,^[3] most familiarly to Western cuisine in chicken tikka masala and chicken curry, or in masala chai.^[4] Other South Asian cuisines including Bangladeshi, Nepali, Pakistani and Sri Lankan, Southeast Asian cuisine such as Burmese and the Caribbean regularly use spice mixes.

Notable spice mixes by region

Americas

• Jerk, a spicy Jamaican dry-rub for meat primarily made with allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers
• Montreal steak spice, a seasoning mix for steaks and grilled meats
• Old Bay Seasoning, a seasoning mix of celery salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and paprika originally created in Baltimore^[5] and regionally popular in Maryland as well as Mid-Atlantic and Southern states, parts of New England, and the Gulf Coast^[6]
• Pumpkin pie spice, a North American blend of cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
• Italian seasoning, a blend of rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano
• Tajín, a Mexican blend of chili powder, salt, and dehydrated lime juice

European

• Adobo, a mix of spices used in Spain and Latin America
• Fines herbes, a French blend of parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil for seasoning delicate dishes
• Beau monde seasoning, salt, onion powder and celery powder - sometimes other ingredients
• Garlic salt, a mixture of dried garlic and table salt
• Herbes de Provence, a Provençal blend of thyme, marjoram, rosemary, basil, bay leaf, and sometimes lavender
• Khmeli suneli, a blend used in Georgia and the Caucasus region
• Lemon pepper, a blend of lemon zest, cracked black peppercorns, salt, and spices
• Mixed spice or pudding spice, a British blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and other spices
• Mulling spices, a European spice mixture of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg and dried fruit
• Quatre épices, a French blend of ground pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger
• Seasoned salt, a blend of table salt, herbs, spices, other flavourings
• Sharena sol, a Bulgarian mixture of summer savoury, paprika and salt, with other optional ingredients
• Vadouvan, French version of an Indian masala

Middle East and Africa

• Advieh, a spice mixture used in Iranian cuisine and Mesopotamian cuisine
• Afrinj, an Ethiopian blend that is milder than berbere or mitmita^[7]
• Baharat, used throughout the Middle East
• Berbere, an Eritrean and Ethiopian blend
• Hawaij, Yemenite ground spice mixtures used primarily for soups and coffee
• Mitmita, an Ethiopian blend of African birdseye chili peppers, cardamom, cloves and salt
• Ras el hanout, a Moroccan blend that includes cinnamon and cumin among other spices
• Yaji, a Hausa spice mix for traditional suya and chichinga kebabs in sahelian West Africa. Made from cayenne, ginger, ground peanuts, dried onion, and chili
• Za'atar, a Middle Eastern mix which is both an individual herb and a blend of that herb with sesame seeds and sometimes dried sumac

East and Southeast Asian

• Bumbu, several Indonesian blends.
• Five-spice powder, a blend of cassia (Chinese cinnamon), star anise, cloves, and two other spices, usually fennel seeds and szechuan peppercorns.
• Vietnamese: [[Húng lìu]], a Vietnamese blend
• Shichimi, a mix of ground red chili pepper, Japanese pepper, roasted orange peel, black and white sesame seed, hemp seed, ground ginger and nori.
• Shisan Xiang (Chinese: 十三香, Shísān Xiāng), a kind of Wuxiang powder whose names suggests which being made up of thirteen spices. The most popular Shisan Xiang is produced by Wang Shouyi(王守義), a time-honored brand in He'nan(河南) province of China.

South Asia

• Bafat, used in Mangalorean cuisine
• Chaat masala, ground spices used for flavouring chaat
• Garam masala, most commonly used spice blend in the Indian subcontinent
• Kaala masala, black spice blend used in the Indian subcontinent
• Panch phoron, a five-spice blend of whole fenugreek, nigella, fennel, cumin, and mustard or radhuni seeds originating from the Indian subcontinent
• Tandoori masala, spice blend originating from the Indian subcontinent for tandoor-cooked meats
• Thunapaha, a spice blend of coriander, cumin and fennel seed used in Sri Lankan traditional cuisine^[8]

See also

• List of culinary herbs and spices
• Seasoning

Notes and References

1. Web site: Masala . Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary . Merriam-Webster . 12 October 2022 . October 12, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221012013430/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/masala . live .
2. Web site: Masala Definition of masala in English by Oxford Dictionaries. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501160641/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/masala. dead. May 1, 2018. Oxford Dictionaries English. 2018-04-30.
3. V.K. Modi . G.S. Sidde Gowda . P.Z. Sakhare . N.S. Mahendrakar . D. Narasimha Rao . amp . Pre-processed spice mix formulation and changes in its quality during storage. 39 . 6 . 613 . LWT - Food Science and Technology. 10.1016/j.lwt.2005.05.004. 2006 .
4. Web site: Spices in Chicken Masala and Chicken Curry Kabsa. October 9, 2017. October 9, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171009151108/https://www.maggime.com/en/category/maggi-mixes/1/indian-masala-mix. live.
5. Web site: Tomlinson. Mary. 2017-12-11. What's Really in Old Bay Seasoning?. 2020-06-18. Coastal Living. en. August 6, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200806010949/https://www.coastalliving.com/food/what-is-in-old-bay-seasoning. dead.
6. News: Ingraham. Christopher. 2016-03-08. They put Old Bay on everything in Maryland. Soon you will, too.. 2020-06-18. The Washington Post. May 12, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150512163403/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/07/why-old-bay-seasoning-might-be-on-the-cusp-of-making-it-big/. live.
7. Web site: Kloman. Harry. 2011-02-13. Glossary. 24 October 2017. Ethiopian Food ♦ Mesob Across America. en. Afrinj አፍርንጅ. A very mildly spiced condiment for kids or anyone who can’t handle berbere or mitmita.. October 24, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171024210031/https://ethiopianfood.wordpress.com/glossary/. live.
8. Web site: 2019-12-11. Visiting Sri Lanka soon? Bookmark our guide to feast like a local in Colombo. 2021-09-20. Vogue India. en-IN. September 20, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210920213143/https://www.vogue.in/culture-and-living/content/where-to-eat-in-colombo-best-restaurants-island-life-seafood. live.