Seeds & Roots

Seeds and roots are the spices that come from under the ground or from the seed head of a plant, dried and milled fine. They behave differently than leaf spices. They need heat and a little fat to open up, so most of them go into the pan early, with the onions or the oil, rather than at the end. This category covers ground ginger, ground turmeric, and ground cumin.

Choosing between them comes down to what you want the dish to taste like. Cumin is warm and a little smoky, and it carries meat, beans, and tacos. Turmeric is earthy and bitter at the edges, and it sets the color and base note of a curry. Ginger is sharp and sweet at once, and it works in both savory cooking and baking. Many cooks keep all three, since they overlap in the same pot more often than not.

Jar sizes are about how often you cook, not how much you like a spice.

• Small jar: for spices you reach for once or twice a month.
• Medium jar: for weekly cooking, and the size most people want for cumin.
• Large jar: for daily cooking, batch cooking, or feeding a full table.
• Ground spices fade, so buy the size you will finish.