Today I reorganised my spice cupboard, labelling everything in jars so I can easily see what needs to be refilled, and what I don’t use. Thought this may be a good time to do an essential herbs and spices post. In this thread, I’ll show you what you should have.

Firstly: sage, paprika, crushed chillies, fennel seeds and ras el hanout. The chillies and fennel seeds are great flavourings for anything you fry in olive oil. Paprika goes without saying, and ras el hanout is a beautiful spice mix. Sage is for when you can’t get fresh leaves.

Next: allspice, bay leaves, juniper berries, cayenne pepper, peppercorns. Allspice is good for Caribbean food; cayenne pepper for American style hot food. Bay leaves are good for ragù, juniper berries for duck, and black peppercorns for refilling the grinder.

Oregano, cumin, garam masala, garlic powder, nutmeg. Oregano for when you can’t get fresh leaves, cumin and garam masala for Indian cuisine, garlic powder for when you want garlic flavour but without the actual bite, nutmeg for everything from ragù to Irish coffee.

Ginger, sumac, cinnamon, turmeric, poppy seeds. Ginger, cinnamon and turmeric go great with barbecue flavours like jerk chicken. Sumac is great with salmon (and anything with big flakes of salt), and poppy seeds are good for added protein in pastries.