Spices & Garnishes

This video from FoodWishes.com demonstrates how to make garlic Parmesan croutons. This is a great recipe for homemade croutons which will be much better than the ones you can buy at a store.

Okay, lemon spirals on cocktails aren't exactly necessary, but they're clever, cute garnishes that are simple to make if you're in a rush and need to throw them on several dozen cocktail glasses for a party.

We can't get enough of fresh herbs in our cooking, but that's just the problem: About 2 days after we purchase our sprigs of thyme and sage they look sadder than Ashton Kutcher's last romantic comedy.

Creamed honey is a delicious variation of regular honey that is sweeter and less dripping. Creamed honey is crystallized honey, and you can make your own creamed honey by using a little 'starter' honey and mixing it in with your regular honey.

In this video, Tonya shows us how to make whipped shea butter for your hair. Ingredients are: organic shea butter, green tea butter, aloe vera butter, peppermint essential oil, tea tree essential oil, and rosemary extract essential oil. Pour all of your ingredients into a large bowl and then mix together with a spoon until it's well combined. Use as much of each ingredient as you want to make the right consistency for you. After this, use an electric mixer to mix this all together until it's...

In this tutorial, we learn how to make garlic parsley butter. First, wash your parsley and then chop it up. Make sure it's completely dry before you chop it. Then, combine this with unsalted butter and mix together well. Sprinkle in some salt to the bowl, then sprinkle in some fresh pepper. Add in some minced garlic, then continue to mix together until combined. Try the butter to make sure it has enough ingredients, then continue to add salt if necessary. Place the mixture into foil, then roll...

In this tutorial, we learn how to easily make butter. All you need is a food processor or jug and some heavy cream. To do this with the processor, you will pour the cream into the food processor and continue keeping this going until you see chunks of butter start to appear. After this, you will drain the butter from the milk and then add salt to make it taste better. If you do this in a jug, you will add the cream into the jug and just shake it continuously until it's turned into butter. Strain...

In this tutorial, we learn how to quickly make homemade butter. First, you will need to take some milk and pour it into a glass. After this, you will pour the milk into a food processor and turn it on high. Let this mix up for a few minutes, until you see clumps of butter starting to appear. Continue to let it spin until the butter is thick in the processor. Now, you will strain the milk from the butter and mix the butter up with some salt. Once you do this, you will be able to serve the butter...

In this tutorial, we learn how to make butter. First, you will need some cream in a carton left out in the room for around 12 hours. After this, pour the cream out into a glass jar and put the lid on tightly. Now you will shake the jar nice and slowly. You want about 1 shake every second. Continue to do this for about 2-3 minutes. At first, you will notice the glass is covered with cream, but every time you shake the bottle, the butter fat will start to stick together into clumps. Continue to...

In this tutorial, we learn how to make tamarind red chili pickles. This is made by grinding up ripe red chilies with tamarind. After you do this, you will make sure the combination is well combined by stirring again with a spoon. When this is finished, heat up a skillet with oil and then sprinkle spices into the oil, allowing them to simmer for several minutes. Then, spoon the mixture into the oil and brown on both sides until it is finished. Serve when it's done cooking, then pair it with your...

If you're a home cook, peeling garlic is probably not your most favorite part of preparing a meal. Sure, the first one or two bulbs are a cinch, but once you start peeling garlic in larger quantities the inevitable stickiness arises and the garlic becomes harder and harder to disrobe.

Preserving herbs is important for being able to use them later. Keep your herbs usable throughout the year using these helpful gardening tips for drying, storing and maintaining plants picked fresh from your garden. You'll be able to enjoy the product of your gardening efforts all year long!

In this tutorial, we learn how to make butter the fun and easy way. First, you will need some cream. Pour this into a plastic container until it's half way full. After this, place the top on the container, then shake it for a while. Make sure the lid is on completely, or you will spill this. You will need to shake for around ten minutes until you get butter out of the cream. When it's finished, pour the buttermilk out and keep shaking until you get the butter. Now you can use this for any...

Interested in making your own garam masala at home? With the right ingredients and the proper techique, it's easier than you'd think. So easy, in fact, that this free video cooking lesson can present a complete overview of the process in about seven minutes. For more information, including the full recipe, and to get started making your own Indian food at home, watch this video guide.

Looking to add some spice to your dinner but not a fan of straight wasabi? In this tutorial, learn how to make a light and fluffy foam with wasabi that you can serve over fish, sushi, salad or any other light dish that needs some spice.

In order to prepare Compound Butters, you will need the following: butter, blackberries, lemon, fresh dill, potato masher, 2 bowls, a fork, and waxed paper. Place blackberries and butter in a bowl. Mash them with a potato masher. Set aside. Zest one lemon. Chop fresh dill. Place butter, the chopped dill, and the lemon zest in a separate bowl. Combine them. Mash them together with a fork. Place on wax paper. Place the blueberry butter on wax paper, roll it up, and freeze it. ...

Wolfgang Puck is unquestionably the most famous chef in the United States, and his recipes are delicious and coveted. In this video, a part of his online only Wolfgang Puck's Cooking Class show, he teaches us how to make pineapple salsa on the grill. No, you don't grill the salsa, just the pineapples, onions, and jalapeno peppers that go into it, bringing out the flavors of each before they are combined with spices and oil to create the finished product. It is easy to make, spicy, sweet, and,...

Compound butters can be found at almost any supermarket or store. It's easy to use and adds a great flavor to most dishes. But, why spend your hard earned cash to buy something, when you can make it yourself. It costs less and is a fun activity to perform yourself. In this tutorial, find out how to make your own compound butter from scratch! Enjoy!

Dennis McIntosh shows viewers how to make jerk spiced seafood. Jerk is native to Jamaica and was once a way to preserve meat. It is now enjoyed as a spicy marinade and sauce to accompany most any protein. Jerk spices include ginger, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, scallion, onion, nutmeg, and pimento berries. In food processor or blender, add ingredients with oil and blend on low speed. Next, add garlic, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and sugar. Pour marinade over fish and toss to coat. Add to hot pan...

Using fresh horse radish root from the ground, Rem shows how to make fresh horseradish. First, wash it thouroughly. Use a potato peeler and a knife to peel as if peeling a potato. Make sure to do this in a well ventilated space, or outside. Split the root in half to remove any deep spots. Its now ready to grind. Using a blender, add white vinegar, sugar, two teaspoons , mayo, 1/3 cup, add enough vinegar to come just short of covering the ingredients. Blend on high until its no longer lumpy. You...

Rita Heikenfeld from AboutEating discusses some of the flowers that are not only beautiful but also edible. It is important not to eat flowers that have been sprayed with chemicals. Some of the more common edible flowers are the zinnia, petunia, and the marigold, which has a delicious citrus flavor and is used in bath oils. Impatiens are edible (just the flowers, not the leaves) and come in a variety of colors. Members of the pansy family are edible; violets are one of the healthiest flowers...

This video demonstrates how to store parsley to stay fresh. Parsley is a commonly used herb. But you have to buy it in bunches. How do you keep the parsley fresh? First, wash the parsley really good, then set it in a colander so that it drains but not completely. Then take the parsley and lay it out on a paper towel thinly. Leave the water clinging a little to the parsley. Wrap the parsley in the towel loosely like an egg roll. Fold up the ends of the towel. Then place the parsley, in the...

This tip provided by The Food Channel shows you how to quickly make some delicious honey butter. To make some great tasting honey butter, do the following: You will need a 1/2 pound of butter, 1/8 cup of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract and some cinnamon to garnish. Slice the butter into small cubes and allow to warm to room temperature. Whisk until creamy. Add the honey to the butter and mix well. Pour in the vanilla extract and blend. Spoon the butter into a ramekin and sprinkle...

For anyone new to cooking, this basic tutorial shows us how to mince garlic, an ingredient often used in a variety of recipes. If you are going to mince a clove of garlic, you will need to separate the clove from the bulb. Before you mince your garlic, you will need to peel it, which is simple. Simply take a heavy gauge knife and smash it against your clove. The skin will break away very easily so that all you have to do is pull it off. Cut off the hard end of the garlic clove and then smash...

This is a video showing how to handle and mince garlic. Make sure that the garlic is firm and not dried up. The skin is broken with a hammer to get the cloves loose. The skin is then peeled off of the garlic. The garlic is then cut into long pieces. Each slice is a 16th of an inch thick. Heat up olive oil and place the garlic into the oil. Let it cook for about a minute so that the flavor is drawn into the oil. Do not leave the garlic unattended. Garlic burns quickly. The garlic is...

Learn how to easily make clarified butter at your home in simple steps from Jason Hill. First heat a pan and add some thick butter on it. Let the butter stay on the for sometime until it is completely melted. Now start skimming the surface of the melted butter little by little using a spoon. You will get the clarified butter when its skimmed off completely. You can use it many purposes as it hold a lot heat.

Learn how to make your own butter at home the coolest way in simple steps. First milk your cow if you have one or get raw milk and put it in your fridge. Wait until the cream flows to the top of the milk , then scoop out the cream and put it in a jar. Start to shake the jar and continue shaking until the butter separates from the milk. To make the butter more firm take it out, mix in water and shake nicely till you get it. You can also add some salt and use the remaining butter milk for your...

This quick video will show you how to make delicious garlic and herb butter. To make this delicious garlic and herb butter, do the following: Put 8 ounces of Plugra Butter into a mixing bowl. Add salt, green onion, flat leaf parsley, minced garlic, fresh basil and ground pepper. Gently blend everything together and refrigerate till needed. You can make your own variations of this butter by using different ingredients.

Gourmet Magazine's food editor Lillian Chou introduces cooking enthusiasts to a little-known method to peeling a ginger. She addresses the problem of cooks taking too much of the ginger off with the skin when peeling with a knife. To reduce this wasteful practice and get dependable results every time, she encourages the use of a spoon! This simple tool can take the skin (and only the skin!) off ginger without any hassle. It also is apparently very good at getting the hard-to-peel spots on...

This how-to video is about how to make homemade ginger and garlic paste. This video is provided by Anuja and Hetal, and they explains us the simpler method of preparing ginger and garlic paste which is used in most of the Indian dishes.

Patti Moreno shows us how to freeze herbs you've cut fresh from your garden.

Making lemon zest isn't hard and doesn't take a long time, especially if you have a lemon zester. A zesting tool is the number one preferred way to get that lemon zest with no mess and no fuss. So, in the first video tutorial, see how to make lemon zest with a zester. Use a zesting tool for the peeling, and make sure to wash the outside of the lemon thoroughly to remove dirt and residue. Then zest away!

Have you ever had ginger and watched it go bad because you had no use for it right away? Well, now there is a answer to that problem. The only thing you will need is a cup and some water and of course your ginger. First, pour some water into a jar or cup of some sort and then stick the ginger in the cup. Put it in the refrigerator and it should last up to a week this way. One thing to remember to do is to change the water that the ginger is sitting in every single day. Doing this should...

Transform a piquant herb into a creamy, sweet paste by oven-roasting garlic with the help of these tips.You Will Need* Whole bulbs of garlic* A sharp knife* Olive oil* Salt and pepper* Aluminum foil* A small knife* French bread or pasta* Clay garlic roaster (optional)

Check out this video cooking tip from The Chef's Toolbox in Australia. Watch this tutorial to learn how to peel, chop and crush garlic like a chef. Peeling garlic for recipes is easy with a little know-how, see how to do it right here. If there is a little green germ in the clove, make sure you remove it, because it is known to give people indigestion.

Check out this video cooking tip from The Chef's Toolbox in Australia. Watch this tutorial to learn how to use rosemary and thyme like a chef. Using the fresh herbs rosemary and thyme in recipes is easy with a little know-how, see how to do it right here.

Don't laugh—butter sculpture is a true art form that originated in Tibet in the 7th century. It is now one of the highlights of many American harvest fairs. Learn how to make your own butter sculpture.

Transforming a plain old plate into a work of art is just a simple garnish away. Learn how to make edibile garnishes.

Learn how to cook with garlic and avoid hose tiny bits of burned, minced garlic. Chowhound fayehess, also known as Faye Delicious of Blip.tv, puts whole cloves and heads of garlic into her saute pan to extract the flavor. The secret is to cook before mincing. Garlic, yum.

These quick kitchen tips will get you cooking efficiently and happily. In this how-to video, learn how to efficiently store basil so that it stays fresh days after you buy it. You'll enjoy using fresh basil all week long.