09.10.2021
How To Toast and Grind Spices
Learn to toast and grind whole spices for deeper flavor. Step-by-step tips, tool choices, and storage advice to keep blends fresh.
- Toasting whole spices in a dry pan for 3 to 5 minutes wakes up oils and boosts aroma and flavor.
- Grind toasted spices with a mortar and pestle, a spice grinder, or a dedicated coffee grinder, then sift for a finer powder.
- Store small batches in airtight containers away from light and heat and use them within weeks for best flavor.
Toasting and grinding whole spices makes you feel like an alchemist. Naturally flavorful, aromatic spices take on deeper and more complex flavors with a little help from a frying pan. In turn, enhancing the rich flavors in all your favorite recipes.
Keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with using pre-ground spices. The main thing to account for is their freshness. This is why we proudly grind our spices and mix our blends in the smallest batch size possible.
For the curious cook, toasting spices is another delicious endeavor we highly recommend. Whenever you cook with our spices, we want you to be delighted and astonished by the flavors and aromas filling your kitchen.
What Spices Can I Toast?
Any spice in their whole form can be improved with a little toasting. Even whole cinnamon sticks and bay leaves can be added to the toasting pan. Spices we often recommend for toasting are; allspice berries, cumin seed, cardamom seeds, mustard seeds, black cardamom pods, anise seed, celery seed, caraway seed, sesame seed, fenugreek seeds, ajowan seed, star anise, charnushka seeds, chile de arbol, cloves, coriander seed, dill seed, mace, peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns, and poppy seed.
Toasting Chile Peppers
Cooking with whole chile peppers is like unlocking a new taste bud. Some smaller chiles can be ground like dry spices, but it’s typically best to toast them before dehydrating and pureeing them in a blender. You’ll be amazed at how much more flavor can be conjured out of a dried chile pepper.
How Do I Toast Spices?
Add your whole spices to a dry saute pan. Cast iron skillets or stainless steel pans work well for this. Bring the pan to medium heat, while stirring the spices with a wooden spoon. The spices are finished toasting when their volatile oils have warmed and their aroma is strong. You may also notice a slight change in color. This should take between 3-5 minutes.
Transfer the toasted spices to a room temperature dinner plate and let them cool. The hot pan can overcook the spices otherwise. Plus, the spices will firm up and become easier to grind once cooled.
Be careful not to burn your spices, as their flavor can quickly turn from deliciously perfumed and nutty, to burnt and bitter. Large spices like pieces of a cinnamon stick or whole peppercorns can withstand a stronger toasting. Spices like mustard seed or cumin seed can burn much quicker and should be watched closely.
Grinding Whole Spices
A mortar and pestle offers the most authentic and romantic spice-grinding experience. To use this time honored tool, pour the toasted spices into the mortar and use the pestle to crush them against the bottom of the mortar. From there, begin stirring and crushing the spices against the sides and bottom until all spices are evenly crushed and ground. You may want to do this in batches, so as not to overfill the mortar.
You can then sift the spices through a wire mesh for a finer consistency. This process can be repeated several times for an even grind.
Mechanical and electric spice grinders offer greater precision and convenience. You can purchase a specially designed spice grinder for this, or even use a coffee grinder that is designated for spices only. (Most people don’t like cumin-flavored coffee in the morning.) Simply follow the same steps as above—grind, sift, and repeat as needed.
We love our Microplane Spice Mill for small batches of toasted spices. This neat little gadget combines the sharp grating power of a microplane grater, with the sleek convenience of a pepper mill. It can grind allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, and even whole nutmeg.
Cooking With Toasted Spices
Toasted and ground spices can be added to all your savory recipes. One of the best cuisines to use toasted spices is Indian cuisine and its many curry recipes. Homemade toasted curry powders have a deliciously different flavor than a pre-gound curry blend. You can use the homemade toasted curry powder recipe below for favorite recipes like chicken curry or curried cauliflower.
Toasted Curry Powder
Frequently Asked Questions
Which spices can I toast?
Almost any whole spice benefits from toasting. Try seeds and berries like cumin, coriander, mustard, peppercorns, and cardamom, plus whole items like cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, star anise, and dried chiles.
How do I toast spices on the stove?
Use a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until you smell a strong aroma and see a slight color change. Remove them to a cool plate right away so the pan does not keep cooking them.
How can I avoid burning spices?
Keep the heat at medium, stir often, and watch small seeds closely because they toast faster. As soon as the aroma peaks, transfer spices off the hot pan to stop cooking.
What is the best way to grind toasted spices?
For a hands-on method use a mortar and pestle for control and texture. For speed and consistency use a dedicated spice grinder or a coffee grinder reserved only for spices. Grind, then sift and repeat if you want a finer powder.
How do I get a very fine grind?
Grind in small batches, sift through a fine mesh, then regrind the larger bits. Repeating this process yields a uniform, fine powder without overheating the spices.
Can I toast and grind dried chiles?
Yes. Toast chiles briefly to deepen flavor, then cool and grind. For chile powders, remove stems and seeds if you want less heat, and consider toasting before dehydrating and pulsing in a blender or grinder.
How should I store toasted and ground spices?
Keep them in airtight jars in a cool, dark place. Use small batches and label with the date. Ground toasted spices are at their best for several weeks to a few months depending on the spice.
Are pre-ground spices OK to use?
Yes if they are fresh. Pre-ground spices lose volatile oils faster than whole spices. If freshness matters, buy whole, toast and grind just before using.
Which spices can I toast?
Almost any whole spice benefits from toasting. Try seeds and berries like cumin, coriander, mustard, peppercorns, and cardamom, plus whole items like cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, star anise, and dried chiles.
How do I toast spices on the stove?
Use a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until you smell a strong aroma and see a slight color change. Remove them to a cool plate right away so the pan does not keep cooking them.
How can I avoid burning spices?
Keep the heat at medium, stir often, and watch small seeds closely because they toast faster. As soon as the aroma peaks, transfer spices off the hot pan to stop cooking.
What is the best way to grind toasted spices?
For a hands-on method use a mortar and pestle for control and texture. For speed and consistency use a dedicated spice grinder or a coffee grinder reserved only for spices. Grind, then sift and repeat if you want a finer powder.
How do I get a very fine grind?
Grind in small batches, sift through a fine mesh, then regrind the larger bits. Repeating this process yields a uniform, fine powder without overheating the spices.
Can I toast and grind dried chiles?
Yes. Toast chiles briefly to deepen flavor, then cool and grind. For chile powders, remove stems and seeds if you want less heat, and consider toasting before dehydrating and pulsing in a blender or grinder.
How should I store toasted and ground spices?
Keep them in airtight jars in a cool, dark place. Use small batches and label with the date. Ground toasted spices are at their best for several weeks to a few months depending on the spice.
Are pre-ground spices OK to use?
Yes if they are fresh. Pre-ground spices lose volatile oils faster than whole spices. If freshness matters, buy whole, toast and grind just before using.
What are the small spice pods in many of the pics in your “toasting and grinding spices” article?
They lock sort of like tiny black pine cones.
Favorite life experiences involved eating with other students that were from other countries in their apartments, food that they made from their culture. Crispy saffron rice from Iran, stuffed yellow summer squash as they would at home in Palestine and roasting spices in preparation of curry. The excitement of the roasted scent, the blend of flavors what a rapturous meal that I still recall my friend making. All these males cooking amazing meals enlivened my desire to cook for myself and one day others in my current life business. AND using your fragrant spices is my delight.
I am a new customer and will order again. Very satisfied!