With only ten days to go until Christmas, and vast quantities of food, gifts and decorations littering the house, isn’t it time you deserved a little treat?
Of course it is.
And I’m not just talking a sneaky glass of sherry in the kitchen while you’re cooking. I’m talking about a proper fancy kitchen gadget.
Now, if you’re like me, forever grinding spices by hand and what not, you’ll be secretly hoping that someone buys you a James Martin Wahl spice grinder for Christmas. When you don’t find a spice grinder in your stocking though, (because to be honest, who knew you loved grinding spices so much?), what will you do? Sob into your sprouts?
No!
You’ll enter this competition instead of course. Silly billy.
If grinding spices isn’t your thing, you’ll be pleased to hear you can grind coffee beans in it too. Or simply stick it under the bed and wait until next Christmas, when you can whip it out as a thoughtful gift for the budding chef in your life.
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post, telling me what your favourite spice is. (I like a bit of cumin myself.)
The competition will close on 29th December, to give you chance to enter once you’ve opened your presents and been disappointed.
Good luck!
As featured on Loquax Competitions
Smoked Paprika! It is lovely in pork, on pork, with chicken… oh just about everything.
Have to say though, love the coffee grinding idea!
am more of a herb girl but I do love paprika and the occasional bit of saffron
Garam masala – we love Indian cooking, so that’s a must-have in our house :)
Has got to be cinnamon, I use it in so many dishes from curries to desserts
*snort*
Sorry…. So childish!
Seriously though, I do like a bit of cajun spice. Or some general bog standard mixed herbs.
I love smoked paprika especially on crispy potatoes!
Star Anise, just love anything aniseedy
black pepper
especially cracked black peppercorns. yum yum
Ginger for me (or cinnamon)
Cardamom. I love it.
Ground coriander for me!
ginger
Ginger
Turmeric – we love curry and fish in our house and it goes so well with both.
Coriander and cumin
Rosemary! I love it on my potatoes and lamb xx
Cinnamon! I put it on EVERYTHING!
I love oregano… Which I know is a herb, but meh… If you are going to make me pick a spice, it would probably be pepper, simple and unspderstated!
Gotta be Paprika, perfect with chicken.
Cinnamon everyday. Yup. if you haven’t had cinnamon ice-cream on a baked apple, you just ain’t lived.
I love cinamon, especially in my home made apple pie
Paprika
I love Paprika
I love cinnamon x
paprika
I love cardamom.
I live for pepper.
i like cinnamon on apples
Szechuan pepper – so aromatic and tasty!
italian mixed spice, you can chuck it in everything to liven it up
Coriander. It’s lovely in curries and lovely in salad so fragrant.
Star Anise it is surprisingly versatile especially with beef and Gammon
Cinnamon – love it in everything from apple pies to coffee
ginger
My mum makes her own garam masala at home and gives me a tub every few months. I would love my own spice grinder so i could do it myself.
……..black pepper…..so versatile
I love allspice. It’s great added to curries or even homemade beef burgers. I love cumin too – especially in a lamb tagine. Yum!
Love Paprika
Cinnamon
cinnamon
Paprika, really adds to food
Coriander & Cardamom seeds for their ability to add flavour, colour and aroma to dishes.
cinnamon as you can use it in both savoury and sweet dishes – and very christmassy
Paprika – gives a christmas parsnip soup a bit of zing!
I admit to putting smoked sweet paprika on nearly anything, but also love nutmeg for it’s slightly aromatic sweetness too
Cinnamon that I like using in cakes and love black pepper in most food
I like Cardamom
Oh I couldn’t possibly choose! I have a cupboard full of spices, I love experimenting with them. ermmmm, maybe saffron?
garammasala it can be used in all different things
Garlic – I count it as a spice although some will disagree. I also love mustard and black pepper..
cinnamon – for sweet and savoury dishes…and it reminds me of Christmas every time (o:
cumin
Cinnamon – lovely with apple x
Tarragon its so tasty
ginger is my fav perfect with garlic
I would have to say ginger too. Love the smell of it!!
Probably good old simple black pepper. Especially in buttery mash!
Black pepper for me!
I love abut of paprika x
Mace.
Paprika is my fave, great in omelettes, on potatoes or in tomato based sauces.
Ginger love using it in allsorts
I love ginger in both sweet and savoury dishes.
Rosemary,especially on Roasts
Ground coriander
it has to be cumin…
Cumin! I add it to chillies, stews and curries – just about anything really!
ground ginger – great in a sweet and sour sauce and in cakes too.
have to choose cinammon, as its xmas!
cinammon,so christmassy!!
Cinammon
cinnamon is my favourite….
Cardamon is my favourite
Parsley is mine :)
cinnamon. It’s lovely in hot drinks this time of year.
Fennel seeds, lovely with tomatoes
paprika!
pasley
Black Peppercorns
Coriander for me yum :-)
@supermommy1983
I think I’m with you on the Cumin, quite a versatile one that can be used in lots of things. However fresh Rosemary or Thyme would definitely be up there
@thefooltweets
Got to be cinnamon on a nice treat
oregano no question
Coriander… my favourite is carrot and coriander soup!!!
cinnamon. Just the smell reminds me of christmas
I love anything flavoured with ginger.
Saffron
saffron is the best spice of all
cumin is our favourite
I love my black pepper, I cover my food with it.
Love coriander and use it loads in Asian dishes.
Cumin
Oregano for sure, but if I really have to choose a spice it would be Ginger
Black pepper, it adds a tasty zing to everything.
As a bonus extra answer I can’t stand cinnamon :(
love cinnamon
Paprika!
Pepper, it’s so versatile from cheese on toast to strawberries.
chilli , can’t live without it !
cinnamon, my husband makes brilliant scones with this in
I have a herb garden and love to make herb bread – I’m always picking and chopping them and frankly look demented – a spice grinder might give me back my dignity!
Definitely cumin. Makes a wonderful marinade for beef steaks.
Mamma Mia – it has to be Oregano!!
organic ground cayenne chilies!
My favorite spice is simply black pepper!!
Mine is cinnamon!
I love Nutmeg, is that even a spice ?
@MrsWebster147
I love many spices but chives fennel and turmeric are great
cajun :)
So many to choose from but cardamom and cinnamon are my favourites!
I love using Ras El Hanout it is a Moroccan spice mix and so versitile
Plain and simple – cracked black peppercorns!
I love paprika, it peps everything up :-)
Thyme
Love coriander, the way it seems to freshen everything and of course you can use the seeds as well as the leaves how versatile
Nutmeg becomes you, it goes with your hair. Sorry? What? Oh yes, we all love nutmeg. Opna Nutmeg style.
I love cinamon
thats a hard one, but cinnamon esp at this time of year
cajun
Star Anise for me.
love nutmeg
Black pepper
Cinnamon! I love anything cinnamon flavoured.
@yyesidolikecake
Saffron is my favourite spice – Expensive of course but gives a lovely colour to rice & lightly fragrances it. Yummy fluffy flavoured basmati rice…
love cinammon, especially in sticky buns
I love cinnamon, the smel of it cooking is amazing
I love nutmeg, the taste, the smell and especially blathered on an egg custard :)
Corriander fresh, dried, seeds, leaves – can’t get enough of it.
I love a bit of cinnamon goes well with my hot chocolate to keep me warm this estive season besides is an essential for my making lovely cinnamon sugar to top up all mu yummy sweet treats :)
ginger
I love smoked paprika!
Coriander for me!
ground black pepper
Cinnamon
I love a bit of ginger
my favourite spice is whole Black pepper
cinnamon for me – I’ve a recipe for a cinnamon nutella cake and it’s beautiful!
Chilli. Use it in so many different dishes
cinnamon – it has so many uses and smells just gorgeous
Nutmeg – love it on the top of a baked rice pudding or on custard tarts. Also great in a cheese sauce
I love paprika
I love cinnamon
I love Cinnamon and tend to use it more often than any other spice i love the smell it feels special somehow.
I love making bread pudding with about 3/4 jar of mixed spice. My favourite!!
Cinnamon is def one of my favourites x
Nutmeg, freshly grated it adds flavour to lots of savoury dishes.
Ground coriander seeds. Lovely the orangey fragrance
I love Rosemary most of the tyme
Nutmeg, it gives a really different & unusual taste
Cinnamon
I love smoked paprika
My all time favourite is cardamom. Unfortunately, the good one is still in the pod. A nightmare to grind the seeds when I make cardamom biscuits ;-)
I love cinnamon
I’m an italian mixed spice myself…..or plenty of garlic
cinnamon especially this time of year
Cinnamon is my absolute favourite…..followed by Paprika for my soups and savouries!
My favourite is Nutmeg
nutmeg, especially in mash
cinnamon…mmmm
Cumin, will liven up any dish
Cinnamon is versatile, love using it in baking, cooking and spicing up drinks!
I love cayenne pepper, it gives a kick to my pasta dishes :)
Cinnamon offers one of the best spife tastes on food, cocktails and refreshments
ras el hanout which is a blend of rose petals, cumin coriander fennel seeds fenugreek and cinnamon combined after being crushed it is fragrant and beautiful to look at, it adds extra spiciness to morroccan lamb dishes- my favourite spice would be smoked praprika because it is so versatile
It has to be cinnamon for me!
Paprika for me
Would love this thank you
I like smoked paprika, make wedges with some of that sprinkled over is yum! I also like saffron, but it’s too expensive to use more than on special occasions.
Love chilli.
I love the smell of cinnamon. Reminds me of so many things, including Christmas and hot cinnamon rolls first thing in the morning with a lovely cup of coffee
My favourite herb has to be basil. It has such a distinctive flavour but as a lover of Italian food basil is the perfect herb for me.
nutmeg x
Black pepper, it goes on everything and I love it
Cumin, such a distinct flavour, love it
cinnamon smells amazing and is great is biscuits :)
Love nutmeg, the smell and the taste on a hot rice pudding baked in the oven…mmm
Garam masala
cumin! perfect with salmon and noodles. yum!
Nutmeg. Lovely in baking but my favourite is tagliattelle with mushrooms, spinach, a little fromage frais and parmesan and a generous pinch of nutmeg.
Paprika – a little spice with a lovely flavour :)
Cinnamon, especially in baking. :)
Cinnamon is one of my favourites but I love lots of spices!
my favourite is a split descion. between chilli and cinnamon.
I love smoked paprika
Paprika is very versatile so i love that
Cumin for me too….:)
I like allspice berries for Caribbean cooking!
paprika
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
I use ground coriander a lot as I like aslightly Morrocan flavour.
Right now it’s allspice, because it’s so Festive
Allspice! Its great in savoury and sweet :)
Garam Masala
Paprika gives a nice twist to everything!
You can’t beat Parsley for a wonderful flavour!
Cajun. I love my cajun spiced chicken with cous cous.
Cinnamon – I’ve only just discovered using this is dishes other than puddings and cakes but it is fab!
My favourite has to be cinnamon :-)
Ginger Spice for me!
I love cumin.
nutmeg
Ginger in chocolate
It has to be Cumin
Cumin
Ginger. So versatile.
Nutmeg
Love cumin – great for Mexican and for Indian – both awesome
Ginger to cook Asian food
Cumin as it reminds of of times in the Middle East
Paprika
Cumin – it just smells of barbecue!! :)
give me gadget :)
smoked paprika, I love that spicy smokey flavour!
star anise as its so special. its makes you feel so christmassy and adds a lovely flavour.
Ginger, spiced in jam, lovely
basil…esp in tomato soup!
cinnamon is my fav!
Mine is Paprika. I love the warmth that it brings to foods ^_^
I love cinnamon, i sprinkle it on most things
Mustard, i prefer mustard seeds but the powder is also great, especially in stews and macaroni cheese. Nom.
ginger
Tumeric – we’ve discovered that our eldest will try any new food as long as we add a bit of yellow colouring first (no idea why!) and she adores yellow veggie rice so we use lots of tumeric.
Rosemary for me – lovely on roasties and lamb
cinnamon – such a Christmas smell, great in gingerbread but also an essential in curries and moussaka. mmmmmm
cinnamon
Saffron
Turmeric
Pepper, I put it in everything
Paprika
star anise , its pretty to look at and makes beef casserole very tasty.
Paprika — I love spicy food – my boyfriend puts this in everything – event baby lil is getting used to it x
I love cinnamon. It’s so warming.
Fennel – mmm aniseedy. nom nom
Maybe not strictly one spice but I love Chinese 5 Spices!
Cumin
Cinnamon, lovely and warming for winter
Paprika, I use it on whatever I can get away with ….and some things I can’t lol
Has to be cinnamon – fab in baking and in cooking! :)
Simple-
black pepper for me!x
I love the smell of sage. It reminds me of Christmas.
I love to use ground cumin to make a spicy rice – it adds great flavour.
black pepper
Ras El Hanout
I love cinnamon, it can be used in so many different ways from sweet to savory.
Black Cumin (Nigella)
Bay leaf
Cayenne Pepper, I love to spice up dishes with a bit of heat
Star Anise