Tag Archives: spices

Popcorn Seasoning

It’s easy to make your own popcorn seasoning so you can enjoy this healthy snack with your whole family while you watch a good movie or play a board game together. This recipe is a bit spicy and hot, you’ll find some more seasoning suggestions in the tips from the kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Watkins grapeseed oil, original or flavor of choice
1 cup popping corn
6 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp Watkins cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Watkins paprika
1/4 teaspoon Watkins garlic granules
1 tsp Watkins seasoning salt Continue reading Popcorn Seasoning

Sweet and Sour Refrigerator Pickles

These sweet and sour refrigerator pickles are nice and crisp because the vegetables aren’t cooked. This recipe is very easy and great for anyone who is new to home canning. Making a batch or two is a good way to use up some of your extra garden produce, if you don’t have your own garden pick up some fresh produce at your local farm market. Your delicious homemade pickles would also make a welcome gift for someone special.

Ingredients for pickles:
4-6 cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 medium green or red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup pickling or kosher salt
4-5 glass pint jars and lids

Directions: Wash vegetables with Watkins Fresh Wash and slice. Place prepared vegetables in a large nonmetal bowl, add pickling salt, mix well and let stand for 2 hours. Prepare syrup while cucumbers, onions and pepper are sitting in the brine. Drain vegetables well and pack loosely into sterilized glass jars. Read how to sterilize canning jars, if you are new to home canning or need a refresher. Pour the following syrup over top making sure to cover vegetables.

Ingredients for syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups white vinegar
1 Tbsp. Watkins Pickling Spices
1-1/2 tsp. Watkins Celery Seed
1-1/2 tsp. Watkins Garlic Flakes, optional

Directions: Combine syrup ingredients, let stand for 2 hours or until sugar dissolves. Keep refrigerated. Turn the jars occasionally to mix spices. Your pickles will be ready to eat in 3 days, flavor improves after a week. Makes 4 pints. Keeps well for 6 – 9 months but I’m sure they won’t last that long!

Watkins Pickling Spices is a traditional mixture of whole and broken spices, herbs and seeds, it’s a pantry basic used for pickles, corned beef brisket, seafood, marinades and other dishes. This seasonal spice is generally available from March to October. You can order it and your other spices in the Watkins US catalog or the Canadian catalog.

Spice Cake Recipe

Try this quick and easy spice cake recipe, your family or guests will love how the caramel frosting compliments the flavor of the spices.

Ingredients for Cake:
1 box (18.5 oz/525 g) yellow reduced-fat cake mix
1/4 tsp/1.2 mL baking soda
3 egg whites
1-1/3 cups/330 mL water
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Orange Extract
1 tsp/5 mL Watkins Purest Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Allspice
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL Watkins Ginger
1/8 tsp/0.6 mL Watkins Nutmeg
Watkins Cooking Spray

Ingredients for Fluffy Caramel Frosting Continue reading Spice Cake Recipe

What’s The Difference: Spices vs. Herbs

This is a quick cooking tip brought to you by DJ and Panda in their own unique style. This pair have a series of quick, healthy dishes that can be made in normal kitchens.

Duration : 0:1:23

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What’s the difference between spices and herbs? This video gives you a pretty simple answer.

Looking for a bit more detailed answer? Spices are the edible seeds, berries, bark, roots, or other parts of the plants. For example, black pepper comes from a berry we call pepper corns, allspice is a seed, cinnamon comes from bark and ginger is a root. Herbs are usually the green, leafy part of aromatic plants. Parsley, sage, oregano and thyme are all examples of herbs.

My favorite brand of spices and herbs is Watkins.