Top 6 Reasons to Make Spice Blend Gifts this Holiday Season
Whether you decide to make these as gifts, or simply enjoy the blends yourself, you will love how easy it is to make your own delicious spice blends.
Number 6 …
Forget dull tasteless spices.
Your own fresh blends ensure the best taste and quality.
Many store-bought spice blends are old and bland tasting compared to the vibrant blends you can create using freshly dried organic herbs and spices. Mountain Rose Herbs sells incredible powdered spices.You can even step it up a notch by buying whole seeds and spices and grinding them yourself for the blends. It doesn’t get much fresher than that!
Number 5 …
Handmade gifts are thoughtful and much more meaningful than random stuff you buy at the store.
When it comes to getting presents from friends and family I would much rather have something they’ve taken the time to make themselves.
Besides making these blends yourself, you can add another special touch by including your favorite recipes using the spice blends. (Spoiler alert: I am making my friends and family a recipe book along with the spice blends).
Number 4 …
They are an elegant herbal gift that your friends and family will actually enjoy and use.
I am constantly looking for fresh homemade ideas for my friends and family. I insist on hand making most of my gifts each year but I also want to make and give something my loved ones will actually use. I am pretty sure I over-gave salves for a number of years before I caught on to the fact that they were simply gathering dust in people’s drawers.
Spice blends are delicious and practical. They will be loved!
Number 3 …
They are an affordable gift.
Buying these spices in bulk (or better yet using your own home grown herbs) makes this gift incredibly inexpensive, way cheaper than buying inferior spice blends at the grocery store.
Number 2 …
Gifting spice blends lets you share your passion for herbs and good health.
Last holiday season I bought the book Healing Spices by Dr. Bharat Aggarwal. Granted, I was already a believer that spices were good for one’s health, but this book totally blew me away. I read it from cover to cover and was totally amazed at all the ways culinary herbs and spices can dramatically influence our health.
From improving digestion (poor digestion is often considered the root of chronic disease) to improving cardiovascular health to decreasing the risk of cancer and everything in between, spices are truly incredible.
Giving spices is like giving the gift of health!
Many US homes are devoid of spices! Sharing spice blends with your friends and family (especially with your favorite recipes) is a great way to share both your passion for herbs and your passion for healthy living.
AND THE NUMBER ONE reason to make spice blends …
We’ve made it super simple for you.
Have you ever seen those Pinterest-fail photos?
Essentially these articles show the flawless beautiful Pinterest project alongside someone’s comical attempt to recreate it.
But, don’t worry. That won’t be you!
We have downloads of our exact labels and gifts cards. And you can buy the gorgeous corked spice bottles and all the herbs and spices you need from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Making Your Spice Blends
Now that I have given you 6 reasons to make spice blends this holiday season, let’s see how you go about making them.
I’ve chosen five different spice blend recipes to give you a variety of options. Consider making all five for a complete gift set.
The following recipes are in parts. I chose to do this to make it easy for you to make as small or as large a batch as you want.
If you’ve never measured in parts before here’s how to do it.
You choose how much you want one part to be. For example if you wanted to make a large batch of something you might choose the part to be a cup. Then you substitute a “cup” each time it says “part”.
Of, if you wanted to make a smaller blend you might choose a tablespoon as your part.
Once you’ve decided how big to make your parts you simply measure them out into a bowl. Mix well. And then transfer to your spice blend container. Label the container and voila!
Some Tips
- Make sure all the spices in your blend are the same consistency. If some have large leaves and others are powder, the powder will just shift to the bottom of the blend.
- Sift your powders to avoid having any large clumps.
- If you are making your own spice blend, make a small amount so that you can try it out yourself first.
Spice Blend Recipes
All Purpose Seasoning
To make this blend I lightly ground up all the spices until they were about the same consistency. If you leave your oregano leaves and rosemary leaves whole, the garlic granules will sink to the bottle of the mix. Better to have them all closer to a powdered consistency.
This blend is perfect for grilling meats and for a variety of savory main or side dishes.
- 2 parts oregano
- 1 part rosemary
- 1 part fennel
- 1 part thyme
- 1/2 part garlic granules
Need spices or spice bottles?Get them here.
Pumpkin Spice
As you might imagine, this pumpkin spice blend goes well in pumpkin pie. But don’t let the name of the spice limit its use. It can be used on top of ice cream, in eggnog, in oatmeal, in hot chocolate, in cookies and many more sweet treats.
- 4 parts cinnamon powder
- 2 parts ginger powder
- 1 part clove powder
- 1/2 part nutmeg powder
Need spices or spice bottles? Get them here.
Garam Masala
This traditional Indian spice blend works well in curries and on meats and veggies. We cook a lot of Indian-inspired cuisine and this mix goes in practically every dish.
- 2 parts cumin powder
- 2 parts coriander powder
- 1 part turmeric powder
- 1/2 part cinnamon powder
- 1/4 part clove powder
- 1/4 part cardamom powder
Need spices or spice bottles? Get them here.
Celery Salt
Celery salt is commonly used in coleslaw and on popcorn. When I first had homemade celery salt I was amazed at the delicious taste. It’s way better than the store-bought stuff!
- 2 parts ground celery seed
- 1 part sea salt
Need spices or spice bottles? Get them here.
Taco Seasoning
Used on tacos, fajitas, meats and chili, this spiced blend enlivens meat dishes and bean dishes. The optional cayenne powder can be increased or decreased depending on the amount of heat you want.
- 2 parts chipotle powder
- 1 part paprika powder
- 1 part cumin powder
- 1/2 part onion powder
- 1/2 part garlic powder
- 1/4 part cayenne powder (optional)
Need spices or spice bottles? Get them here.
Spice Blend Labels:Our Gift To You!
LearningHerbs Design Director, Jan Bosman, created these beautiful gift tags and labels that you can download here for free.
Print these out on your favorite paper. You can clip and adhere the labels to bottles using clear tape.
We hope you enjoy making your own vibrant spice blends as gifts this holiday season. You can see how I did this in the photos above.
