12 Things to Do with Spices
Updated: Oct. 04, 2018
Good for more than just cooking, here are five new ways you can put spice to work.
1. Use spices to make a hair tonic
You can spice up your hair care regiment with a homemade tonic that will enhance your natural colour and impart shine. For dark hair, use 1 tablespoon crumbled sage or 1 sprig chopped fresh rosemary or a mixture of 1 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves. For blonde hair, use 1 tablespoon chamomile. Pour 1 cup boiling water over the herb or spice mix, let it steep for 30 minutes, strain it through a coffee filter, and let it cool. Pour it repeatedly over your hair (use a dishpan to catch the runoff) as a final rinse after shampooing.
2. Use spices to treat minor cuts
If you nick your finger while chopping vegetables for dinner, you may not even need to leave the kitchen for first aid. Alum, the old-fashioned picking salt at the back of your spice cupboard, is an astringent. In a pinch, sprinkle some on a minor cut to stanch the flow of blood.
3. Use spices to keep feet smelling sweet
If you use sage only to stuff turkeys, then you’ve been missing out. Sage is great for preventing foot odour because it kills the odour-causing bacteria that grow on your feet in the warm, moist environment inside your shoes. Just crumble a leaf or two into your shoes before you put them on. At the end of the day, just shake the remains into the trash.
4. Use spices to deodorize bottles for reuse
You’d like to reuse those wonderful wide-mouthed pickle jars, but simply washing them with soap and water doesn’t get rid of the pickle smell. What to do? Add 1 teaspoon dry mustard to 1 litre water, fill the jar, and let it soak overnight. It’ll smell fresh by morning. This solution banishes the odour of tomatoes, garlic, and other foods with strong scents.
5. Use spices to keep your thermos fresh
You just uncapped the thermos bottle you haven’t used for six months, and the inside smells musty. To keep it from happening the next time, place a whole clove inside the thermos before capping it. A teaspoon of salt works too. Be sure to empty and rinse the thermos before using it.
6. Use spices to scent your home
What could be more welcoming than the smell of something good cooking? Instead of using commercial air fresheners, simply toss a handful of whole cloves or a cinnamon stick in a pot of water and keep it simmering on the stove for half an hour. Or place a teaspoon or two of the ground spices on a cookie sheet and place it in a 200°F (93°C) oven with the door ajar for 30 minutes. Either way, your house will naturally smell spicy good.
7. Use spices to keep woolen whole
Woolen clothing can last a lifetime—if you keep moths away. If you don’t have a cedar-lined chest or closet, preserve your cold-weather clothing using clove sachets. Purchase some small drawstrings muslin bags at a tea shop or health food store, and fill each one with a handful of whole cloves. To prevent any transfer of oils or colour to clothes and to contain any spills, put the sachet in a small plastic bag, but don’t seal it. Attach it to a hanger in your closet or tuck in on your sweater chest for woolens without holes.
8. Use spices to keep ants at bay
Flour, sugar and paprika can all fall prey to ants. Keep these cooking essentials safe by slipping a bay leaf inside your storage containers. If you’re concerned about the flour or sugar picking up a bay leaf flavour, tape the leaf to the inside of the canister lid. This trick works inside cabinets, too, where sachets of sage, bay, stick cinnamon, or whole cloves will smell pleasant while discouraging ants.
9. Use spices to stamp out silverfish
These pesky critters frequent places with lots of moisture, such as kitchens, baths, and laundry rooms. Hang an aromatic sachet containing apple pie spices, sage or bay leaves on a hook in your bathroom vanity and behind the washer, or keep a few in decorative baskets along baseboards.
10. Use spices to control insects in the garden
You don’t have to use harsh pesticides to control small-insect infestation outdoors. If ants are swarming on your garden path, add 1 tablespoon ground black pepper (or another strong-smelling ground spice, such as ground cloves or dry mustard) to 1 cup sifted white flour and sprinkle the mixture on and around the pests They’ll vanish within the hour. Sweep the dry mix into the garden or yards instead of trying to hose it off; water will just make it gooey.
11. Use spices to deter plant-eating animals
Everyone knows that hot peppers make your mouth burn. So if rodents are attacking your ornamental plants, the solution may be to make them too “hot” for the critters. In fact, hot peppers are the basis for many commercial rodent repellents. Chop up the hottest pepper you can find (habanero is best) and combine it with 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper and 1/2 gallon (2 litres) water. Boil the mix for 15-20 minutes, then let it cool. Strain it through cheesecloth, add 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid, and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray vulnerable plants liberally every five days or so. The spray works best for rabbits, chipmunks and woodchucks, but may also deter deer, especially in combination with commercial products.
12. Use spices to shield your vegetable garden
For centuries, gardeners have used companion planting to repel insect pests. Aromatic plants such as basil, tansy, marigolds, and sage are all reputed to send a signal to bugs to go elsewhere, so try planting some near your prized vegetables. Mint, thyme, dill, and sage are old-time favourites near cabbage family plants (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflowers, and brussels sprouts) for their supposed ability to fend off cabbage moths. Best of all, you can eat the savoury herbs!
