​Celebrating spices at Christmas

If there's ever a time of year synonymous with aromatic, comforting and delicious spices, it has to be Christmas! Recipes can be transformed using the right spices, so now is the perfect time to stock up on these kitchen essentials. Let's take a closer look at how you can get the most out of spices during the Christmas season.

Assess your range

If your spices have been opened or exposed to air, they will rapidly lose their aromatic compounds; the very things that give your dishes fragrance and flavour. So send any expired spices to the compost heap and then assess what you need. Typical spices for Christmas include a mix of savoury and sweet, designed to flavour everything from Christmas puddings to New Year's Eve curries. Stock up on cinnamon, allspice, paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and sumac and consider ready blends such as handy season-all and ras-al-hanout.

Upgrade your spice jars

Once you've bought your spices, decant them into a matching range of spice jars, so they look beautiful and last for as long as possible. A good spice jar will have an airtight lid to maximise the lifespan of the contents. Air, heat and light cause spices to degrade quickly, so choose airtight mini jars and then store them somewhere away from direct light and heat. A spice rack in the kitchen can be convenient and look great too.

Glass spice jars work particularly well because, unlike plastics, they don't contain any chemicals. Glass also looks beautiful and has no compounds that will affect the flavour of the contents. It's also completely recyclable and will last for years. When you buy matching spice jars, they also make a kitchen design feature of their own, and there are styles to suit every need. We have clip-top glass spice jars, screw tops, shaker varieties, glass spice jars with coloured lids, different sizes and plenty more features. Discover the glass spice jar range at Wares here: https://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/jars/spice-jars/

Ways to use Christmas spices in your home

Sticky Gingerbread Spiced Christmas Pudding

Start preparing this sticky and indulgent treat the day before you cook it. Put 225g pitted dates into a pan with 150ml of dark rum and cook gently for a few minutes until the mixture is soft. Place it into a large mixing bowl with 225g of currants and 100g each of sultanas and raisins. Add 100g chopped mixed peel, 100g of finely chopped stem ginger with a little syrup from the jar, and the juice and zest from one lemon. Cover it over and leave overnight.

The following day, stir in a large grated Bramley apple and sift in 100g of self-raising flour and a pinch of salt. Add 2 tsp each of ground ginger and mixed spice and half a tsp of ground cloves. Add 100g of muscovado sugar, 100g of fresh breadcrumbs, 150g suet, 50g of chopped almonds, 2 large eggs and 120ml of very strong beer with at least 10% alcohol. Stir everything well.

Grease a 1.5litre pudding basin with butter and line it with a little baking paper. Pour in the mix, level the surface and cover the bowl with foil before topping the lid with a pleat of baking paper to allow steam to escape. Gently place the pudding into a large pan with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the side. Steam it for 6 hours before removing the pudding, letting it cool, removing the paper and foil and then store it until needed. This pudding is delicious reheated and served with cream or ice cream.

This pudding tastes even better over time and will store for up to a year. So why not make it now and enjoy the wonderful aroma in your kitchen and pantry! You can find the full recipe here: https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/desserts/sticky-gingerbread-spiced-christmas-pudding

Studded orange pomanders

Another lovely way to use spices in your home is to make studded Christmas orange pomanders - a project that kids will love too. These have been traditionally used as decorations for centuries. Simply use a toothpick to puncture the rind of an orange and add a whole clove into each. You can make any pattern that you like or randomly stud the orange all over with cloves. Meanwhile, mix together a couple of tablespoons each of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, ground ginger and orris root powder. This is enough for two orange pomanders. Roll the orange into the spice and dry the pomander for a couple of weeks. Wrap it in tissue and then store it in a dry, cool place until you're ready to display or gift it. When it's ready, wrap the ribbon around the orange as you would with a gift, and tie a bow. Then you can gift the pomanders or display them and use them to create a wonderful fragrance in your home.

You'll find a great range of Christmas ribbon, wrap and decorative items at Wares of Knutsford, all ready for the festive season ahead. So why not stock up on spice jars, spices and ribbons and have some fun with these seasonal projects!