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It all started with my early experiments in cooking. I was cooking, say, a curry, and I wouldn’t know what cumin, or paprika tasted. So I’d try it, maybe with a little salt, to test it.

Then one day, I found that I was tasting the seasoning without the need to cook anything, and then the floodgates opened; I became… an eater of seasonings.

I found that just about any combination was at least interesting, but some were particularly special; that old favourite, salt and pepper, maybe salt and chilli powder for a spicy flavour, or dry piri piri for a more complex, garlicy flavour. Then, I started getting more ambitious, I’d mix four, five or six seasonings at a time, producing a kaleidoscope of flavours, both striking and subtle.

I found that it wasn’t just dry seasonings which could be appreciated this way, unadulterated hoi-sin sauce was delicious, and a couple of drops of neat tobasco made a nice little pick-me up. Oh, and a good soy-sauce! That Umami touch on the middle of the tongue… it’s like nothing else.

Now, I know that this sort of behaviour could regarded as uncivilised, but don’t we eat our chips with our fingers these days? Are any of us really that civilised?

Those who eat spices come to know the herbs they eat. They gain a familiarity with each, which it would be hard to get from any full meal, and that knowledge can be tapped to make better food (or just better combinations of raw spices!).

So, I say to you, good people, do not be held back by tradition, or fear of the unknown. Do not be forced by the world around you to sully fine seasonings with lesser foods (such as anything else), but learn to enjoy them in their purest form; alone, unaccompanied and unadulterated!

(I cannot believe Hugh thought this was a good idea for a blog post (he does it too, you know))