Creole Seasoning Blend

Kept airtight in a cool, dark cupboard it stays good for months, though the paprika and dried herbs fade after about six and the blend tastes flat rather than spoiled. Nothing in it is perishable, so this is about flavour, not safety. Give the jar a shake before each use, since the fine powders settle below the herb flakes.

Start with about a teaspoon per pound of meat or per pot of rice and add more once you have tasted it. The blend carries 3 tablespoons of salt in a batch of 20, so it seasons as well as spices, and a dish made with it usually needs little or no extra salt. This recipe makes 20 tablespoons, a little over a cup.

Yes, leave the 3 tablespoons of salt out and everything else stays exactly as written. The result is a pure spice blend you can use freely and salt the dish separately, which is useful if you are watching sodium or seasoning something already salty like ham. Bear in mind an unsalted blend tastes sharper, so you may want slightly less of it.

It has a definite kick: a tablespoon each of cayenne, white pepper and black pepper in a batch this size. Halve or quarter the cayenne for something mild enough for everyday cooking, and leave the paprika alone since that is colour and sweetness rather than heat. You can always stir more cayenne into a portion later.

Creole blends like this one lean on herbs — there are oregano, basil and thyme in here alongside the peppers — while Cajun blends usually push the heat and go lighter on the herbs. The two overlap enough that either will work in most recipes calling for the other. This one sits on the herby, aromatic side.

Chicken, shrimp, fish and pork all take it well, rubbed on before cooking. It is just as good stirred into rice, beans, roast potatoes or scrambled eggs, and a pinch on popcorn is worth trying. Add it early when it is going into something wet, so the dried herbs have time to soften.