Everything you Need to Grow Your Own Herbs
Both nutmeg and mace are from the myristica genus of tree. Nutmeg is the seed found within the fruit of the tree and mace is the dried seed covering (aril) that is lace like in appearance. Both share a flavor and aroma of delicate warmth and sweetness, with mace having a much more pungent taste.
Good cinnamon substitutes include nutmeg, allspice, whole cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, pumpkin spice mix, mace, cloves or cinnamon sugar. Each of these substitutes has a different flavor and way to add value to the dish you are cooking.
Both basil and bay leaves are essential to many Mediterranean dishes and can grow with a little care quite happily in the UK and colder climates.
Chinese five spice has an origin as being a bit of use all spice blend. One which hits all five of the areas for taste that we humans have. Bitter, Sweet, Sour, Savory (umami) and salty. There is no one specific blend and it has been adapted as it moves through Asia over the decades.
Lemongrass is seasonal and can be hard to find so we don’t always have it to hand. Here are some great replacements for lemongrass; use lime or lemon zest, kaffir lime leaves, preserved lemons, Lemon balm leaves, lemon verbena leaves or even dried lemongrass to replace the delicate citrus flavor.
The best replacement for fresh ginger is to use ground ginger in the ratio 1/4 teaspoon ground to 1 teaspoon of fresh. Alternatively you can replace fresh ginger with stem ginger that you rinse in cold water to reduce the sweetness from the sugar.