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Cooking is an individual talent. The combination of different spices and herbs in recipes is what makes cooks famous or ones who dinner parties you never want to attend. All cooks should have a well-stocked spice and herb pantry. You do not want to run to the store in the middle of preparing dinner.

The first thing to know about stocking your spice and herb pantry is to avoid those cute spice racks that hang on the wall. You also want to avoid those darling turn tables that spin on the counter top. Herbs and spices hold their flavors and scents when stored in a cool, dry and dark place. Putting your herbs out in the open in the kitchen will make them lose their pizzazz much faster.

Clear off a shelf in your pantry or one section of your kitchen cabinet to store your herbs and spices. You can also freeze many herbs so a small section of your freezer should be part of your herb pantry plan.

Some people like to store their spices in the cabinet near the stove. While they are cooking they can open the cabinet door to see the spices. Others store them on the spice racks and turn tables in the cabinet. They simply take the rack or turn table out while cooking. This allows you more creativity while cooking because the spices are right there for you to see.

Now that you have everything ready it is time to stock your spice and herb pantry. What should you put in it? You will primarily want to have spices that compliment the type of foods that you cook the most. If you are a baker, you don't need a bunch of meat spices. If you cook fish and poultry you don't need a bunch of beef spices. Some people put everything in there and end up with a crowded area of spices they haven't used in years or ever.

You might even want to take the time to sort your spices by what type of foods they are best in. This will let you experiment in cooking. Store bought spices are usually only good about 6 months. Fresh herbs are good the day they are picked. Dried herbs are good for about 1 year.

Explore and try out new spices for your family recipes. Find which ones you and your family enjoy. There so many, many to select from.

Here are few of the spices and herbs for a well-stocked spice and herb pantry:

ALLSPICE: Allspice is great for many recipes.

BASIL: Basil is great for poultry, fish and beef recipes. It also compliments vegetable recipes.

BAY LEAVES: Bay leaves are great in sauces and stews.

CHILI POWDER: If you like a kick to your food a pinch of chili powder is great for vegetables, stew and

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