If I had to season all my dishes with only five items, those would be:

• Salt.
• Cavender’s Greek Seasoning.
• Garlic.
• Coriander.
• Cumin.

If I got to pick five more items, those would be:

• Ginger.
• Ground Mustard Seed.
• Red Pepper.
• Soy Sauce.
• Honey.

I can (and do) prepare red meat, pork, poultry, seafood, and vegetables with a combination of all of the above. Almost every meal I cook has a combination of most of the above ingredients — probably 8 of the 10. And no, my meals do not all consist of the same flavors by any means. The spices draw out different flavor notes depending on what I’m cooking and how.

Sure, my spice rack has tons of other options and occasionally I’ll draw from those when it makes sense to, but you’ll never find me cooking without the above spices available somewhere within arm’s reach, and if I were ever limited to only 10 options, these would be it.