The holidays are a season built on flavor memories and scented nostalgia. So, when I return home for the holidays, I spend a lot of time in my mother’s kitchen helping prepare meals.

Each year, while searching through the spice cabinet for ground cloves for the apple pie or grated nutmeg for the eggnog, we inevitably clash over whether to toss some of the more aged containers.

Experts agree you should purchase new ground spices six months after opening. But my mother still has metal tins of cloves and cinnamon from a company that stopped making those containers in the early 90s — which means she’s about 30 years and 6 months overdue for new spices! The powder in those tins is essentially sawdust — a spice in name only.

Fresher Spices, Better Flavor

Cinnamon in a mulled cider. Clove in a baked ham. Cardamom in a batch of gingerbread. I may not be able to convince my mom to upgrade her spice collection, but as a professional, I know how important fresh spices can be to building those lasting memories. These warming, aromatic spices evoke nostalgia, and they offer an opportunity to create menu moments that guests will remember long after the last bite.

The essential oils in spices, the compounds that carry aroma and flavor, fade over time. Cinnamon loses its heat. Nutmeg loses its floral notes. Cloves become dull and woody. But when you use spices that are fresh and finely sourced, like Magellan®, you don’t have to fight for flavor. Dishes come together naturally.

Here are a few tips for maximizing the potential of spices in your kitchen this holiday season.

• Toast or bloom the spice in oil. Heating whole spices or adding ground spices at the right moment helps release their essential oils and flavor.
• Use whole and ground versions purposefully. Whole at the start of cooking to infuse flavor, ground near the end for impact.
• Don’t restrict warm spices to desserts. Cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and cardamom all have a place in savory dishes and drinks: in glazes, braises, sauces, and even cocktails.
• Lean on spice blends. With the perfect balance of flavors, quality spice blends are an efficient way to season meats, side dishes, and desserts. When a spice blend already tastes balanced, the prep cook doesn’t need to adjust, taste, adjust, taste again.

Magellan Spices, Rubs, and Seasoning Blends bring warmth and depth to every dish this holiday season — from cozy classics to festive new creations. With comforting notes like aromatic basil, rich granulated garlic, and the sweet heat of mango habanero, these premium blends help chefs layer flavor that feels both celebratory and familiar.

Spice Up the Whole Menu

We all know how naturally these warming spices pair with sweet dishes, but here are a few examples from my holiday menus and cooking classes that work off the dessert menu:

• Saffron French Toast with Cardamom Syrup: Cardamom adds a citrusy warmth that elevates the syrup from ordinary to holiday-worthy. Infusing syrups and sauces with warm spices is a simple way to add festivity without having to completely rework the menu.
• Grapefruit & Clove Glazed Ham: Redolent with citrus and spice, this bone-in glazed ham will be the star at my holiday table this year. Paired with ginger and cinnamon, the cloves add a fragrant aroma that beckons everyone to the table.
• Mulled Wine with Star Anise and Cinnamon: With good spices, the whole kitchen smells like the holidays well before dinner is served. This is a great way to bring spices from the kitchen into the bar.

In addition to warming spices, Magellan Specialty Seasonings make it easy to bring fresh inspiration and bright, balanced flavor to menus, just in time for the wintertime rush. From the bold, peppery kick of Canadian-Style Steak Seasoning to the citrusy lift of Herb, Garlic & Lemon and Basil, Garlic & Orange, these chef-crafted blends add color and complexity to everything from grilled meats to roasted vegetables.

Create Holiday Memories

This year, I know I’ll still find a few ancient jars of cloves in the back of my mother’s spice cabinet. But it will be the newly purchased spices that find their way into the blueberry crumble, the turkey dry rub, and the cinnamon simmer pot that bubbles on the stove throughout the week.

Our sense of smell has been shown to evoke the strongest memories. That’s because it is directly tied to the limbic system, which is the part of the brain responsible for emotion and memory. It’s why one whiff of cinnamon can transport someone back to baking cookies with their grandmother, or why clove and orange instantly feels like the start of the holiday season.

Long before we taste a dish, we feel it. The aroma tells our brain, “This matters. Remember this.” And that’s the power of fresh, vibrant spices: they don’t just season food, they trigger memories.

This year, whether you’re designing a full holiday menu or creating a single special, start with spices that deserve the spotlight. Because flavor isn’t only tasted. It’s remembered.