Why Every Home Needs a Spice Box
When we think of spice boxes, we think of the beautiful, intricate boxes full of spices that lay open with jar lids off, the smell wafting through the air, as our grandmothers cook up a feast in their beloved kitchens. We think of mothers and aunts, telling stories whilst preparing lunch, whispering idle gossip, laughing loudly, calling for jars from each other… these jars beautifully sitting within the intricately decorated spice box.
This is a core memory that many of us share when we think of what it was like growing up – the Spice Box was central, even if we didn’t know it at the time.
No instructions were followed, just recipes passed down, a pinch of this, a couple of pinches of that, and a load full of love! Every home had a varying type of Spice Box and this has not changed for the majority of us.
The Spice Box essentially kept organised in small intricate jars all the spices which were needed for any meal. The jars were airtight, easily accessible and travelled in the spice box when we all went on holidays together.
In India, the Spice Box is called a ‘masala dabba’, and is a circular metal tin, with individual smaller round tins full of freshly hand ground Indian spices like coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala, amchur, along with cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
In Sri Lanka, the Spice Boxes were often made of intricately carved wood, coconut shells or tin, and kept smaller jars full of fresh spices inside – usually Ceylon Cinnamon, turmeric, curry powder, chilli powder, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander powder, fresh Ceylon Cinnamon quills, cardamom and cloves.
The Lord & Lion Spice Box
The Lord & Lion Spice Box is a modernized take on the traditional spice boxes that have come before. The Lord & Lion Spice Box is sleek and stylish and suits the modern kitchen perfectly.
Importantly, the Lord & Lion Spice Box pays homage to both the Indian and Sri Lankan variants of the Spice Box, being both intricately decorated like a jewelry box and practical in the way it organises the spices and locks in the freshness of the spices. The Lord & Lion Spice Box also maintains the functionality of the original spice boxes in how easily the spices are accessible as well as portable.
Where the Lord & Lion Spice Boxes differ from its predecessors is in the number of spices included. Each Spice Box, both Lankan Spice Box and the Maharaja Spice Box, contains 13 spices, including the highest grade of Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Spice Quills.
We also elevated the Spice Box so that it includes a beautiful gold spice spoon – we felt that the intricate spice boxes and the highest quality spices deserve to have an equally beautiful spoon.
The Lord & Lion Spice Boxes also include a handmade, cotton tea towel to wipe up any spills. The feeling of these beautiful hand towels also brings an element of luxury to each of the Spice Boxes.
Perhaps the most important difference also is the selection of Indian recipes and Sri Lankan recipes included in the Lord & Lion Spice Boxes, as compared to the Spice Boxes we saw when we were growing up. Back then, recipes were not needed! Nowadays, with so many of us separated in time and space from our family, these moments in the kitchen with our mothers, aunts and grandmothers are so rare.
For all of us who need a little reminder, our family’s favourite Indian recipes and Sri Lankan recipes are included in the Lord & Lion Spice Box.
There are so many incredible reasons why every home needs a spice box – of course, the functionality and practicality is key – delicious meals need to be prepared fast – but there is every reason that spices, a gift from the Gods, should be kept lovingly in boxes which resemble jewelry boxes, so that we truly appreciate the spices which make our meals that much more incredible!
For more information, visit https://www.lordandlion.com/collections/the-spice-shop & https://www.lordandlion.com/collections/spice-blends
