When it comes to spices, it’s a case of use ‘em or lose ‘em, because most lose potency after a year or so. Here, from the American Spice Trade Association, is a list of easy-to-find spices and some dishes they can enhance.

Allspice: Sausages, Jamaican stews, fruit pies, honey-glazed winter squash, baked pears.

Anise: Fish and shellfish (put seeds in the poaching water), cottage cheese, cream-cheese dips, fruit pies, applesauce.

Caraway seeds: Cabbage, pork or veal stews, roasted potatoes, sauerkraut, potato salad.

Cardamom: Cakes, pastries, fruit dishes, curries, pilafs, punches, spiced wines.

Celery seeds: Tomato juice cocktail, chicken chowder, Southwestern chicken and dishes, meat pies, cabbage and carrot slaw.

Coriander: Lentils, curried chicken, Indian rice pilaf, coffeecake.

Cumin: Guacamole, bean soups, Mexican dishes, black beans, curries, chili, tuna salad.

Fennel: Italian tomato sauces, beef stew, seafood salad.

Fenugreek: Indian curries, pilafs.

Ginger: Asian dishes and stir-fries, carrot soup, sweet potatoes, apples, poached winter fruits.

Mace: White cake, chicken pie, cream sauces for vegetables.

Marjoram: Clam dip, split pea soup, roasted potatoes, vegetable salads.

Saffron: Rice dishes like paella, arroz con pollo, risotto; chicken, fish, shellfish.

Sage: Turkey burgers, stuffed peppers, bean soup.

Savory: Lentils, white beans, broiled veal, pork, poultry, cucumbers, goat cheese, tomato sauces.

Star anise: Barbecued or roasted chicken, broths, rice pudding, poached fish or shellfish.