Since I lived in one of the 5 Danelaw towns and didn't understand geology, I thought this was a risk, and resolved to pack my body with trace elements. This ultimately lead to a belief in spices as assurance that all trace elements are present in my system. My shelves are full of lesser-used spices like sumac and turmeric for rice cookng, or dried mint and nutmeg. Last time I counted I had 120 spices (some of course past their SBD).
I don't think I've measured anything in cooking for 10 years. It is intuitive, and as far as spicing goes, depends totally on aroma: I rarely taste anything as it is cooking. There are some basic smell tips based on sweet/sour balance, but most of it is like a colour wheel - there are neighbouring colours and complementary colours.
When I think say, of broccoli, a number of neighbouring spices come to mind like aijwan or nutmeg. But then one starts to think of complementary spices. It is possible to imagine a melange in one's mind.
It is a risky business. Many spices are volatile and change with cooking time. Garlic and chili are a good examples. But I always announce my dishes as 'experimental'. That way noone is disaappointed - and the further away the dishes are from classic reference dishes, the easier it becomes. You can't be me, I'm taken
There was an old lady on our street, when I was a kid, who had a goitre. That is an enlarged thyroid gland, resulting often from a complete lack of the trace element copper (Cu) in the local well water supply. The disease was common in Derbyshire for that reason.
