Spices

[bixaorellana]

We have a Ginger thread, a Bland to Spicy thread, and a Culinary Herbs thread.

The Culinary Herbs thread has some discussion about the difference between an herb and a spice.

Can we agree, for purposes of this discussion, that an herb is something green and leafy, optimally used fresh, but which can also be dried?

So spices are generally the "hard" flavorings: seeds, pods, etc., and including rhizomes such as ginger, fresh or dry -- agreed?

Which ones do you consider essential? Do you use them individually, or prefer mixtures such as "poultry seasoning" and the like?

[bixaorellana]

Does anyone make up curry powders or garam masalas? That probably needs a separate thread with recipes.

In the meantime, here's something I found this morning. This discussion is from the US, but the advice would hold true all around the world, depending on what kind of ethnic markets there might be.

In another discussion here on AnyPort, I learned that in parts of Canada nutmeg is used in place of the cinnamon people in the US might put in a similar recipe. Ever since reading that, I've been adding nutmeg to all kinds of things, with great results.

[auntieannie]

being a curry nuts, I keep a relatively large selection of spices. For this, living in the UK is great as you can easily purchase these in most shops, or find a specialised shop not too far away.

To answer your question, bixabella, I do - loosely - make my own masalas, but don't generally follow a specific recipe. it's all about smelling the dish and a bit of experience of what to expect. Which means the results are always different.

I am also interested in their healing properties - many spices and herbs are carminatives (help digestion) but some help with your blood circulation or with the cleansing of liver and kidneys.

I don't really buy ready mixed spices - apart from garam masala, especially as many contain salt and this isn't necessary.

The spices I consider essential are:
ginger (fresh or powdered),
cumin seeds (I can use my pestle & mortar if I wish to powder them, especially easy after leaving them to heat in a dry pan);
cinnamon;
cloves (generally whole);
coriander or fennel seeds;
black mustard seeds;
black peppercorns;

I mainly use nutmeg in cheesy dishes.

[cristina]

There is only one mixed spice that I use regularly because it is usually much more perfectly proportioned than I could do on my own. And it isn't the least bit fancy. It is Beau Monde seasoning - specifically the Spice Islands Brand. Its a blend of salt, celery seed and onion powder and I admit that I love it.

Otherwise, besides S&P (which I have in multiple forms), my regular go-to spices are usually:

cinnamon (ground and sticks)
nutmeg
cardamom
ginger
dry mustard (not sure if that is an official spice)
powdered Spanish pimentón (see above)
safran (when I am flush with cash)
cumin powder
chili powder


I have never made my own garam masala, but I have been hunting for a good ras el hanout, which I think shares similar characteristics.

The article linked in post #2 was interesting. I often see certain spices sold in larger quantities at much smaller prices in the Hispanic section of my store but (shamefully) haven't given them too much of a look. However the only spices I use in abundance are the ones above, so large quantities would be wasted in my house. Except for sesame seeds. Or maybe poppy seeds since I use both in larger quantities in bread baking.

This said, I have a two tiered lazy susan in my cabinet stuffed with spices (and dried herbs and extracts). I probably have used less than 20% of them in the last year. I think its time to re-examine the cupboard.

[bazfaz]

I do find nutmeg an overpowering flavour. I only a tiny bit though I have read that in Victorian times nutmeg in a grinder was often put on the dining table like a peppermill is today.

[hwinpp]

I confess I use ready made curry powders. They're just too practical.

Making your own is worth it though and not too difficult. The difference between home- made and bought is spectacular! And not that much work... but still too much for a lazy bum like me.

I'm not really sure what spices I have at home since I'm not the main cook anymore and I therefore don't enter the kitchen much (except on a Sunday when I make pasta). So I'd imagine we have salt and pepper, 5- spice powder, chilli powder, whole star anise, no cumin (which is somethingI always used to have in Europe, even if just to eat 'raw'.

On the other hand my girlfriend does make her own fresh pastes and they do taste different

[Deleted]

Yeah, I just go to the Indian supermarket to buy curry powder. It would be selfish not to give those poor people some employment.

[bixaorellana]

If I had access to an Indian supermarket, the chances of my making my own curry powder would be nil.

HW ~~ you just nibbled on cumin seeds?

I found this in "Constabulary notes from all over" in The New Yorker:

From the San Francisco Chronicle
Fresno County authorities have arrested a man they say broke into the home of two farmworkers, rubbed one with spices and whacked the other with a sausage before fleeing.

[hwinpp]

Yes. I think it's cumin. In the middle east (and on towards India) you'd find it in a little bowl on every table of every restaurant for free.

Supposed to be good for your digestion and gives you a nice breath. So you'd just nibble at them slowly.

[bixaorellana]

I just read that and immediately went to put some cumin seeds in a little bowl which is now setting next to the computer mouse. nibble . nibble . nibble

[hwinpp]

Looks like it's just a dialogue between you and me today, Bix. And I'm leaving the office now. Enjoy those cumin seeds!

[auntieannie]

can someone explain... I went and bought some the other day... but got confused and bought

kala jeera (black cumin) which is really tiny and charcoal black

instead of jeera (the traditional brown one) from the indian supermarket the other day.

and there's the usual more greenish european one. which I don't really like. I guess it is just the same as the brown one, but fresh?? or is it a different one altogether?

If I am not mistaken,
kala means "black" in Hindi and "good" in Greek.

[bixaorellana]

I am pretty sure that "black cumin" is really nigella. It has another culinary name that escapes me at the moment. It's sort of wedge shaped isn't it, like a teensy tricorn hat? I'm off to look it up.

Jeera = cumin seeds (English) or comino (Spanish)

They would look like this, I think ----------------------------------------->

Are they the ones called jeera?

[bixaorellana]

Forgot to add above that I don't know what the greenish cumin is. Can you provide a picture from the net, or a description, AuntieA?

It looks as though nigella and black cumin are two distinct spices.

I used Gernot Katzer's endlessly useful Spice Pages that HW found.

Here is the entry for black cumin, botanical name: Bunium persicum.

He also gives tons of information on *nigella (Nigella sativa, including the fact that it is sometimes erroneously called ajwain, a mistake I have been making.

No more, since ajwain, or Trachyspermum ammi is something completely different.

You can wander happily for hours in Katzer's spice pages, with their wealth of pictures and all kinds of information.

*Very interesting in its own right -- look here.

[hwinpp]

What you have in your pic is what I'd call cumin or jeera.

I don't have a clue about black or green cumin.

So, to add to the confusion, how does anise fit into the picture?

[bixaorellana]

Well, even though anise seeds (Pimpinella anisum) resemble jeera/cumin, it's easy to tell them apart by smelling or tasting them.

Anise and cumin do look alike. This is an extreme closeup of anise ----------------->

The seeds germinate easily, although I find the leaves pretty undistinguished.

But when you say "anise", do you mean the little licorice-y flavored seeds, or do you mean star anise (Illicium verum)?

I love star anise -- I love the way it looks and that really special flavor it has.

It's nice to break a piece or two of it on top of the coffee grounds before brewing.

[hwinpp]

I mean the one in the picture.

Here we use quite a bit of star anise too.

[bixaorellana]

Eh? I feel as though I'm trapped in an Abbot & Costello routine.

"the one in the picture" ~~ there are two pictures. I'm going to assume you mean the top picture in #15 -- the little anise seeds.

And you ask "how does anise fit into the picture?" Uh, it's inside a square, like all pictures. ;D

Seriously ............ I didn't understand why you brought up anise in the context of cumin until I did more googling and discovered this list:
Other Names
Aniseed, Sweet Cumin
French: anis
German: Anis
Italian: anice
Spanish: anis
Greek: anis
Indian: saunf, sompf, souf

Is "sweet cumin" a term you know for anise?

Does anyone know if fennel seeds and anise seeds can be used interchangeably, or are the fennel seeds not sweet enough?

[auntieannie]

to me, fennel seeds have a different taste to aniseed. Subtle, but different.

kala jeera: www.wisegeek.com/what-is-kala-jeera.htm

[hwinpp]

I've never heard the term 'sweet cumin' but aniseed is quite common. I've always thought they were related. I mean aniseed and cumin.

[bixaorellana]

Ay, ay, HW ~~ they are related botanically, but not taste-wise, at least not to my taste.

I think one essential difference is that anise seed is frequently found in sweet things, whereas cumin is not.

[Deleted]

I don't know if it's because my taste buds are dulling with age, but I am more and more attracted to strong tasting spices as the years go by. Cumin, coriander, turmeric, cloves, cardamom... I practically dump such things without moderation into the cooking pot now. I don't need for a recipe to mention them; I am my own judge of whether it is appropriate or not.

[Don Cuevas]

Is chile a spice?


New York Times article today.
tinyurl.com/2bf9b86

[bixaorellana]

Thanks for the article, which I missed seeing in NYT.

Perhaps chiles are not technically a spice, but the hot ones must be considered "spice" in this kind of discussion, right? They're used in small amounts to give flavor & zing to a dish, which is how we use spices.

There is no single thread about chiles/chillies/hot peppers on anyport, although it's obviously a subject that interests many of us.

There is one on uses for hot peppers, in The Galley.

This would be the closest thing to a thread on the subject, but it didn't really go anywhere.

In Food & Cooking Resources, Don Cuevas listed an excellent guide to chiles. (#2)

And there is one thread about growing them.

[Deleted]

Chilis are not spices in themselves, but they are used to make spices. I don't think I have even seen Cayenne pepper in any form other than the powdered spice.

[bixaorellana]

I'll bet you have! Doesn't this look familiar?


I think the long cayenne is even more common. Surely everyone has seen whole cayenne in Chinese food, for instance. You can also find big bags of whole dried cayenne in pet stores, as food for parrots, or in Asian stores as food for people.

[Deleted]

Oh, well they should stop giving those peppers so many different names.

[bixaorellana]

A little while ago I opened a bag of Oaxacan style peanuts & thought of you as I picked out the cayenne peppers.

[hwinpp]

I just had a laughing fit rereading this page!

[Deleted]

And I finally did a double take: Parrots actually want to eat those things?