Dedicated to bringing you a guide on using spices to enhance our meals.
Wednesday 28 July 2010
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Italian Spices
If you ever walked into a real Italian kitchen the first thing you would notice is the wide variety of Italian spices. Spices play such an important role in Italian cooking that they’re discussed in detail in all fine cookbooks, and they’re the first thing taught in all cooking institutions. The ability to blend spices is considered an art form, and some recipes are even kept secret; passed down only after the student has proved his/her worth to the teacher. Needless to say, spices play an integral part of authentic Italian cooking.
Just as with all ethnic recipes, Italian cuisine uses its own array of spices. The most widely used spices are oregano, basil, thyme, and garlic. Oregano is typically very strong. While it goes perfectly with basil, it also goes great in stronger dishes from southern Italy. Oregano made its debut in America in pizza sauces, and spread to other dishes as it became more popular. Basil is a common spice used in many international cuisines, but it’s always been a central taste in Italian cooking. It often shows up in one form or another in almost all Italian dishes, especially those coming from Northern Italy. It’s also a central ingredient in tomato basil soup and margherita pizza. Thyme adds a pungent minty, light-lemon aroma to meat, fowl, and fish dishes; and no receipe would be complete without the quintessential addition of Italian garlic. One Italian chef, Antonello Colonna, was quoted as saying: “To eliminate garlic from an Italian kitchen is like eliminating violins from an orchestra!” We couldn’t agree more.
Some other popular spices are coriander, which is typically added to meat dishes; Nutmeg, which is used in dishes that have cheese and spinach; and parsley, which is often utilized as a flavoring rather than a garnish due to its pungent taste. Perhaps the most usable spice in Italian cooking is fennel. This spice can be used in three ways: Its bulb can be sliced or quartered to be braised or baked au gratin, its stems can flavor sauces, and its seeds can be sprinkled atop sausages and various cooked meats.
If you can’t find fresh herbs from your local grocery store you can use the dry spices they offer, and be sure to store them in a cool, dark place. Spice racks that sit in the light of your kitchen as they heat up next to your stove are detrimental to the spices taste and quality, so make some room in your cupboard or any other dark storage area. Dried spices do have a long shelf life, but they do not last forever. And what they give in convenience they lack in taste.
If quality spices are important to you, it may be worth the extra time to find stores in your area such as Italian groceries or farmers markets. Specialty shops like these are always a great place to find fresh ingredients that will add that extra dash to your dishes.
The proper blend of spices can literally make or break your Italian cuisine. As spices are such an integral part of Italian cooking, it’s always worth the extra investment to get quality spices for your special recipes. You will taste the difference!
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2010-07-28 ::
Spice Guy
Monday 26 July 2010
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Usage
Anyone who has ever tried their hand at cooking immediately finds out the essential importance of spices. When it all boils down, spices are the key element in bringing out hidden tastes and textures in fine cooking.
Professional chefs usually use spices that have already been prepared. They have been ground up and prepared in a way that makes them easily accessible and easy to apply. One of the the only exceptions to this is ground pepper, which can be easily ground yourself with the ease of a pepper grinder. You can find pepper grinders at great prices in your local grocery store, usually located next to peppercorns.
For those cooks who like the utmost freshness and authenticity in their cooking, pestle and mortars are available for purchase in stores that specialize in cooking supplies. This allows the chef to grind up his own spices and it adds that extra dash to their cooking. This is, of course, a long process; but one who’s tastes will show the extra effort. Your guests will be rewarded with deep flavors and penetrating tastes. This is perfect for occasions like holidays and special events.
For everyday cooking, store bought spices can adequately do the job. However, all spices have a shelf life, so make sure not to leave them out for too long. This includes leaving them out in the light of your kitchen. The best place to store spices is in a cool, dry cupboard.
As with all ingredients in fine cooking, it’s very important that you learn the taste and smell of individual spices. Just as the addition of a certain combination of spices can make your average dish into a masterpiece, adding the wrong combination can turn it into a disaster. Even famous cooks make these types of mistakes on occasion, so learn your spices! Your guests will taste the difference.
When it comes to mixing spices effectively keep in mind that moderation is the secret to success. It’s rare for cooks to add more than two to five spices in a single gourmet dish. Of course, the exception to this rule are dishes that are found on Asian and Indian menus, whose unique blend of complex spices give them that unique taste that relies heavily upon its kick.
When mixing spices you have a choice to mix them in the old way, by eyeballing the ratios, or you can use pre-made pastes that are now used widely by professionals and hobbyists alike. Though convenient options like these are widely available, it’s always good to mix your own spices from time to time to get familiar with their particular effect on your dishes.
However you intend to use spices in your own cooking, remember that the proper blend and distribution of spices can make or break your dishes. So use sparingly! As your skills grow with your ability to use spices, those who you cook for will notice immediately what spices can do for your recipes.
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2010-07-26 ::
Spice Guy
Saturday 24 July 2010
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Asian Spices
With the shrinking of the globe in ways of travel and importation, Asian cooking has become a central tenet of the western diet. Westerners from both Europe and the America’s choose Asian options millions of times a day, and it has allowed for a growing economy of Asian-based businesses to relocate to the west. As with all cooking, one of the most important aspects of Asian cooking is its spices. As well as representing all the important flavors: sweet, salty, savory (pungent), bitter, and sour, Asian spices also have a health based application that has been used in the healing arts for thousands of years. Some historians of Asian cooking claim that their central spices represent the five elements of life: earth, fire, water, air, and metal. Regardless of what they represent or what application they have, Asian spices have not only proved to be beneficial for health, but have created some delicious tastes which have been readily adopted by the western palate.
Asian spices made their appearance in Chinese medicine before they’re adjunct into Asian recipes. The five spices of ground cinnamon, clove, star anise, Sichuan pepper, and fennel were said to have such potent medicinal qualities that adding them to food would be healing. These spices were used to restore the balance of the five elements of chi, which is the life energy in our bodies. And with the increased application of the spices to food, they began to be recognized for what they did to the foods flavor as well. Asian chefs quickly created new recipes around these spices, allowing for their dishes to be both delicious and healing at the same time. With their introduction to the west, the five major Asian spices have made the leap over to American dishes. Now, such ingredients are a central part to western recipes.
These five Asian spices can be bought together in a powder for convenience at any Asian foods specialty store and/or at your local supermarket. Some of these spices have other additives such as coriander seeds, cumin (which is used in place of fennel seeds), green or black cardamom, and even nutmeg. Whatever additives there happen to be in the powder you purchase, make sure to use it sparingly as the spices can be pungent in flavor.
If creating your own spice combinations more aptly fits your cooking style, you can certainly make your own mix of Asian spices. Before doing so however, it’s important that you purchase the freshest spices available from reputable stores that specialize in fine ingredients.
Use any combination of the spices mentioned above and dry roast them in a hot skillet until they emit a fragrant scent. It’s important to roast your spices individually as they all roast at different temperatures. After cooling, grind them in a coffee grinder that is used specifically for spices, and then add them all in a mixing bowl. After they are properly blended, store them in a glass jar or any other tight jar. Store your spice mix away from the light, preferably in a cool, dark cupboard.
Asian Spices are an important element in all Asian cooking and have even made the leap over to American dishes. Known for their great taste and medicinal properties, Asian spices will add a delicious element to all your best dishes.
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2010-07-24 ::
Spice Guy