List of Essential Spices
Monday 26 July 2010 - Filed under 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.
2010-07-26 » Spice Guy