Measuring freshly ground black pepper
Measuring freshly ground black pepper
When a recipe calls for "freshly ground black pepper," it usually does so without suggesting an amount. In the instructions of the recipe, you’ll be told to "sprinkle [something] with freshly ground black pepper" or "generously season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper" or "add freshly ground black pepper to taste."
In general, this makes sense. Cooking with black pepper is one of those things you just get a feel for as you spend more time in the kitchen. And descriptive measurements like "sprinkle" and "generously season" are hard to screw up: a light sprinkle is not going to be drastically different from a heavy sprinkle.
Still, we've been keeping track of pepper amounts for a while now, because we want our descriptive measurements to be more or less the same from recipe to recipe. How much pepper do we mean when we write "generously season?" What is the ideal amount of a Cookthink "sprinkle?"
And of course, there are times when it helps to have an exact amount for freshly ground black pepper. For certain casseroles and papillotes -- dishes that can’t be tasted for seasoning as they cook -- it's nice to have an exact baseline amount of pepper so that you don’t have to tweak it too much at the end for taste.
The problem is that it’s near impossible to grind accurately into any measuring spoon smaller than a tablespoon, and few recipes call for that much pepper. So how do you measure freshly ground black pepper?
One easy way is to go by turns of the grinder. I’ve carved an “X” onto the side of mine, a short and simple model with three settings: coarse, medium, fine.
I set the grind to medium and made 8 full rotations into a small bowl. Using a 1/8 teaspoon, I shoveled the ground pepper into another 1/8 teaspoon. Too much. I started over and stopped at 4 full rotations. It was a little light, so I made another full turn and got an almost level 1/8 teaspoon with 5 total rotations of the grinder.
I did the same for 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon. I got the results you’d expect:
1/8 teaspoon = 5 full rotations
1/4 teaspoon = 10 full rotations
1/2 teaspoon = 20 full rotations
1 teaspoon = 40 full rotations
I repeated this in both the fine and coarse settings, and found them close enough to the medium not to worry too much about it.
So are these measurements helpful? In writing and testing recipes, yes. In practice, probably not, though I have often wondered, while standing over a stew grinding away, just how much pepper I’m adding. Now I know. - Chip
Some version of the mortar and pestle has been in use by many cultures for thousands of years to grind and prepare food.
The mortar is a stone or wooden bowl used to hold whatever is being ground (herbs, spices, nuts, beans). The pestle is the heavy hand tool used for grinding.
Stone was probably the original material used for a mortar and pestle, and may still be the most popular (basalt, granite and marble are common, as is porcelain).
Today, food processors and electric spice grinders often replace the mortar and pestle, but for small amounts of ground spices, pesto and spice pastes, they're hard to beat (and good looking, too).
Reference: What is a spice paste good for?
A Chinese fruit shaped like its name and containing a small seed in each of its points, star anise is cultivated before ripening from small Southwestern Chinese evergreen trees. It is unrelated to anise seed, although both get their flavor from a compound called anethol.
Star anise has a more bitter taste than anise seed, and is used as a spice and infusion in Asian cuisines. It can also serve as cheaper alternative to anise in baked goods and liqueurs.
One of the five ingredients in Chinese five-spice powder and a major component of garam masala, star anise flavors Vietnamese pho broth and Southern Indian biryani. It is also an ingredient in the bird flu remedy Tamiflu.
A pistachio is the seed of a tree native to the mountainous regions of northern Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey -- and pistachios figure heavily in the cuisines of these cultures.
Even though it's not a true nut, the pistachio is considered a culinary nut and has been used for thousands of years in both sweet and savory dishes.
Pistachios are similar in texture to almonds, with a more complex, floral flavor and a pale green color.
Cumin is the dried seed of an aromatic plant that has a dusty, vaguely bitter taste and a distinctive smell. Cumin seeds can be used whole, fried in oil to release their aroma; or ground into a powder.
Most cumin seeds are light brown in color, but they are also available in white (similar to the brown in flavor) and black (which has a more peppery taste). Cumin seeds look a lot like caraway seeds.
You can find references to cumin in the Bible, where it was cited as a flavor-enhancer for soup and bread. The Romans used it to preserve meat and broil fish and it was popular in the Middle Ages. Today, cumin seeds are used to spice up Munster cheese, to make Indian and Pakistani curries and to add flavor to Tex-Mex chili. Cumin is also popular in many cuisines of the world, including Middle Eastern, Mexican, Eastern European and Mediterranean.
During the Middle Ages, cumin was believed to keep loved ones (and chickens) from straying; likewise, brides and grooms carried cumin seeds during the wedding ceremony as a happy marriage charm.
When mixing cocktails, herbs and/or fruit are often mashed or ground -- muddled -- with sugar in the bottom of a glass before adding the liquid ingredients to intensify their flavors. You can muddle with a spoon or a pestle-like tool called a muddler.
A classic example of a muddled drink is the Mojito, in which mint and sugar cubes are mashed together before adding light rum, lime juice and club soda.
Related Article: Why do we bruise herbs? (Cookthink)
Related Article: What is simple syrup? (Cookthink)
Devil's dung ring a bell? Stinking gum? Merde du Diable?
These are just a few of the unkind nicknames for this fetid-smelling spice, made from the resin-like sap of a fennel-like plant grown in India and Iran and used in small quantities (in lump or powdered form) in Indian pickles and vegetarian dishes such as curries.
Asafoetida mellows when fried in ghee, taking on the smell of fried onions and garlic. It is also believed to help children's colds, bronchitis and asthma and its scent is apparently attractive to the wolf.
Should I toast whole spices before grinding them?
Should I toast whole spices before grinding them?
Toasting whole spices in a medium-hot pan for 2 to 4 minutes before grinding them wakes up their flavors, releases their oils and brings out their fragrance and nutty flavor.
Spice-heavy cuisines like those of South Asia often fry ground spices in oil and aromatics like onion and garlic before combining them with other ingredients, making toasting redundant. But in dishes where spices aren't cooked on their own, and in rubs and pastes, toasting spices before grinding them is well worth the extra few minutes.
Be sure to shake the pan so spices toast evenly and keep an eye on them so they do not burn.
Ajowan (or ajwain) seeds are a spice related to cumin and caraway that originates from the Middle East and is now mostly found in southern India. Ajowan seeds look like purplish-red celery seeds and taste like astringent thyme. Also called carom or bishop's weed, ajowan is available in seed or ground form.
Sometimes added to a curry powder mix, or to breads, legumes and chutneys, ajowan is powerful and should be used sparingly. Ajowan is also said to reduce the unwanted effects caused by beans when added to bean-based preparations.
With a spice grinder on hand, you can buy spices whole so they retain their flavor longer, toast them whole if you like then quickly grind them with a couple of pulses of the grinder.
Use a mortar and pestle if you've got time and don't mind the elbow grease; otherwise an inexpensive electric coffee grinder is great for the task.
When you use a coffee grinder to grind spices, remember not to use it to grind coffee or cloves, since the flavors of both will haunt the grinder and taint the flavor of whatever it is you want to grind.
To clean the grinder and remove the flavor of other spices between uses, try grinding up some chunks of white bread or uncooked rice, which will clean out any traces of previously ground spices before your next use.
Reference: What is a mortar and pestle?
Reference: What is a spice paste good for?
Reference: Should I toast whole spices before grinding?
Cornmeal is a kind of flour or meal that is made from ground sweet corn. It comes in yellow, white, blue or red varieties, depending on the type of corn used.
Since cornmeal is gluten-free, fine and medium cornmeal is usually mixed with wheat flour to create a crumbly texture in baked goods like cornbread or corn muffins. Coarsely ground cornmeal is frequently labeled polenta or grits after the two dishes in which it is the main ingredient.
Cornmeal products are a native staple food in the Americas and today cornmeal is used to make tortillas, tamales, fry bread and popular Mexican drinks. Colonial settlers in the U.S. called cornmeal Indian meal and were fond of so-called cornmeal mush made from boiling cornmeal in water -- like the hasty pudding mentioned in the song Yankee Doodle Dandy. Italians have been making polenta -- yellow cornmeal boiled with water, stock or milk that is eaten as a porridge or cooled and cut into slices and grilled or fried -- since corn invaded Europe in the 1500s and Indian mush has has recently returned to fashion in the United States under an Italian name.
In some parts of Europe, cornmeal may be labeled maize flour. Although the term cornflour is sometimes used to denote the finest grind of cornmeal in the United States, elsewhere it may actually refer to cornstarch.
Cornmeal can also be sprinkled on a baking tray to help keep dishes like free-form galettes or turnovers from sticking in the oven.
what you should know
A fixture in both curry and chili powder blends (as well as in Indian masalas), cumin's smoky warmth has made it a key ingredient in spice mixtures and pastes across the globe.
Cumin can fly solo, too. We love to rub it into lamb chops before grilling, or mix it into the cheesy filling of a burrito, or use it to accent a slaw or simple sautéed vegetable dish.
a(cumin) For the longest shelf life, your cumin should be stored in an airtight glass jar and kept in a cupboard (or some other dark place). As with many spices, you'll get the most flavor from cumin if you buy whole seeds and then grind them as you need them.
dry pan Lightly toasting cumin seeds in a dry skillet before using them helps release some of the seeds' aromas and lends a headier flavor to a dish.
cue: men With mentions in the Bible and the writings of Apicius ("when one is tired of all seasonings, cumin remains welcome..."), cumin has a long history as a culinary and medicinal spice. Apparently, there's also an old superstition about how cooking with cumin can keep your lover from wandering, but if you think spices will help with that, your problems are bigger than cooking.
what you need
Ana Sortun's Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean is split into chapters based on spice and herb groupings. Chapter 1: Cumin, coriander and cardamom.
Jane and Michael Stern's Chili Nation chronicles some of the countless versions of this alternate national dish, to which cumin often lends its musky smoke flavor.
One easy and effective way to get more flavor into your cooking: buy your spices whole and spend $15 on a coffee grinder you use exclusively for grinding spices.
Chip uses his All-Clad 8-inch fry pan mostly to toast spices.
what you do
Cumin flavors both a spicy Indian okra and the cucumber raita that can help offset the okra's heat.
On a hot summer night, a steaming ragout or stew can actually have a cooling, cleansing effect. Try this delicious Indian style beef and sweet potatoes dish with a bowl of simple quinoa or basmati rice.
Brys is big on isolating single spices in a dish, like in this grilled cumin veal chop.
Or you could try a slightly more complex spice mixture with this grilled chili-cumin pork chop.
With its tart citrusy flavor, coriander rounds out cumin. Their natural affinity is on display in these black bean burritos with carrots, zucchini and cilantro.
