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.
What is a spice paste good for?
What is a spice paste good for?
You want to add some flavor to a cut of meat. Why use a spice paste over a marinade?
First of all, you need time to marinate, time you may not have unless you've planned things in advance. Because a spice paste clings to the meat and forms a crust when you cook it, you don’t have to give it the waiting time you do a marinade. (You could rub a spice paste on a couple of hours ahead of time, but you don’t have to.)
Once cooked, the pungent, textured crust contrasts the plain, juicy meat. Unlike a marinade, which evenly coats a cut of meat and results in a consistently flavored finished dish, the spice paste comes with surprises: a cluster of ginger here, a nugget of garlic there.
The formula for a spice paste is simple: a few ground spices + puréed aromatics like ginger, garlic, chiles + salt and pepper + just enough oil to hold it together.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
