Blooming Toasty Spice

This is a spicy post (pun intended), full of definitions, directions on how to buy, and how to store culinary spices. With hints here and there on how to maximize flavor and spice‘s role in global cuisines. Sort of the “framework of spice” you need to know before using them in cooking.

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Herbs + Spices

Blogging Herbs

I have done posts about the soft herbs and woody herbs I grow in my yard, and have explained how I air or oven dry those herbs. I have also detailed various cuisines‘ aromatics and “holy trinities” of flavor. So it is about time to turn my attention to spices.

Definitions

Herbs come from the leafy, flower, or green stem parts of plants. In contrast, spices come from the bark, buds fruit, roots, seeds or hard stems of various plants or trees.

The form of spice we use in cooking can come in a variety of forms.

• Fresh: ginger or turmeric roots
• Dried or Granulated: fennel, celery, cardamon seeds
• Paste: curry or horseradish paste
• Whole: cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, allspice, cloves
• Ground Powder: cinnamon, ginger, turmeric

Variations among spices exist, such as black or green cardamon or two types of cinnamon, etc. Most common to USA folks are black, white, or “pink” peppercorns.

Spice processing and farming can be organic or pesticide free, or not. Of course, I prefer organic.

Spicy Effects

For cooking, spice provides:

• Aroma (e.g., cumin, cinnamon, etc.)
• Color (e.g., turmeric turns food yellow)
• Flavor (e.g., Japanese Furikake, seaweed and sesame seed blend)
• Texture (e.g., Egyptian Dukkah, nut-and-spice blend) 

To me, in general, herbs tend to be more subtle, or delicate (although rosemary is quite strong) and spices tend to be much more flavorful and aromatic.

Spice Cautions + Toxicity

Pay Attention to names

Avoid using common names for identifying food you are growing or foraging. Common names can confuse what plants you are using, where one type is edible, but the other poisonous. Knowing the scientific names can help in these cases, or buy from a knowledgeable spice merchant.

• Both Ceylon or Cassia cinnamon are edible, however, in large doses Cassia cinnamon can cause health problems (1).
• Edible cherry Vs the toxic Jerusalem cherry (2).
• Mustard Vs the toxic Indian mustard (3).
• Culinary sage is edible, but red sage or yellow sage can be poisonous (4).
• Bay Laurel leaves look similar to toxic English, Mountain, and Cherry Laurel (5).

Herb/Spice Toxic for Humans, Cats + Dogs

Other commonly used spices can be dangerous if used in excess. In fact, I noticed that in many scientific studies they use the phrase, “culinary doses” (1) to identify a safe amount of herbs and spice. The implication is that unless we know our herbs + spices real well, or have learned about what is a safe dose of spice, we should follow recipes.

• Bay leaves: Although not toxic to humans, I use no more than 3 in any stew or soup anyway. But fed to pets, it can cause diarrhea and vomiting a gastro uncomfortableness for several days (6).
• Alliums: Alliums include onions, leeks, scallions, shallots. I use a lot of fresh garlic + shallots, which also come powdered, granulated, and mashed. Garlic can cause nausea and bleeding in some people (7). Alliums are all toxic for our dogs and cats (8).
• Nutmeg: I do not put more than 1-3t ground nutmeg into any dish, for excess cunsumption, like a couple of whole nuts, can cause hallucinations, nausea, vomiting and sometimes circulatory collapse (9). Also, nutmeg is toxic to pets (10).
• Capsaicin: Too much can cause gastrointestinal distress, redness and swelling of the skin, and if inhaled can cause airways to constrict, potentially leading to asphyxiation; as we have seen in the news when Police and Federal Officers sprayed demonstrators. These same reactions can occur with our pets (11).
• Cloves and allspice both contain a compound called eugenol, which can cause liver toxicity in our pets (12). For humans, these should be avoided if you have bleeding issues and if pregnant (13).

There are more, but instead of listing them all I am just going to refer you to web pages that will help.

• Foods that are poisonous to pets: ASPCA
• Here is a site with some lists: ArsTechnica

Toxins in Raw Foods

Many common fruits, veggies, herbs and spices in the grocery store have toxins lurking in the leaves, roots or seeds, so you also need to know which parts of the plants you are buying or growing can be used as food.

• Do not eat the seeds from any stone fruit + keep away from animals
• Do not eat the leaves of the horseradish root, green parts of rhubarb, tomato leaves, or avocado leaves.
• Some chili leaves are poisonous, so make sure any chili-based spice is properly made (3, 4)).
• FDA studies consistently show that a percent of imported spices contain insect parts, animal hair, and possibly unsafe pathogens (5).

Global Inconsistencies

Some countries do not require careful monitoring of exported spices for dyes, pesticides and other chemicals that are toxic to consume. So we have to rely on our governmental agencies to test incoming products. Again, knowing where your spice comes from, and who made it is critical.

• Sudan dyes (carcinogenic) have been added to chili, curry and paprika powder to intensify and maintain the natural red color of the spices (6).
• Pesticides were found in spices from certain countries (China was mentioned).

Essential Oils + Extracts

Do not use essential oils in any cooking. Wikipedia writes, an essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. It is not a culinary oil and may contain ingredients that are toxic if consumed. Most authorities recommend that you never eat or drink essential oils (14).

You can however make your own extracts or buy organic, less processed extracts for cooking.

Spicy Terms + Conditions

Whole Spice

I prefer keeping my spices whole, until I need them. The reason is that the spice will stay fresh longer in its whole form. Once it is crushed or ground, it will lose flavor more quickly.

Ground Spice

For grinding whole spice I use several tools.

• A coffee-grinder that is reserved just for spices. (To clean I just brush out the left overs with a pastry brush I use for just this.)
• Mortar + pestle
• For nutmeg I use a microplane grater

Toasting Spice(s)

Toasting a spice is placing the spice into a dry, and in my case, cast iron skillet to warm up and toast, or turn brown. The browning is called the Milliard Reaction and changes the flavor of the spice as it releases oils. Just keep an eye out so you do not burn the spice.

I also toast nuts for the same reasoning, to help release the oils and spur on the Milliard Reaction for better flavor.

Blooming Spice(s)

Blooming (aka chhonk, tadka, vaghar, or tempering) is a cooking technique to heat spices in oil (use a neutral oil or ghee) as a way to release and amplify the flavor of the spice and infuse the oil. Since the flavor of spice is in its oils, which is not water soluble, just pouring spice into water will not guarantee flavor in the dish. The addition of heat will cause the Milliard Reaction so the result is a fully fragrant spice mixture and oil.

• Blooming whole spices: Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, until it is hot but importantly, not smoking. Add the whole spices and cook until very fragrant and little bubbles form around the spices. Don’t let them brown or burn.
• To spice infuse oil: Follow same instruction but filter the spices out.You can then add other ingredients to the hot pan and proceed with your recipe.
• Bloom ground spices: Mix the spices with some of the liquid from your recipe (water, stock, vinegar, wine) and make a paste. Then add that paste to skillet with hot oil and cook until the liquid is evaporated. Once the oil starts separating from the spices it is done.

Spiced Cuisines

How We Identify Cuisines

I have three basic questions about spices and cuisines.

• Have you ever noticed that cultures, and their cuisines, are related to their location? Those closer to the equator tend to use lots of spices, while those further away tend to to use less spices?
• Or, have you noticed that the warmer the climate of a country, the spicer or hotter the food, while those in cooler climates tend to have blander, less spicy hot food?
• Finally, have you ever tasted food and without knowing the specific dish can identify the country or culture it came from? In other words, you know Italian, Ethiopian, Mexican dishes from their smell and taste? If a dish has a kimchee flavor, do you guess it is Korean?

The reason for variations of flavor, aroma, texture, and taste in foods across the world is both biological and philosophical. Our planet is alive and its various forces of nature define what can and does grow around us.

• Climate (heat, rain, cold, drought)
• Soil conditions
• Altitude
• Geography (ocean, plains, mountains)

The more philosophical effects on our cuisine are very specific, and it is known that various cooking approaches can change the cuisine. Making food for basic nutrition versus making food for nutrition and body wellness can lead to different philosophies of herb and spice use. Not eating a certain food for religious reasons changes what is cooked. So spice use is sometimes modified based on:

• Politics and Economics
• Religion
• Medicinal practice
• Identifying certain spices as affecting certain conditions

There is one overall approach to spice usage that also plays a part in how our various foods taste.

• Some cooking looks to melding of similar flavors and aromas as part of a well balanced meal.
• Other cooking looks to varient flavors and aromas to build an array of nutrients and tastes.
• Well science has something to offer on this observation, and they found that Western cuisines show a tendency to use ingredient pairs that share many flavor compounds, supporting the so-called food pairing hypothesis. By contrast, East Asian cuisines tend to avoid compound sharing ingredients. 

But cooking has four items that help uniquely define cuisines.

• First, each geographical area naturally grows its own fruits, veggies, trees, herbs, spices, and farm animals based on conditions of the land and weather.
• Second, there are aromatics bundles of regional herbs and veggies that become the base of regional dishes. These herbs and veggies set the foundation of flavors unique to certain cuisines.
• Third, in each region, there are herbs or spices that are readily available through foraging, and these are often used as medicine, cooking ingredients, or toppings of flavor.
• Fourth, there are spices that are also unique to every region and also help define the foods.
• Fifth, and final, are the ways in which the peoples of that land uniquely combine what they have on hand to make food they believe are tasty and healthy.

Old Spice + Storage + Tips

Older spice changes color (cayenne turns whitish), or lose flavor. Do not add more of the old spice, thinking if you double it, the food you may get more of the flavor. Before tossing, try to toast or bloom the spice to eek out the very last bit of flavor. At that point, if it does nothing, toss it out or compost.

Try to buy spices in small amounts that you anticipate cooking with over the next six months if ground, or next year if whole.

Never buy pre-mixed spices if you already have a good variation on hand. Italian Blend, Taco seasoning, Berbere, Ras el Hanout, Curry Powder, etc., are all easy to make at home. Unless of course you are a new cook with limited on-hand spices. The reasons for doing this are:

• You are more likely to know the dates of the spices.
• You will always know what went into the blend.
• You can also save yourself some money to boot.
• Also consider making your own salts and pepper mixtures too.

Ideally, all spices should be kept in dark colored, tightly sealed, smallish glass jars, and stored away from heat and direct sunlight. Although mostly they are sold in clear glass bottles, designed to allow you to see how fresh, or not, the ingredients are. So I try to keep them out of sunlight and not next to the stove.

The best advice I can give is to look up local spice merchants and visit them once the pandemic is over. I have gone to my local store, Oaktown Spice, to taste the various spices as a way of learning their flavor and aroma. I also ask lots of questions so I can learn more. Then I buy little bags of this and that, and give them a try at home in a dish to see their effects.

Another little tip, if you want to learn other cuisines, you absolutely need to learn how they use their herbs and most especially their spice. These days we eat foods from all over the world, and often eat fusion dishes, so the individual food item (say curry) is not as critical to identifying a cuisine as it used to be. But the way in which herbs and spices are used, is a new key indicator.

—Patty

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NEWS: AP reports that thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei, Taiwan demanding that a decision to allow U.S. pork imports be reversed. The long-standing ban was put in place due to food-safety issues, because American hog farmers use Ractopamine, a drug used to produce leaner swine. The drug is banned in the European Union.

NEWS: There are now, or soon to be, herbs and spices available in spray form for food and cocktails. Interesting, but I would still favor the actual plant for food, if only to capture the fiber raw food brings.

NEWS: vnlla Extract Co. makes unique vanilla extracts through combining vanilla with lemon, orange, or spice.

NEWS: McCormick is introducing new international seasoning mixes: African and Middle Eastern Harrisa, Japanese Seven spices, Moroccan spices, Peruvian spices, and Za’tar.