Eat and live healthier


Herbs and Spices

In any number of cookbooks and recipes you
will find advice on which herbsgo with what.Of course you can, if you wish, go to the
I'm  not  going  to  take  that  route.trouble of buying apestle and mortar,
tracking down the raw spices and then
While there certainly are marriages that aregrindthem  yourself.
tried and tested,such as tomatoes and basil
or lamb and rosemary, the reality isthat theIf you do this, you will be richly rewarded
use of herbs is every bit as much a matter ofwith deep andpenetrating flavors. You may
personaltaste as any other aspect of cooking.also find that you get tired of doing itvery
quickly. However I would highly recommend it
Consequently, what I want you to do is tofor a specialoccasion, or a wet weekend in
sample as many herbs asyou can and try toBargo!
marry up the flavors with the foods you
arefamiliar with. That's not as difficult asGenerally speaking, though, the shop bought
it sounds. Just closeyour eyes and thinkvariety are fine,providing you don't keep
about  it.them hanging around in a cupboard for
toolong. They  will  lose  their  flavor.
You will find, after a while, that you will
instinctively knowwhich flavoring to use,As with herbs, it's very important that you
when  to  use  it and how much of it youneed.learn the taste andsmell of each individual
spice and, uniquely, its pungency. Thislast
Do this with both fresh and dried herbs.item is one that is frequently overlooked,
Crush a little betweenfinger and thumb andeven  byexperienced  cooks.
smell it. This is much more important
thanyour  sense  of  taste.Just about everybody is aware that chili
needs to be usedcarefully for obvious
Something magical will happen. You will comereasons. But for some reason they do not
to realize thatfresh herbs are not betterpaythe same attention to turmeric - which is
than dried ones, they simply impartquite delicate - and,say, star anise which
adifferent flavor. There are two majorcan strangle an incautious palate at ahundred
exceptions  to  this.paces.
One is mint, which has a strange musty flavorBoth give themselves away, however, if you
when dried, andthe other is chives, which aresimply take the lidoff the jar and sniff
so delicate that the flavor rarelysurvivesthem.
cooking. Using dried chives is therefore
prettypointless.Mixing  spice
One other point to watch out for is that someGenerally speaking, it is a rare thing to add
dried herbs canremained inedible even aftermore than a coupleof spices to the same dish.
thorough cooking. Rosemary is a verygoodThe  obvious  exceptions  to  this  are
example of this and needs to be filtered out
of any liquidsin which it has been used as aAsian and Indian dishes, where the carefully
flavoring.blended mix offlavors will be both
traditional  and  subtle.
In any case, fresh or dried, it is better to
chop  up herbs suchas this before using them.You have a choice with these. You either
follow a recipe, oryou use one of the many
Using  herbs  in  cookingexcellent pre-prepared pastes that are
nowavailable. I tend towards the latter
Many herbs, such as basil and corianderchoice, although I dostill mix my own spices
(sometimes  calledfrom  time  to  time.
Chinese parsley and cilantro in the USA) areYou should do the same. It's fun and you
terrific simply torn upin salads. Note thatlearn a great dealabout which spices mix well
I said torn up and not cut; only cut herbsifand which are best kept as anindividual
you  intend  to  cook  them.flavoring.
It's important to recognize that some herbsHowever you choose to cook with spice, treat
lose flavor withextended cooking, even init with respect andalways add it a little at
their dried state. Fortunately it'sfairlya  time,  tasting  as  you  go.
easy  to  spot  which  those  are.
Remember also, that the flavor will change
Tough leaved herbs such as bay can be safelywith the length ofcooking time. It may
added at the startof cooking time and willdeepen,  or  it  may  lessen  in  its effect.
maintain their flavor. In fact, theymay need
to be in the food for as long as possible inOnly experience will teach you what each
order  fortheir  flavor  to  fully  develop.individual spice does andhow quickly it does
it.
Herbs with light and delicate leaves,
however, will lose theirflavor very quicklyOne excellent way to test the effect of
once in contact with heat. To use basil inadding spice, is to cookyour rice with
asoup, for example, you needed to add it, notsomething like cardamom seeds. These come
to the hot liquidas you might expect, butinlittle pods that needed to be cracked open
rather to the warm plate you intend toserveand  the  seeds  extracted.
the soup in. Then pour the soup on top of it.
Do this by placing them on a stable surface,
Alternatively, simply sprinkle it on top ofplace the flat of acleaver blade over them
the soup and leaveit there. It will make anand apply a bit of pressure. They willopen
attractive decoration and impart awonderfuleasily. Use about two pods for one dish of
aroma  as  you  take  the  soup to the table.rice.
What's that? You want to use a tureen andYou could also add some turmeric to the same
server the soup atthe table? No problem.rice dish. Thiswill turn it yellow and also
Sprinkle the herb in its raw state on topofadd a subtle flavor which complementsthe
the soup anyway. The effect, when you removepungency of the cardamom. Call it saffron
the lid, willbe the same. Just stir it in asrice if you like,very few people will be able
you  serve.to  tell  the  difference.
The  spices  of  lifeRice is a good way to test any number of
flavorings. Personally
Most people, including most professional
chefs, use spices thathave already beenI find it a bit boring on its own, and I
prepared.frequently addsomething to it to jazz it up a
little. Experiment. You will bepleasantly
That is to say they have been ground up,surprised at what a difference a new flavor
ready to use. The mainexception to this iscan  make.
probably black pepper, which you shouldalways
grind yourself. Not difficult. You can buyYou will also be pleasantly surprised at your
a peppergrinder just about anywhere and thegrowingreputation.
peppercorns  are available in anysupermarket.



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