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