Spice is the Variety of Life – TKC 16

I wanted to do an episode on spices, but quite frankly, there’s no way I could do the topic complete justice in a 30 minute podcast episode. So today I’m going to stay high level with some basic history of spices, and I’m going to try to answer a question I’ve heard over and over from people that want to get in the kitchen: I’m interested in using spices, but there are so many and I just don’t know what to do with them. I should also add that for this episode I will sometimes refer to herbs (while not technically spices, most herbs are very closely related to spices: think of herbs as the leafy portion of a plant, while spices are often the seed or fruit of the plant…think cilantro and coriander–and they often serve the same function of adding very specific flavors to a dish).

When I was a kid, I loved to take maps and atlases, and just stare at them for hours. I loved reading exotic sounding names and imaging what life might be like in a remote village in Nepal or Bolivia.  I was a traveler of sorts when I looked at those maps. True, I hadn’t been to most of the places I “explored” via paper, but some of the charm and mystery of those places stayed with me. To me those maps were proof that there was a world out there worth knowing more about, worth exploring. For me spices act much the same way as those old worn atlas pages I spent hours poring over. A spice can take you to a faraway place for the first time, or take you back to a cherished memory of a place you’ve been before. Probably no type of ingredient has as much power to do this as spices. Not only that, when you think that spices have had a direct hand in changing the course of world history, you start to tap into the aura, or mystique that spices can bring to your cooking. You have access to the many of the very same spices that drove Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and many more. explorers over the edge of the known world in search of their sources. Now, you can go to your local grocery store and pick up practically any spice you might want, and if you can’t find it there, the internet has broken down the last barrier to getting your hands on even the most precious, hard to find spices from all over the world.

“I Don’t Know What to Do With Spices!”

This is a comment I hear often when talk about cooking, especially with spices and herbs. I talk a bit about this in the episode, but the main points I want to get across are these:
1) If you are cooking from a recipe, then trust the recipe’s recommendation on spices and you’ll do fine.
2) When experimenting with spices, don’t be intimidated–it’s tough to ruin a dish unless you put so much spice in it becomes inedible. Therefore when you use spices “freestyle” always start with small quantities and work up as you taste the dish. It’s easy to add spice to a dish, but impossible to remove!
3) Finally, taste your spices and start learning what you like, what those spices remind you of, ans where you might like to try them. You’ll start to build your palette and preferences for spices, then your spice cabinet can grow accordingly!

For a comprehensive reference on spices and herbs, check out “The Spice and Herb Bible” by Ian Hemphill. It’s an exhaustive look at practically every spice and herb you’ll probably come across (it’s a beautiful book as well). The Spice and Herb Bible

Spice You Might Want to Have On-Hand

Here’s a short list of spices you may want to have in your cabinet to give you a good variety. You’ll use these quite a lot in many recipes, but of course you may find this list lacking depending on your particular taste and preferred cuisines.

Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Chile Powder
Cumin
Dried Thyme
Dried Parsley
Bay Leaves
Cayenne Powder
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Additional spices I like to use frequently:
Dried Basil
Smoked Paprika
Ground Mustard
Cloves
Star Anise
Yellow Curry Powder Blend

You can most of these spices in your grocery store. Harder to find spices may be found at The Spice House or other online spice merchants.

Spice Madam Review

I was able to try out the Spice Madam service this month. Listen to my full thoughts in the episode, but I will say I was quite impressed. The quality of spices included was fantastic, and the recipes were easy to put together and they were very tasty. This would be a great service for people that want to broaden their horizons when it comes to spices and cuisines from around the world. If you can swing the subscription fee ($20/month at the time I posted this) then I highly recommend giving it a try. Skip going to the movies one time  or pass on a few lattes and you practically pay for the service. You can read more about them here:

Web: http://spicemadam.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/spicemadam
Twitter: https://twitter.com/spicemadam

I will also say I was turned on to what my be my new favorite spice from the Spice Madams…Sumac! Here are a couple of pics of my end results from the spice madam box.

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