Are you ever in the middle of a recipe and realize a specific seasoning is missing from the spice rack? Check out these spice substitutions if you're ever in a bind.
Posts with tag spices
Spice ID Quiz
Know your fennel from fenugreek? Coriander from cardamom? It's the spiciest quiz ever from Slashfood.
Spice ID Quiz
Both leaves and seeds of this plant are employed as seasoning in Indian food, and the seeds are used to flavor artificial maple syrup.
- Sarsaparilla
- Nigella
- Fenugreek
- Carom
It just wouldn't be real rye bread without...
- Caraway
- Fennel Seed
- Poppy
- Cumin
The signature herb overtone of gin is...
- Galangal
- Fennel
- Pimento
- Juniper Berries
The leaves of this plant are snipped and used as the herb cilantro, but the seeds are a seasoning known as...
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Cardamom
- Curry
This spice is the inside part of the Myristica tree seed -- not to mention darned tasty in baked goods and sprinkled on winter beverages.
- Mace
- Cumin
- Nutmeg
- Ground Allspice
This wee, nutty spice is smashing on a roll or paired with a tart lemon pastry
- Allspice
- Poppy Seeds
- Cardamom
- Mustard Seed
These long, cured pods, often used to flavor desserts, are members of the orchid family.
- Vanilla Beans
- Cardamom
- Saffron
- Galangal
This strikingly-shaped fruit is a core element in Chinese five-spice.
- Sumac
- Galangal
- Telicherry
- Star Anise
This spice, made by grinding dried berries, adds a lemony taste to juice and Middle Eastern cuisine.
- Mahlab
- Fenugreek
- Rue
- Sumac
This Indian spice is valued as much for its vibrant hue as it is for its flavoring properties.
- Turmeric
- Ras al Hanout
- Ginger
- Asafoetida
This spice is often cited as the most expensive on the market, due to the difficulty of harvesting it.
- Grains of Paradise
- Sassafras
- Mahlab
- Saffron
These dried berries are, monetarily speaking, the most traded spice on the planet.
- Mustard
- Cardamom
- Black Pepper
- Cumin
Remember the previously mentioned Myristica tree seed? This is the outside seed casing, all ground up.
- Mace
- Galangal
- Ginger
- Camphor
We're awfully sorry that we can't present this quiz in Smell-O-Vision, but still we must ask -- can you identify this common ground-bark spice by sight alone?
- Mace
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Allspice
The green version of this pod is an essential flavor component in Chai tea.
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Tonka Bean
- Cumin
From left to right, these are...
- Cumin, Anise
- Celery Seed, Dill
- Fennel, Cumin
- Dill, Anise
This Thai cuisine staple is also purported to possess aphrodisiac qualities.
- Ginger
- Galangal
- Horseradish
- Asafoetida
This pungent, earthy seed is valued for both culinary and medicinal use.
- Black Cumin
- Fennel
- Black Cardamom
- Grains of Selim
Chewing this spice is said to improve and sweeten the breath.
- Dill
- Anise
- Fennel
- Celery Seed
Dried peppers are ground to make this spice, which is widely used in Hungarian and Spanish cuisine.
- Telicherry
- Wasabi
- Ras al Hanout
- Paprika
Turmeric - A Spice for Life
I've always touted the health benefits of spices. Now a new and exciting study indicates that turmeric is indeed packed full of them. It's being evaluated for its ability to soothe skin disorders like psoriasis, calm the nervous system and PMS, and even fight cancer because of its active ingredient, curcumin, which works as a powerful anti-inflammatory.
So how can you get more of it into your daily diet? Turmeric has a stringent tart flavor and it's the spice that gives curry powder its characteristic bright yellow color. However, using it in small amounts in your favorite recipes is easy since it comes in powder form. Add a teaspoon the next time you make chili or sprinkle some on a fresh mango with a squeeze of lime, then throw it it on the grill. Or, this weekend, have a movie night and served spiced popcorn.
Get Jennifer's Spiced Popcorn recipe after the jump.
Sweet and Spicy
Spices considered "sweet" in America are used internationally to add flavor to savory and piquant recipes. I think spices are the hidden fountain of health; they work as powerful anti-inflammatories, treating this condition associated with many chronic diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and psoriasis among others.
Spices also happen to be fat-free and don't add calories. But, in order to reap the benefits of these spices, you have to eat more of them on a regularly basis -- more than you can get by filling up on heavy desserts. Here are some ways to add sweet spices to savory foods.
Get Jennifer's smart spicing techniques and a plantain recipe after the jump.
Cleaning Your Spice Grinder - Tip of the Day
Cooks who smartly set aside a grinder for spices may wonder how they should clean it; answer after the jump.
Continue reading Cleaning Your Spice Grinder - Tip of the Day
Jícama with Chile Pepper Seasoning
While strolling around the Saturday market in Mexico City's colonial neighborhood, San Angel, I purchased a delicious crunchy pleasantly sweet Mexican vegetable called Jícama. I've tried this vegetable in the United States, but I've never eaten it like this - long thick slices flavored in a bright lime juice dressing with chile pepper powder and salt. This simple treat was bursting with the perfect amount of spicy, citrus, and sweet flavors.
My fascination for this savory combination led me to Tajín, a Mexican company that produces a variety of seasonings, like the one used over the Jícama. While far more industrial than the seasonings I saw at the San Angel market, Tajín's seasonings are gratifyingly piquant and aromatic. I tried some over pineapple the other evening and was shocked at how it transformed the sweetness of the fruit into a complicated series of tastes. I'm wondering if I will be able to find Tajín when I return to NY. Has anyone seen this brand in the United States?
Slashfood Ate (8): Recipes that call for Maras pepper
I have been hooked on Maras pepper ever since my first encounter with it a few years ago in lamb meatballs. It's a unique mildly hot red pepper from the Kahramanmara? region of Turkey, just north of Syria. After a lengthy process of drying the peppers and then grinding them, the pepper is sent to markets all over Turkey.
Maras is delicious with vegetables, seafood, and steak. Unlike many peppers, this one has a subtlety; a heat that seems to creep up on one's palate in the most gentle and delicate way. I find that many hot peppers offer a heat that overwhelms the flavor of the pepper. Maras pepper is unique in its well balanced complex taste and level of heat.
Below are 8 recipes that call for Maras pepper:
- Turkish lamb kebabs
- Pistachio-crusted halibut with spicy yogurt
- Valerie's lamb kofte with garlic yogurt sauce
- Vinaigrette - add a dash of Maras pepper to transform your common salad dressing.
- Spiced lamb with eggplant yogurt sauce - substitute their suggested pepper for Maras. This is an excellent recipe from Develï restaurant in Istanbul
- Poached sea bass with almond sauce (Badem Taratorlu Levrek) - drop the black peppercorns, and add maras pepper.
- Mercimek Çorbas? (Red lentil soup) - Use Maras pepper where it calls for red pepper.
- Grilled eggplant with lebneh - simple, yet probably one of my favorites on this list. Add Maras pepper at the end.
Pandan - Ingredient Spotlight
Pandan is the leaf of the Pandanus amaryllifolius plant. It's ubiquitious in Southeast Asian cooking, especially in desserts. Pandan is used in curries and meat dishes, wrapped around chicken and fried, used to perfume rice and to flavor cakes, ice creams and popsicles. Light green pandan cakes are a popular dessert in Malaysia and Indonesia, similar to a chiffon cake. Pandan leaves are also woven into baskets baskets, which can be used for serving food. Pandan is not readily available in the U.S., which is why it's rarely seen on menus, but can sometimes be found frozen in Asian markets.
Tip of the Day: Keep your herbs and spices tasting fresh
I often buy more spices and herbs than I know what to do with. So, it's not surprising that after several months they begin to lose their best flavors. Fortunately, there are techniques to preserve their unique taste.
Continue reading Tip of the Day: Keep your herbs and spices tasting fresh
The world's most expensive spice: Iranian Sargol saffron
There is something magical about saffron. Maybe, it's the striking bright red stigmas that always catch my eye and evoke images of vibrant florid Indian fabrics. Perhaps, I'm struck by its deep aroma that smells of honey with notes of grass and hay. Either way, I'm in love with this spice.
While walking through the colorful Spice Souk in Dubai, I visited several shops where they sell saffron. A merchant showed me different kinds and let me pick up a bundle of the Iranian Sargol saffron from its style, the yellow part of the plant below the red threads. Most people are shocked by the high prices of saffron. Iran is the world's largest producer.
Recently, international sanctions against Iran have contributed to rising saffron prices. Seventy-five percent of Iran's saffron is exported to the United Arab of Emirates and Spain. However, the main reason why saffron is so expensive can be attributed to its harvest. 150 saffron crocus flowers must be plucked by hand to produce just one gram of red saffron stigmas. Persian saffron is the highest quality of saffron. Suggestions on how to purchase saffron can be found after the jump.
Continue reading The world's most expensive spice: Iranian Sargol saffron
The difference between herbs and spices
I've used herbs and spices my entire life without ever stopping to think about what the difference is between them. I was excited to find a blog post on the subject at the Supreme Spice Blog. It's always fun to find the answer to a question you didn't know you had.
"The leaf of a plant which is used in cooking is referred to as a herb and any other part of the plant that is used to flavor food is termed as a spice."
The blog gives some examples of spices and what plant part they are from: "Cloves (bud), ginger & turmeric (roots), fennel, cumin, coriander (seeds), cinnamon (bark), peppercorns (berries)."
Be sure to check out the Supreme Spice Blog for more about spices. Supreme Spice also sells a line of spice extracts in some unique flavors. I just made an Indian cupcake using their tea masala extract. I had never even heard of tea masala extract until I saw their product.
Tip of the Day: Homemade seasoning salt
Why buy an extra spice when you probably have everything on hand to make your own.
Fresh Herb ID Quiz
Know your fennel from your fenugreek and your basil from your borage? Take AOL Food's zestiest quiz yet -- and then come back and compare your score.
Fresh Herb ID Quiz
And meet our friend the Wild Edibles Forager.
Food Porn Daily: Tandoori chicken
Check out the color on that chicken. Those legs and thighs spent some good time in their yogurt and spice marinade before getting to a very hot grill. Yumm-y! The picture belongs to Flickr user my amii and you can find the recipe here.
I'm still taking suggestions on different foods to feature in this space. Shout out your ideas in the comments section and I will do my best to respond.
Tip of the Day: Mix your own spices
You need 1 tsp. of Chinese Five Spice powder in a recipe, do you really want to buy an entire container? Luckily, you don't have to.
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