skills|spice
Spices Flavours and uses
Love the exotic flavours of spices but stumped when you see the array on sale? Our quick guide will set you straight and inspire you to spice things up.
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FLAVOUR: Also known as Jamaican pepper, it combines the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Great in both sweet and savoury cooking. USE IN: Apple dishes or combine with crushed garlic, salt, lemon and oil to make a marinade for roast chicken.
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FLAVOUR: Derived from the inner bark cinnamomum trees the spice emits sweet, warm fragrance and mild heat. USE IN: Curries and stews to add deep savoury flavour and rounded warmth. Compliments apples, pears, oranges, dried fruit and nuts in pastry dishes and desserts. See page 26.
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ALLSPICE
MACE
FLAVOUR: The outer aril of the nutmeg, mace is a more concentrated, intense spice. It adds an amber colour and mellow warm flavour. USE IN: Sweet pastries with dried fruit and honey and in North African dishes like tagines and bean & vegetable stews.
CINNAMON
STAR ANISE
FLAVOUR: Highly fragrant with notes of anise and clove it’s the aroma associated with Chinese cooking and is one of the spices in Chinese five-spice. USE IN: Combine with soy, ginger and honey in stir-fries. Add to pickles and chutneys for fragrant warmth. See our chutney recipes on page 14.
WHERE TO BUY The main supermarkets all stock a good range of quality spices such as Schwartz. If you use large quantities or get through your supply quickly look for Asian food stores such as Asia Market in Drury Street, Dublin 2 or Pinoy stores in Turners Cross, Cork; Capel Street, Dublin 1 or Pinoy Sari Sari in Georges Street Upper, Dun Laoghaire. Try your local Irish Country Market or farmers market for spice sellers and the key city markets like Limerick Milk Market, English Market in Cork; and Galway Market. Good deli’s and health-food stores stock spices too. Buy whole spices or spice blends online at Cork based company greensaffron.com; Tiger stores around the country also have a range of spices.
GINGER
CLOVES
FLAVOUR: Zingy, fresh and hot. USE IN: Infuse in hot water with lemon and honey for colds, nausea or morning sickness. Add grated ginger and garlic to Indian or Asian dishes. Candied ginger is great in cakes and cookies and pickled ginger with sushi.
CARDAMOM PODS
FLAVOUR: Slightly camphorous, woody aroma, known for its uplifting qualities. Each pod contains pungent black seeds. USE IN: Use whole in Indian chicken masala or pulao rice. Infuse with ginger to make a tea or use the crushed seeds in ginger biscuits or macaroons.
FLAVOUR: Warm, woody and aromatically spicy. USE IN: Stud the scored fat of a joint of ham with whole cloves and brush with a honey and orange mix before baking. Infuse three whole cloves and half an onion with 500ml boiling milk before using to make béchamel or bread sauce. More about cloves on page 10.
CORIANDER SEEDS
FLAVOUR: Widely grown around the world, the seeds of this herb impart a woody, citrus aroma that becomes nutty when roasted and ground. USE IN: Either whole or ground in curries, chilies and stews. Ground coriander is great in marinade for lamb or chicken along with cumin, salt, lemon, garlic and oil.
BUYING & HANDLING Buy spices in shops with brisk trade, where the jars have not been sitting on the shelves for months. Store in airtight containers or glass jars in a cool dark cupboard away from direct sunlight. Whole spices last longer than ground spices and can be roasted before grinding to intensify their flavour. Grow your own mustard or IN ASSOCIATION WITH coriander and you’ll have the leaves as herbs and then the seeds once the plants have flowered.
18 | ICA HOME & LIVING | SUMMER 2015
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