My wife and I love the hummus at our favorite local Persian restaurant. We asked what it was that they sprinkle on top of the hummus that is also drizzled with olive oil. We were told it is sumac. I was unfamiliar with the spice but researched it and we now use it over […]
Used as a spice for thousands of years, cumin was initially popular in its native Mediterranean region but was quickly spread by traders and colonizers around the globe. Cuminum cyminum and the seeds coming from this small easily adaptable plant in the family of parsley have become key ingredients in dishes form Southeast Asia,
Poblano pepper or poblano chiles are a dark (sometimes almost black) green chile with a rich flavor that varies from mild to snappy. The darkest poblanos have the richest flavor. This chile is about 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches long, tapering from top to bottom in a triangular
Cardamom is a member of the ginger family. This aromatic spice is native to India and grows in many other tropical areas including Asia, South America and the Pacific Islands. Cardamom seeds are encapsulated in small pods about the size of a cranberry. Each pod contains 17 to 20 tiny seeds. Cardamom has a pungent
Garam Masala, meaning “warm” or “hot”, is a blend of dry-roasted, ground spices from colder climes of northern India. There are as many variations of garam masala (which may contain up to 12 spices) as there are Indian cooks. It can include black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, cardamom, dried chiles, fennel, mace, nutmeg and
“Ginger is available in two forms – young and mature. Young ginger, sometimes called spring ginger, has a pale, thin skin that requires no peeling. It’s very tender and has a milder flavor than its mature form. Young ginger can be found in most Asian markets in the springtime. Mature ginger has a tough skin
It’s no wonder that saffron – the yellow-orange stigmas from a small purple crocus is the world’s most expensive spice. Each flower provides only three stigmas, which must be carefully hand picked and then dried – an extremely labor-intensive process. It takes over 14,000 of these tiny stigmas for each ounce of saffron. thousands of
Narrow, pointed, dark green leaves distinguish this perennial aromatic herb known for its distinctive anise-like flavor. Tarragon is widely used in classic French cooking for a variety of dishes including chicken, fish and vegetables as well as many sauces., the best known being Bearnaise. It’s also an integral ingredient in various herbal combinations such as
“The flower bud of a bush native to the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, capers date back to 600 BC. The small buds are hand harvested, sun-dried and then typically pickled in a vinegar brine, though some are dry-salt cured. Capers range in size from the petite nonpareil variety from southern France (considered the finest),
Also called laurel leaf or bay laurel, this aromatic herb comes from the evergreen bay laurel tree, native to the Mediterranean. Early Greeks and Romans attributed magical properties to the laurel leaf and it has long been a symbol of honor, celebration and triumph, as in “winning your laurels.” The two main varieties of bay