BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SPICES AND HERBS
Spices can be added as a separate part to the dish as well as an ingredient to the whole mixture, which will play fragrant and flavor compositions along with other ingredients.
Each individual spice modifies the mixture and adds new hints of flavors and aromas. Just one spice can alter the whole mix beyond recognition adding a new color to it and thus diversify your favorite dish.
Hereafter I will briefly describe the 35 most popular herbs and species that are commonly used in blends. You surely are familiar with each of them but you also might find out completely new ones. Having learned different kinds of spices you can buy it and easily prepare favourite mixture from this book or create your own unique combination for your favorite dish.
In addition to a brief overview, you will find out which spice goes together with other and which products it is blended with.
After reading chapter, you will learn the basics of spice blending art and creating seasoning mixes. You will familiarize yourself with dosing and creating your own unique blends for meat or vegetables, for salads or desserts, for shish kebab or grilling, chicken, fish and seafood.
This does not necessarily mean that one particular spice cannot be combined with something else: this is an approximate and simplified list. But it will help you to combine seasonings and spices with one another and create successful, fancy, balanced and aromatic combinations.
ALLSPICE
It is also known as Jamaican pepper or pimento pepper. This Central America native has flavors and aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and black pepper all in one single spice. An incomparable warm and, at the same time, spicy stream of flavors and aromas explain its name. The spice is quite strong, it gives the dishes powerful aroma and changes their taste. Therefore, you should use it carefully. Despite this, it is very slow in giving its flavor to liquid dishes, therefore, it should be added in the beginning of cooking process. Allspice is an integral part of such mixes as baharat and berbere. Also, it is used in various spicy combinations in Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine.
Allspice pairing:
Fruits and vegetables: pineapple, eggplant, peas green, pear, zucchini, cabbage (including sauerkraut), potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, peach, tomato, turnip, beetroot, currant, pumpkin, apple.
Protein product: lamb, beef (stewed, boiled, fried), game (especially quail, rabbit), legumes (peas, buckwheat, rice oats, pearl barley, chickpeas), goat meat, sausages, seafood, nuts, poultry (chicken, turkey), fish (especially fried; herring marinated), pork, eggs.
Other foods: pastry, mushrooms, lemon juice, honey, beverages, biscuits, pies, soups and broths, dough, minced meat and meatballs, fruit compotes and jams, chocolate.
Seasonings and spices: cloves, mustard, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, bay leaf, onion, marjoram, nutmeg, black pepper, chili, rosemary, thyme, caraway, garlic.
Cuisines and dishes: English cuisine, Middle Eastern cuisine, curry dishes, Indian cuisine, Caribbean cuisine, Mexican cuisine, North American cuisine, Mediterranean cuisine, Jamaican cuisine.
ANISE
Anise seeds give the dish warm sweet and fruity accents. To open up its aroma, it is recommended to warm up seeds in a dry frying pan and crush it into powder after that. Anise is perfect for fish, seafood and poultry when paired with dill, fennel and coriander. It brightens flavor of stew, especially beef stew. Anise is the spice that balances sour sumac in syrian za'atar and makes up unsweetened taste in ras-el-hanout. Anise in some rare cases is able to replace fennel. It is added in the early stages of cooking process.
Anise pairing:
Fruits and vegetables: apricot, pineapple, watermelon, pomegranate, pear, melon, cabbage (including cauliflower and sauerkraut), potatoes, strawberries, cranberries, root vegetables, carrots, parsnips, peaches, rhubarb, turnips, beets, plums, pumpkin, citrus, apple.
Protein product: beef, wild game, legumes (especially beans, lentils, rice), seafood (especially crabs, mussels), nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts), poultry (especially chicken, duck), fish, pork, cheeses (especially goat cheese, ricotta), eggs.
Other foods: baked food and pastry, raisins, vegetable oil (olive oil), butter, honey, beverages (tea), sugar, lemon juice, pickles and marinades, soups and stews (especially fish), dough, dates, bread.
Seasonings and spices: star anise, basil, vanilla, cloves, cumin, ginger, cardamom, cilantro, coriander, cinnamon, sesame, turmeric, nutmeg, mint, fenugreek, allspice, black pepper, chili, celery, caraway, dill, fennel, garlic.
Cuisines and dishes: Middle Eastern cuisine, German cuisine, Greece cuisine, South American cuisine, Vietnamese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Moroccan cuisine, Portuguese cuisine, Egypt cuisine, Scandinavian cuisine, sauce mole, Mediterranean cuisine, French cuisine.
BASIL
Basil is one of the most commonly used herbs in the culinary world. Its flavour can be described as a mixture of peppery anise with a peculiar astringency of mint, slightly bitter with a sweetish hint, and its aroma is spicy-sweet, with notes of anise and cloves. In most western cuisines basil is an integrated part of many sauces, especially of tomato sauces. Using it as a single spice you should add it in very end of cooking, as the flavour of basil fades away quickly during long heat treatment.
Basil pairings:
Fruits and vegetables: apricot, pineapple, watermelon, eggplant, broccoli, blueberries, green onions, zucchini, potatoes, corn, leafy vegetables, raspberries, carrots, cucumbers, olives, bell pepper, peach, tomato, beetroot, pumpkin, citrus, chives, spinach.
Protein product: lamb, beef and veal, wild game (especially rabbit), legumes (especially beans, rice, peas, wheat), coconut milk, seafood (especially crabs, mussels, scallops, shrimps), nuts (especially pine nut), poultry (especially chicken, duck), fish (especially salmon, sea bass, tuna), pork, by-products (especially liver), cheeses (especially goa cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, feta, parmesan, pecorino), eggs.
Other foods: mushrooms, vegetable oil (including olive oil), butter, honey, ice cream, drinks, soy sauce, juice (lemon, lime), tomato sauces, vinegar, bread, chocolate (including white chocolate).
Seasonings and spices: vanilla, cloves, mustard, ginger, cilantro, coriander, cinnamon, onion, marjoram, mint, oregano, black and white pepper, chili, parsley, rosemary, thyme, fennel, savory, garlic, tarragon.
Cuisines and dishes: Italian cuisine, Pan-Asian cuisine (especially Thai), pastas and various kinds of sauces, pesto, pizza, Mediterranean cuisine, French cuisine.
BAY LEAF
This particular spice gives a unique aroma (sweet, tart, balsamic, with notes of nutmeg) to many broths, soups and sauces, especially tomato ones. Bay leaf contains a balanced flavour of bitterness that is admired by many chefs. Each dish requires individual dosage of this spice, but without doubt it should always be added moderately. Bay leaf is very similar to allspice as both of the spices require a long time to give their flavor. This is why bay leaf is better to be added in a very beginning of cooking process. Marinated vegetables, fruits and mushrooms are hard to imagine without this aromatic leaf. This spice is added to some spice blends, however, it brought the greatest fame to a bouquet of garnish.