Spices Used in this Book

Appears in
top 1000The Food I Love
The Food I Love

By Neil Perry

Published 2005

  • About
  • cinnamon – this light brown bark from tropical evergreen trees is related to the avocado and bay laurel trees. Cinnamon can be ground into a powder to be used in spice mixes or desserts, or may be left whole to infuse into liquids or stews, to be removed after cooking. The fragrance is sweet and woody.
  • cloves – these are the most fragrant of all the spices. They have a powerful flavour and should be used sparingly. Cloves also work as an antiseptic and preservative. They produce a strong numbing feeling.
  • coriander seeds – these seeds are an important ingredient in spice rubs and marinades for barbecuing. They have a clean flavour that is enhanced by roasting. The small ribbed brown seeds have a sweetly aromatic flavour that is slightly lemony.
  • cumin seeds – similar in appearance to caraway seeds, cumin seeds have a strong earthy flavour that is enhanced by roasting. Like coriander, cumin seeds are great in rubs and marinades.
  • fennel seeds – green to yellow-brown in colour, fennel seeds have an intense liquorice flavour that mellows with dry-roasting. Often used as a filler spice, I believe that when used with coriander and cumin the seeds increase the flavour of a blend substantially.
  • nutmeg – this is the seed of the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree, originally native to Indonesia. Predominantly sweet and aromatic, it is a wonderful addition to gnocchi. Grate nutmeg only as needed, as the fragrance deteriorates after grating.
  • paprika – there are a number of different types of paprika available. All are from the same family, which is closely related to chilli. Paprika varies in colour and heat, from sweet to hot. Smoky paprika, which is traditionally processed in a smokehouse heated by slow burning oak wood, then ground, lends extra depth of flavour to food.
  • ras el hanout – roughly translated, this means ‘top of the shelf’. A Moroccan spice mix, its contents can vary widely but it usually contains over twenty different spices, resulting in a well-rounded blend that is not at all harsh. However, its effect on dishes is potent. Try this spice blend in marinades, rubs and as a component in chermoula pastes.
  • saffron – this is the most expensive spice in the world. Each saffron flower produces three stigmas, which are hand-picked and dried. It takes roughly twenty thousand stigmas to make 125 g (4½ oz) saffron. It must be infused in water before being used in a dish – if it comes into contact with oil first, its flavour will never really be released.
  • vanilla – a long, thin, black pod containing thousands of tiny seeds, vanilla comes from the fruit of an orchid native to tropical America. The expense of real vanilla beans is due to the labour-intensive and time-consuming process needed to obtain them. To use vanilla beans, slit them lengthways down the centre and scrape out the seeds. These seeds can be added directly to foods such as ice cream, pastry and sauces. Whole beans that have been used to flavour sauces or other mixtures may be rinsed, dried and stored for reuse. Vanilla extract is made by grinding chopped beans in an alcohol-water solution in order to extract the flavour; the mixture is then aged for several months.