The Spices of Life
Like most people, I keep my spices far too long. While common knowledge says to clean up your supply once a year—as spices lose their freshness and potency over time—normally I wait until I run out of something. Then, it’s a mad dash to the closest store.
Reading last week’s NYTimes food section showcasing spice blends prompted a response: a late morning “let’s-see-how-old-the-spices-are” kitchen expedition. Out went any powdered spice more than a year old. For the whole seed spices, such as cumin, cardamon, and allspice, anything two years or older were also jettisoned into the trash. This left my spice drawer with many gaping holes, I am ashamed to admit.
As going to my favorite spice source, Kalustyan’s—New York City’s famous emporium for deliciousness—was inconvenient at the time, I opted to search for replacements on-line. Recently, my PR colleague Chandni Patel introduced me to Suraj Spices & Teas, a fledgling company started by her younger sister, Aarika. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Aarika’s selection of rare and exotic spices and teas is staggering. Plus, she does all the grinding, blending and exquisite packaging herself.
After a delightfully satisfying hour perusing the Suraj site—which included reading detailed descriptions of each purchased item along with delicious-looking recipes—everything tossed out was replaced. Naturally, there were other new items too tempting to forgo to add to the order such as Tennessee honey and organic rose water for Moroccan dishes which I frequently crave.
I also glanced at Aarika’s selection of gift items which is certain to become one of my go-tos for holiday shopping. Afterall, which of my foodie friends wouldn’t covet a Nashville Hot Mix sampler, DIY Tea Blending kit or Masala Daba? (See photo from this post.)
Given how much time I spend cooking, my knowledge of spices is rather paltry. So, I decided to “unpack” the topic and get some expert advice from friends who are all superb home cooks.
For starters I asked where they kept their spices. Everyone agreed that spices should be stored in dry, dark places away from heat. They also recommended using airtight glass containers with tight fitting lids. One contributor, Janine Sarlin, former executive chef for The Wine Spectator, has a custom designed cabinet used exclusively for her spices which she keeps in alphabetical order.
This makes perfectly practical sense especially compared with my random system. Over the years, I’ve lined up my spices based on frequency of use. This means for example, that alum, truffle zest and pickling spices go in the back. In my drawer next to the stove (probably not the best of locations!) there is a hierarchy. Star anis, cumin and three forms of red peppers extensively used in my cooking are in the front row. It’s insane, of course, but personalized culinary madness is what spices up my adventures in the kitchen.
Speaking of frequency of use, I queried my pals about their choice of spices they couldn’t live without. For this very unscientific survey, I separated out spices from dried herbs. While both do originate from plants, herbs are the fresh part whereas the spice is the dried root, dried stalk, seed or dried fruit portion. As herbs can be used fresh as well as dried, I feared this might represent unfair competition, so they were kept aside.
Here is the outcome. Paprika and cumin were ranked highly in popularity followed by curry powder, turmeric, and cinnamon. Star anise, coriander seed and fleur de sel were only mentioned once. The big winner in the spice popularity contest, however, was pepper—black and red. It was surprising the number of times my gang of experts mentioned their preference for using black pepper corns, cayenne, chili powder, red pepper flakes and Aleppo. (I know I am mixing apples with oranges here. But given the commonality of their heat and kick, I felt the argument of putting them together might pass.)
Wine writer and cookbook author Marguerite Thomas introduced me to Aleppo several years ago. “Can’t live without? Well, freshly ground black pepper of course. I also love spicy/fruity/ Aleppo pepper a lot although it’s been harder to find lately (Aleppo is smack in the middle of Syria). I scored some awhile back at the San Francisco Farmers Market; it does lose some of its oomph if it sits around in the pantry too long.”
When I asked people to select their two favorite spices and explain how they use them, Marguerite piped up with “Does fleur du sel count as a spice? Probably not, but it’s been the only salt I have used for many years except for things like salting pasta water. It’s the only ‘spice’ I need to put on a beautiful grilled steak or chop, or a fresh summer-tomato salad.”
Janine had a different take. “I use herbs and spices as opposed to the ordinary salt and pepper, which is especially important for low fat or low salt restricted diets.”
Wine marketing guru Lars Leicht uses mustard powder on nearly everything. “Roast chicken, pork tenderloin, pork chops, salmon, hamburgers… I use Colman’s English Mustard powder and sometimes mix it with equal parts of cold water to make a nice mustard for spreading on any appropriate sandwich or dabbing on a piece of grilled beef tenderloin.”
“What about the wild fennel pollen?” I asked Lars, referring to his second most favorite spice. “How do you use it?” Despite his Scandinavian name, Lars is half Italian, speaks the language like a native, and is a wizard behind the stove with Italian cuisine. Lars explained that he loads up on wild fennel pollen purchasaed at local supermarkets whenever he’s in Italy. Lars uses it on anything pork-related. According to him, the spice (or should this be considered a dried herb?????) “absolutely makes the dish.” By the way, Aarika carries it at her shop so you can order it online at www.surajspicesteas.com.
Not being familiar with wild fennel pollen, I turned to Aarika’s site and learned that “Fennel pollen is collected from the yellow flowers of the fennel plant. Each flower produces about a quarter teaspoon of pollen. The pollen has a sweeter fennel flavor with notes of honey and citrus. Add a sprinkle onto anything from chicken to rice to seafood to add a burst of savory flavor.”
Coming back to the topic of blends—which started this whole discussion—I asked people if they make their own. What I found was that the men enjoyed making rubs for meats to either roast or barbecue whereas the women rarely ventured down this path. In several instances, my female pals recommended using commercial brands particularly for curry powder. Sue Huffman, Food Network pioneer, even suggested Trader Joe’s as a good source for spice blends.
In contrast, Bill Arp, veteran broadcast news producer, generally avoids commercial blends altogether. He prefers to make his own. “I'll pick three for a spice blend...you can pick two of them if you want. This is a general meat rub (any animal will do) that includes ancho chile, (dried or powdered), roasted coriander seeds and roasted cumin seeds. Equal amounts of each spice ground together in a spice mill or I use a little coffee grinder kept for just spices. Especially good for thick pork chops or pork tenderloin.”
Lars makes a blend “for rubbing on pork spareribs which includes paprika, chili powder, mustard powder, cumin, salt, ground black pepper, oregano, and whatever else might inspire me. I usually eyeball it but include roughly equal proportions of everything with a slightly heavier hand on the cumin and chile powder. If I have garlic powder that goes in as well (to me the only semi-legitimate use for the stuff). In the past I’ve also had other pepper powders besides the chili – though can’t recall right now which they were. It essentially comes down to a cupboard mix – whatever I happen to have on hand.”
Lars is somewhat of a mad scientist in the kitchen. “Sometimes I throw in the fennel pollen too, especially if it’s for pork. You could include whole fennel seeds or even run them through a grinder. On occasion I’ve been known to throw in a portion of Bell’s Turkey Seasoning.”
For those historians amongst us, you already know that spices have been around since the beginning of time, or so it seems. Theirs is a history of lands discovered, wars won and lost, and great wealth. At various times over the course of history, the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish and English have each ruled the world’s spice trade only to lose their monopoly to a more fortunate nation.
In addition to being used as a flavoring for food, the early Egyptians employed spices to embalm their dead. Over the centuries spices have been used medicinally, in cosmetic production, and have also garnered religious significance in some cultures. In ancient and medieval times spices were the most valuable items of trade, sometimes even more precious than gold.
No matter who was in control at the time, spices have a way of bringing the world together around the table. Next week we will continue to navigate the topic with an exclusive interview with Aarika Patel. In addition to sharing her knowledge of spices, she has agreed to share her Dolly Parton “Hello Dolly” bar recipe which, as you might expect, is slightly over the top.
In the meantime, I’m heading to the kitchen to make a perfect omelet (recipe in this week’s “Dessert” section) on which I plan to liberally sprinkle both fleur de sel and Aleppo. I figured they would add more “depth and verve” to the dish—picking up some descriptors from the NYTimes article —than your common, every day salt and pepper.
Stay tuned for more conversation on spices next week.