Chapter 20 · Salt, herbs and spices
20.4 Blends, and storing herbs and spices
Blends
Many cuisines have their own fixed mixes of herbs and spices. Most can be bought ready-made, but a chef can mix nearly all of them as needed, and that has one advantage: shop blends can hold a lot of salt.
| Blend | What goes in it | How it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese five-spice powder | Star anise, Szechuan pepper, fennel seed, cloves and cinnamon, finely ground, in equal parts | Chinese and some Vietnamese food; very good with pork and in pâtés. |
| Curry powder | Usually turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves and mace. Formulas differ by maker: Bombay or Chinese style is mild and sweet, Madras style hot. | A European invention, made by 19th-century Britons back from India as an all-in-one spice for a curry. The name probably comes from the Tamil kari, sauce. |
| Fines herbes ("fine herbs") | Parsley, tarragon, chervil and chives | French cooking; made fresh or bought dried. |
| Jamaican jerk seasoning | Thyme, ground allspice, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, with onion and garlic; dry or wet | Rubbed onto, or used to marinate, chicken and pork before grilling. |
| Herbes de Provence | Dried herbs of southern France: usually thyme, rosemary, bay, basil, fennel seed, savory and lavender | Grilled or roast meat, fish and chicken; vegetables; pizza; even steamed rice and yeast bread. |
| Italian seasoning | Dried basil, oregano, sage, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, savory and other Italian herbs | A ready-made commercial mix. |
| Garam masala | A masala is any Indian blend of spices that are roasted and then ground. Garam means warm or hot. The dry form usually holds cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, coriander, fennel seed, nutmeg, turmeric and bay. | Add the dry blend near the end of cooking or sprinkle it on just before serving. Mixed with coconut milk, oil or tamarind water it becomes a wet garam masala, which goes in at the start. |
| Pickling spice | Mostly black peppercorns and red chiles, with some of allspice, cloves, ginger, mustard seed, coriander seed, bay and dill | Cucumber and vegetable pickles; stews and soups. |
| Quatre-épices ("four spices") | Mostly black pepper, plus less nutmeg, cloves and dried ginger; cinnamon or allspice may be added | Charcuterie and long-simmered stews. In French the name also means allspice. |
| Ras el hanout | A Moroccan blend that differs by supplier, often of twenty spices or more: for example cumin, coriander, cardamom, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, grains of paradise, dried chiles and dried flower petals | Bought whole and ground by the cook when needed, for stews, rice, couscous and game. |
| Seasoned salt | Salt with one or more flavorings such as garlic, spices or celery seed, and often monosodium glutamate | A commercial product. |
Storing fresh herbs
Fresh herbs go in the refrigerator. Most produce, fresh herbs among it, is kept between 2 and 4°C (36–39°F), and 4°C (39°F) or colder is the safe temperature for any refrigerated food.
- Large bunches. Stand them upright with their stems in water, and cover the leaves loosely with plastic wrap.
- Small bunches. Cover them loosely with a damp towel.
- Extra herbs. Dry what you cannot use in an electric dehydrator, or spread them on baking sheets in an oven at 100°F (38°C).
Storing dried herbs and spices
Light and heat both destroy the delicate flavors of dried herbs and spices. Keep them in airtight containers that light cannot pass through, somewhere cool and dry. The dry storeroom itself is kept between 10°C and 15°C (50°F and 59°F), with stock rotated first in, first out.
- Dried herbs stored this way last two to three months. Kept airtight, they can last up to six months. see chapter 6: Fresh and dried herbs
- Whole spices should hold their flavor for six to nine months at least.
- Ground spices lose their flavor quickly.
- Stale spices have lost their spicy smell and leave a bitter or musty aftertaste. Throw them out.
Using herbs and spices
Herbs and spices are a cheap, simple way to give food character and variety. They add no fat and no sodium, and hardly any calories: most have only 3 to 10 calories in a teaspoon.
Dried for fresh. Fresh herbs taste and smell better, but dried ones are easy to find and easy to keep. Drying removes water, which concentrates the flavor, so use less. Use a third to a half of the fresh amount: for 1 tablespoon of fresh basil, use 1 teaspoon of dried. You can add more later if you need it. Another rule of thumb is about half the fresh amount. see chapter 6: Fresh and dried herbs
Timing.
- Delicate fresh herbs (basil, chives, cilantro, parsley and tarragon, for example) are best added when cooking is finished, because their aroma escapes easily.
- Most dried spices go in early so their flavor can develop. Whole spices need the longest; ground ones give up their flavor sooner.
- For some dishes, Indian curries among them, the cook first fries the ground spices in oil to bring out their aroma, then adds them.
- A raw dish made with ground spices, such as a salad dressing, needs to stand for several hours before its flavor is good.
Pairings. Some matches never go out of style:
- lamb with rosemary;
- salmon with dill;
- spinach with nutmeg;
- rye bread with caraway.
Less usual pairings can taste just as good and be far more exciting, so a chef needs to be willing to try new ones. That starts with knowing well how each herb, spice, condiment and vinegar tastes and smells.
Five rules for flavoring.
- The flavoring should never hide the main ingredient's own taste or smell. Keep a combination in balance so it does not overwhelm.
- Never use flavorings to cover up food that is poor or badly cooked.
- Go lightly with flavorings in food that will cook for a long time.
- Remember that a reduced liquid concentrates its flavorings, which can then take over the dish.
- Taste often while you cook, and season as you go.
Sources
This chapter is written from these open textbooks:
- Culinary Foundations — Cheramie & Thibodeaux, Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, Nicholls StateCC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- Fruits, Vegetables and Farinaceous Products — Thibodeaux & Bienvenu, Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, Nicholls StateCC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- The Chemistry of Cooking — Sorangel Rodriguez-Velazquez, LibreTextsCC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- Food Safety, Sanitation and Personal Hygiene — BC Cook Articulation Committee, BCcampusCC BY 4.0