The Spices of Life

We recently had some friends over for dinner. I had prepared a simple meal with emphasis on fresh garden produce and then I had made what my family calls Mom's Basic Chicken, which can be used with lots of recipes and flavors by slightly adjusting the spices and seasonings used. One of the guests commented in almost amazement that it was the best chicken he had ever eaten and wanted the recipe.

Like many other "good" cooks, all I could do is say, hmm, I'll have to remember what I used. Because like my momma before me and her momma before her, our way of cooking does not generally involve recipe books unless we're baking, and then the more specific we can be the better.

But I do know what made my dinner guests ooh and ah over his dinner. It's all in the spice my friends!

Spices are the aromatic ingredients that add flavor to our lives. It's why we call something wonderful, "the spice of life". Without spice our foods would be blah and boring and unoriginal. The right combination of spices layers on our taste buds and we enjoy them with many senses, sight, smell, taste, sometimes even the feel of a spice on our tongues is a delight.

And yet, I've eaten food whose only spices were salt and pepper. For some foods, like the perfect summer peach, no spice is needed, although everyone would agree that cinnamon and cloves sure add a different flavor to that peach. My children would routinely eat at other friends houses and come home with this comment. Their food is boring. From an early age, they were introduced to foods cooked with a wide variety of spices.

Here are some great culinary spices and suggestions for their use.

Allspice: This is a berry used in Caribbean cooking and baked goods. It's ground from the dried berries and it's fragrant lively peppery flavor combines well with cinnamon , cloves and nutmeg. You can use it in baking, but it's also great in pickling, soups, stews and curries. Throw a dash of allspice into chili for a subtle sweet pepper taste.

Caraway: This seed has a distinctive crunchy savory flavor with a hint of anise. It's often used in cheese making, soups and baked savory breads like Irish soda bread, but we use it for red cabbage and stews! Sprinkle some caraway on a dish of smoked sausage with cabbage and you'll feel like you're visiting Poland! Add some beets and crusty brown bread to complete the meal.

Cumin: This spice can be used in seed version or ground with a strong hot chili flavor. In fact all things southwestern can be improved with the use of cumin. My friends delight in my chicken was probably triggered by the mixture of cumin, garlic, and paprika in the chicken that night.

Fennel: Fennel is my new favorite spice of choice and I'm using it mainly in meat and chicken dishes, but have developed a fennel salt and pepper blend that I toss in lots of things. This fennel blend was delicious in fresh green beans over the summer and sprinkling some fennel in fresh potato salad with vinegar and egg dressing will hit the spot.

Ginger: For many of us the only time we think we're eating ginger is in pumpkin pie and gingerbread or gingersnap cookies and those are great uses for the spice ginger. But ginger is so much more. I don't think I could cook without ginger. It's a favored spice in all things Asian and was one of the first far east spices to be introduced to the rest of the world. The spice comes from a ginger root and can be used fresh for the most powerful pungent and wonderfully strong flavor or you can buy it dried and ground which is the form most Americans use. It's spicy, sweet, hot and woody, all mixed together. I especially use ginger in cooking stir fries, in meat and stew dishes, complements all forms of poultry and fish, and of course in pumpkin pie and gingerbread.

Parprika: This is one spice that can have a huge difference in quality depending upon the brand and type. At my house, paprika in the little cheap store cans just won't cut it. I buy Hungarian or Spanish paprika from a local spice store in Indianapolis. There is a distinct difference in flavor in my opinion and one worth the purchase price. Paprika is used in Spanish Rice, goulash stews, poultry, and spice blends for meat seasoning. I make up a paprika, red pepper, cumin, sea salt and coarse black pepper blend for seasoning and it's wonderful.

Coriander: This is the spice of India and Morocco, but Americans probably are most familiar with it in its leaf form, cilantro. You can buy cilantro leaves, dried and use it is fresh cilantro, but coriander is the spice derived from fully dried cilantro leaves and has a distinctly different flavor. It's lemony, slightly peppery and very woodsy tasting. I use coriander in soups, stews, spaghetti sauces, and of course, all things curry! Coriander is also used in my own unique secret Asian five spice blend..Now you know one of them, just need the other four!

Have fun using a new spice or an old familiar one to spice up your life and your food. Don't be afraid to try new combinations and uses for spices in your cooking.