6/23/2010
6/22/2010
My Culinary Art
Cheese Platter
Slice Grilled Lamb Loin with Tomato Coulis
Roasted Chicken Drumsticks with Garlic Glazed
6/16/2010
Herbs and Spices
INTRODUCTION
Supermarket are now well stocked with huge array of ground and whole spices,dried,frozen and fresh cut herbs and even ‘live’herbs growing in compost.The is almost overhelming but the potential for creating delicious recipes at home has never been better.Today enthusiasm for trying food and flavours from differrent countries lies behind much of the growth in the availability of herbs and spices.But these ingredients are by no means new.
Essentials oils present in the leaves,stems and flowers of the plant are released on cutting,chopping or crushing.It is therefore important to use fresh herbs as soon as possible after chopping for maximum flavour.Any extra can be stored in the fridge,wrapped in a little damp kitchen paper in a plastic bag.Alternatively,larger amounts,such as parsley,can be placed in a jug of water out of the direct sun.Dried herbs are a convenient and cheaper substitute for fresh.Store in airtight jars,ideally in a cupboard away from the light .
Herbs have a long tradition of use in British homes that dates back centuries and accompasses both cooking and healing roles.Today there is also a revival of interest in the healing power of herbs,and herb teas are once more becoming popular for their refreshing quality as well as their mild therapeutic properties.Try camomile to ease insomnia or mint to aid digestion.The role of herbs in cooking has never been in questions however.Herbs have been used through history for both cooking and medicinal purposes.Traditional herbs as parsley ,sage,rosemary and thyme are have been joined by other favourites,such as tarragon,basil,mint,dill,bay leaves,oregano,chives and chervil,in eclectic mix of flavouring ingredients.Modern day cooks also use herbs from the cuisines of China,India and South-east Asia.Widely avaiable in greengrocers’ shops and supermarkets .
HERBS
A herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes.
In American English the pronunciation of "herb" varies by individual, with the initial "h" either silent or pronounced on no noticeable regional or socioeconomic basis, but in British English the sounded "h" predominates: (see American and British English pronunciation differences).
Uses
Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, resin, root bark, inner bark (cambium), berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions of the plant.
Culinary herbs
Culinary use of the term "herb" typically distinguishes between herbs, from the leafy green parts of a plant, and spices, from other parts of the plant, including seeds, berries, bark, root and fruit. Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavor rather than substance to food.
Many culinary herbs are perennials such as thyme or lavender, while others are biennials such as parsley or annuals like basil, and some are shrubs (such as rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis), or trees (such as bay laurel, Laurus nobilis) – this contrasts with botanical herbs, which by definition cannot be woody plants. Some plants are used as both a spice and a herb, such as dill seed and dill weed or coriander seeds and coriander leaves. Also, there are some herbs such as those in the mint family that are used for culinary purposes as well as medicinal.
Medicinal herbs
Main article: Herbalism
Plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body. Throughout history, from the Bible, Koran, Siddhar poems of Tamils,Vedas and other old texts, the medicinal benefits of herbs are quoted.
There may be some effects when consumed in the small levels that typify culinary "spicing", and some herbs are toxic in larger quantities. For instance, some types of herbal extract, such as the extract of St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum) or of kava (Piper methysticum) can be used for medical purposes to relieve depression and stress. However, large amounts of these herbs may lead to poisoning, and should be used with caution. One herb-like substance, called Shilajit, may actually help lower blood glucose levels which is especially important for those suffering from diabetes. Herbs have long been used as the basis of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, with usage dating as far back as the first century CE.
Some herbs are used not only for culinary and medicinal purposes, but also for recreational purposes; one such herb is cannabis.
Sacred herbs
Main article: Sacred herbs
Herbs are used in many religions – such as in Christianity myrrh and frankincense which was used to honor kings. (Commiphora myrrha), ague root (Aletris farinosa) (Boswellia spp)) and in the Anglo-Saxon pagan Nine Herbs Charm. The Tamils worship Neem called Vempu. In Hinduism a form of Basil called Tulsi or Holy Basil is worshipped as a goddess for its medicinal value since the Vedic times. Many Hindus have a Tulsi plant in front of their houses. Many Rasta consider Cannabis sativa as being a holy plant set aside by God for man.
The shamans in Siberia also used herbs for spiritual purposes. Drugs and plants have been used world wide to induce spiritual experiences.
The Cherokee native americans use sage and cedar to spiritualy clense and smugde.
Pest control
Main article: Pest control
Herbs are also known amongst gardeners to be useful for pest control. Mint, spearmint, peppermint, and pennyroyal are a few of such herbs. These herbs when planted around a house's foundation can help keep unwanted critters away such as flies, mice, ants, fleas, moth and tick amongst others. They are not known to be harmful or dangerous to children or pets, or any of the house's fixtures.
Botanical herbs
Main article: Herbaceous plant
In botanical usage a herb or herbaceous plant is any non-woody plant, regardless of its flavor, scent or other properties. A botanical herb cannot therefore be a woody plant such as a tree or shrub.
SPICES
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavour, colour, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth.
Many of these substances are also used for other purposes, such as medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics, perfumery or eating as vegetables. For example, turmeric is also used as a preservative; liquorice as a medicine; garlic as a vegetable. In some cases they are referred to by different terms.
In the kitchen, spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavouring purposes. Herbs, such as basil or oregano, may be used fresh, and are commonly chopped into smaller pieces. Spices, however, are dried and often ground or grated into a powder. Small seeds, such as fennel and mustard seeds, are used both whole and in powder form.
Classification and types
Spices can be grouped as:
• Dried fruits or seeds, such as fennel, mustard, and black pepper.
• Arils, such as mace.
• Barks, such as cinnamon and cassia.
• Dried buds, such as cloves.
• Stigmas, such as saffron.
• Roots and rhizomes, such as turmeric, ginger and galingale.
• Resins, such as asa foetida
Herbs, such as bay, basil, and thyme are not, strictly speaking, spices, although they have similar uses in flavouring food. The same can be said of vegetables such as onions and garlic.
Early history
The earliest evidence of the use of spice by humans was around 50,000 B.C. The spice trade developed throughout the Middle East in around 2000 BC with cinnamon and pepper. The Egyptians used herbs for embalming and their need for exotic herbs helped stimulate world trade. In fact, the word spice comes from the same root as species, meaning kinds of goods. By 1000 BC China and India had a medical system based upon herbs. Early uses were connected with magic, medicine, religion, tradition, and preservation.
A recent archaeological discovery suggests that the clove, indigenous to the Indonesian island of Ternate in the Maluku Islands, could have been introduced to the Middle East very early on. Digs found a clove burnt onto the floor of a burned down kitchen in the Mesopotamian site of Terqa, in what is now modern-day Syria, dated to 1700 BC.
In the story of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In the biblical poem Song of Solomon, the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of spices. Generally, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, and Mesopotamian sources do not refer to known spices.
In South Asia, nutmeg, which originates from the Banda Islands in the Molukas, has a Sanskrit name. Sanskrit is the ancient language of India, showing how old the usage of this spice is in this region. Historians believe that nutmeg was introduced to Europe in the 6th century BC. The ancient Indian epic of Ramayana mentions cloves. In any case, it is known that the Romans had cloves in the 1st century AD because Pliny the Elder spoke of them in his writings.
Indonesian merchants went around China, India, the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. Arab merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This made the city of Alexandria in Egypt the main trading centre for spices because of its port. The most important discovery prior to the European spice trade were the monsoon winds (40 AD). Sailing from Eastern spice growers to Western European consumers gradually replaced the land-locked spice routes once facilitated by the Middle East Arab caravans.
Middle Ages
"The Mullus" Harvesting pepper. Illustration from a French edition of The Travels of Marco Polo.
Spices were among the most luxurious products available in Europe in the Middle Ages, the most common being black pepper, cinnamon (and the cheaper alternative cassia), cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. They were all imported from plantations in Asia and Africa, which made them extremely expensive. From the 8th until the 15th century, the Republic of Venice had the monopoly on spice trade with the Middle East, and along with it the neighboring Italian city-states.
The trade made the region phenomenally rich. It has been estimated that around 1,000 tons of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices were imported into Western Europe each year during the Late Middle Ages. The value of these goods was the equivalent of a yearly supply of grain for 1.5 million people.[5] While pepper was the most common spice, the most exclusive was saffron, used as much for its vivid yellow-red color as for its flavor. Spices that have now fallen into some obscurity include grains of paradise, a relative of cardamom which almost entirely replaced pepper in late medieval north French cooking, long pepper, mace, spikenard, galangal and cubeb. A popular modern-day misconception is that medieval cooks used liberal amounts of spices, particularly black pepper, merely to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. However, a medieval feast was as much a culinary event as it was a display of the host's vast resources and generosity, and as most nobles had a wide selection of fresh or preserved meats, fish, or seafood to choose from, the use of ruinously expensive spices on cheap, rotting meat would have made little sense.
Early modern period
The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed to India in 1499. Spain and Portugal were not happy to pay the high price that Venice demanded for spices. At around the same time, Christopher Columbus returned from the New World, he described to investors the many new, and then unknown, spices available there.
Afonso de Albuquerque (1453–1515) allowed the Portuguese to take control of the sea routes to India. In 1506, he took the island of Socotra in the mouth of the Red Sea and, in 1507, Ormuz in the Persian Gulf. Since becoming the viceroy of the Indies, he took Goa in India in 1510, and Malacca on the Malay peninsula in 1511. The Portuguese could now trade directly with Siam, China, and the Moluccas. The Silk Road complemented the Portuguese sea routes, and brought the treasures of the Orient to Europe via Lisbon, including many spices. With the discovery of the New World came new spices, including allspice, bell and chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate.
Although new settlers brought herbs to North America, before 1750 it was thought that you could not grow plants or trees outside their native habitat. This belief kept the spice trade, with America as a late comer with its new seasonings, profitable well into the 19th century.
In the Caribbean, the island of Grenada is well known for growing and exporting a number of spices, including the nutmeg, which was introduced to Grenada by the settlers.
Spice racks
While spices themselves are tens of thousands of years old, the spice rack has an origin that dates to about 1,000 BC.
Today, the rack has moved from a functional kitchen fixture to a largely decorative item, with many spice users content to rely on commercial containers with "one-hand" flip-top closures and even built-in grinders.
Supermarket are now well stocked with huge array of ground and whole spices,dried,frozen and fresh cut herbs and even ‘live’herbs growing in compost.The is almost overhelming but the potential for creating delicious recipes at home has never been better.Today enthusiasm for trying food and flavours from differrent countries lies behind much of the growth in the availability of herbs and spices.But these ingredients are by no means new.
Essentials oils present in the leaves,stems and flowers of the plant are released on cutting,chopping or crushing.It is therefore important to use fresh herbs as soon as possible after chopping for maximum flavour.Any extra can be stored in the fridge,wrapped in a little damp kitchen paper in a plastic bag.Alternatively,larger amounts,such as parsley,can be placed in a jug of water out of the direct sun.Dried herbs are a convenient and cheaper substitute for fresh.Store in airtight jars,ideally in a cupboard away from the light .
Herbs have a long tradition of use in British homes that dates back centuries and accompasses both cooking and healing roles.Today there is also a revival of interest in the healing power of herbs,and herb teas are once more becoming popular for their refreshing quality as well as their mild therapeutic properties.Try camomile to ease insomnia or mint to aid digestion.The role of herbs in cooking has never been in questions however.Herbs have been used through history for both cooking and medicinal purposes.Traditional herbs as parsley ,sage,rosemary and thyme are have been joined by other favourites,such as tarragon,basil,mint,dill,bay leaves,oregano,chives and chervil,in eclectic mix of flavouring ingredients.Modern day cooks also use herbs from the cuisines of China,India and South-east Asia.Widely avaiable in greengrocers’ shops and supermarkets .
HERBS
A herb is a plant that is valued for flavor, scent, or other qualities. Herbs are used in cooking, as medicines, and for spiritual purposes.
In American English the pronunciation of "herb" varies by individual, with the initial "h" either silent or pronounced on no noticeable regional or socioeconomic basis, but in British English the sounded "h" predominates: (see American and British English pronunciation differences).
Uses
Herbs have a variety of uses including culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. General usage differs between culinary herbs and medicinal herbs. In medicinal or spiritual use any of the parts of the plant might be considered "herbs", including leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, resin, root bark, inner bark (cambium), berries and sometimes the pericarp or other portions of the plant.
Culinary herbs
Culinary use of the term "herb" typically distinguishes between herbs, from the leafy green parts of a plant, and spices, from other parts of the plant, including seeds, berries, bark, root and fruit. Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavor rather than substance to food.
Many culinary herbs are perennials such as thyme or lavender, while others are biennials such as parsley or annuals like basil, and some are shrubs (such as rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis), or trees (such as bay laurel, Laurus nobilis) – this contrasts with botanical herbs, which by definition cannot be woody plants. Some plants are used as both a spice and a herb, such as dill seed and dill weed or coriander seeds and coriander leaves. Also, there are some herbs such as those in the mint family that are used for culinary purposes as well as medicinal.
Medicinal herbs
Main article: Herbalism
Plants contain phytochemicals that have effects on the body. Throughout history, from the Bible, Koran, Siddhar poems of Tamils,Vedas and other old texts, the medicinal benefits of herbs are quoted.
There may be some effects when consumed in the small levels that typify culinary "spicing", and some herbs are toxic in larger quantities. For instance, some types of herbal extract, such as the extract of St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum) or of kava (Piper methysticum) can be used for medical purposes to relieve depression and stress. However, large amounts of these herbs may lead to poisoning, and should be used with caution. One herb-like substance, called Shilajit, may actually help lower blood glucose levels which is especially important for those suffering from diabetes. Herbs have long been used as the basis of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, with usage dating as far back as the first century CE.
Some herbs are used not only for culinary and medicinal purposes, but also for recreational purposes; one such herb is cannabis.
Sacred herbs
Main article: Sacred herbs
Herbs are used in many religions – such as in Christianity myrrh and frankincense which was used to honor kings. (Commiphora myrrha), ague root (Aletris farinosa) (Boswellia spp)) and in the Anglo-Saxon pagan Nine Herbs Charm. The Tamils worship Neem called Vempu. In Hinduism a form of Basil called Tulsi or Holy Basil is worshipped as a goddess for its medicinal value since the Vedic times. Many Hindus have a Tulsi plant in front of their houses. Many Rasta consider Cannabis sativa as being a holy plant set aside by God for man.
The shamans in Siberia also used herbs for spiritual purposes. Drugs and plants have been used world wide to induce spiritual experiences.
The Cherokee native americans use sage and cedar to spiritualy clense and smugde.
Pest control
Main article: Pest control
Herbs are also known amongst gardeners to be useful for pest control. Mint, spearmint, peppermint, and pennyroyal are a few of such herbs. These herbs when planted around a house's foundation can help keep unwanted critters away such as flies, mice, ants, fleas, moth and tick amongst others. They are not known to be harmful or dangerous to children or pets, or any of the house's fixtures.
Botanical herbs
Main article: Herbaceous plant
In botanical usage a herb or herbaceous plant is any non-woody plant, regardless of its flavor, scent or other properties. A botanical herb cannot therefore be a woody plant such as a tree or shrub.
SPICES
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavour, colour, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth.
Many of these substances are also used for other purposes, such as medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics, perfumery or eating as vegetables. For example, turmeric is also used as a preservative; liquorice as a medicine; garlic as a vegetable. In some cases they are referred to by different terms.
In the kitchen, spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plant parts used for flavouring purposes. Herbs, such as basil or oregano, may be used fresh, and are commonly chopped into smaller pieces. Spices, however, are dried and often ground or grated into a powder. Small seeds, such as fennel and mustard seeds, are used both whole and in powder form.
Classification and types
Spices can be grouped as:
• Dried fruits or seeds, such as fennel, mustard, and black pepper.
• Arils, such as mace.
• Barks, such as cinnamon and cassia.
• Dried buds, such as cloves.
• Stigmas, such as saffron.
• Roots and rhizomes, such as turmeric, ginger and galingale.
• Resins, such as asa foetida
Herbs, such as bay, basil, and thyme are not, strictly speaking, spices, although they have similar uses in flavouring food. The same can be said of vegetables such as onions and garlic.
Early history
The earliest evidence of the use of spice by humans was around 50,000 B.C. The spice trade developed throughout the Middle East in around 2000 BC with cinnamon and pepper. The Egyptians used herbs for embalming and their need for exotic herbs helped stimulate world trade. In fact, the word spice comes from the same root as species, meaning kinds of goods. By 1000 BC China and India had a medical system based upon herbs. Early uses were connected with magic, medicine, religion, tradition, and preservation.
A recent archaeological discovery suggests that the clove, indigenous to the Indonesian island of Ternate in the Maluku Islands, could have been introduced to the Middle East very early on. Digs found a clove burnt onto the floor of a burned down kitchen in the Mesopotamian site of Terqa, in what is now modern-day Syria, dated to 1700 BC.
In the story of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In the biblical poem Song of Solomon, the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of spices. Generally, Egyptian, Chinese, Indian, and Mesopotamian sources do not refer to known spices.
In South Asia, nutmeg, which originates from the Banda Islands in the Molukas, has a Sanskrit name. Sanskrit is the ancient language of India, showing how old the usage of this spice is in this region. Historians believe that nutmeg was introduced to Europe in the 6th century BC. The ancient Indian epic of Ramayana mentions cloves. In any case, it is known that the Romans had cloves in the 1st century AD because Pliny the Elder spoke of them in his writings.
Indonesian merchants went around China, India, the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. Arab merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This made the city of Alexandria in Egypt the main trading centre for spices because of its port. The most important discovery prior to the European spice trade were the monsoon winds (40 AD). Sailing from Eastern spice growers to Western European consumers gradually replaced the land-locked spice routes once facilitated by the Middle East Arab caravans.
Middle Ages
"The Mullus" Harvesting pepper. Illustration from a French edition of The Travels of Marco Polo.
Spices were among the most luxurious products available in Europe in the Middle Ages, the most common being black pepper, cinnamon (and the cheaper alternative cassia), cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. They were all imported from plantations in Asia and Africa, which made them extremely expensive. From the 8th until the 15th century, the Republic of Venice had the monopoly on spice trade with the Middle East, and along with it the neighboring Italian city-states.
The trade made the region phenomenally rich. It has been estimated that around 1,000 tons of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices were imported into Western Europe each year during the Late Middle Ages. The value of these goods was the equivalent of a yearly supply of grain for 1.5 million people.[5] While pepper was the most common spice, the most exclusive was saffron, used as much for its vivid yellow-red color as for its flavor. Spices that have now fallen into some obscurity include grains of paradise, a relative of cardamom which almost entirely replaced pepper in late medieval north French cooking, long pepper, mace, spikenard, galangal and cubeb. A popular modern-day misconception is that medieval cooks used liberal amounts of spices, particularly black pepper, merely to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. However, a medieval feast was as much a culinary event as it was a display of the host's vast resources and generosity, and as most nobles had a wide selection of fresh or preserved meats, fish, or seafood to choose from, the use of ruinously expensive spices on cheap, rotting meat would have made little sense.
Early modern period
The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed to India in 1499. Spain and Portugal were not happy to pay the high price that Venice demanded for spices. At around the same time, Christopher Columbus returned from the New World, he described to investors the many new, and then unknown, spices available there.
Afonso de Albuquerque (1453–1515) allowed the Portuguese to take control of the sea routes to India. In 1506, he took the island of Socotra in the mouth of the Red Sea and, in 1507, Ormuz in the Persian Gulf. Since becoming the viceroy of the Indies, he took Goa in India in 1510, and Malacca on the Malay peninsula in 1511. The Portuguese could now trade directly with Siam, China, and the Moluccas. The Silk Road complemented the Portuguese sea routes, and brought the treasures of the Orient to Europe via Lisbon, including many spices. With the discovery of the New World came new spices, including allspice, bell and chili peppers, vanilla, and chocolate.
Although new settlers brought herbs to North America, before 1750 it was thought that you could not grow plants or trees outside their native habitat. This belief kept the spice trade, with America as a late comer with its new seasonings, profitable well into the 19th century.
In the Caribbean, the island of Grenada is well known for growing and exporting a number of spices, including the nutmeg, which was introduced to Grenada by the settlers.
Spice racks
While spices themselves are tens of thousands of years old, the spice rack has an origin that dates to about 1,000 BC.
Today, the rack has moved from a functional kitchen fixture to a largely decorative item, with many spice users content to rely on commercial containers with "one-hand" flip-top closures and even built-in grinders.
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