Baldur

A friend in New Orleans was chatting with me about cooking. An ingredient called fenugreek came up (a seed used as a flavoring, often in Indian cuisine, it tastes rather like maple) and he was surprised that I had some.
So he casually inquired as to exactly how large my spice collection is.
Baldur had no choice but to inventory the spice cabinet.
This list does not include the many oils and extracts, nor the fancy sugarsm cocoa & carob powders etc
Here it is:
Advieh
Aleppo pepper, ground
Allspice
Ancho Peppers, flaked
Ancho Peppers, ground
Anise Seed
Arrowroot Powder
Basil
Bay leaves
Beef Bouillon cubes
Black Peppercorns
Caraway Seeds
Cardamom
Cayenne Pepper
Celery Seed, ground
Celery Seed, whole
Charnushka
Chervil
Chicken Bouillon cubes
Chicken Taco seasoning
Chili powder
Chipotle' pepper, ground
Chives
Cloves, ground
Cloves, whole
Coriander Seed, ground
Cream of Tartar
Cumin, ground
Curry Powder
Dill Seed
Dill Weed
Dukkah
Fennel Seed, ground
Fennel Seed, whole
Fenugreek, ground
Garam Masala
Garlic Powder
Ginger, ground
Green Goddess seasoning blend
Marjoram
Miso Powder
Mustard, English ground
Mustard Seed, whole
Nutmeg, whole
Onion, dried, minced
Onion Powder
Paprika
Paprika , smoked, Spanish
Parsley
Ras al Hanout
Red Pepper, flaked
Rosemary
Saffron threads
Sage, ground
Salt, Kosher
Sesame seeds
Sour Salt
Star Anise, whole
Sumac berries, ground
Sumac berries, whole
Thyme
Turmeric
Vegetable bouillon cubes
Zatar

Baldur

#7841 sugarsm - m =sugars

marius

Holy moley and heavens too! That's quite a spice cabinet the Baron of Boughbreak has!

marius would like to know taste/flavor of these items and how Baldur uses them:

Advieh
Aleppo pepper, ground
Ancho Peppers
Charnushka
Dukkah
Fenugreek, ground
Garam Masala
Miso Powder
Ras al Hanout
Sour Salt
Zatar

Baldur

This might take several installments marius.

Advieh is a persian spice blend, used mainly as a seasoning for rice dishes.The version I use contains cinnamon, sesame, cumin, black pepper, cardamom and dried rosebuds ground into a fine powder

Aleppo Pepper is a very mildly spicy red pepper, one would use it anywhere you would like just a little heat. It is a bit coarser than paprika but more finely chopped than the standard hot red pepper flakes. They are named for the city in Turkey where it was first grown.

Ancho pepper is a large mild Mexican chili pepper, these are dried in a smokehouse or over a fire until they are a dark mahogany red and leathery.
They add a mild heat with great smokey overtones. This is one og the major flavor components in my chili.

Charnushka is a small black seed grown mainly in the Middle East and India.
In New York City you would find it on top of Jewish Rye bread.
I use it on top of dark breads here at boughbreak.
It's a component of some Garam Masala blends (see below).

Dukkah, oh how Baldur loves Dukkah!
This is an Aegyptian spice mixture comprised of salt, sesame seeds, black pepper, cumin and any other number of ingredients.
Each family has it's own recipe. all ground together
It is used as a dip, if you can imagine a dry dip, or as a topping for another dishes.
A simple way to enjoy it is to tear off a piece of crusty bread, dip it in a small bowl of olive oil and then into the bowl of dukkah.
I also like it sprnkled on top of slightly sweet pureed vegetables such as carrots or yams.

Baldur

Fenugreek tastes like maple syrup, without the sweetness.
It is in fact used to flavor the fake stuff and to make maple extract.
I use it in my curries and have been known to sprinkle a little in my pot of oatmeal.

Garam Masala is an Indian Spice blend, I use it in my curry, though Baldur uses EVERYTHING in his curry
It may contain black pepper, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, star vanise and coriander.

Miso powder is the version of miso I use most here at Boughbreak. Miso is Japanese high protein, high vitamin seasoning, made of fermenting grains or soy with a type of fungus. It is typically salty, and to Baldur has a taste similar to soy sauce.
I use it a vegetarian alternative to beef or chicken couillon in making soup.

Ras al Hanout is a North African spice blend that typically contains coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, chili peppers and turmeric, all finelt ground together
It can be used to rub on meat before grilling but Baldur likes it in Chickpea dishes. I would stirfry onions, perhaps a little kale and precooked chickpeas then season the dish with this.

Baldur

Sour Salt is Sodium Citrate. It tastes both salty and sour.
I have used it in Polish and Lithuanian soups
Cabbage and beets are both enhanced by this seasoning.
My jar of sour salt is quite old and rarely used now.
Instead I add a splash of vinegar or lemon juice when the soup is ready to go to the table, a low sodium option.

Baldur

Zatar, is the anglicized name for the MiddleEastern spice blend Za'atar. My version, which is now made here at Boughbreak contains ground Sumac Berries, dried crumbled thyme, toasted sesame seeds and sea salt.
Everything is ground together to release some of the sesame oil into the mixture.
In the Middle East it may contain pine nuts, basil and any other combination of ingredients.
You may sprinkle it on hummus, rice dishes or dip bread in it.
Also try spreading a pita bread with a little oilve oil, sprinkle with zatar and bake like a miniature pizza.
I love it on scrambled eggs.

polenta

What was the first thing I did? Copy and paste the list in my English vocabulary. LOL

I wonder if you use something we call LAUREL, which is used in the form of leaves but also sometimes kind of ground or chopped. It seems to be one of the few your condiment cabinet is missing.
I see you use saffron, which is very expensive. Here there are many mixtures of spices with a yellow color that I use with rice. Could it be that you lack Worcertershire sauce?

Baldur

polenta, 'Bay leaves' or 'Bay Leaf' is the English term for laurel. I assume most people would understand the term 'laurel' here though.
A non-tropical relative of the laurel bush is used in landscaping here. The leaves are not edible but look remarkably the same.

The saffron was a gift from my son and daughter-in-law, I am making it last as long as possible.

I don't use Worcestershire Sauce because it contains anchovy paste and is not suitable for vegetarians. Similarly my favourite salad dressing, which is 'Caesar' usually cannot be purchased in a vegetarian style. I make my own. The chicken and beef bouillon are for Making soup for Robert.

Baldur

Baldur realizes he forgot to mention:
Peppermint, dried
Spearmint, dried
Which can be used as a tea, but here they become part of my homemade Tabouleh. These are in larger pouches that do not fit in my spice cabinet and thus were missed on my first inventory.

Baldur

There is another herb, Savory, that is not in the collection here because I dislike it.
Cooks can be very opinionated.
Similarly Baldur doesn't cook with lavender or fresh cilantro.

marius

My goodness, Baldur, I want to try ALL of those spices except the maple flavored one.

Thank you VERY much for all the explanations! While I was reading I kept thinking, "What time is Baldur having us over to taste all these treats?"

Was also thinking ... "Hmmmm, will Baldur post his Tabouleh recipe?" I've made tabouleh twice: first time using a box-recipe. Ugh! Second time cooked the bulgher myself, found on-line recipe and added spices, etc. Pretty good but not quite the way I like it.

Anyway, spouse loves to cook and use spices so he's going to get a nice surprisse before long: lots of new spices and suggestions for how to use them. He'll be very surprised and happy. Thanks again, Baldur!!!

PS I assume these spices can be purchased on-line if I can't find them in our area. Does Baldur have recommendations for on-line spice buying? It seems in the past he posted links for this.

Baldur

From #7844
persian - p + P = Persian
og - g + f = of
From #7845
vanise - v = anise
+ a
couillon - c + b = bouillon
finelt - t + y = finely
whew!

Baldur

Baldur's Tabouleh calls for an amount of steamed and cooled bulgar wheat. Add olive oil, lemon juice, a smashed clove of garlic, a few tablespoons of chopped mint leaves (the dried type in the Winter), diced raw tomato and some diced, peeled seeded tomato.
A little chopped basil is nice too.

I buy spices from www.Penzeys.com, a great resource.
Sign up to get their catalog, the recipes in each issue are always good.

Baldur

I think the reason that the Tabouleh mix is so good is because of the amount of salt already in the mix.
When cooking at home I use very little salt, there is definitely a difference.

Dragon

Dragon wonders about Baldur's dislike of cilantro. I read a little blurb in National Geographic about the ongoing debate over fresh cilantro. It seems that a great many people find it tastes soapy, the people who don't think they're crazy. I have always quite enjoyed cilantro and can't detect any soapyness at all to it so I was surprised to read about it. I wonder if Baldur falls into the first group? Or, of course, it could simply be because cilantro has a strong flavour and tends to take over if not kept very minimal.

I will say that I had never heard Bay leaves referred to as Laurel before so that was a new one on me, but I use them a great deal in soups.

Baldur

#7854
- tomato + cucumber

Baldur

You are correct Dragon.
When Baldur eats fresh cilantro it tastes as if someone has drizzled dishwashing detergent or perhaps shampoo on top of the food. It's so strong a sensation that I cannot get the food 'down' and have to discretely spit the mouthful out into a napkin.
I then need to pick off each little shred of cilantro, or just not eat the meal.

Baldur

I'd read that the cilantro reaction is based on genetics.

Baldur

Here, I found this article on Cilantro at NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98695984