Toasting & Roasting Your Spices: When, Why, How

[ChrisZ]

Very interesting thread, from which I have gathered that grinding fresh whole spices undoubtedly gives a better result than the jar of spice powder that's been in the spice rack for a year, and toasting/roasting the spice before grinding can lead to a different and hopefully improved flavour.

But in situations where the spice powder is also fried as part of the recipe, do you still see a benefit in roasting/toasting the whole spice before grinding, or is the frying doing the same job?

For example if a recipe calls for garam masala to be added to sautéing onions (and you were grinding up fresh garam masala from whole spices) would you get a different result by toasting/roasting the garam masala components first? Or is the frying of the ground powder going to give the same results?

[Chris Amirault]

I think -- sorry! -- that depends. You chose an interesting example in garam masala, the spices of which are toasted prior to grinding but, in my experience, is usually added at the end and not toasted beforehand. Other spice mixes could certainly be tossed quickly in a pan or heated in the oil of, say, the onions you just sautéed.

[jsager01]

For spices that are going to be added in at the beginning, then i dont toast.

For example - curry, i dont toast the spices, and i make/blend my own curry powder from scratch (if you have not tried it, its a lot easier than what you might think). I fry the spice paste in oil until i can smell it,or the oil separates out at the edges of the paste, and then add in the meat or other ingredients.

For other braises/stews, eg lamb shank or the Chinese red braised pork belly, i just add in the spices which could include cinnamon, star anise, cumin, etc, into the mix at the beginning, usually in a 'tea bomb' or tied in a muslin bag or something. There is no toasting or frying in oil beforehand.

The only time i toast is when the spice is to be added in towards the end of the cooking, or just before serving. For example, sprinkling toasted sichuan peppercorns on mapo tofu just before serving (but i also would have added some of the peppercorns, untoasted, and fried with garlic, etc, at the beginning of the cooking). Or sprinkling toasted then ground cumin on leg of lamb roast, for those that prefer a strong cumin flavor.

[JAZ]

I was surprised recently when I looked at the section on spices in McGee's On Food and Cooking to read that he not only doesn't recommend toasting spices before grinding but even recommends chilling spices and grinder before grinding. His reason is that heat increases the volatility of the aroma compounds so you lose flavor.

The last time I ground some cumin, I figured I'd see if he was right. I usually toast cumin but didn't this time. The result was cumin that was less aromatic, but equally flavorful. More interesting was the difference the next time I used it (I generally grind enough for a couple of weeks). After a couple of days, I would say that the untoasted cumin had more flavor and smell than toasted. I'm going to skip toasting from now on.