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The spice of life

GTO

By GTO
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GTO

GTO

Posted
Posted

I've been digging around and now have spiced fingers, which got me to wondering -

"What are your favourite spices? Sweet or savoury? How do you like to use them best?"

Jointly with cinnamon, nutmeg has to be one of my absolute favourite spices, used as both a sweet or savoury addition to meats and vegetables.

I also love freshly grated nutmeg in hot milk, as a good relaxing drink. So, how about you, how do you spice up your life?

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zpzjessica

zpzjessica

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I like the 'basics' - cinnamon, garlic, nutmeg, rosemary, paprika...

(on a random side note - did you know that if you inject nutmeg into your bloodstream, it can be fatal? not that you WOULD ever have reason to inject it but...i read that factoid somewhere and was surprised) :raz:

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GTO

GTO

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I don't think it's due to anything poisonous in the nutmeg itself. I'd imagine you'd die, simply due to the fact that you just injected nutmeg into your bloodstream.

I have heard however, that in high enough doseages, nutmeg can have hallucinagenic, even toxic effects.

Please take a quick look at my stuff.

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srhcb

srhcb

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Nutmeg, which I use in potato dishes, and paprika, especially the Sweet Hungarian kind, because it reminds me of my Serbian Grandmother's cooking. :smile:

Now that I think of it, nutmeg reminds me of my Scotch/English Grandmother's desserts. :hmmm::smile:

SB (and I like cumin too, but I only had two grandmothers) :huh:

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dockhl

dockhl

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Nutmeg, which I use in potato dishes, and paprika, especially the Sweet Hungarian kind, because it reminds me of my Serbian Grandmother's cooking. :smile:

Now that I think of it, nutmeg reminds me of my Scotch/English Grandmother's desserts. :hmmm:  :smile:

SB (and I like cumin too, but I only had two grandmothers)  :huh:

Great minds think alike........

my three favorites are nutmeg, cumin and paprika. And sour cream reminds me of my Slovak g'ma........... :shock: OH ! that's not a spice, is it? :raz:

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moosnsqrl

moosnsqrl

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cumin (in/on anything - it's my favorite popcorn topping)

Judy Jones aka "moosnsqrl"

Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.

M.F.K. Fisher

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purplewiz

purplewiz

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Garlic. Just...garlic. Like most folks I went through the phase of garlic in everything, then LOTS of garlic in everything, but the bottom line is....I like garlic, and if I can only have one spice, it's garlic.

But I would miss my black pepper and my thyme and chives a lot.

Marcia.

alliums forever

Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted...he lived happily ever after. -- Willy Wonka

eGullet foodblog

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WHT

WHT

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I like the 'basics' - cinnamon, garlic, nutmeg, rosemary, paprika...

(on a random side note - did you know that if you inject nutmeg into your bloodstream, it can be fatal? not that you WOULD ever have reason to inject it but...i read that factoid somewhere and was surprised)  :raz:

It is also a potent hallucinogen if taken in ¾ Oz or more.

Living hard will take its toll...
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Pan

Pan

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I'd like to give some love to green cardamom, a delicious, sweet, very fragrant spice! It's lovely in savory and sweet dishes alike. Of course I also love cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and hot pepper. Cumin is wonderful and it's hard to use too much of it; coriander seed is a delicious spice, and fennel seed is also great. Fresh ginger is versatile and doubles as a tonic for the stomach. Galangal is fragrant and has a nearly indescribable and unsubstitutable taste. Juniper berries give a lovely evergreen note to meat, and rosemary is great on roast chicken and other roast meats. We're lucky to have all those spices!

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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Milagai

Milagai

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I'd like to give some love to green cardamom, a delicious, sweet, very fragrant spice! It's lovely in savory and sweet dishes alike. Of course I also love cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, and hot pepper. Cumin is wonderful and it's hard to use too much of it; coriander seed is a delicious spice, and fennel seed is also great. Fresh ginger is versatile and doubles as a tonic for the stomach. Galangal is fragrant and has a nearly indescribable and unsubstitutable taste. Juniper berries give a lovely evergreen note to meat, and rosemary is great on roast chicken and other roast meats. We're lucky to have all those spices!

What Pan said!

Cardamom rules, whether sweet or savory.

I have a hard time thinking of cinnamon as

a sweet spice, I like it better in savory.

It's my own private dream that all the

cinnamon flavored baked goods in US/Euro

coffee shops turn into cardamom flavor....

Actually for me, all spices rock.

(I can't think of one I don't like).

I tend to think of other ingredients in a dish

as a vehicle for the spices .....

And to the "curry" lovers - what specific spice note

do you like in the whole mishmash? Or are you

referring to curry leaves?

Milagai

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GTO

GTO

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I quite often add a cardamom pod when brewing tea. Just remember to take it out, since it can be quite overpowering.

I'm not that sure about garlic. I'd say it was a spice. Because, although it grows in the ground as a bulb, you wouldn't eat it outright like you would a vegetable (Although given the chance, I would, lol.) The same goes for things like Horseradish, it grows like a vegetable but we use it as a spice.

Please take a quick look at my stuff.

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Blood Sugar

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ghostrider

ghostrider

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Spice - turmeric (tho you've got to have cumin & coriander & maye some cardamom to go with it, not to mention chiles garlic ginger & onion)

Herb - rosemary

Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!

- Sydney Smith, English clergyman & essayist, 1771-1845

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Pan

Pan

Posted
Posted (edited)
[...]And to the "curry" lovers - what specific spice note

do you like in the whole mishmash?  Or are you

referring to curry leaves?

Milagai

I think that probably, it would generally be OK for the taste of cumin to be most present in a curry. But as you know, I like curries that are made with specific amounts of different spices, rather than "curry powder."

Edited by Pan (log)

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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