What is a spice?
At their simplest, spices are the parts of plants most densely rich in flavour, which can enliven and elevate food. They are the dried seeds, barks, roots, rhizomes, fruits, arils, flower buds and resins from plants that grow mostly in tropical climates.
Ask a cook and they will tell you about the aromas that have to be teased out through cooking and that spices are decidedly not herbs, the fresh and leafy parts of plants grown more locally. They will know that spices’ aromas and flavours are volatile and fat-soluble, the spices best freshly ground and their flavours extracted by sizzling in oil, and how they can be used to build layers of flavour to excite all the senses.
Ask a botanist and you’ll hear about the essential oils, oleoresins, terpenes and other compounds, which each bring specific aromas and tastes. These chemical stores in plants have functions to help them survive and reproduce. Often the very things humans are drawn to – the pungency, bitterness, heat or numbness – are actually defence mechanisms for the plants, their armour to repel predators. In the curious case of cinnamon, the resinous bark of the Cinnamomum tree, its warm, woody scent is created when the plant is being eaten to communicate to nearby trees to prepare their defensive chemicals.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2022 من Gourmet Traveller.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 2022 من Gourmet Traveller.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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Not a vegetable but rather a flower bud that rises on a thistle, the artichoke is a complex delight. Its rewards are hard won; first you must get past the armour of petals and remove the hairy choke. Those who step up are rewarded with sweet and savoury creaminess and the elusive flavour of spring. Many of the recipes here begin with the same Provençal braise. Others call on the nuttiness of artichokes in their raw form. The results make pasta lighter and chicken brighter or can be fried to become a vessel for bold flavours all of which capture the levity of the season.
