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Do you like Hot & Pungent?
Well first, let’s define what hot and pungent really mean? Hot means highly spiced and with reference to temperature and Pungent means a sharp harsh taste. So when you combined those two tastes you have a wonderful zesty spice flavor.
According to Wikipedia, “Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound, which is found both in the outer fruit and in the seed. Refined piperine, milligram-for-milligram, is about one per cent as hot as the capsaicin in chile peppers.” Pepper does lose flavor and aroma through evaporation, so store in airtight containers it will help preserve pepper's original spiciness longer. Keep Pepper away from light, exposure to light will lessen the flavor.
There are basically three true culinary peppercorns, black, white, and green.
The black pepper (Piper nigrum) is harvested for its fruit. The Piper nigrum produces all three peppers. The black pepper is picked green which is an unripened berry. The berries are first cooked for a short period of time, cleaned and then set out to dry. The drying process takes several days. The taste of black pepper is the strongest of the three. It is more pungent and slightly hotter than the white pepper.
White pepper is the inside of the black pepper or the seed that has been allowed to ripen. The black peppercorns are soak in water for several week so that the fruit can easily be removed and then dried.
The White pepper is less pungent and is used in sauces and light colored food products.
Green pepper is unripened black peppercorns. They are unusually brined but can be dried or freeze dried. Green pepper is the mildest with less than half the hotness of the black pepper.
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Berries on
the Vine |
Whole Malabar |
Dried Green |
Two the better known and more expensive black peppercorns are the Tellicherry and the Malabar which make up only 10% of the whole peppercorn market world wide. The Tellicherry is the larger of the two and has more volatile oil content.
The Peppercorn is native to India and Sri Lanka, it is now grown in Java, Sunda, Sumatra, Malaysia, Southeast Asia and Brazil. The Peppercorn is sometimes referred to as the “King of Spices”. It was a large part of the “spice trade” in the 1500’s. The popularity of Pepper is world wide. All most every culture uses pepper to enhance the flavor of their foods.
The Other Peppercorn is the Pink Peppercorn. All though pink peppercorns are grown from the Piper nigrum, none is exported to general consumer. What is available is the “pink peppercorn” from the Schinus Terbinthifolius tree, native to Peru. Most the world’s production comes from the French Island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. The pink peppercorn has a mild sweet taste, so it has a different flavor than the Piper nigrum variety.
Keep in mind, what ever peppercorn you are about to use they all have there place in the culinary world. Whether it is Cracked black pepper over a grilled New York Steak, White pepper added to a delicate Sauce aux Fines Herbes, Green pepper finishing a poached chicken or trying pink peppercorns with ice cream, it is sweet you know.
Keep Cracken!
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Culinary Herbs, Dried or Fresh
It's all about Adding Flavor to our Food
Just think of all the different ways we use herbs in our kitchens. Herb flavored compound butters, herb in-fused oils, herbs in salads and dressings. Combination of herbs for seasoning soups, stocks, broths and sauces with our Sachet d’Epices or Bouquet garni. We finish our dishing with fresh herbs and use them for flavoring and color. Herbs are one of the great culinary treasures on earth.
What exactly is an “Herb”? Herbs are leaves of certain plants. The stems of those plants are also used for flavoring. They are often referred to as aromatic plants. There are annual, bi-annual and perennial plants. There are many culinary herbs, some of the more common ones are; Basil, Dill, Sweet Marjoram, Oregano, Chives, Cilantro, Chervil, Sage, Bay Leaf, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Tarragon and Mint.
Basil
Basil is an annual plant, considered to be “The Herbs of Kings." It is native to India, Mediterranean and Africa. The three most common basils are Bush Basil, Large Leaf Basil (sweet basil) and Purple Basil. Bush Basil has tender leaves with a spicy, clove-like aroma. Sweet Basil has a stronger aroma than the Bush Basil with smaller leaves. The Purple Basil has a more intense flavor than the sweet basil. The dark purple has an anise flavor and adds color and excitement to any dish. Try it in your next pesto or what better combination than Basil, tomato and garlic. All Basil is a member of the mint family.
Dill
Dill is an annual plant grown for both its leaves and seeds. It is an aromatic herb with dissected leaves with small yellow flowers.
Dill is one of those herbs that in effect has two different seasons. In early spring it is used for its leaves and then later in fall for its seeds. Each part of the plant has its own characteristics and properties. With its crisp grassy taste, dill leaves, or "dill weed" as it is called, is a natural to be paired with fish, mild cheeses, egg dishes, vegetable dishes, cream sauces, and it is especially good on potatoes. Cucumbers are another food that partners well with dill, either in salads, chilled soups or on tea sandwiches. Dill has a simple, clean taste. For a new twist with dill trying making sorbet with Peaches, honey and dill
Sweet Marjoram
Marjoram is a perennial herb. The leaves and flowers are used fresh or dried in cooking many foods, including beef, veal, lamb, poultry, fish, green vegetables, carrots, cauliflower, eggs, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It flavors stews, marinades, sautes, dressing, vinegars, butter, and oils.
Is oregano marjoram? Yes, wild sweet marjoram is oregano.
The plants are similar but different shaped leaves. For something new, experiment using Sweet Marjoram in white chocolate. Using the white chocolate to garnish a sweet fruit compote.
Chives
Chives are a perennial, native to the Orient, and part of the onion family. Fresh leaves are excellent for making herbal vinegars and butter. It is also used in salads, soup, and cheese. Chives can be used to add a mild onion flavor to fish, salads, steamed vegetables, soups, potatoes and eggs.
Cilantro and Coriander Seeds
Cilantro is also known as Chinese parsley, an annual plant. Coriander comes for the seeds of the plant. It is used extensively in South American, and Asian cuisine. Cilantro is used in cooking salsas and curries or as a garnish. Coriander combines well with onion, sausage, clams, oysters, and potatoes. Whole ground seeds are used in salad dressing, cheese, eggs, and chili sauces. Try cilantro with other salsas other than tomato, like a Pineapple Salsa using fresh pineapple, jalapeño cilantro and mint or a Strawberry salsa with balsamic vinegar, cilantro, red onion and chocolate mint.
Tarragon
Tarragon is a perennial plant and has an anise like flavor that adds an interesting taste to poultry, seafood, lamb, and veal. Tarragon can be used to flavor vinegar, sauces, and vegetable dishes. Best known in sauce Béarnaise, and dishes like poached chicken in Tarragon sauce, its versatility goes a long way in the kitchen.
When developing recipes think about balance and contrast, use both herbs, spices, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, color and textures. It’s like painting a great piece of art, the final picture should be eye appealing and taste great too.
Tips:
When using fresh or dried herbs in recipes:
If the recipe calls for dried herbs and you have fresh, triple the amount. It is usually a 3-1 ration. Three parts fresh to one part dried, and vice versa.
Good cooking everyone!
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Thanks for visiting the Washington State Chef's Association Chef's Corner. The Chef's Corner will provide articles on Food and Culinary trends.
Check back soon for more articles.
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Do you have TASTE?
Of course you do. Everyone has taste. One of the great enjoyments of life is tasting great food. Taste is sensed by humans using a sensory organ called taste buds. The taste buds are concentrated on the upper part of the tongue. The four basic tastes are: sour, sweet, bitter and salty. There are other tastes like umami, tart, cold and hot. Combining these taste sensations with food, herbs, spices and salts create many different and exciting flavors. Most people have over 10,000 taste buds on their tongue. The sweet taste buds are located mostly on the tip of the tongue. The salt taste buds are located on the front and front side of the tongue but not on the tip of the tongue. Bitter is detected on the rear part of the tongue and sour is located along the sides of the tongue.
Sweet is from sugar, syrups and fruit. It is void of acid.
Salt is well, salty. Webster defines salt as; “A colorless or white crystalline solid, mainly sodium chloride, widely used as a food seasoning and preservative.”
Sour comes from acid. According to Webster sour is: “having the sharp, tart or tangy taste characteristic of the product by acids”.
Bitter is a taste that is sharp and unpleasant.
Umami or *”Savoriness” is the name for the taste sensation produced by the free glutamates commonly found in fermented and aged foods; for example, parmesan and Roquefort cheeses, as well as soy sauce and fish sauce.” Other taste sensations are tart, hot, cold and fat.
Do some people have more taste buds than others? The answer is yes.
They are called Super-tasters; about 25% of the population are considered Super-tasters. About 75% of the Super-tasters are women, while 50% of the population is normal tasters and the other 25% are non-tasters. Wow I really feel sorry for those non-tasters.
So what makes a Super-taster?
Super-tasters are people that are born with a lot more fungiform papillae; it’s the little bumps on the tongue in the taste buds. Does this mean the Super-tasters enjoy food twice as much as the normal taster? Well, it’s not as good as it sounds; a Super-tasters taste some foods twice as much, like sweet and bitter foods, so they have a tendency to stay away from vegetables like spinach, broccoli or brussels sprouts.
How do we taste something? The fungiform papillae in the taste buds on the tongue is the start, the sensation then goes to the “taste nerve” and sends it to a relay area and then to the “taste center” in the brain. That’s the layman’s way of describing the process. But it goes beyond this process. It’s the actual experience of putting a morsel of food in your mouth and enjoying the food. You smell the aroma and feel the texture and then taste the full flavor of that morsel of food. It’s what bakers, pastry chefs, cooks and chefs do everyday. Taking the best ingredients they can find and making the most tasteful bread, soup, salad, entree or dessert they can. By using the 4 classic taste components and adding Umami and blending hot, cold, and tart you can create delicious and exciting foods.
So the next time you taste something, think about the experience you are having; feel the richness of chocolate melting in your mouth, taste the salty Hawaiian Red Sea Salt on a fresh sliced tomato or sense the aroma and taste of fresh local strawberries finished with balsamic vinegar. To me it is what tasting is all about, creating new and exciting recipes, learning what combinations of food, salts, herbs and spices you can use to enhance the flavors of your dishes. Enjoying the wonderful taste of foods and serving to your customer, friends and family is truly one of the great treasures on earth.
Good tasting everyone!
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Do you have "Rocks" in your head or are they just small (salt) granules?
Yes, salt is the only rock eaten by mankind. So you could say we do have a few small, okay, granules in our heads. Salt is used to flavor foods, preserve and cure meats. Edible salt is a mineral called sodium chloride. Forms of edible salt are Unrefined, Refined Table or Iodized. Unrefined salt is in its natural state a raw sea salt or rock salt. A small percentage of refined salt is used as a food additive; the rest of the refined salt is used for the manufacturing industry. The manufacturing process strips the salt of its mineral contents and then anti-caking agents are added. Table salt is refined salt with anti-caking agents and potassium iodide.
Sea Salts is unrefined salt that has trace minerals which adds color and taste to the salt. The production of sea salts is obtained by the evaporating sea water. The process is referred to as “solar salt”. This process takes place along the sea shore, usually in bays, pond and or lakes. As the sea water evaporates through solar heat and wind the salt begins to form salt crystals. Once the evaporation process is complete harvesting of the salt can begin. After harvesting, the sea salt can be washed to remove any impurities. The sea salt can then be processed for flake, coarse or fine.
There are many wonderful sea salts to discover from around the world. They come ready to purchase in coarse, flake and fine grind selections. They are considered to be the finest culinary salts available. Some of the more popular sea salts are:
Grey salt “sel gris” organic from the coast of France sometimes called “Celtic”
Hawaiian sea salt the pink (red clay) call “Alaea”
Hawaiian Black Lava (black lava)
Australian Murray River (light pink color)
Black Cyrus from the Mediterranean
New Zealand Organic
La Baleine from the Mediterranean
Fleur De Sel by Le Tresor Organic from France
Salish Alderwood- Smoked from the Northwest United States
Danish Viking-Smoked salt from Denmark
Bali- Smoked Sea Salt
Japanese Nazuna from Japan
Himalayan Mountain Red from Tibet
It is interesting to try tasting the different sea salts and matching them to various foods. The flake or coarse sized sea salts can be used as a finishing salt; New Zealand or Fleur De Sel is good examples. Just dust the food or plate with the finishing salt at the last minute before service. Fine grinds of sea salts can be used for seasoning foods prior to cooking or added to sauces or soups towards the end of the seasoning and tasting process. Some general ideas would be using lighter, tasting sea salts with foods such as fresh seafood, poultry and vegetables. The strong smoked flavored salts can be used on meats and roasted food items.
There are other sea salts available in today’s market place. They are Blended Sea salts. They have added ingredients to the sea salt. Here are some examples;
Flor de Sal Black Olives - great with seafood, pasta and pizza
Saffron Salt -use with shellfish and bouillabaisse or risotto
Truffle Salt- excellent for finishing pasta, soups and sauces
Bali- Coconut & Lime Smoked Salt – fantastic with grilled fish
Whatever combination of foods and different sea salts you experiment with I am sure you will enjoy the many unique flavors and texture sea salts have to offer; whether it is using a finishing salt to give extra flavor, texture and color to your final plate presentation or to simply add more zip to your roasted or sautéed items. Please try them, sea salt has much more of a refined taste than regular table salt and it is better for you.
Bon Appetite!
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What is the most expensive spice in the world?
Saffron of course. Most cooks and chefs are aware of the cost, wonderful flavor and color it gives to our classical dishes.
Saffron is a perennial plant from the Iris family, it grows about a foot tall.
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The botanical name for Saffron is crocus sativus. The reason it is the most expensive spice is that the fine Saffron threads are hand picked and is very labor intensive. The flower normally has only three threads or stigma. It takes over 250,000 threads to make up a pound of Saffron. High quality Saffron sells for as much as $800.00-$1,000.00 a pound. The stigma is a thin thread and is reddish, orange and yellow in appearance. When used in food it’s turns the food a yellow color. Some classic food dishes the use Saffron are: French Bouillabaisse, Italian Risotto Milanese, Mexican Arroz con Pollo , Spanish Paella, and Bright yellow Scandinavian baked goods, such as the sweet bread of Sweden, also are colored by Saffron.
You can purchase Saffron in whole thread or in powder form. When using Saffron you need to either steep or toast the threads. If toasting you need to be careful not to scorch. Powder can be used without steeping and is less expensive than threads. The most important thing to remember when buying Saffron is to determine the quality and what you are going use it for. So, find a brand you can trust. Sometimes companies will dye the threads of Saffron to change the color of the Saffron threads. Good quality Saffron has all Reddish or Orange threads. If there is yellow and or white thread it is not of premium quality.
It’s debated which country grows the best Saffron; some of the best are Spain , Iran and Kashmiri.
However, the world's most intense and valuable varieties disproportionately have Macedonian Greek, Iranian, and Kashmiri Indian pedigrees. Westerners may face significant obstacles in obtaining saffron from Iran and India. For example, the United States has banned the import of Iranian saffron; meanwhile, India has banned the export of high-grade saffron abroad. Iranian Saffron has been said to be the worlds best. So when you are looking to purchase high quality Saffron you may have to choose Spanish Saffron. Other countries that grow Saffron are Egypt , Morocco, Greece, Italy, Turkey, New Zealand , France, Switzerland, and England.
Most American Saffron is not true Saffron. It is harvest from the safflower plant, which has thistles that produce a yellow color when used. There is no Saffron flavor in the thistles. There is some true Saffron grown in the United States. It is grown in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, it’s known as Pennsylvania Dutch saffron—which is known for its earthy notes—is available in relatively small quantities.
Here are the regions of the world where saffron is grown:
World Saffron Cultivation Patterns |
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— Minor growing regions. |
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— Minor producing nations. |
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— Major trading centres (current). |
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— Major trading centres (historical). |
Here is a example of the thread of high quality saffron:
Here is a example of the powder form:
Have fun and explore the wonderful color and taste of saffron on your menus.
Good Cooking,
Chef Gary Fuller
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