Combinations of Spices
Here at Spice Jar, we’ve looked at a number of ways to use spices and the all important jars that house them in your kitchen spice rack. So let’s take a look at how individual spices can transform the flavour of a dish and how just altering the balance slightly can similarly alter that flavour and also change it markedly.
Some of the more flavoursome spices are those that have in themselves very strong oils, such as cardamom, black pepper, mustard, chili, anise and cumin.
When added together with garlic, ginger, coriander, turmeric and bay leaves, we have the makings of a curry, either of Indian or Chinese origin and the flavours in the resultant dish can be further altered by the addition of fenugreek, tamarind, asafoetida, amchor (powder derived from mango) and fennel.
It is quite plain that some dishes benefit from the addition of many spices in combination. Other benefit from the addition of only a single spice or just a few spices in combination, such as an Italian pasta dish. Here we would rely more heavily on the herbs basil and oregano in combination (also, in some cases caraway) with garlic and black pepper to give us all the flavour we need.
So its not always the best policy to add a pinch of every spice you have in your collection of spice jars, unless the dish demands it. Different dishes require different combinations of spices to work well. Remember that less is often more and you won’t go far wrong.
That’s about all for this post. I’ll be back again soon with some more spicy info!