Spice Road Spices
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The Art of Flavour Sunday e-magazine
Pomegranate Molasses The name sounds daunting but underneath Pomegranate Molasses is simplicity itself : Pomegranate juice and lemon juice with sugar ( optional ) reduced down to a syrupy consistency. That's it. Simple.
The unique flavour has been described as taut, tangy, with strong lemon notes and a total lack of sweetness.
Lemon has always been a magic essential in the Art of Flavour but never really thought of as a salt replacement.
First, consider the magic. Both lemons and salt work in a similar manner on your tongue with the simple salty and sour taste receptors depending solely on the tongues ions – that is, sodium for salt and hydrogen for acidity. In this case, citrus.
Being in the business of premium Herbs and Spices, the importance of generous natural flavour is never far from our thinking.
So I thought it might be interesting to revisit the short article below, previously published in the Epicurean Post on the subject of salt free, salt reduced and generous flavour.
Moroccan Chermoula. Even the name offers the thought of wonderful food flavours and memorable meals.
And when it comes to flavour, being born in Morocco over 2000 years ago gives you a nice head start.
Herbs and Spices. I suppose it's fairly predictable that I would start this way. Quite simply, your favourite dish should start with the best Herbs and Spices. Not your artificially flavoured, salt laden and preservative added mixtures on supermarket shelves but plain, pure and natural Herbs and Spices that have been delivering flavour to us for over 3000 years.
All good but before you think I'm getting a bit carried away with this Spice flavour thing, I accept the obvious that the dish must first start with the ingredients.
Hi everybody, it’s nice to be with you for the late August Art of Flavour Epicurean.
I wonder if anybody has picked up on a right royal row that is playing out in France between Nice and Paris and their passionate food writers, food scholars and restaurants.
Hi everybody
The following might seem a bit obvious but Herbs and Spices do not have the luxury of leaving their farms or plantations with all being equal.
I know I have previously said that I have no wish to lecture our many talented subscribers on how to cook. That is not our purpose but sometimes things need to be said.
I recently noted the thoughts from an American chef and food writer that the way we transfer whatever pasta we are cooking to the pan is not always the best way to capture the full pasta flavour left in the pasta water.
Wine and food pairing To start it should be appreciated that all this wine pairing business is, most definitely, not an exact science.
Given the great variation in personal tastes this is obvious.
Holy Basil, The Queen of Herbs. Reprinted from the Epicurean Post ebook.
Hi everybody Six months ago I had never heard of the herb, Holy Basil. This is not the fault of Holy Basil. It is because Holy Basil is mostly seen as a tea. And six months ago I did not drink tea.
And you would think that if it is viewed as a herbal tea (often described as Tulsi Green Tea) then it has no logical place in this Epicurean Post ebook. You do not readily reach for a herbal tea when searching for flavour in your recipe ! . Holy Basil in the Kitchen But as a tea the health benefits of this herb are staggering. More on this in a moment. For the kitchen and to maintain our epicurean interest, note that along with the tea, the dried leaves are a staple in Thai cooking. Look to the Beef Pad Gaprao or Pad Kra Pao Pork recipes.