January 19th 2011
Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on January 20, 2007.
This subtle bouquet of bronze coloured spices that peps up savoury as well as sweet dishes, is used all the way from the West Indies to Asia and it passes through Africa and of course, India. It is a mixture that can contain anywhere between five to 30 different spices, but it is most usually made up of 10 to 15. The mandatory spices are cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, clove, turmeric, ginger, nutmeg and pepper.
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October 23rd 2010
Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on October 23, 2010.
Cumin probably originated in the Nile valley or in Asia Minor, because its use in Egypt can be traced back to at least 5,000 years ago. In fact, cumin seeds were found in many Pharaoh’s tombs. The Bible speaks about the use of these seeds as tithes in Palestinian temples.
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October 2nd 2010
Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on October 2, 2010.
Paprika, or ‘red pepper’ is a powdered spice, obtained from the fruit of the sweet pepper that is ripened, dried and ground. In fact this vegetable is a close relative of the red sweet pepper that we know so well, but it is a bit smaller, less fleshy and tastier.
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September 25th 2010
Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on September 25, 2010.
Chili peppers were one of earliest cultivated crops in Central and South America, around 7,000 years ago. Imported into Europe by Christopher Columbus and then spread rapidly across the globe by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers, they were immediately adopted as an inexpensive substitute to pepper.
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May 15th 2010
Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on May 15, 2010.
Turmeric is a bright yellow spice made from grinding rhizomes (underground stems) of a plant belonging to the ginger family. It is one of the key ingredients in curry, a mixture of spices that’s so popular in Indian cuisine. Turmeric is also used as a fabric dye, especially on the robes worn by Buddhist monks.
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May 8th 2010
Originally published in the Journal de Montréal on May 8, 2010.
Cardamom is a very popular spice that is used in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine, both in sweet as well as in savoury dishes. It is one of the basic ingredients of garam masala.
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