Spices and Herbs (Paprika)

Paprika (Capsicum annuum)
Paprika is a spice that is often overlooked and the only time we think of paprika is when we make potato salad or using it with chicken to make drab dishes look more appealing. Paprika is a red powder that is made from grinding the dried pods of mild varieties of the pepper plant. The pepper plants used to make this spice range from the sweet Bell pepper to the milder chili peppers. In Hungary there are six classes or types of paprika ranging from delicate to hot. The peppers also range in size and shape depending on where they are grown. The most commonly produced paprika is made from the sweet red pepper also called the tomato pepper. Paprika peppers have seven times as much Vitamin C as oranges.
Paprika has been traditionally associated with Hungary, where much of the best paprika is produced today. Not surprisingly, paprika is strongly associated with Hungarian cuisine. It is used in dishes such as chicken paprikash and goulash. It is also used in many spiced meat products like Spanish chorizos. Many Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish recipes use paprika for soups, stews and casseroles and in India it is sometimes used in tandoori chicken to give it the red color. It is often used as a garnish for salad, appetizers and eggs. In Spain paprika is used to flavor shell fish dishes, rice, and season tomato and green pepper salads.

Paprika releases its color and flavor when heated. So when you sprinkle it over colorless dishes it improves the food’s appearance not its flavor. This is why it is often used as a garnish, not a flavoring. However it can be used as a flavoring by stirring the powder into some oil before adding it to a recipe. You can brush the paprika on meats, poultry, or fish. Its important to remember when using paprika in sauces that it has a high sugar content and burns easily. Add it only when liquid ingredients are present and do not cook it over high heat for too long, else it will become bitter to the taste.
Sprinkle it on potatoes or homemade fries or on barbecue meat for a change of seasonings. Use it liberally on poultry ,meat, and fish when cooking or use it to liven up some soups with color and flavor.

spice paprika

Spices and Herbs (Peppercorns)

Peppercorns (Piper nigrum)

Piper nigrum is an evergreen climbing vine, cultivated for its fruit, which are usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Dried ground pepper is one of the most common spices used worldwide, prized for its flavour. Ground black peppercorn, usually referred to simply as "pepper", may be found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world, often alongside table salt. The same fruit is also used to produce white pepper, red/pink pepper, and green pepper. Black pepper is native to South India and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions.
For black pepper the clusters are plucked when not quite ripe then left in piles to ferment. After a few days, the individual berries are spread out and left to dry in the sun until they are shriveled and nearly black.
White pepper is derived from the fully ripened berries that are just about to turn red. After harvest the clusters are packed in bags and soaked in water, for more than a week. This softens the outer coating, or pericarp, so that it may be removed to reveal grey centers. They are then spread out to dry in the sun where they become naturally bleached to white. White pepper is often used in dishes like light-coloured sauces or mashed potatoes, where ground black pepper would visibly stand out. Black and white pepper do have differing flavours due to the presence of certain compounds in the outer fruit layer of the berry that are not found in the seed.
Green pepper, like black, is made from the unripe berries. Dried green peppercorns are treated in a manner that retains the green colour, such as treatment with sulphur dioxide or freeze-drying. Pickled green peppercorns are preserved in brine or vinegar. Fresh, unpreserved green pepper berries, largely unknown in the West, are used in some Asian cuisines, particularly Thai cuisine.
Whole peppercorns will provide flavor to recipes without adding a great deal of heat. As with most spices, it is preferable to grind your own pepper just before using. Ground pepper loses its flavor quickly, so should be kept in an airtight container.

spice peppercorns pepper

Spices and Herbs (Parsley)

Parsley

There are three main cultivated varieties :
(Petroselinum crispum - Curly-leaf)
(Petroselinum latifolium / neapolitanum - flat-leaf / Italian)
(Petroselinum tuberosum which is grown for its root)
While there are more than 40 varieties, two are most widely used in cooking: Curly Leaf, used mainly as a garnish, and flat-leaf, favored by cooks for its more intense, freshen flavor.
Parsley is an excellent source of Vitamins C and A along with other minerals. To reap these benefits, use it fresh by tossing a handful into green salads or chop and sprinkle over cooked foods. It can be added to virtually any dish, but add near the end of cooking to maintain the bright flavor.
Parsley is very common in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking.
It is a key ingredient in several West Asian salads, e.g., tabbouleh which is the national dish of Lebanon. Persillade is mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley. Gremolata is a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. In Southern and Central Europe, parsley is part of bouquet garni, a bundle of fresh herbs used to flavor stocks, soups, and sauces. The fresh flavor of parsley goes extremely well with fish.
Root parsley is very common in Central and Eastern European cuisine, where it is used in most soups or stews. Though it looks similar to parsnip it tastes quite different.

herb parsley salad garnish

Spices and Herbs (Rosemary)

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

Rosemary is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves and is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which also includes many other herbs. The leaves are evergreen and in its dried form, is extremely high in iron, calcium, and Vitamin B6.
The fresh and dried leaves are used frequently in traditional Mediterranean cuisine as a herb. The leaves have a bitter, astringent taste, which complements oily foods, such as lamb and oily fish, very well. Rosemary and lamb go very well together and is usually used in the roasting of lamb by mking slits in the meat and tucking in sprigs of the herb. A few chopped leaves are often used in soups and stews or sprigs form part of a bouquet garni. It also complements roasted vegetables very well.









cooking herb rosemary