Spices and Herbs (Fenugreek)

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum)
Fenugreek is native to southern Europe, the Mediterranean region, and Western Asia. It is used both as a herb (the leaves) and as a spice (the seed). It is an indispensable ingredient in Indian curries. The yellow to amber colored fenugreek seed, also called Methi, is frequently used in the preparation of pickles, curry powders and pastes, and is often encountered in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the ingredients in the making of khakhra, a type of bread.
The young leaves and sprouts of fenugreek are eaten as greens, and the fresh or dried leaves are used to flavor other dishes. The dried leaves have a bitter taste and a strong characteristic smell. Fenugreek is one of four herbs used for the Iranian recipe Ghormeh Sabzi. In Egypt, fenugreek seeds are prepared as tea, by being boiled then sweetened. This is a popular winter drink served in coffee shops. In other parts of the Middle East fenugreek is used in a variety of sweet confections.

spice herb fenugreek

Ode on a Grecian Urn

by John Keats (1795-1821)

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

Spices and Herbs (Juniper)

Juniper (Juniperus chinesis, etc.....)
Junipers are coniferous plants of the cypress family and there are more than 50 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, the Arctic, tropical Africa and the mountains of Central America. The berries have and aromatic, bittersweet and piny taste.
Juniper berries are used in a wide variety of culinary dishes and best known for the primary flavoring in gin. Juniper berry sauce is often a popular flavoring choice for quail, pheasant, veal, rabbit and other game meat dishes. Initially hard and pale green, juniper berries ripen to blue-black, become fleshy and contain three sticky, hard, brown seeds. All parts of the juniper berries are edible and are at their best when they are still moist and soft to the touch. The berries are quite powerful and should be used sparingly, as the flavor is strong.
As well as flavouring a dish, juniper reduces the fatty effect of duck and pork. Pork chops, roast leg of lamb, veal, rabbit, venison, wild boar, pickled fish, casseroles, stuffing, pate, gravies, and hearty vegetable dishes such as sauerkraut, are all enlivened with a hint of juniper. Juniper berries blend well with other herbs and spices, especially thyme, sage, oregano, marjoram, bay leaves, allspice and onions and garlic. It can effectively be added to wine marinades for meats, and is used with coriander in smoking meat. It seasons pâtés and sauces and fruity preparations, such as apple tart and pickled peaches, also harmonize with this flavour.

spice juniper berries juniper

When Lovely Woman Stoops to Folly

by Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774)

When lovely woman stoops to folly,
And finds too late that men betray,
What charm can soothe her melancholy,
What art can wash her guilt away?

The only art her guilt to cover,
To hide her shame from every eye,
To give repentance to her lover,
And wring his bosom--is to die.

.

"She who makes her husband and her children happy, who reclaims the one from vice, and trains up the other to virtue, is a much greater character than the ladies described in romance, whose whole occupation is to murder mankind with shafts from their quiver or their eyes."

~Oliver Goldsmith

Spices and Herbs (Anise/Aniseed)

Anise or Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum)
Anise is a flowering plant, native to the eastern Mediterranean region and southwest Asia. Anise has a licorice-like taste, is sweet and very aromatic. It is popular in many confections like British Aniseed balls, Aniseed wheels in New Zealand, Italian pizzelles, German pfeffernusse, Knotts in Norway and South African mosbolletjies(must buns) and aniseed biscuits/rusks. The French like it with carrots. Anise is frequently used in Scandinavian breads, East Indian curries, and Hispanic stews. The seed enhances cooked fruit dishes, eggs and cheese, spinach and many baked goods. Anise is used to make the dough when preparing the famous Peruvian dessert, Picarones.
Aniseed is also used to make the Mexican drink, atole de anís or champurrado, which is similar to hot chocolate, the Turkish alcoholic drink, Raki, the Italian Sambuca, Arabic Arak and Greek Ouzo.
Anise (Aniseed) is often confused with Star Anise. These are two different species of plant, but the one is sometimes substituted for the other.

See also "Spices and Herbs (Star Anise)"

spice anise aniseed

The Fisher

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
German philosopher, lawyer, playwright, and poet

The waters purled, the waters swelled,--
A fisher sat near by,
And earnestly his line beheld
With tranquil heart and eye;
And while he sits and watches there,
He sees the waves divide,
And, lo! a maid, with glistening hair,
Springs from the troubled tide.

She sang to him, she spake to him,--
"Why lur'st thou from below,
In cruel mood, my tender brood,
To die in day's fierce glow?
Ah! didst thou know how sweetly there
The little fishes dwell,
Thou wouldst come down their lot to share,
And be forever well.

"Bathes not the smiling sun at night--
The moon too--in the waves?
Comes he not forth more fresh and bright
From ocean's cooling caves?
Canst thou unmoved that deep world see,
That heaven of tranquil blue,
Where thine own face is beconing thee
Down to the eternal dew?

The waters purled, the waters swelled,--
They kissed his naked feet;
His heart a nameless transport held,
As if his love did greet.
She spake to him, she sang to him;
Then all with him was o'er,--
Half drew she him, half sank he in,--
he sank to rise no more.

(translated by Charles T. Brooks)

Spices and Herbs (Star Anise)

Star anise (Illicium verum)
Star anise is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of a small native evergreen tree of southwest China. The star shaped fruits are harvested just before ripening. It is widely used in Chinese cuisine, in Indian cuisine where it is an ingredient of garam masala, and in Malay/Indonesian cuisine. It is widely grown for commercial use in China, India, and most other countries in Asia. Star anise is also an ingredient of the traditional Chinese five-spice powder and ensures an authentic touch in the preparation of certain Chinese dishes.
It contributes to meat and poultry dishes, combining especially well with pork and duck. In Chinese cooking, where the ingredients are simmered for a lengthy period in dark soy sauce, star anise is nearly always added to beef and chicken dishes. Chinese stocks and soups very often contain the spice.
It is used as a spice in preparation of Biryani in Andhra Pradesh, a south Indian State. Star anise could be used as an addition to meat dishes, like bolognaise, as it enhances the flavour of the meat. The whole stars can be added directly to the cooking pot. Small amounts are used, as the spice is powerful. Stored whole in airtight containers, it keeps for well over a year.
In the West, star anise is added in fruit compotes and jams, and in the manufacture of anise-flavoured liqueurs such as anisette.
Star Anise is often confused with aniseed(anise). These are two different species of plant, but the one is sometimes substituted for the other.

See also "Spices and Herbs (Anise/Aniseed)"

spice star anise anise

Compensation

by James Edwin Campbell (1867-1896)

O, rich young lord, thou ridest by
With looks of high disdain;
It chafes me not thy title high,
Thy blood of oldest strain.
The lady riding at thy side
Is but in name thy promised bride,
Ride on, young lord, ride on!

Her father wills and she obeys,
The custom of her class;
'Tis Land not Love the trothing sways--
For Land he sells his lass.
Her fair white hand, young lord, is thine,
Her soul, proud fool, her soul is mine,
Ride on, young lord, ride on!

No title high my father bore;
The tenant of thy farm,
He left me what I value more:
Clean heart, clear brain, strong arm
And love for bird and beast and bee
And song of lark and hymn of sea,
Ride on, young lord, ride on!

The boundless sky to me belongs,
The paltry acres thine;
The painted beauty sings thy songs,
The lavrock lilts me mine;
The hot-housed orchid blooms for thee,
The gorse and heather bloom for me,
Ride on, young lord, ride on!

Spices and Herbs (Sesame)

Sesame (Sesamum indicum)
Sesame is grown primarily for its oil-rich seeds, which come in two main varieties, white and black. The paler varieties of sesame seem are more popular in the West and Middle East, while the black varieties are prized in the Far East. Sesame seeds are used whole in cooking for its rich nutty flavour. Sesame seeds are sometimes added to breads, including bagels, the tops of hamburger buns or baked into crackers. Whole seeds are found in many salads and other baked or deep-fried snacks such as the Chinese prawn and sesame toast, dim sum and sesame seed balls.
Ground and processed, the seeds can also be used in sweet confections. Sesame paste is made by grinding the seeds and is called tahini and also a Middle Eastern confection called halvah.
The amber colored and aromatic sesame oil, made from pressed and toasted sesame seeds, is a popular ingredient in Chinese cooking. It is not for use as a cooking oil, as the flavor is too intense and it has a low smoking point compared to the preferred ground nut (peanut) oil, used in Chinese stir-fries. Try adding sesame oil to marinades, salad dressings, or in the final stages of cooking. Recipes often call for a few drops of sesame oil to be drizzled on a dish just before serving.

sesame sesame oil sesame seeds

Twilight at Sea

by Amelia B. Welby (1819 - 1852)

The twilight hours, like birds, flew by
As lightly and as free,
Ten thousand stars were in the sky,
Ten thousand on the sea;
For every wave, with dimpled face,
That leaped upon the air,
Had caught a star in its embrace,
And held it trembling there.

Spices and Herbs (Wasabi)

Wasabi (Wasabia japonica, Cochlearia wasabi, Eutrema japonica)
Known as "Japanese horseradish", its root is used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavor. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. Wasabi is generally sold either in root form, which must be very finely grated before use, or as a ready-to-use paste, usually in tubes resembling small toothpaste tubes. Once the paste is prepared it should remain covered until served to protect the flavor from evaporation. For this reason, sushi chefs usually put the wasabi between the fish and the rice.
Fresh leaves of wasabi can also be eaten and have some of the hot flavor of wasabi roots. They can be eaten as wasabi salad by pickling overnight with a salt and vinegar based dressing, or by quickly boiling them with a little soy sauce. Additionally, the leaves can be battered and deep-fried into chips. Wasabi is often served with sushi or sashimi, usually accompanied with soy sauce. The two are sometimes mixed to form a single dipping sauce known as Wasabi-joyu. Peas are often roasted or fried, then coated with a wasabi-like mixture and then eaten as an eye-watering snack.
Authentic wasabi is extremely expensive and very often wasabi paste is substituted with a mixture of horseradish, mustard and food coloring.
See Also ("Horseradish" under "Spices and Herbs (G - I)")

spice condiment wasabi

Unseen Spirits

by Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867)

The shadows lay along Broadway,
'Twas near the twilight-tide--
And slowly there a lady fair
Was walking in her pride.
Alone walk'd she; but, viewlessly,
Walk'd spirits at her side.

Peace charm'd the street beneath her feet,
And Honor charm'd the air;
And all astir look'd kind on her,
And call'd her good as fair--
For all God ever gave to her
She kept with chary care.

She kept with care her beauties rare
From lovers warm and true--
For her heart was cold to all but gold,
And the rich came not to woo--
But honor'd well are charms to sell
If priests the selling do.

Now walking there was one more fair--
A slight girl, lily-pale;
And she had unseen company
To make the spirit quail--
'Twixt Want and Scorn she walk'd forlorn,
And nothing could avail.

No mercy now can clear her brow
For this world's peace to pray;
For, as love's wild prayer dissolved in air,
Her woman's heart gave way!--
But the sin forgiven by Christ in heaven
By man is cursed away!

Spices and Herbs (Horseradish)

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana, Cochlearia armoracia)
Horseradish is a perennial plant and is part of the mustard, kale, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, the common radish, wasabi and cabbage family of plants and is cultivated for its large white, tapered root. The plant is native to southeastern Europe and western Asia, but is popular around the world today. When the horseradish root is cut or grated, it releases a pungent aroma which irritates the sinuses and eyes. Once grated, if not used immediately or mixed in vinegar, the root darkens and loses its pungency. Although technically a vegetable, horseradish is generally treated as a condiment or ingredient.
Prepared horseradish is commonly used as a sauce or spread on meat, chicken, and fish, and in sandwiches. Horseradish sauce made from grated horseradish root and cream is a popular condiment. It compliments roast beef very well, but can be used in a number of other dishes also. Horseradish, dyed green, is often substituted for the more expensive wasabi traditionally served with sushi.
In addition to the most popular basic prepared horseradish, a number of other horseradish products are available, including cream-style prepared horseradish, horseradish sauce, beet horseradish and dehydrated horseradish.
Spices or other ingredients may be added (such as salt, sugar, cream or vegetable oil) to enhance and protect flavor. Keep in tightly covered jar in the refrigerator to protect freshness.
See Also ("Wasabi" under "Spices and Herbs (V - Z)")

condiment horseradish

The Lady Poverty

by Evelyn Underhill (1875 - 1941)

I met her on the Umbrian hills,
Her hair unbound, her feet unshod:
As one whom secret glory fills
She walked, alone with God.

I met her in the city street:
Oh, changed was all her aspect then!
With heavy eyes and weary feet
She walked alone, with men.

Spices and Herbs (Kaffir lime leaves)

Kaffir lime (Citrus hystrix)
This tree, which has dark green and shiny leaves, is also known as kieffer lime, makrut, or magrood and native to Indonesia. The leaves, in particular, are commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine. Although the name kaffir lime is most commonly used, it has been recommended that the name should be avoided in favor of makrut lime because kaffir is an offensive term in some cultures.
The fruit has a rough, bumpy skin and grows on a very thorny bush - the leaves are aromatic and are widely used in Thai, Lao, Cambodian and Indonesian cuisine. They are also found in Malay and Burmese cuisines. The aromatic aroma and striking flavor of the leaves are not easily substituted with other kinds of citrus leaves.
Through the juice is seldom used in cooking, the peel of the fruit, with its high concentration of aromatic oils, is indispensable in many curry pastes and is one reason why Thai curries taste refreshingly unique. The zest also imparts a wonderful piquant flavor to such delectable favorites as fried fish cakes, and it blends in well with such spicy stews.
These lime leaves are precious to many Thai dishes, from soups and salads to curries and stir-fried dishes. They are the ingredient that blends very well with lemon grass and lime. In soupy dishes, add the leaves whole or torn into smaller pieces, using them as one would bay leaves to flavor broth or stew. For dishes in which they are a component to be eaten, such as salads, stir-fries and "sticky" curries, cut them in very fine needle-like slivers, so that their strong bouquet can be more evenly distributed. The slivers also provide a pleasing texture and appearance. The leaves can be used fresh or dried, and can be stored frozen.

herb kaffir lime makrut