Mike Carruthers:
Herbs and spices. You use them everyday in your cooking - perhaps
without giving them much thought.
Tony
Hill:
Spices are perhaps the most important glue that holds food together,
because you’re talking about a relatively small amount of product
that impacts the food in significant ways. It really "signs"
every dish you make.
Spice
Merchant Tony Hill, author of the book, The
Contemporary Encyclopedia of Herbs & Spices, says
most people keep their spices near the stove.
Very,
very bad! Basically heat, light, and air circulation are going
to be your biggest enemies. And I know it’s a beautiful presentation
to have fifty spice bottles out on your cabinet, or on your
countertop I should say, but the light is really not doing them
any good.
So, where should
you keep your spices?
A
cool, dark pantry over on the other side of the kitchen will
do just fine. People a lot of time, try to invent the perfect
storage routine and really the answer is to just buy more frequently
in smaller amounts and keep the product turned.
And
if you’re willing to try something deliciously different…
I
think smoked paprika from Spain is just phenomenal stuff. It
usually goes by the name pimentón. And smoked paprika
- you can make that outdoor charcoal-fired barbeque impression
in the dead of winter in your oven if you use it properly. And,
"properly" means don’t overdo it basically.
There’s
a link to Tony’s spice market
from our website somethingyoushouldknow.net. I’m Mike
Carruthers, and that’s Something You Should Know. |
