What's the spice you use most?
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I don’t know exactly what counts as spice ? I use a bit of shoyu (japanese name of fermented soy sauce) for broths and the like. Beer yeast for salads. A selection of chilis from Mada or Sénégal for some pleasant hotness. Curcuma grows everywhere around here so it’s also a staple. Same for ginger, and the wild variant “tsingiziou masera” -although I have been buying east african ginger recently because it’s cheaper.
Green pepper seeds from northern Mada, they’re not hot at all, just pleasantly crunchy and savoury.
When I get nostalgic of Provence I cook with garlic, olive oil and parsley (for seafood) or I use the wild basel that grows here during kashikazi (rainy season) : small leaves, strong taste, a little different from the mediterranean species.Very cool to hear your connections to all of them and how you source them.
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Im barely a home cook. Definitely not an authority on spices. Ive always called the mixes a medley or mix though. Different curries taste a bit different because of how the ratios are mixed. I just use whatevrr is cheapest from the store and put it on damn near everything lol (if youve never had curry on a cheese pizza, i highly recommend it)
Yes ! I love trying the different takes on spice blends or tchari (fermented unripe fruit) that every mom does around here, since there’s no established market for this kind of thing, everyone’s homemade tchari circulates and I get to try many of them. Some are made with lemon, some with mango and some with papaya, some are super hot (you could almost call them chili on their own), some aren’t at all… some are watery, some are thick like a soup.
I just use whatevrr is cheapest from the store and put it on damn near everything lol (if youve never had curry on a cheese pizza, i highly recommend it)
I throw some curry with cheese all the time ! it goes so well. Not specifically on pizza so far, but I will remember to try !
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…Other than salt and pepper
For me it’s cumin. It’s one of the few spices I buy in bulk and actually use up my supply.
In the winter it may lean towards cardamom thanks to copious amounts of chia.
Black pepper.
Or if we’re going off stuff that isn’t a condiment red pepper flakes which I put on tons of stuff or by volume garlic powder
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Ground sumac is not widely known in the US, but it adds a tangy freshness. I like it on avocado toast.
It’s hard to find sometimes, but I do really like it.
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so we have a jar of marjoram but it’s not in any of the recipes i know. what do You use it for?
Most “Italian” spice mixes include marjoram. so unless I’m following a recipe that calls for it I just add it to Italian food.
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Oregano and comiño
Oh, I never knew the Spanish spelling. Thanks.
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Very cool to hear your connections to all of them and how you source them.
I wish I could identify and use most plants like some of the elders (they’re not always elders of course) at least for culinary purposes. While they have conserved that empirical knowledge through traditional channels, others have studied on the mainland and now strive to reconnect it with modern, academic classification. An example https://journals.openedition.org/oceanindien/1770 This concerns medicinal uses, but there’s considerable overlap between food and medecine where plants are concerned.
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This probably is gonna give away more info about me than it should (iykyk)
Hatch Green Chili powder. I put a little bit of that stuff in and near everything, except in chili season, where I use fire roasted fresh green chilies instead.
Edit: Autocorrect for->fire
I don’t know but I dig it
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Ooo that’s very cool. I know of some savory dishes with a little coffee in them too.
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Sounds like some bomb food. I want to eat with you for a while. To help with what they are asking, the meaning of spice below. It sounds like you are using a lot of fresh good healthy food, but little of it is a really a spice. Maybe the turmeric or ginger half counts despite I assume that you are using it fresh. Or likely those green pepper seed.
The rest as veggies, sauces, greens, roots and leaves.
“A spice is a dried, aromatic, or pungent plant product— such as a seed, fruit, root, bark, or rhizome— used to flavor or season food and other products. Examples include pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.”
If you’re ever in the indian ocean, please drop me a line, we can share good meals. Thanks for providing a better definition. I didn’t realize a spice had to be dried, and plant material. Beer yeast doesn’t count as a spice then I guess, as it is strictly speaking… a fungus.
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…Other than salt and pepper
For me it’s cumin. It’s one of the few spices I buy in bulk and actually use up my supply.
In the winter it may lean towards cardamom thanks to copious amounts of chia.
Rosemary salt, as I grow my own rosemary. Also got thyme and sage that I will probably add to it.
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Most “Italian” spice mixes include marjoram. so unless I’m following a recipe that calls for it I just add it to Italian food.
i will add it to the next red sauce i make (i guess i just decided what i’m having for lunch every day next week, for experiments) and we will see what it does. thank you for the suggestion!
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i like to joke around about tagging, but is there a way to really do it? because that’s a great tag for me
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i need some education i thought chaat was something else and the googles aren’t helping. the closest i’m finding is a chaat masala powder. got a link?
That. It’s main flavor component is black salt, which is high in sulfur. It’s delicious. Here’s this too.
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I heard it had something to do with oxygenating somethingsomething foodscience whatever. Give it a shot and let me know. Science aside, I know it makes damn good garlic bread. I like to toss in 10ml of minced garlic and freeze dried parsley after it is microwaved. Then I stir it up and spread a thick layer on the bread. It comes out just like the best garlic bread from a restaurant.
it sounds like i’ve got some prep to do for date night. good homemade pasta (i just got my hands on some passata, i’ve been looking for it for a month) and this garlic bread, with some nice roasted veg and a fresh caesar salad. then fat dogging for a couple days. sounds wonderful.
i’ve been looking potentially into combining garlic bread with the pioneer woman’s The Bread, which basically a loaf of heart attack. its just a big loaf cut in half, buttered as fuck and then tossed under the broiler until the butter browns. maybe toss on some mizithra as it’s cooling so it melts a touch, get that brown butter/mizithra flavor instead of garlic? I dunno, i feel like i want to take the recipe and make it my own.
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…Other than salt and pepper
For me it’s cumin. It’s one of the few spices I buy in bulk and actually use up my supply.
In the winter it may lean towards cardamom thanks to copious amounts of chia.
Probably bay leaves. I make a lot of stock at home. I find you can’t really taste bay directly but you notice if it’s not there.
I also use a lot of cumin, coriander, and oregano. Various chili powders. Anchor powder is very nice and not too spicy.
Buying a nice mortar and pestle set was one of my best kitchen investments. Fresh ground spices are a game changer.
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…Other than salt and pepper
For me it’s cumin. It’s one of the few spices I buy in bulk and actually use up my supply.
In the winter it may lean towards cardamom thanks to copious amounts of chia.
Does salt count as a spice? I don’t think it does. If salt doesn’t count, probably tumeric, ginger or oregano.
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This probably is gonna give away more info about me than it should (iykyk)
Hatch Green Chili powder. I put a little bit of that stuff in and near everything, except in chili season, where I use fire roasted fresh green chilies instead.
Edit: Autocorrect for->fire
So you’re from Colorado or New Mexico.
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That. It’s main flavor component is black salt, which is high in sulfur. It’s delicious. Here’s this too.
you have any premade mixes you recommend (i got an indian spice store one town over that’s just in battery range on my bike) or is homemade that much better?
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…Other than salt and pepper
For me it’s cumin. It’s one of the few spices I buy in bulk and actually use up my supply.
In the winter it may lean towards cardamom thanks to copious amounts of chia.
Savory: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder on almost everything - sometimes even if I am using fresh versions. Sweet: Cinnamon. However I have about 20 spices that I have in high rotation and another 20 for occasional use. I also keep Chives, Flat Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme & Mojito Mint plants.
