Forgotten spices

[Tab]

I love these, but even I forget to use them...

Cinnamon

Caraway seed

[Vinca]

1. Cardamom and tumeric.

I think I've got containers of that laying around from 10 years ago and I don't remember what I did with it then.

[Phentex]

4. Your cardamom's a dead duck...

That stuff doesn't last long. I keep a little in the freezer but it only helps a little.

[Warpy]

8. I use it very seldom

and buy the whole pods to buzz up in the spice grinder when I need it.

[WhiteTara]

12. do you buzz up the pods or

just the seeds?

[Warpy]

16. Seeds, of course

the pods have no flavor, you know.

[WhiteTara]

23. it's what I thought

but just checking.

[kentauros]

40. That's news to me (and my pods)

;) as I use some I've had for at least 5 years whenever I steam rice. I always get that cardamom aroma through the kitchen and my rice :D

I use that same container of pods whenever I make chai and they still seem to do the job. They aren't frozen/refrigerated, either. Just up on the top shelf of a dish-cabinet. They're in the dark most of the time. Maybe because it's one of those restaurant-supply sizes, or not. I don't know other than they have been resilient in keeping the strength :)

[Vinca]

9. My spice shelf is essentially a graveyard.

I need a major overhaul. I've finally gotten smart and just buy little amounts from the natural food store, but at the same time I'm such a cheapskate I hang onto worthless cans of stuff that are nearly collector items at this point. Hmmm . . . it's too cold to work outside in the yard today, maybe I should get busy on the spices. Throw, throw, throw and never look back!:rofl:

[WhiteTara]

14. empty the coffins

and reuse them with the new!

[The empressof all]

6. Cardamom is one of my favorite spices

Every once in a blue moon I'll make gulub jamen which are fried little milk donuts soaked in a cardomom laced sugar syrup.

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/desserts/gulab-jamun.html

When I use to bake I used it alot in sweet breads. It's great in raisen breads and babkas.

[WhiteTara]

10. cardomon smells so good

that sometimes I just leave it out to smell it. I use it to flavor chai tea and in my almond milk. Just leave the pods in with the almonds while you are soaking them. Yum. You can grind the seeds and add them to the ice cream too.

[troubleinwinter]

13. Are you a coffee drinker?

You might throw some of the cardamom into the basket with the ground coffee. I first had this at a Javanese restaurant in Berkeley. Wonderful fragrance.

Yours probably IS dead, but nuthin' to lose?

[peacefreak]

41. Thank you!

I remembered this post at the heath food store yesterday & picked some up. Mixed some in with cinnamon & I'm in coffee heaven right now.

[elleng]

2. How COULD you forget cinnamon?

in baking, anyway. I don't really care for it in meat dishes.

Welcome home!

A gift:

"The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatillos and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil. A White House carpenter, Charlie Brandts, who is a beekeeper, will tend two hives for honey."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/dining/20garden.html?_r=1

[Phentex]

5. we use tons of cinnamon, too!

My kids constantly make cinnamon toast and also use plenty on fruit and yogurt. I tend to use more in winter for apple-y recipes.

[Lucinda]

3. I use cinnamon quite a bit, but I don't even have nutmeg in the house

I never think of it until I see a recipe I want to try...

[WhiteTara]

11. I keep the nuts and grate some into

what ever. Usually in banana bread, but also in chai tea. Fresh is so good.

[troubleinwinter]

18. You are my kinda people.

[Lucinda]

22. Thats why I dont have any. I dont want the ground stuff.

I'll have to remember to try it in Chai tea!

[WhiteTara]

24. I love the holidays so I can grate nutmeg

on top of my brandy laced eggnog. The nuts keep for a long time and if the first layer is not pungent just keep grating.

[Lucinda]

25. Thanks for the tip!

And eggnog sound good right now. It's chilly in here!

[troubleinwinter]

17. I have been lecturing you for a month and a half that you must use nutmeg

in spinach dishes, quiche, anything spinach, custard, pumpkin pie, spinach, sweet batter breads. You are not allowed to not have fresh nutmeg in the house.

[Lucinda]

21. I know...just cant buy it at my store. Which means online or a trip

the next city. I'll get some. I promise! :D

[Warpy]

7. Those are my two favorites

and what people don't know is that cinnamon in small amounts picks up the flavor of savory dishes, especially Mexican ones and that caraway picks up the flavor of sweeter things, like Irish bread with currants.

Other forgotten ones are summer savory and dill. Dried and in combination with cheesy dishes, they're just wonderful.

[yewberry]

28. Hey! Someone else who does this!

I get some very funny looks when I add just a little cinnamon to my black beans--but it really does round out the flavors. (Of course, these are from the same people who need a recipe to make salad...)

[pipoman]

38. Yep, summer savory

was my first thought. There is an old Mennonite Green Bean Soup recipe which isn't the same without summer savory. I didn't have any for a while and was often asked "where is the summer savory".

Another seldom used is saffron...love it in chicken based dishes.

[hippywife]

15. I have way too many herbs and spices!

I have to continually shuffle them around to find what I'm looking for! I never conceived of having so many of them. LOL

[Blues Heron]

19. I almost forgot to add caraway seeds to my rye bread the other day

Glad I remembered in time! :)

should have put more in though! (2 tsp per 4 cups flour) think I'll up it next time...

[troubleinwinter]

20. I use about 2 fat TBSP

per 6-1/2 cups of flour in an Ain5 batch. I sprinkled some on top and gave a loaf to my father, who loved it, but said the caraway made a mess on his countertop when he sliced it, and suggested I not put them on top (he is extremely tidy!). I also throw about 1 TBSP dried dill per batch (per Lucinda's hint). I mix a little molassess with an egg for a brush-on glaze... kinda bitter/sweet and shiny.

[Lucinda]

29. I used a couple of drops of Anise Oil instead of caraway when I was testing crepes

because my caraway seeds are old icky things. Worked pretty well!

[Tab]

26. Oddly enough, where I like caraway seeds

is in a salad.

In fact, you can make a very healthy salad dressing - and I know this combo sounds weird, but it works - salad, watermelon chunks (they provide the juice, which makes a totally low-fat dressing), maybe some other fruit (blueberries), and caraway seeds. They work really well in salad.

I must say it's a love it or hate it thing. Some people love caraway, others detest it. Personally, I think they're wonderful, but I've cooked for some who really can't stand them. They must be sick, but still...

[troubleinwinter]

30. I never thought of such a thing.

Sounds good. They are very fragrant. I wonder if they wouldn't be good in a red potato salad?

[japple]

27. Fennel and anise seeds, esp. in spaghetti sauce

is wonderful. It's also great in zucchini/tomato dishes. Just crush a few seeds and add when you first start cooking the dish (as opposed to the end).

[pengillian101]

31. Fennel

I just replenished my jar of fennel seed that I've had for at least 10+ years ago. As they are seeds, once crushed they were fine all this time. I just finished the jar, is all. I only add just a titch in spaghetti sauce or lasagna.

Fennel seeds seem to last indefinitely. Just my experience. 10-year old seeds when crushed, smelled and tasted licorice-y like they should.

:-)

[eleny]

35. We love fennel in tomato sauce

:thumbsup:

[elleng]

39. Fennel is THE Italian flavor, IMO!

Its what makes Italian sausage Italian; otherwise, might just as well be breakfast sausage.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

32. I have all new spices ...........

My visit to Penzey's store last week resulted in a mass ditching of all old spices and a total replacement of them, with new items added. How have I lived so long without Northwood Seasoning?

I have never felt so organized in my life. I bought everything in small containers, since I can easily keep them replenished - except for the granulated garlic, which gets used up here at a joyous rate. That I buy by the pound.

I thought about saving the bottles, but decided against it. New is new. I feel all squeaky clean and organized now...............

[eleny]

34. Did you try their Sunny Spain combo?

In case you haven't tried it - it's a very sharp, full of flavor lemon pepper blend. The best I've ever had.

[eleny]

33. Nutmeg

A childhood story book told the story of a mother chipmunk making nutmeg cookies for her little ones. I've never forgotten that story but darned if I can find a recipe. Easy enough, though, to just add it to a sugar cookie recipe.

Hardly any recipes call for this spice.

[Tesha]

42. Nutmeg Cookies

These tender little cookies are frosted with a rich buttercream frosting and sprinkled with a bit of fresh nutmeg.

http://busycooks.about.com/od/cookierecipes/r/nutmegcookies.htm

or

Dutch Nutmeg Cookies Recipe
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/32/Dutch-Nutmeg-Cookies81270.shtml

both of these sound great...

[eridani]

36. Caraway seed is absolutely essential for goulash, IMO n/t

[pleah]

37. Mace.

I use it occasionally.

It is the outer part of the nutmeg nut.