5 Exotic Must-Have Spices Every Cook Should Have in the Kitchen

5 Exotic Must-Have Spices Every Cook Should Have in the Kitchen

Everyone has the ordinary spices like cinnamon, sage, thyme, paprika, nutmeg and bay leaves, but there are so many more possibilities that are much more exotic. These more exotic spices can also dramatically change the flavor of your food and make you think you are eating a totally different dish. You can change the flavor of many of your ordinary foods by doing nothing more than using different spices.

1. Star Anise

Star anise is a spice that has a flavor close to anise and actually contains anethole, the ingredient that gives anise its flavor. It is less expensive than anise and as a result is gaining popularity in the West as a substitute for anise in baking and the production of liquor. It also enhances the flavor of meat and can also be used sparingly as a substitute for cinnamon is some hot beverages.

2. Arrowroot

Although this ingredient is neither spice nor herb, it is an ingredient that might make many cooks happy. Arrowroot is often used as a thickener in sauces and doesn't turn them cloudy like many other thickeners.

3. Cardamon

Cardamon has a very strong and unique taste whose fragrance is highly aromatic. In addition, black caramon has a smokier aroma that some people equate to the aroma of mint. It is a very common ingredient in both Indian cooking and Nordic baking. Green cardamon is one of the most expensive spices by weight, but there is very little necessary to impart the necessary flavor. It is best to store cardamon in pod form because it will quickly lose its flavor once you expose the seeds.

4. Turmeric

Most of the time turmeric is in the form of root powder, but there are some regions that use the leaves form wrapping and cooking food. In most cases this occurs in regions where turmeric is locally grown because cooks use freshly picked turmeric which gives the food a very distinct flavor.

In regions other than South Asia turmeric is frequently used to provide food with a rich yellow color similar to that of custard. Some of the uses include beverages, baked products, dairy products, ice cream, yogurt, yellow cakes, orange juice, biscuits and many more. You will also find it in most commercial curry powders.

5. Lemon Grass

Lemon Grass is a very common ingredient in Thai cooking and is known to impart a lemony taste. It is also believe to have a variety of health benefits with it is used with other Thai spices such as garlic, fresh chillies and coriander.

Give a few of these seasonings a try and don't be afraid to mix and match, especially when it comes to blending them with flavors you already know and love. Enjoy!

About the author: This post was written by Miranda S, a full time surgical technologist with a passion for cooking. She loves mixing new spices to create unique flavor blends.

Easter Eggs

It's  common knowledge that Easter is a Christian celebration of Christ's rising, but this holiday also has pagan origins. Where did the colored eggs, cute little bunnies, baby chicks, leg of  lamb dinners, and lilies come from? They are all symbols of rebirth and the lamb was a traditional religious sacrifice.

Easter falls in the spring, the yearly time of renewal, when the earth renews itself after a long, cold winter. The word Easter comes to us from the Norsemen's Eostur, Eastar, Ostara, andOstar, and the pagan goddess Eostre, all of which involve the season of the growing sun and new birth. The Easter Bunny arose originally as a symbol of fertility, due to the rapid reproduction habits of the hare and rabbit.

The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, thus the egg as a symbol of new life has been around for eons. The particulars may vary, but most cultures around the world use the egg as a symbol of new life and rebirth. 

A notation in the household accounts of Edward I of England showed an expenditure of eighteen pence for 450 eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts. The first book to mention Easter eggs by name was written five hundred years ago. Yet, a North African tribe that had become Christian much earlier in time had a custom of coloring eggs at Easter.

 Long hard winters often meant little food, and a fresh egg for Easter was quite a prize. Later, Christians abstained from eating meat during the Lenten season prior to Easter. Easter was the first chance to enjoy eggs and meat after the long abstinence.

Some European children go from house to house begging for Easter eggs. Called pace-egging, it comes from the old word for Easter,Pasch. Many old cultures also attributed the egg with great healing powers. It is interesting to note that eggs play almost no part in the Easter celebrations of Mexico, South America, and Native American Indian cultures. Egg-rolling contests are a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb. The decoration of small leaf-barren branches as Easter egg trees has become a popular custom in the United States since the 1990s.

Different cultures have developed their own ways of decorating Easter eggs. Crimson eggs, to honor the blood of Christ, are exchanged in Greece. In parts of Germany and Austria green eggs are used on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday). Slavic peoples decorate their eggs in special patterns of gold and silver.

Austrian artists design patterns by fastening ferns and tiny plants around the eggs, which are then boiled. The plants are then removed revealing a striking white pattern. The Poles and Ukrainians decorate eggs with simple designs and colors. A number of eggs are made in the distinctive manner called pysanki (to design, to write).

Pysanki eggs are a masterpiece of skill and workmanship. Melted beeswax is applied to the fresh white egg. It is then dipped in successive baths of dye. After each dip wax is painted over the area where the preceding color is to remain. Eventually a complex pattern of lines and colors emerges into a work of art.

In Germany and other countries eggs used for cooking where not broken, but the contents were removed by piercing the end of each egg with a needle and blowing the contents into a bowl. The hollow eggs were dyed and hung from shrubs and trees during the Easter Week. The Armenians would decorate hollow eggs with pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious designs.

Traditional Ester Recipes

Besides Figolli, my favourite is surely Hot Cross Buns!

The tradition allegedly is derived from ancient Anglo-Saxons who baked small wheat cakes in honor of the springtime goddess, Eostre. After converting to Christianity, the church substituted the cakes with sweetbreads blessed by the church.

Countries around the world serve sweet cakes in the same vein, such as Czech babobkaand Polish baba. The Greeks and Portugese serve round, flat loaves marked with a cross and decorated with Easter eggs. Syrian and Jordanian Christians have honey pastries. 

Hot Cross Buns are a traditional favorite for Good Friday, Easter, and throughout the Lent season, but they are enjoyable year-round. Yeasty rolls are filled with currants or raisins and nuts, then topped with a cross of icing. In spite of the raisins and icing, these are not sweet rolls. The hazelnuts are optional.

Ingredients:

• 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 cups  flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1/3 cup  sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup currants or raisins
• 1 slightly beaten egg white
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur or milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• Milk

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl combine 1-1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast and cinnamon In a small saucepan heat and stir 3/4 cup milk, the oil, granulated sugar, and salt until warm (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F). Add to flour mixture along with whole eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. 

Using a spoon, stir in currants or raisins , and as much of the remaining flour as you can mix in with a wooden spoon. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover and let rise until nearly double (about 1-1/2 hours). 

Punch dough down. Turn out onto a floured surface. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into 20 portions; shape each portion into a smooth ball. Place balls 1-1/2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until nearly double (30 to 45 minutes). With a sharp knife, make a shallow crisscross slash across each bun. Brush with egg white. Bake in a 375-degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. 

In a mixing bowl combine sifted powdered sugar,liqueur or milk, and vanilla. Stir in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it reaches drizzling consistency. Drizzle bunswith icing. Serve warm. 

Yield: 20 buns