Importance Of Spices In Cuisine

By Fred Herman 

Spices In Cuisine

Spices In Cuisine

We all know spices play a decisive role in the preparation and flavoring of your dishes. Spices add flavor and color to foods and stimulate digestion, to make dishes tastier and more appealing. In addition, some spices can help you adjust the taste, resulting in dishes that are not only tastier but also healthier.

Culturally, spices help us to see the difference between regions, regions, from country to country. In short, cuisines around the world may be relatively similar in terms of ingredients of plant or animal origin, but what sets dishes apart from one country to another are the spices. In addition to processing techniques.

Classification of spices by nature

Based on the properties of spices divide into 7 groups:

Salty seasoning: salt, magnesium, soy sauce. All of these savory condiments take salt as their standard salinity. Because most salty spices (except salt), contain a significant amount of protein.

Sweet spices: sugar, honey, and malt. The main ingredient in sweet condiments is sugar. Cane sugar contains sucrose, honey contains fructose and glucose, and honey contains maltose.

Sour spices: vinegar, lemon… The main ingredients of sour spices are organic acids. The sour taste has the effect of promoting the metabolism of nutrients.

Bitter spices: lemon peel, tangerine peel. The essential oil of this peel has a bitter taste. Bitter is the opposite of sweet, it has the effect of stimulating the appetite for people to eat, or has the effect of reducing the fishy taste of food.

Spicy spices such as chili, pepper, ginger... The spicy taste in spices creates strong stimuli to the taste cells of the tongue, overwhelming the inappropriate flavors.

Aromatic spices: onions, garlic, coriander, herbs...

Mixed spices: curry powder, basil powder, five spices, oyster sauce, satay, and canola.

Classification of spices

For the classification of spices by origin, users will classify spices of plant origin and spices of animal origin. Detail:

Spices of vegetable origin:

• Spices are leaves: scallions, perilla, marjoram, cilantro, lemon leaves, celery, leeks, cinnamon leaves, and macadamia leaves...

• Harmful spices: lemon, chili, kumquat, green pineapple...

• Spices are fruits: coriander seeds, pepper...

• Spices are tubers: ginger, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, onions, onions, turmeric, squash...

• Other spices: star anise, cinnamon, sage, sage, shiitake, shiitake, shiitake, coconut milk, coconut water, jujube, ginseng, ginseng, goji berry, licorice, tapioca...

Spices of animal origin:

• Spices made from seafood meat: shrimp, shrimp paste (mackerel, anchovies, mullet...).

• Condiments made from animals such as shrimp.

• Spices made from essential oils such as ambergris, macadamia, butter, milk, oyster sauce...

• Other spices such as honey.

• Fermented condiments such as vinegar, batches, etc.

Classification by structure:

The spices will be composed in 7 forms:

• Crystal form: sugar, salt, MSG… They are also called dry spices.

• Liquid form: soy sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce… They are also called wet spices.

• Powder form: basil powder, curry powder…

• Fresh fruit form: pepper, chili…

• Leaves, peel: coriander, herbs, lemon peel, orange peel, cinnamon bark...

• Root form: turmeric, ginger, onion…

• Mixed form: batch, oyster sauce, satay, chili sauce, ketchup, cooking oil.

Spices are good for health

Cinnamon:

Cinnamon is a popular spice used by chefs in many recipes. Cinnamon bark and powder are often used in stews, pies, and cakes, or sometimes used in the preparation of drinks.

In medicine, cinnamon is also an herb that contains many vitamins, pyridoxine, niacin, pantothenic acid, minerals, and antioxidants needed by the body to help fight inflammation, regulate and lower blood sugar, as well as anti-inflammatory. 

Sage:

Thanks to its warmth, and mildly spicy taste mixed with a bit of bitterness with a refreshing aroma, sage are very popular with chefs in the preparation of dishes in Western and Middle Eastern countries. Top chefs regularly use sage as a sauce to help eliminate fishy odors and enhance the flavor of baked goods such as chicken, duck, pork, beef, sausage, etc.. soups, stews, and cocktails.

In Latin, sage (sage) means "heal". Indeed, sage contains a large number of essential oils (monoterpene, thujone, camphor, cineol); tannins; Antioxidants such as caffeoyl-fructose glucoside, etc. It has effects such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-cancer, anti-aging, and improving memory, especially positive effects. in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Mint leaf:

Mint is a spice with a long history in the cuisine of many countries. Mint leaves and menthol can be seasoned in drinks or mixed with other ingredients in salads.

Many studies have shown that the medicinal properties of peppermint mostly lie in the essential oil. Peppermint essential oil can help you improve and manage pain in irritable bowel syndrome, relieve nausea, and motion sickness, relieve stress, and more.

Basil:

Basil - basil has a pungent, post-sweet taste, an aroma similar to anise but with a little more concentration. This characteristic herb is often used by chefs in the menu of Western dishes such as soups, salads, and pizzas.

According to medicine, basil has the ability to inhibit the growth of many types of bacteria, yeasts, and molds, helping to strengthen your immune system. In addition, basil also helps reduce blood sugar before and after meals, and treats anxiety and depression.

Cayenne pepper:

Cayenne pepper is often widely used in many dishes such as stews, stir-fries, and soups, ...

There is a very important active ingredient in cayenne pepper called capsaicin. It works to help you control your weight, reduce cravings and increase fat burning in the body. Several studies have also demonstrated that capsaicin can fight certain cancers such as lung, liver, and prostate cancers.

Fenugreek:

Fenugreek is widely used in Ayurveda and is used primarily to season meats and fish.

Fenugreek is used to aid digestion, treat sinusitis, and itis congestion, and reduce inflammation. Fenugreek is also used as a lactation aid in mothers and also as an energizing agent in men.

Rosemary:

Rosemary - This spice has a very distinctive aroma. The indispensable spice in your family's barbecue as well as in luxury restaurants (steak), stews, salads, ...

The active ingredient rosmarinic acid in rosemary works to help you prevent allergies and relieve nasal congestion, relieve stress, and improve mental clarity.

The best way to use spices

In general, the right and reasonable use of spices will make your dishes perfect for processing and cooking, thereby stimulating the taste buds of the people who enjoy them. However, if you do not have a certain standard or a specific recipe for combining spices together in cuisine. Because each chef will have their own way of processing and seasoning secrets. However, keep a few basic principles in mind:

When cooking, you need to know the specific dose of each spice, to taste each different dish, not too much, not too little. Seasoning with moderate cooking will help the dish taste better, the digestive system also works better and the color of the dish also becomes beautiful and eye-catching.

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