The Cooking Spices

This reddish ground spice is made from the berries of the sumac bush, which is native to the Middle East and North America and is from the genus that includes poison ivy and oak. An ancient but relatively unknown spice, sumac is used as a souring agent in the same way as lemon juice or TAMARIND.

It has a hint of fruitiness, is pleasantly astringent and has almost no aroma. Sumac is used throughout the  Middle East in marinades and sprinkled on breads.

Available : widely

A staple in Chinese and Vietnamese cooking, this beautiful spice is the sundried fruit of a member of the magnolia family native to those countries. The fruit, an eight-pointed star in which the carpels provide most of the flavor and aroma, imparts a delicate fragrance and a pronounced sweet liquorice flavor.

Star anise, unrelated to ANISE, is usually sold whole or sometimes as broken pieces and is an essential ingredient in Chinese Five Spice Powder. It is regarded in Asia as promoting good digestion and as a breath freshener.

Available : widely.

Sichuan pepper is one of the oldest staple spices used in Chinese cooking. It is technically not a pepper at all but rather the berries of the prockly ash tree native to the Sichuan province in China.

The reddish brown berries are dried after picking and are husked to remove small, bitter black seeds before crushing. Sichuan pepper, also known as fagara or Chinese pepper, has a spice, earthy flavor and produces a slight numbing effect when eaten. To maximize flavor, dry-roast Sichuan pepper before grinding.

Available : Asian food stores.

Sesame seeds come from a herbaceous tropical plant native to Assyria and are one of the world’s oldest spices. These small. flat seeds have a high oil content and a nutty flavor that becomes pronounced after dry-roasting or frying. The seeds range in color from pearly white to black.

The most commonly used are creamy white – these are referred to as white sesame feeds in the recipes in this book. white sesame seeds are ground to as paste to make tahini in the Middle East and to serve with noodles and rice in China. In the Middle East, sesame seeds are used to make the sewwt halva. The flavor of black sesame seeds is stronger and more earthy than the creamy white ones. They are best eaten raw as they become quite bitter when taste.

Black sesame seeds are used in Japanese and Chinese cooking and are compatible with sugar and some fruits in desserts. Sesame seed oil is an important ingredient in many styles of cooking, particularly Chinese, but it must be used with cautuin as it can taste very bitter if used with a heavy hand. Sesame seeds are considered a laxative and can be used as a hot poultice to relieve aches and pains.

Available : widely.

Sea salt is the universal seasoning used in everyday cooking throughout the world to flavor and preserve food and to heighten the flavor of other ingredients. As opposed to rock salt, which is mined, sea salt is produced by the evaporation or sea water or water from salt marshes, the best varieties coming from England and France, where it is known as gros sel. Excellent sea salt from South Australia has recently appeared on the market too.

More costly to produce than other types of salt, sea salt flakes are odourless but have a strong, salty taste and do not include the iodine and magnesium carbonate found in processed table salt. Kosher salt, available from Jewish food stores, has a very similar texture and taste to sea salt as it contains no additives.

Available : widely.