Food can often feel bland without spices, which is what pushes many to include a wide variety on their grocery list. Spices enrich dishes by imparting flavor, color, texture, and aroma. In this article, you’ll get to know how to unlock the flavor potential of spices to ensure that each dish you make with them is delectable.
Why Do We Use Spices?
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If you’re a novice in the culinary world, you might wonder why we use spices. Let’s cover the common reasons why we’d use these awesome ingredients that you can get from the nearest grocery store. Here are a few of them:
1. Additional Flavor, Color, and Aroma
Let’s start with the most common reason why we’d use spices and that is to add more flavor, color, and aroma to our dishes. Each spice has its distinct flavor profile. Some may be packing a lot of heat, some may impart a savory flavor.
Also, some spices can impart their colors to a dish; for example, saffron where the spice adds an orange tinge to fried rice and curries. As for aroma, some spices have a subtle scent while some have strong odors. An example of this is marjoram and oregano – spices that masquerade as herbs that provide a pleasing aroma when added to pasta dishes.
2. For Use in Home Remedies and to Improve Health
Believe it or not, the spices that you’ve obtained from many Naperville grocery stores could have a history of medicinal use. One good example of this case is Turmeric which has been used in fighting inflammations due to the presence of Curcumin in its rhizomes.
Research also shows that incorporating these spices into our dishes can enhance the health properties of the food we consume.
3. Helps in Preserving Food
Before the refrigerator was invented, spices were the main way to preserve food items. One good example here is the preservation of meat during the olden days. Meat items are given a rub consisting of salts, herbs, and spices. The combination of these three ensures that microbial life forms will not grow on the meat and ensure it won’t spoil easily.
So on top of providing a distinct flavor for the meat item, you are also prolonging its shelf life inside the pantry.
The Flavor Profiles and Optimal Use of Spices
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There are five flavor profiles that we recognize – they are namely sweet, salty, umami, sour, and bitter. Each one has its distinct flavor profile, which we will briefly describe. We’ll exclude ‘salty’ from the list since no herbal spices match this flavor profile.
We’ll also cover a few examples of spices that fall under their flavor profile and some ideas on how to use them properly.
1. Umami Spices
The umami flavor profile is the latest to be officially recognized. Umami is best summed up as a flavor that’s savory and rich. This flavor profile was originally linked to glutamic acid that’s found in different seaweed species. However, as of recently – Umami is now also associated with high-protein food since they tend to have inosinate and guanylate compounds which impart a savory flavor profile.
Some examples of umami spices are Porcini mushroom powder and tomato flakes which you can get from a grocery store. Both spices impart that rich and savory profile to the food they are added on.
Now, how to use Umami spices, and which dishes are best used?
- First off, if you are using Umami spices – you would need to cut down on adding salt to your food. The savory flavor profile might end up making the dish taste a little too salty. Also, if you’re using umami powder; you could end up doubling the amount of Sodium content in the dish.
- Umami spices are best used in dishes that use a lot of meat, eggs, and seafood. Some savory vegetable dishes and soups can also use a touch of umami spices.
- You can add umami spices either during the initial seasoning or while the dish is cooking.
2. Bitter Spices
Bitter spices, readily available in most grocery stores, often have a pungent and sharp flavor profile. Historically, we’d associate bitterness with inedible plants; but, that doesn’t mean all of them are since some spices do have a bitter taste profile. Bitter spices tend to act as a balancing element in dishes when used properly.
They can impart their bitterness to make dishes less overwhelming to the senses – an example, adding a bitter spice to a very sweet dish. Bitter spices also double as a palate cleanser. Bitter herbs can revitalize your appetite if you feel like you can’t take another bite from a savory meat dish. Some examples of bitter spices that you might be familiar with are bay leaves, mustard, oregano, thyme, and turmeric.
Here are some ideas on how you can make full use of bitter spices in the food you’re preparing:
- As stated earlier, bitter spices are best used in sweet dishes. They help out in balancing the sweetness and making it less overwhelming to the senses. For instance, if the stew you are cooking tastes too sweet. In these cases, the addition of a bitter spice should help balance out the flavors.
- Alternatively, if your dish tastes too bitter due to spices, adding a bit of salt or sugar can help balance it out. With cooking it’s a matter of trial and error for the desired flavor balance.
3. Sour Spices
Sour flavors indicate the presence of acids in the food we eat. The tart and acidic flavors can act as a balancing element when introduced to food items. For example, adding a bit of lime juice to beef enchiladas or fish dishes to adds flavor and can cancel out pungent odors.
Some notable spices that bear a sour flavor profile that you can find in a grocery store are sumac, tamarind, and dried lemon zest or peels. With that said, here are some ways for you to properly utilize sour spices in the food you are preparing:
- Just like bitter spices, sour spices when used in sweet dishes make them less overwhelming to the senses.
- Sour spices can also help mellow excessively salty or spicy flavors.
- Sour spices used in meat or fish dishes help impart flavor and aroma while canceling any undesirable odors.
4. Sweet Spices
Our taste buds are naturally inclined to detect sweet flavors, as they trigger cravings for more food. Sweet spices are essential if you are aiming for food items that can stimulate one’s appetite. The flavor profile makes anyone crave more as sweet flavors are shown to trigger pleasant sensations the most.
Some sweet spices that you can obtain from a grocery store are the following: allspice, anise, dill seeds, and fennel. With that said, here are some ideas that you can use when you’re working with sweet spices:
- Use the right amount of sweet spices. Too much can make a dish too overwhelming for your senses. If you find your dish overly sweet upon tasting, you could balance it by introducing a bitter or sour spice.
- Sweet spices tend to shine at their best in baked goods and desserts. For example, a pumpkin spice cake with a bit of cinnamon.
- Beyond their use in dishes, sweet spices can also enhance the flavor of coffee blends. If you find a brew too bitter for taste, adding something like allspice or anise could introduce some sweetness to it.
Make Culinary Wonders with Spices from the Market
Working with spices for the first time seems tedious, as too much can ruin your dish. Alternatively, the absence or minimal use of spice makes a dish taste bland. It’s a matter of practice and understanding each flavor to unlock its full potential. Also, the usage of spices depends on which dish you are preparing.
Once you’ve managed to master the use of each flavor profile then you’re all set to make culinary wonders that will amaze your family and visitors.