62
votes
If you add spices to boiling pasta, will it absorb spices/flavours?
Poorly. Pasta doesn't absorb all that much flavor from spices in the water, other than maybe salt (and even then you must add excessive amounts of salt to make the resulting pasta evidently salty.) ...
- 3,013
53
votes
Other 'hot' spices
"Hotness" is a quite vague description which can be caused by a number of chemical compounds and is percieved by various receptors.
Chili peppers (capsicum) contain the alkaloid capsaicin. ...
- 57.8k
49
votes
Is there such a thing as a dish being bland from too many flavors?
I think the description you're looking for is what is often described as "muddy flavors" or "fighting flavors" or "muddled flavors" (though the latter is also a term used ...
- 8,987
45
votes
Accepted
Is there any advantage to combining spices before applying them to meat?
If you premix to make a rub, it's easier to apply spices evenly. Otherwise, you must individually apply a small amount (for example, 1/4 tsp) of several spices evenly. With a rub, you make the spice ...
- 2,474
42
votes
Accepted
Why stud an onion?
It's convenience, and actually doubly so:
It helps to find the cloves (biting down on a clove is horrible, imho, much more than on a stray peppercorn) and it especially if you are using onions with ...
- 57.8k
38
votes
Accepted
What exactly is "Japanese" Salt and Pepper?
They may have been trying to describe "salt and Japanese pepper". Japanese pepper is unrelated to black pepper, but closely related to Sichuan pepper; its flavor has been described as "lemony" and it ...
- 26.1k
36
votes
What is the name of the tool which involves a ball inside a sealed container that is shaken to grind up spices?
I haven't seen this type of device as a home spice grinder, but in commercial/industrial settings, this type of device is called a ball mill.
Industrial ball mills will have a cylinder filled with ...
- 8,987
31
votes
If you add spices to boiling pasta, will it absorb spices/flavours?
One important fact to note here is that many spices are oils or oil-soluble. Pepper, for example, will dissolve effectively in oil, and thus the flavor of pepper can be imparted into other things ...
- 5,673
31
votes
Accepted
What is this seed pod?
Looks like cardamom to me, regularly used in Indian and other South Asian cuisine and often left as whole seed pods in dishes for unsuspecting diners to accidentally chew on.
- 2,119
30
votes
Why does my curry taste flat
Ideas
Old spices? If you are not making curry often maybe your spices are aged. They lose their pop. Your mix looks good. Try again with new. Buy whole spices when you can - they keep better.
...
- 6,596
29
votes
Accepted
Is there such a thing as a dish being bland from too many flavors?
With your longer description, I can understand where you are coming from and why you don't like this version of the dishes (and also why somebody else might prefer them). But the term "bland"...
- 135k
29
votes
Why does my curry taste flat
The answer is definitely a lack of salt.
Particularly if you're new to cooking or new to cooking dishes like curries and stews, you might not be accustomed to the amount of salt you need to add to ...
- 391
28
votes
How can I remove whole peppercorns from a sauce after cooking?
Strain it, or put the peppercorns in cheesecloth which you can easily remove. Obviously both ideas would work better if the sauce was thin then thickened after the peppercorns were removed.
- 2,659
27
votes
Is there a reason for storing ground spices separately (unmixed)?
I'm aware of three reasons that you might not want to do so:
You tie up spices that you might want to use in other dishes individually
You don't always want to add the spices at the same time.
You ...
- 79.3k
25
votes
Accepted
What does "lightly crushed" mean for cardamon pods?
I'm pretty sure it's just crushing the husks a bit so they crack open - that's how I do it when I see "lightly crushed" for cardamom pods. It gives access to the seeds inside so flavor can infuse out ...
- 11.7k
24
votes
Why are bay leaves used whole and then removed rather than crushed up like other spices?
Dried bay is sometimes left in, for example this herb mix from Schwartz includes bay leaves (at less than 3%).
Dried they can easily be crushed and added as a powder, but you don't often want a lot ...
- 43.1k
23
votes
Accepted
How to deal with strong, sizable spices?
Simple: spit them out.
You're not supposed to eat whole cardamom pods or cloves, any more than you'd eat whole cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, or slices of dried galangal. Each diner is expected to spit ...
- 58.9k
23
votes
Do certain spices really go bad? or will people without refined palates usually not tell the difference, specifically chili powder?
tl;dr : it's complicated.
If you're relying on cooking by blindly following recipes, and hoping that they come out the same every time, then yes, you probably want to replace old spices. So ...
- 79.3k
23
votes
Accepted
Why does my curry taste flat
In addition to Willk's answer, which may have discovered the age of some of your spice rack contents - cumin & other short-life ground spices can sometimes be flat even when new, from supermarkets....
- 28.9k
20
votes
Accepted
How can I remove whole peppercorns from a sauce after cooking?
One way to steep peppercorns in a sauce is to put them in a tea ball or a tied up piece of cloth which is submerged into the sauce and then removed before serving. If they are just dropped into the ...
- 74.2k
20
votes
Is there some "trick" to be able to eat jalapeños without getting an "upset stomach"?
Well... First of all, no. As alluded to in a comment, as one gets older, one's digestive system tends to be less accepting of what one puts in it.
Nevertheless, "the dose makes the poison". ...
- 26.1k
18
votes
Accepted
Can I cut chili powder with Paprika?
This recipe list chili powder as:
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste (...
- 2,659
18
votes
Is sassafras root and licorice root the same thing?
Sassafras is the plant with the botanical name Sassafras albidum, which is native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.
Licorice/Liquorice is the plant with the botanical name Glycyrrhiza glabra, ...
- 3,204
17
votes
How to make homemade pinto beans taste like canned refried beans?
Lard is the fat of choice in many "el cheapo" canned refried beans, and could be what you are missing.
- 5,325
17
votes
Accepted
How to clean a mill
The amount of salt that would stick to a dry mill is very small. Salt is also quite abrasive, cheap and water soluble. So to get pepper out I'd grind salt. For most savoury mixes a little salt won't ...
- 43.1k
17
votes
Is there any advantage to combining spices before applying them to meat?
An additional factor is prep time. You can make a large batch of spice mix quickly, spooning tablespoons rather than quarter teaspoons and then it's made ready for many portions. Dry mixes keep as ...
- 43.1k
17
votes
Accepted
Mild chili powder?
As you have found, often the generic chili powders that are sold in the US by the major brands like Schwarz aren't pure chili powder, they have other additives like oregano, salt and garlic. The best ...
- 74.2k
17
votes
How to deal with strong, sizable spices?
For whole spices which are hard to pick out, you could try make a bouquet garni. Wrap the whole spices into a bundle, using cheesecloth, a piece of muslin (undyed, loosely woven fabric), a coffee ...
- 3,118
16
votes
Is there a way to experience pepper's endorphins effects without the burning sensation?
According to my research, the effect of capsaicin that causes the burning sensation is indirectly responsible for the pleasurable release of endorphins, which are the brain's way of counter-acting the ...
- 14.9k
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