Oops sorry, pressed by mistake.
Some recipes use whole spices such as cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamoms, cloves etc while others say grind them. Is there is difference in the taste? Which is best? Personally, I use whole spices then remove them from the oil after they have released their flavour. I think that removing them also stops them being burnt.
Whole spices give a gentler flavour than ground ones, I think. Lapis might explain is better as to why.
I use powdered spices,
I use freshly ground whole spices
I use whole spices
and I use combos of the lot... depends on who I'm cooking for and what I want from it.
My wife isn't a big fan of picking cardamons and such out while she is eating so unless I'm making a long slow curry I grind them..
I like whole cumin and fennel seeds in things as it gives little pockets of flavour when you bite into them....
Steve
I normally fry whole spices like cinnamon/cassia bark, black/green cardamom, pepper seeds , rai/mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugeek seeds, cloves, bay/curry leaves, (plus or minus the spices depending on the requirement of the dish)....mustard/rai/cumin seeds are the last ones in as they fry instantly.
Then comes the usual suspects chopped / paste--onions, ginger, garlic etc ......after this powdered spices. Hence using both-- whole and powdered spices.
the spice flavour chemicals are held in sacks called secretory oil cells within the spice (seeds, barks, roots/rhizomes, etc.) so to get at the flavours the cells have to spill their contents. And then the contents have to be dissolved in oil, or possibly dispersed in water.
Whole spices are difficult to use, as the inner secretory oil cells are difficult to burst, so only the cells around the periphery of the spice will give up their precious contents. This is why whole spices seem to be mild flavouring agents. To get the best from each spice, course grinding is best, which is extracted into hot oil, in which the flavour contents are much more soluble.
If the cells are burst, but water is used as a medium, large losses of flavour compounds can happen, due to steam distillation. If you use a water medium, lower the temperature of the pot, and fix a well fitting lid on it.
HTH
Thanks for that explanation Lapis. Some recipes also toast the whole spices in a dry pan before grinding. Is that authentic?
this is always a bone of contention, and what does 'authentic' really mean in this context?
Yes, spices are 'roasted' in India, as Mamta will tell you, but a word of scientific caution.
When spices are heated, two things can happen:
The oil cells can rupture, and spill their valuable contents
Reactions between carbs and protein in the spice occur, and form new 'roasted' flavours.
In the former case, loss of volatile flavour compounds will occur, so potency is lost.
Only very few spices form these 'roasted' flavour compounds in any quantity, namely coriander, cumin and fenugreek (methi). So if we want to retain maximum flavour, don't roast, but if we want roasted flavours, then roast the spices, but only coriander, cumin and methi seeds. I think fennel seed is sold roasted, but this is more of a way of preservation, as the fennel seed is picked when not fully ripe (fennel seed is actually the fruit of the fennel, cf cumin, coriander, etc) and contains a lot of water.
I roast spices for dishes that won't produce the 'roasted' flavours because the dish is cooked with water for the most part, such as some kormas and vindaloo.
I have a friend who makes and sells Sri Lankan spice mixes, one for beef and lamb, and one for chicken and fish. The former is roasted, the latter not.
Coriander and cumin turn a dark brown when heated, this is due to a continuation of the reaction which produces the 'roasted' flavours.
HTH
I have had this discussion about making garam masala before. Some people roast whole spices before grinding, I don't, because I make about one small jar (like the Schwartz's spice jar), which will last me a month or longer. If I roasted them in advance, they would loose flavour that is lovely when they are fresh.
When I use whole spices in cooking, I add them to the hot oil, at the beginning of the recipe. If I use ground garam masala, I almost always add it at the end, except when I am adding it to marinades etc.
My doing it this way is not for any scientific reasons like Lapis has explained, I do it because that is the collective wisdom handed down in my family. I saw my mother, MIL and GMs do it this way, so I do it this way too. And, it works for me.
The only thing I roast when making GM is the brown cardamom husks. I find they grind down into a powder much easier when they have been in a hot pan for a short while.
Something I noticed today when I was at the Indian grocers doing a spice shop was that two different brands of turmeric powder were slightly different in colour. Does anyone know why this is?
"I did read" that the 'alleppey' turmeric from Kerala is a much brighter yellow than the darker turmeric of Madras?
Must be something to do with the curcumin (E100) contained within the turmeric I'd think.
but the original question didn't mention garam masala, just whole/ground spices in general. My answer was to this question.
I'm not sure, Winton. It is just something that caught my attention, but either way I opted for the brightest one. :oD
the production of turmeric is not simple, and involves a process which uses an alkali. The yellow colour is called curcumin, which is yellow below pH 7.4 (nearly neutral) but red above pH 8.6, slightly alkaline. So the final colour is pH dependent. Fresh turmeric is more orange than yellow.
The curcumin also fades in strong light, producing vanilla-like substances, detectable in old turmeric samples.