Cosentino: Herbs, spices and cinnamon | Lifestyles

What’s an herb? What’s a spice? Herbs are leafy elements of crops. They are often candy or savory. They are often contemporary or dried. You will get plenty of taste, from the basil or parsley picked contemporary from the backyard. You’ll be able to have both all through the winter, just by dehydrating it in your oven and storing in a cool, darkish place in your home. Sage, thyme, lavender and mint are herbs.

Spices, alternatively, are seasonings from varied elements of the plant similar to seeds, bark, roots and dried flower buds. In contrast to herbs, saffron may cost a little you $1,500 a pound. Hope you didn’t faint, it’s bought by the gram or, typically, an oz. However to not fear, many dishes require solely a pinch. A gram goes a good distance And, it’s steered that you just purchase solely a small quantity at a time as a result of this one loses its energy reasonably rapidly. Fennel and mustard seeds, ginger, bay leaf and turmeric are spices.

Let’s have a look at cinnamon a bit extra. We use it in savory in addition to dessert recipes. It has been thought, every so often, to alleviate dozens of medical situations from diabetes to hypertension and would possibly even scale back ache from arthritis. Sure, certainly it does assist our well being in lots of small methods, however it’s smart to comprehend that it isn’t a cure-all. And there may be some opposed results of utilizing an excessive amount of. Simply don’t eat it by the tablespoon; it has been identified to provide some kidney issues.

A lot of the very best comes from the small island nation of Ceylon, although a lot of that manufacturing results in Europe. That which we’re accustomed to possible comes from Indonesia. It takes a really skilled palate to inform which a pattern got here from which space.

Cinnamon is harvested from a fast-growing tree that’s allowed to develop for 2 or three years and is then lower down, leaving a stump a couple of foot from the bottom. The outer bark is stripped off and processed into the cinnamon powder that we’re so accustomed to. Once more, at some extent through the wet season, when the tree trunk could be very pliable, staff strip the thinner bark into sheets, that, as they dry, tightly curl into what are referred to as quills. I’m sure that many readers have used them to stir their cocoa, espresso or mulled wine. Maybe you used some quills in your centerpieces for the vacation. Inside just a few months every remaining stump sends up a number of shoots which can be allowed to develop for a pair years and the harvest begins once more.

My favourite cinnamon recipe is to halve a small acorn squash and scoop out the seeds. I butter the flesh and sprinkle with cinnamon, after which including a few tablespoons of candy vermouth or sherry finishes it. I microwave for six to eight minutes, relying on the dimensions. You’ll be able to bake it at 350 levels for about 20 minutes for a similar outcome. I’m simply not that affected person. I had dinner with a florist household in Nova Scotia, some years in the past. The woman of the home did the cinnamon and butter factor, baked the squash. As she served every of the 2 kids, she popped in a scoop of ice cream. She turned to me and mentioned, “they used to hate all veggies, particularly squash.”

Wishing everybody a beautiful vacation season. Keep nicely. Masks up.