[net.veg] Spices & Herbs

wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (07/26/84)

I am looking for a reference that will give general hints and advice
on the use of spices in all forms of cookery. I am not looking for
recipes per se`, but for suggestions and principles. I am especially
interested in combining spices, and substituting one for another.

A lot of us probably have a spice shelf like mine -- fifty or so different
spices, but we really only use 10 or so of these; the others were bought
for a specific recipe, or just because they looked interesting, or they
came in a set, and now they just sit and wither with age. I want to get some
use out of all of these, not by making exotic recipes, but by learning
how to use them in my everyday cooking.

Many cookbooks list a number of spices (never all of them), with a chart
or table of what to use them in. What they fail to discuss is which
spices to use (and, more importantly, which NOT to use) in combinations
with each other. Some spices will overpower others, so it would be a 
waste to use the ones you never taste. Others might combine to produce
unpleasant effects, or, conversely, synergize together to form fine
new taste sensations. Which do what? I don't know where to find this data.

Also, they don't go into detail as to what to substitute if you are
out of something. If you are out of thyme, will using tarragon do you
any good? (I am making this up as I go along, so these examples are
meaningless -- please don't flame about their inappropriateness.)
I'd like to find something that gives a level of detail like,
"Thyme may be substituted for tarragon in fish and vegetable dishes,
using half the called-for amount, but not in beef and poultry, where
you should use an equivalent amount of rosemary instead." (Yes, that's
nonsense, of course, so substitute the true replacements if you know
such a situation.)

I've developed my own spicing techniques over the years, but still
need guidance on using many less-comon seasonings, especially the
varieties of dried herbs. The prepared mixtures are particularily
troublesome -- without looking it up, can anyone tell the difference
in composition and use between "fines herbes" and "bouquet garni"?
Should they ever be used together? Why or why not?

Which spices should be used out of the bottle, or ground first, or
roasted and then ground before use? When do you do this differently?
As to quantities used, I suspect that many recipes call for far too
small amounts for many seasonings, especially the dried herbs. After
all, if you use handfulls of fresh basil leaves to make a pesto sauce,
it seems that a teaspoon or less of dried basil in a big pot of
something isn't going to really contribute much. For some spices, like
cayenne, a little does go a long way, of course. So which can you
safely experiment with by increasing called-for quantities? (Maybe
you can finally use up some of the old stuff and get new, fresh
varieties!)

If you don't know of a reference that answers these questions, but
you have input on the subject from your own experience, please
post your comments and suggestions. Pointers to books or magazine
articles are welcomed, too.

Will Martin