10 super spices and their health benefits.

Spices don’t just add another element to your cooking; they’re also good for your health. In fact there’s a reason that people have been using spices for thousands of years. Scientists are now uncovering their vast potential power, from helping ease chronic conditions to the prevention and treatment of more than 150 health problems. Why? Without getting into the complicated science of it (and there’s lots of it if you’re interested) spices have a variety of benefits, including being high in antioxidants, having anti-inflammatory properties and they can even promote weight loss. There is a whole world of spices out there to add health benefits to your food. Here’s a list of ten to start with.

1. Chile Pepper

Why is a chile pepper hot? Capsaicin–the active ingredient that basically makes a chile taste hot is actually quite good for you. It has been shown to inhibit bacterial growth, boost your metabolism, which in turn helps with weight loss, give you more energy and relieve skin allergies. An Australian study found that adding chiles to meals may protect against the buildup of cholesterol in the blood. So, don’t be afraid of increasing your spice tolerance.

2. Turmeric

Turmeric’s claim to fame is curcumin, an antioxidant that some studies have shown to help reduce the risk of heart failure and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. It’s also an incredible anti-inflammatory, and can even be used in the place of ibuprofen – good for people dealing with long term chronic pain and wanting to limit their drug intake. If you are going that route, be sure to look for turmeric extract, sold in tablets or capsules and note that the effects are not felt immediately. Add the spice (or fresh root if you can find it) into stir fries and lentil dishes, or anything that needs a little color.

3. Cardamom

Well-known in Indian cooking, and the beloved spice of Scandinavian baked goods, cardamom contains limonene, a chemical that has been shown to boost antioxidant activity. It has also been shown to help with lowering blood pressure and improves digestion. It also has alkaline properties, and in the Middle East, coffee is often made with cardamom, reducing the coffee’s acidity and neutralizing the effects of the caffeine.

4. Cinnamon

Helping to balance blood sugar, cinnamon is helpful for those with dealing with type 2 Diabetes. In fact, in a Swedish study (albeit small) where subjects ate a bowl of rice pudding–half of them with cinnamon added, half without–those who ate the cinnamon version ended up with significantly lower blood sugar levels. Given that cinnamon works well in sweet and savory dishes, there’s no end to how it can be used.

5. Ginger

Ginger is another anti-inflammatory, and it’s also ideal for calming an uneasy stomach. It’s also full of antioxidants; one teaspoon of ground ginger has as many antioxidants as a cup of spinach. While adding ground ginger to your morning bowl of granola and sprinkling onto dishes is good, it’s also worth buying fresh ginger root, which has a little more of a kick to it. A few pieces of crystallized ginger can be good for dealing with motion sickness, and for a morning spike of energy, I like adding it to green smoothies.

6. Fennel

Plagued by menstrual cramps every month? With its phytochemicals and phytoestrogens, fennel can help offset cramps. Get the benefits from fennel seeds by grinding them and steeping with tea. With its licorice-like flavor, fennel seeds are also good in fruit salad and with grilled meats and seafood.

7. Parsley

You may use it just as a decorative garnish, but researches at the University of Missouri found that parsley can actually inhibit breast cancer cell growth. Parsley is also rich in vital vitamins including C, B12, K and A, which means it keeps your immune system strong. Add it into soups and salads, or mix with fresh fruit for a delicious smoothie.

8. Garlic

If you’re a garlic lover, you’ll be happy to know that it’s known to lower blood pressure, bring down levels of cholesterol and helps alleviate allergies. As it has been shown to destroy cancer cells, even one or two cloves a week can even provide cancer-preventative benefits.

9. Coriander

Contrary to popular belief, coriander and cilantro are not exactly the same thing. Cilantro is the leafy herb that comes from the coriander plant, while coriander the spice, comes from grinding the seeds. Coriander seeds have been used for thousands of years to help with digestion, and recently it has been found to alleviate symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Use it like you would pepper, add to vinaigrettes and dressings, or in meat marinades.

10. Cloves

Cloves are actually at the top of the list of spices with antioxidant properties, and for more than 2,000 years they have been used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine. The essential oils in cloves have been shown to fight bacteria, fungus and yeast, as well as encouraging healthy gums and teeth. The spice can also help alleviate a cough.

Image: echiner1

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Helpful tips to make life in the kitchen easier and food taste better. 

Mother knows best! When it comes to the kitchen, this idiom couldn’t hold more true. But it’s not only your female superiors who have so graciously passed on their secrets – with the rise of celebrity chefs and the number of Food Network productions, the general public is increasingly more educated on ways to become the master of mealtime making.

Sometimes however, it’s the information that gets lost between the lines that matters most, so we’ve assembled 60 of the most important kitchen tidbits that have stood the test of time and experience. This guide is packed with essential culinary pointers that will not only help you cook better meals but also navigate the kitchen with even greater ease and effectiveness.

Keep your onions in the refrigerator. A chilled onion is easier to chop, and causes fewer tears.

If you switch out seltzer for tap water or milk, you’ll end up with fluffier pancakes, waffles and scrambled eggs.

Want to boost the antioxidant power of your green tea? Add some lemon to it.

If your bananas are black, spotty and on the verge of turning from ripe to rotten, put them in the freezer so you can keep them on hand for a batch of banana bread on a rainy afternoon.

Put a dash of cinnamon or cardamom in your coffee for an extra spice boost.

Wow your guests when it’s time for dessert by adding cinnamon to your whipped cream.

Make your own vanilla sugar by placing a whole vanilla bean in a small jar and filling it with sugar. Screw on the lid and store until you need sugar with just a little extra flavor.

Not sure if your eggs are still good or not? Test their freshness by dissolving 2 teaspoons of salt in a cup of cold water. Place your egg in the water and if it floats it is an old egg, if it sinks, it’s fresh.

If you’re freezing summer’s bounty, spread berries out over a baking pan. Place pan in freezer until the berries are well frozen, then transfer to freezer bags. This keeps the berries individually frozen instead of in one big mass.

Not sure if spaghetti is fully cooked? Pull a noodle out of a pot of simmering water, let the water drip from it for a few seconds, and then chuck it against the nearest kitchen wall. If it adheres to the wall, it’s al dente!

Always keep dough covered with a moist cloth to avoid a dry crust from forming on it.

Never refrigerate tomatoes and citrus fruits. Refrigeration kills their flavors, nutrients, and textures.

Knock on a watermelon to check for signs of hollowness. It is sounds hollow, its ripe. If it doesn’t sound hollow, it’s unripe.

Pour oil into a pan that has already been preheated. This will prevent sticking later on.

Only add vegetables to a saucepan if they begin to sizzle upon impact. To check if the oil is hot enough to add vegetables, flick a few drops of water into the pan – if the oil makes a sizzling sound, it’s ready.

Oil biochemically changes for the worse when cooked. Enjoy extra-virgin oils in their raw state and benefit in both taste and nutrition.

Want to dehydrate without splurging on an expensive dehydrator? Set your oven on its lowest temperature setting and keep the door slightly ajar.

Squeeze lemon juice over half-eaten fruits and prevent them from rotting or turning brown.

Pour some vinegar over defrosting meat to accelerate the thawing process as well as tenderize the meat.

To keep cookies fresh, toss a piece of bread in the cookie jar. The cookies will extract moisture from the bread and retain their softness.

Keep milk fresher for longer by adding a dash of salt into the carton right after opening it for the first time.

Soak almonds in hot water for 20 minutes to make removing their skins easy.

Place dough in the freezer for a few minutes to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.

To smoothen the icing on a cake, use a knife dipped in hot water and gently rub it over the top and the sides.

Cut a cheesecake with a wet knife to ensure that the filling doesn’t stick to the knife’s edges and ruin presentation.

To get the most digestive benefit from bananas, wait until they’re browned and spotted – the more spots, the better.

Under-ripe or just ripe bananas can lead to constipation. Overripe bananas have developed their sugars and induce the complete opposite effect.

Ice-creams set faster and better in aluminum containers.

A pinch of soda in your icing will keep it moist and prevent it from cracking on the cake.

Is the salt in your shaker clumping? Put a few grains of rice into the shaker to absorb excess moisture.

Added just a pinch too many of salt to your soup? A raw potato added to the soup white cooking absorbs the extra sodium. Toss a chunk in the pot and let it linger in there until the soup is appealing to your tastes.

Adding a little bit of baking soda to dish water will help to remove pungent odors from utensils and dishes.

The key to smooth dressings, sauces, and gravy is to put all ingredients into a tightly sealed jar and then shake until all lumps and inconsistencies disappear.

Rub hands with dry salt to remove onion and garlic odor.

Add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil to a pot of boiling pasta to stop the water from boiling over the edge of the pan.

Dip fish into scalding water for a minute to scale more easily.

Another way to spread icing more easily on a cake is to sprinkle the top with flour as soon as the cake is removed from the oven.

To make rice as white and fluffy as possible, add approximately 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar per quart of water while cooking.

If you want to eliminate eggs, try this easy egg replacement: mix one tablespoon ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons warm water. Let sit for a few minutes and substitute for one egg in baking recipes.

Avoid storing onions near potatoes. Doing so will cause the potatoes to spoil sooner.

Forget to bring butter to room temperature for a recipe that calls for it? For a quick fix, fill a glass with hot tap water and let it sit for a few seconds. Empty the water and place the glass upside down over the amount of butter required for the recipe. Wait one minute and the butter should be ready to use!

Don’t have a rolling pin? Use an empty bottle.

In a recipe with both salt and some sort of acid, such as citrus, vinegar, or wine, you can offset one of the flavors by adding more of the other. For example, in a dish with too much vinegar, add salt to balance it out. Likewise, in an over-salted dish, add more vinegar.

Dust raisins, berries, or chocolate chips with flour to prevent them from sinking in while baking in a cake.

Always add sea salt to vegetables before roasting. The salt brings out the juices from the vegetables and gives them a caramelized flavor and deliciously browned appearance.

To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.

Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up.

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to the mix to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness.

Can’t stomach an entire avocado? Mash the remaining flesh and smooth it onto your skin for an impromptu, but highly effective, face and body mask. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then wash clean.

To prevent potatoes from budding, place them in a bag with apples.

Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to end up with a deliciously glossy finish.

Store spices in a cool, dark place that is not above the stove. Humidity, light, and heat will cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor.

Boil pasta 1 minute less than the package instructions and cook it the rest of the way in the pan with sauce.

For rich, creamy dressings made healthy, substitute half the mayo with Greek-style yogurt.

For best results when you’re baking, leave butter and eggs at room temperature overnight.

To easily peel a mango, cut a small part of the end off and you will be able to easily stand it up while you peel it.

Don’t like watered down iced coffee? Freeze coffee in an ice cube tray, and use those instead of regular ice cubes.

Put berries on a toothpick or skewer and freeze them for colorful and tasteful additions to spruce up a glass of champagne or sparkling water.

For a milder garlic flavor in dishes, roast garlic in the oven and then freeze the cloves until you are ready to use. Perfect for adding to sauces, mixing with olive oil for a spread and more.

Store bunches of basil in a glass of water so it keeps longer.

Instead of lemon, add cucumber or apple slices to your water.

Image: Sassy Lassies Vintage Life, Aylin Erman

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All that flavor…all that fat.

Cool Ranch Doritos remind me of those days I’d peer into the bag, desperate to find the chip with thickest layer of spices. It was a game with a sensationally savory reward. Little did I know the nature of the gift – or so I thought it was – that I was really giving my body.

One serving, or 12 chips, of Cool Ranch Doritos contains 150 calories, nearly half –8 grams – which come from fat. It also has 180 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, and only 2 grams of dietary fiber.

The bottom line is that with ingredients such as sodium acetate, artificial color, sodium, caseinate, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and maltodextrin, not only are you stuffing yourself with 16 grams of empty carbs but also you are ingesting a lot of nothing “real.” Some of these synthetic ingredients are just downright dangerous. Doritos contain MSG, which is a flavor enhancer that can trigger headaches, sweating, facial pressure or tightness, a rapid or fluttering heartbeat, chest pain, nausea, and weakness.

The following recipe starts from scratch, using simple ingredients that pack a serious flavor punch. With the right combination of spices and a few minutes to spare, you’ve got yourself a bottomless bowl of your favorite chips. Enjoy!

Homemade Spicy Cool-Ranch Doritos

Servings vary

Ingredients:

1 large potato or 2 small potatoes (white or sweet)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Slice the potatoes into thin strips, just thick enough so they are not transparent.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine all the spices and mix.

Add the sliced potatoes to the spice bowl and toss until all sides of each potato slice are evenly covered.

On a greased baking sheet place potato slices side by side, each with its own place so that they bake evenly and to a crisp. Drizzle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and place in a 400 degree Fahrenheit oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the potatoes have crisped, but not burned.

Enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

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ColumnWhy cardamom is your new best friend.

High end ramen, breakfast for dinner, sparkling water: We spend a lot of time discovering and discussing food trends on Foodie Underground. It’s a dichotomous pursuit. There are the evenings spent complaining to friends about how fed up with the foodie world I am (bone luging, really? yet another cupcake store, must we?). Naturally, in the next sentence, I’m going on about my sea salt and olive oil polenta cake in the oven.

“Sea salt, Anna, really?”

“But sea salt is really good in cake. I swear.”

Pause.

“Want to try this cardamom chocolate cake instead?” Tease all they want, I know they’re not going to turn it down.

No matter how much your friends roll their eyes at a foodie’s obsession, one can always quell their serving of sass with what one cooks up. Appreciation for good homemade food is universal.

But about those trends. Today: cardamom.

Go take a look in your spice cabinet. What do you see? A half-empty container of powdered ginger that’s more yellow mass than powder? Vietnamese cinnamon you haven’t used since that botched chai recipe in graduate school’s chai-and-soy-I-don’t-do-coffee days? Turmeric that you don’t dare use because…well, because it’s so damn technicolor?

Get rid of them – all of them – and make room for cardamom, your new spice of choice.

I have a personal long-standing love affair with cardamom, it being the basis of practically every Swedish baked good ever created – thank you, Vikings. It has been a longtime staple in my culinary adventures, but lately I’ve noticed that whenever I see a restaurant that employs one word for its name (or two words connected by an ampersand in Helvetica of course), I can be certain there will be cardamom on the menu. Cardamom is the food world’s latest It Spice.

This spice deserves any accolade a food lover gives it. It’s versatile, delicious and sexy in everything from desserts to main courses. Yes, it’s expensive, coming in after saffron and vanilla, but there’s good reason that this India-born spice is the new épice du jour.

Here are five reasons you should (and will) fall in love with cardamom.

1. Cardamom is exotic. It is sexy.

Cardamom has a distinct and complex flavor. Bonus: Anything you put the spice in is automatically going to sound more alluring that the original version.

Just read the following variations out loud:

Orange ice cream. Orange cardamom ice cream.

Roasted potatoes. Cardamom roasted potatoes.

Saffron macaroons. Saffron-cardamom macaroons.

And so forth. Thanks to this spice, you can instantly turn yourself into a creative, culinary genius, which of course will be a hit for your food-related dating endeavors. It’s marketing, baby! (Fortunately, the product backs up the hype.)

2. Cardamom goes well with coffee.

“Must be some Scandinavian thing,” a friend of mine responded to a comment I had made about never being able to put too much cardamom in my coffee.

I’m not certain putting cardamom in coffee is an actual Scandinavian habit, but my Swedish-born mother has been doing it since before I can remember, and she buys cardamom in bulk quantities to ensure that we never run out. Having the economic sensibilities of every other food-loving twentysomething, I always fill a plastic bag up when I go home to visit my parents to avoid having to purchase it myself.

Add a pinch (or two, or three) to your morning brew and let it work its magic. You’ll quickly understand my obsession.

3. Cardamom is both sweet and savory.

The beauty of cardamom is that it goes just as well with pastries as it does in a lamb tagine.

For a quick and easy sweet tasting cardamom recipe, try my favorite Cardamom Cake.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk

Instructions:

-Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add in butter with your fingers and mix until crumbly consistency.

-Add in egg and milk and mix until a batter consistency.

-Pour into a greased 9.5 inch circular baking pan. If you want to, sprinkle with sliced almonds or orange zest. (The one pictured above uses Swedish Pearl Sugar, which you can buy at IKEA or import food stores).

-Bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes.

4. You can get creative with cardamom.

I have found that any recipe that requires any element of spice can be adapted to include cardamom. Food52 ran a contest with cardamom inspired recipes, resulting in everything from Bellinis to granola.

If you have yet to go out on a foodie limb, cardamom could just be your gateway spice. Start small. Add a little cardamom to your hot chocolate, for example. Then graduate to more complex creations, like cardamom in a butternut squash soup.

Just remember to go easy; too much cardamom and your recipe will taste more like medicine than food.

5. You can please omnivores, vegans, the gluten-intolerant and your grandmother. 

There’s a cardamom recipe for everyone.

The Meat Lover: Cocoa Cardamom Steak Rub

The Vegan: Cardamom Macadamia Nut Pancakes

The Europhile: Fig and Cardamom Spiced Tiramisu

Your Conventional Grandmother: Cardamom-Spiced Meatloaf

The Bacon Lover: Sugared Cardamom Bacon

The Gluten Intolerant: Cardamom and Orange Quinoa Cookies

The Bartender: No. 4 – a cocktail with gin and cardamom

Now get yourself to the grocery store and stock your spice cabinet. You have delicious to do.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Veganbaking.net, Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: 5 Reasons to Love Cardamom appeared first on EcoSalon.

A spice that’s the perfect fit for sweet and savory dishes. 

Cardamom, as you may have noticed, is making its way into everything. It’s in tea, in tart crusts, in fruity drinks, in fig jam, in curries and if you haven’t tried it in a cup of coffee, you’re missing out. But cardamom is not only for food; it can also be used to treat a variety of ailments, from congestion to depression.

Cardamom pods retain the aroma and flavor better than already ground cardamom, ensuring a fresher flavor when cooking with it. These organic green pods from Le Sanctuaire come in a sleek reusable container with a screw top, meaning you can buy bulk the next time around.

Available for $11.95 from Gilt Taste.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

The post Lustables: Organic Green Cardamom Pods appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sarah filled us in on some of brussels’ sprouts great qualities. Now here’s a recipe to get you started making tasty dishes with this powerhouse winter vegetable. Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend consisting of thyme, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds. Sometimes it includes other herbs, like marjoram or oregano, but that’s the basic mixture. It’s eaten on dips like hummus or mixed with olive oil to dip bread in. It’s great mixed into yogurt or with feta cheese. You can make your own using a recipe such as this one, buy it online from a good spice merchant, or get it in fine grocery stores in the spice section.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Za’atar-Spiced Almonds

Serves 4

You will need:

For the Almonds:
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon Za’atar spice
1/2 cup whole raw almonds

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 of a medium onion, sliced thinly
1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts (sliced thinly)
Juice of one lemon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

To make:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the butter, water, and brown sugar. Stir to melt the brown sugar. Add the salt, spices, and almonds and stir until the almonds are fragrant and the spices begin to cling to them. Transfer to a baking sheet, place in the preheated oven, and bake for 10 minutes. When the almonds are cool enough to handle, chop them coarsely.

In the same skillet you cooked the almonds in (no need to wash), heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, and cook until beginning to brown and caramelize (about 10 minutes). Add the Brussels sprouts in two additions, along with a little salt, letting the first batch cook down a bit before adding the next. Cook, stirring often, until the sprouts are wilted and evenly browned and caramelized (about 10 minutes). Off heat, stir in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle each serving with chopped Za’atar coated almonds.

Recipe Copyright 2009 Vanessa Barrington

Image: Rogerimp

The post Ecosalon Recipes: Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Za’atar-Spiced Almonds appeared first on EcoSalon.