posted
I'm looking for an online resource for herbs and spices - not a recipe site necessarily, but information about the herb/spice itself. Properties, preparation, suggested combinations. For example, if I want to make a dish with sage, what other spice would go well? What can I do with fresh ginger? When grinding my whole cardamom, do I use the whole thing or just the seeds, or should I just toss it in the pot whole? Similar information about other ingredients I haven't used before would be good, too, like what can I do with the leeks I just bought?
Is there a website that has all this information in one spot? Most of what I find is either offering to sell me spices, has a list of recipes or just really spotty and unhelpful for a spice newbie.
Posts: 2762 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
Wikipedia, as always, seems like a good place to start. They have information on common spices and on things I've never heard of.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
This is hands down the best online resource I've found for information about herbs and spices. Be sure to play around with the way the data is sorted; I found the morphological spice index to be fascinating.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
It's not a resource but one of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard for learning spices is put a bit of the herb or spice (or a combination) into some sour cream, butter, or cream cheese and spread that on a mild bread or cracker. It's the easiest way to tell the taste, so you don't taste dry grass.
Posts: 5362 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
Why the chile reception? Sometimes people just need to pun their caraway. No need to treat them gingerly, but let's not pepper them with scorn.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
The best thing to do with leeks is make leek and potato soup (or, as my friend nicknamed it, leaky potato soup). It's one of my favorite foods in the world. You saute the leeks in butter, then add diced potatoes, water, salt, and pepper. Boil it until the potatoes are done (use boiling potatoes for more chunks, baking potatoes for more mush), serve, and add a bit of milk to each serving.
Posts: 2149 | Registered: Aug 2000
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