Spice University - Bay

A Little Spice of Life
From the Colonel

Bay laurel Laurus nobilis and California Bay laurel Umbellularia californica

Bay is the Herb of the Year for 2009 as selected by the International Herb Association. Each year this group chooses a different herb to reign as Herb of the Year creating greater awareness for each herb chosen.

This ancient herb, bay laurel, also known as true laurel, sweet bay, Grecian laurel, comes from a Mediterranean evergreen. It has long, narrow, pointed, dark, and leathery leaves. The flavor is between eucalyptus, mint, lemon and fresh cut grass and has been described as smoky & spicy. Don't confuse this with California bay which is what is usually sold here as bay leaves. The leaves have a similar shape, but the California bay leaf feels softer by comparison. The flavor is pungent, sweet, lemony, and spicy, with a hint of cloves and bizarrely, turpentine.

It is the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, and then later the expression of "resting on one's laurels". In the Bible, the sweet-bay is often an emblem of prosperity and fame. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate (laurel berry), and of poet laureate.

We are always cautioned not to eat bay leaves. Why is that? The reason is rather simple. bay leaves are very tough and when broken or chewed display very sharp edges. Our systems have a difficult time breaking these leaves down and making them soft. So, as they move through our bodies, they become like small razors tracking through our systems. The swallowed leaves can cause serious injury to your esophagus, stomach and more. Always remove the bay leaves from whatever dish you have prepared.

If you are out of bay leaves you may substitute thyme.

Recipes

Hearty Beef Stew
Paté Maison
Rabbit Stew
Urad Dhal









Colonel De Stewart

Spice University - Lemon Balm

A Little Spice of Life
From The Colonel


Lemon balm Melissa officinalis

A great lemon flavor that, well, isn’t from the lemon. The mildest of the lemon group of herbs

A member of the mint family, lemon balm is used as a calmative. It was used in the Middle Ages to reduce anxiety and stress. As a native of Southern Europe, it is still very popular and widely available in Europe. In Central Europe, lemon balm is sometimes used to flavor sweet drinks.

Lemon balm has lemon scented mint like leaves that are most often used to make an aromatic tea called Tisane. Its slightly tart flavor is used in salads and with poultry and meat dishes. Lemon balm is often used as a flavoring in ice cream and herbal teas, both hot and iced.

Most of the time, lemon balm is used in combination with other herbs such as spearmint. It has a great affinity with fruit, especially apples and is also frequently paired with fruit dishes or candies. Lemon balm can be used to add zest to sweet or tangy dishes. Besides spearmint mentioned earlier, it works well with allspice, bay leaves, mint, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Lemon balm is also great in fruit salads, green salads, herb butters, fruit drinks, and sorbets.

It can be used in egg dishes, custards, soups and casseroles. It is a delicious complement in stuffing for poultry, lamb or pork. Its subtle lemon flavor is perfect for sauces and marinades for fish. Lemon balm and chervil are also a good combination. Use lemon balm leaves for any dish containing lemon juice to get a more intense lemon aroma. If you are a pesto fan, like I am, try substituting lemon balm for basil in a batch of pesto. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

As balm, this herb is mentioned in the Bible. If there is no lemon balm to be had try lemon grass or lemon verbena.

Recipes

Smoked Salmon with Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm Syrup
Honey & Lemon Balm Tea Cookies
Lemon Balm Liqueur

Colonel De Stewart

Spice University - Dill

A Little Spice of Life
From The Colonel

Dill Anethum graveolens

Dill means pickling and so much more

Dill weed has been around for thousands of years. Romans in the first century were convinced that dill brought good luck. The name dill, probably came from the Saxon word dillan, to lull, for its ability to soothe colicky babies and for the Greek tradition of covering the head with dill leaves to induce sleep.

Dill leaves have a flavor that is pungent and slightly tangy, almost caraway tasting. Dill is one of the best complements for many foods not to mention their importance to dill pickles. Fresh leaves loose their flavor quickly when being cooked. For this reason it is always best to add them as near the end of the cooking cycle as possible. The herb is sold as both fresh and dried. There is quite a difference between the flavor of fresh and dried dill weed. While heat is the enemy of fresh and dried dill leaves, it brings out the flavor of the seeds. Dill seed, actually the fruit of the herb, are more strong and pungent than their counterpart, leaves. Dill seeds are the part of the dill plant used most often in its namesake dill pickles.

The characteristic, sweet taste of dill is popular all over Europe, Western, Central and Southern Asia. In Europe, it is mostly used for bread, vegetable (especially cucumber), pickles, and fish; for the last application, the leaves are preferred. It is also indispensable for herb flavored vinegars.

In North Eastern Europe and Russia, dill is popular for pickled vegetables, which are produced in great variety, usually by pickling in vinegar. Fresh dill sprigs are mandatory in most recipes of that kind. In these regions with long, cold winters, preserved vegetables are an important source of vitamins and fresh flavor for the otherwise dull winter diet. Dill is also one of the few herbs used in the cooking of the Baltic states, where chopped dill is a frequent decoration on various foods (e.g., boiled potatoes), similar to the use of parsley and chives in other European countries.

Fresh dill leaves (dill weed) is a kind of “national spice” in Scandinavian countries, where fish or shellfish dishes are usually either directly flavored with dill or served together with sauces containing dill. German cooks also tend to use dill mostly for fish soups and stews. Dill reached the Northern latitudes probably via medieval monasteries, where it was grown as a medicinal herb.

Dill has, however, retained its popularity in its original homeland, Asia. Dried dill shows up in Georgia's (Russian Georgia not the US Georgia) famous spice mixture, khmeli-suneli and is also quite popular in Iran, where dill weed is usually employed for bean dishes, e.g., rice with boiled lima beans, baghali polo.

In India, however, dried dill fruits are occasionally used to flavor the lentil and bean dishes known as dal.

Recipes

Dill Lemon Cod or Salmon
Carrot Sticks and Dill
Marinated Vegetable Salad











Colonel De Stewart

Spice University - Nutmeg

A Little Spice of Life
From the Colonel

Nutmeg - Myristica fragrans

As far as I know, (and I am counting on you out there to set me straight), there are only three rather common plants that give us two very different spices from each plant. Eventually we will cover them all, but let’s start with, nutmeg and mace. I’ll give mace its due in a future article, but mace is the somewhat lacy cover of the nut that we call nutmeg. There is one more plant that does this but in our European based cuisine we rarely use either one. I'm talking about fenugreek seeds and fenugreek leaves. Never the less, we will cover these as well, some time later.

When Columbus sailed off and found a continent we all know and love, one of the spices he was looking for was nutmeg. Native to the Spice Islands, the seed of the nutmeg tree (a tropical evergreen) was very popular throughout the world from the 15th to the 19th century. In Colonial times in America, if you were invited to a fancy meal, even if it were being hosted by President George the First, you were expected to bring your own nutmeg, which you would grind onto the meat dish. You brought your own because it was too expensive for your host to provide. You used it on the meat of the feast in an effort to cover up the bad flavor of the usually partially rotted meat. Remember, no refrigeration back then.

Nutmeg can be used on savory things, as in the example of the meat above. It is still good used on meat, though these days the meat is usually not as rotten. But, we also love nutmeg in sweet dishes. In the Southern tradition a fruit pie just isn’t quite ready to be cooked if there isn’t some nutmeg in it. During the Holiday Season, I won’t drink my Egg Nog if there isn’t a good brisk brushing of nutmeg on top.

Nutmeg is best freshly grated. The flavor is delicately warm, spicy, and sweet.

If you don't have nutmeg, try using mace, but be gentle as mace is much stronger.

Recipes
This first recipe was accidentally left off of last month's list of recipes for chives. It is by my very dear friend Rita Heikenfeld. This is a "must try" recipe.

Shaker Herb Soup

These recipes are for this month's spice, nutmeg.

Butternut Squash and Cranberry Bread
Melon Soup
Scalloped Oysters 2

Colonel De Stewart

Calendar of Upcoming Events for April

April is a very busy month. First, is a wonderful class at Mt. St. Joe, here in Cincinnati on Trivia, Myths and Legends of Spices. This event is on Tuesday the 7th of April.


For the third year in a row Herbs & Spice and Everything Nice will be a part of the Fine Food Show which occurs during the first weekend of the very popular Cincinnati Flower Show. Please stop by and say hello. The details are below. Click on the image below for more information.

Next event is 1 Night 12 Kitchens at Midwest Culinary Institute. It is on April 26th. I will be doing a salt tasting in one of the kitchens. This event provides for the scholarship fund. It is a very worthwhile event, if you can join me, please do. I would love to see you. Click on the image below for more information.

Colonel De Stewart

Spice University - Chives

A Little Spice of Life
From The Colonel

Chives Allium schoenoprasum

Chives, a bold flavor from the smallest of the onion family.

Chives are diminutive tubular versions of scallion leaves (from the Latin ascalonia meaning onion from Ascalon). FYI, Ascalon (then spelled Ashkelon) was the oldest and largest sea port in ancient Israel. The Battle of Ascalon in 1099 is often considered the last action of the First Crusade.

Chives are the smallest member of the onion family. I used to wonder why they were always referred to in the plural. I never saw anything that referred to a chive. The answer is that they grow in clumps and not as individual flowers, so they are quite rightly, chives. When Columbus and others came to the new world there were very few plants and especially herbs that were familiar to them. They did know chives. It is one of the few herbs native to both the Old World and the New World.

Chives are used often in French cuisine. It is one of the four herbs found in fine (pronounced feen) herbs along with tarragon, chervil, and parsley. Fine herbs are also referred to as French sweet herbs. Given the fame and notoriety of French cooking, it is not surprising to find chives as a part of the cooking scene. What is a little surprising is that chives are also a major player in the Swedish cuisine. The reason for this is probably that they are one of the few herbs that can grow in a very cool climate.

When used in dishes, add the snipped chives close to the end of cooking to preserve their flavor and crispness. Both chives and their edible pink and lavender colored flowers are a tasty and colorful addition to salads. These flowers are also excellent when used to make flavored vinegars especially when using white wine vinegar as the base. Chives give a hint of onion flavor to egg dishes, cheese soufflés, salads, soups, cream cheese sandwiches, and sour cream dressing for baked potatoes. Chive butter is great with grilled chops and steak.

A member of the lily family, many of its cousins also appear in this collection. They include; onions, garlic chives, Welsh onion and garlic.

When chives are unavailable green onion tips may be substituted.

Recipes

Chives Halibut Stew
Chives Roasted Vegetables

Colonel De Stewart

Store takes Mardi Gras Prize

The store took first prize as the Best Mardi Gras Krew at Findlay Market for 2009. As you can see from the picture below the store really got its Krew on. Thaks to everyone that stopped by to enjoy the fun. I want to give a special thanks to our employees, who did a great job of making our stand and each other look fantastic. Well done!


The Colonel