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Herbs, spices and seasonings

Kevin - NO FOOLIN'!

I clean my chickens well - even in the restaurants - but today I guess it's more like "anything goes".

I wonder if we will ever get back to the days where everyone REALLY cared about how things were done and WANTED it to be done right. I even wonder if most of the restaurant industry today knows anything about food safety and handling, proper preparation - and get this - PERSONAL HYGIENE!

oh Kev - don't get Mama started.........
 
I keep approx. 30+ different spices in my cabinet! And it is still incomplete! I think besides salt & pepper the one spice I truly could not live with-out is Garlic Powder, I love the taste of garlic best of any spice or herb! Next would be cinnamon, I guess if I could only afford to buy two spices they would be the two I would choose.

What about you?

My ultimate spice blend is Cavender's Greek seasoning, it is so delicious on an Oven Baked Chicken, or a Roast Pork! I love Adobo seasong too but I would settle for just Cavender's if I could only buy just one!
 
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Several months ago I was called in to do some renovation work in a Mall. The construction was to take place in a very famous nation wide seafood chain restaurant
The first night there,I walked into the establishment and I swear, I never saw such a messy kitchen in my life. We use to keep everything shined and polished. Not this place.There were actual pools of water on the floors and food waste you wouldn't believe. To clean the mess you would need a shovel. None of the workers spoke English. They were finishing up for the night and leaving. Dishes that came off the dish washer conveyor were sitting in stacks on the floor. The floor was swamped with filth.
They left everything out on their cooking stations when the left. Nothing was covered or refrigerated. With seafood they did a lot of dredging and different coatings on the fish. All of these were left out and many were even on the floor.

The construction work being done. Up in the suspended ceiling were sewer lines that needed replacing. Plumbers came in and started cutting the old lines out. Whatever was in those lines was allowed to just run out onto what ever was below. Below wasn't exposed to the kitchen because of the ceiling tiles but to me it was disgusting and I would not believe that nothing got through or even air born partials weren't getting below. Several tiles were removed just so workers could get above the kitchen.

I was thoroughly disgusted. The manager of the place didn't even care when I asked him why everything was left out and open with the work going on overhead. He just said the cleaning crew would wrap up everything later.
I called the health department and also sent emails and pictures to the investigator. As far as I can tell, nothing was done except for the fact that I haven't worked there since. The investigator was suppose to contact me with how the situation was handled but that never happend. I'm not surprised.
 
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Wow that is so spooky! Sheeeesh what a creep that Inspector must have been!

Here is the way I would follow-up on that....go to the local newspaper and get the Health or Restuarant Reporter involved...tell your story, too bad you could not have snapped a few photos at the time, I would not allow the ball to drop on this one, you may actually save some lives, or even prevent a few cases of food poisioning! At the very least send in a note to the editorial column, wording it exactly like you did in this post, I WOULD MAKE SOME WAVES!!!!!!!!

It has been several months ago and the Inspector has had plenty of time to respond and he should be held accountable too, CREEP!

Makes me really leary of going out to eat, but Eddie and I always look at the Health Inspection scores, if it is low we GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
You know I thought I didn't buy many blends because I do make so many of my own but I just went and looked and I do have several blends. I have herbs de provence, five spice powder, Pickling Spices, Pumpkin Pie Spices and Garam Masala along with a host of other herbs and spices. I have

Spices
all Spice whole & ground
achiote ground
ajwain seeds
anise seeds
asafoetida
cannelle ground and sticks
cassia ground and sticks
caraway whole
cardamom whole & ground
celery seed
cayenne
whole cloves
corriander whole & ground
cummin whole & ground
fennel seed
garlic powder
ginger
juniper berries
brown mustard seeds
yellow mustard ground
mace ground
nigella seeds
nutmeg whole
smoked Paprika
spanish Paprika
hunagian paprika
red pepper flakes
black pepper
saffron
sumac ground
star anise
szechuan peppercorns
tumeric

Herbs
Basil
Bay
dill
gumbo file
lavender blossoms
marjoram
oregano
rosemary
sage
tarragon
mint
 
Wow Jfain. I had to google a couple of your spices to see what they could be used for. Like Sumac. I didn't know that was a spice, lol. I remember as a kid grabbing a red cone and my hand swelled. I am thinking allergic so I'm not going to try that one.

I do have several McCormick blends and I also take the grinders that they have for their pepper and salt mixes and reuse them for other blends. If you twist them just right the tops come off and can be reused.
 
I do have several McCormick blends and I also take the grinders that they have for their pepper and salt mixes and reuse them for other blends. If you twist them just right the tops come off and can be reused.[/QUOTE said:
I do that too. I suggested it on another forum though and was told that this was ridiculous. No one could get those grinders open to reuse them. How rude! :eek:
Click to expand...
 
Cathy- I like garlic powder and cinnamon too. My most-used, go-to shaker is a blend I toss together that's simply salt, ground celery-seed, garlic powder and a smidgen of cayenne. I use this as a "spice-all" for everything from eggs to roast chicken, chops, steak, etc. My next fav store-bought blend used on much more than just seafood is "Old Bay".

IC... the kitchen you describe sounds like positively one of the worst-ever. I worked in commercial kitchens for over 25 years and I am proud to say that I came up as a kid in kitchens where a strict sense of cleanliness was instilled in us yungins! I had chronic red/dry/chapped hands for years on end due to constantly having my hands in bleach-buckets! Every kitchen I ever worked in was spotless- and almost every staff I was ever a part of were made up of pretty conscientious folks (gratefully!) 'tho I know some real doozies, operated by slobs who just don't give a damn, exist! YUCH!
 
I love this thread, so informative. I just wanted to add that if you grow your own herbs you can use a food dehydrator for drying. I dry oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme and marjoram from my garden. I give most away as gifts in decorative containers. Living in coastal SC I have the extra bonus of being able to pick fresh oregano, thyme, chives and rosemary all winter.
 
GINGER SPICE RUB

Yields rub for 3 to 4 pounds salmon fillet

1/2 cup finely minced ginger
10 tablespoons light-brown sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon finely ground white pepper

Score the salmon lengthwise and crosswise without cutting through the steak. Rub the ginger over the salmon and into the cuts. Mix the rest of the ingredients and sprinkle over the salmon and into the cuts. Grill salmon; store any leftover rub in an airtight container.
 
Gomasio


This is even better than plain salt! You find it on restaurant tables in Korea.

A coffee bean mill should do a great job. To clean the grinder, brush out the coffee residue, put in some crumbled fresh bread, grind it and brush it out.

The Oriental combination of salt and toasted ground sesame seeds is used like conventional salt at the table but provides much less sodium.

4 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon salt

Toast seeds in a dry skillet until they just begin to color. Use low heat and shake the skillet often. Watch closely, as they can burn surprisingly fast. While still hot, grind in a blender or food processor, or pound fine with a mortar and pestle. When crushed, add salt and process or pound a few seconds longer to coat salt with oil from the seeds.

Makes 1/4 cup.

NOTE: Do not prepare more than this amount at one time (except for quantity cooking), so that the sesame salt is always fresh.
 
Lime Salt

4 limes
1 tablespoon of kosher salt

Zest the limes and then mix the zest with the salt. Let your imagination run wild for uses for this lime salt.
It's great in a rub for poultry, steaks and fish. It sure goes great on the rim of a Margarita too.

 
I grow tons of herbs in the summer. I'm sure a dehydrator would be perfect for preserving them but I don't think I have the space for even one more piece of kitchen equipment. I just hang them upside down on the handles of my kitchen cabinets until they are all dried out. It works extremely well. The oregano and thyme that I dry myself has so much more flavor than the stuff at the store. I dry them and then store them whole. When I want to use some I rub the leaves between my hands so all the essential oils are released.

I also have a pot inside with a huge rosemary plant. I need to find a place to plant it in the yard because it’s getting almost too big to keep in a pot.
 
One of the things about growing fresh herbs is the aroma factor. There is nothing like walking into a garden on an early misty morning and smelling the sweet basil or the dill. I can't wait for growing season to start.
 
Any Suggestions On a Homemade Curry Powder

I want to make a spicy chicken in coconut curry. I have never made or had a curry before. The recipe I have for this curry is as follows:

Curry Powder (Garam Masala):
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
2 dried red chilies, broken in pieces, seeds discarded
2 tablespoons turmeric

I have chilies,mustard seed, cloves, peppercorns. I do not have the other spices needed on hand and I'm thinking that to buy them may be close to a 20 dollar investment over what I will pay for the rest of the ingredients such as the chicken and fresh coconut.
I would hate to buy the rest of these spices and then not even care for the curry. I have been told that Curry powder would be a waste to buy pre made.

I am wanting to try something different and am seriously debating buying the spices needed for this Curry. Other Curry recipes call for even more spices. I have seen Indian kitchens with gallon sized jars of curry that they use for almost every meal as the spice for the food. Each Indian family has their own mixture. I can't imagine how much it must cost to fill one of those jars, lol. Well I could do the math but I'm not that motivated this morning.

If anyone has a tried and true recipe for a good curry and suggestions for a first timer I'd appreciate being pushed in the right direction here on exactly what spices I should get. Above all I know that the turmeric and coriander seed are on the top of the list.
 
The Garam Masala recipe that I have differs from the one for the chicken recipe above. Dried chilies, black peppercorns, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, cloves, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. It's basically a recipe of warm spices.
If I'm going to invest in some spices I'd like to get the right ones without going through to much trial and error.
I'm sensing a visit to Cathy's Flop page coming soon.
 
Sometimes you can buy sauces in a bottle with Indian curry flavor already in them, pour it over your chicken, add what spices you have, blend into the sauce.
Cook chicken in sauce *remember sauce is Boss in any dish.

I Love to buy already made Indian rice mixtures (frozen) there so Good, they already have all the Indian spices in them already so the base is in them and you don't have to spend a lot of money on additional spices.

In the summer I will stuff sweet green peppers with Indian rice and it is a very Good vegetarian meal, low fat.

I Love those spices you mentioned cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, I put them all in my sweet-potatoes. Yum, Cookie :)
 
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