How to make homemade spice blends
A few years ago, my cousin gave me several packets of a spice mix from Bali, Indonesia. The small, clear packets contained an assortment of whole spices including coriander, black pepper, long pepper, cloves and what I believed were slices of dried 听(). Also in each聽packet was a mysterious powder (it looked like ground spices but I had no idea what!), folded into a small square of old newspaper and stapled shut. Even my cousin didn鈥檛 know what it was or what culinary magic it might impart.
Buoyed by blind faith, I followed my cousin鈥檚 instructions to crush the spices with聽a mortar and pestle and fry the powder till fragrant before simmering pork chunks in coconut milk. The resulting dish was aromatic and succulent, bringing me back to long, languid summer visits to Indonesia. I鈥檝e gone on to use the spice mixture as a rub for pork ribs as well as a seasoning for chicken, all with excellent results.
When I ran out, I was devastated. Not for very long though. I figured: someone created the spice combination from scratch and so could I.
A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and it came together. Okay, so it wasn鈥檛 really that simple (plus, no mysterious powder!) but after a few trials and errors, I conjured up聽a similar facsimile that was just as tasty.
Then I started thinking, why not make all my favorite spice blends from scratch: , taco seasoning, 聽Cajun spice, pumpkin spice seasoning, etc. All of these blends are easy enough to make at home using organic, spices without聽any additives.
In developing my own spice mixtures, I came up with some tips for blending spices at home:
- Don鈥檛 be afraid to substitute聽
Google and you鈥檒l find tons of spice blend recipes on the internet. I guarantee you鈥檒l find one that you really want to try that calls for, say cubeb berries (I know, what the鈥�?). But you don鈥檛 have cubeb berries in your pantry, you can鈥檛 find cubeb berries at the local Safeway, and even if you did find some, would you use it again? Google again, and you鈥檒l find out that, while they possess a slight pine-like pungency and have a subtle allspice flavor, cubeb berries share black pepper鈥檚 flavor profile. Go ahead and substitute, tweaking the final mix to your liking, perhaps adding some allspice. Spice blends are about the flavors you like, not someone else, including the person who created the original recipe!
- Start small
Spice blends straight up will not taste the same as in the final dish, i.e. you can鈥檛 dip your finger in it and deduce it鈥檒l taste good. To really test drive the blend, you鈥檒l have to cook your dish. That鈥檚 why, start with small quantities first. Once you鈥檝e come up with the perfect balance of spices, make a larger batch so it鈥檒l be handy-dandy, but not so much that you won鈥檛 use it up within a few months.
- Buy from the bulk bins
Spices, especially when ground, lose their flavor after several months sitting in your kitchen cabinet. A good rule of thumb is to toss them out after 6 to 8 months, or do the smell test. If they smell of dust and nothing else, out it goes. Buy from bulk bins, buy whole spices if you can, and only buy what you need.
- Clean your pantry
Just like cleaning out your closet, there鈥檚 so much satisfaction to be gained from ridding your pantry of spices (and other foodstuffs) that haven鈥檛 seen the light of day since, oh I don鈥檛 know, the early 2000鈥瞫? Be brave, say goodbye to that bottle of berbere spice you received as a hostess gift at that long-ago dinner party. You鈥檒l free up room for the spices you really want to stock up on!
- Be adventurous
Invent your own spice blend using spices/flavors you love! I was captivated by a chicken dish an acquaintance made for me years ago. I deduced the spices included turmeric, tarragon, and mint, all flavors I enjoy, and kept experimenting until I came up with something vaguely similar. I don鈥檛 believe there are any hard and fast rules about blending spices. When it comes to combining flavors, go with your gut. Of course, you don鈥檛 want one spice to overpower all the other flavors so balance is important. Just go easy on the more pungent spices like anise, cumin, peppers, and even rosemary.
In no time, you鈥檒l be a masalchi just like my friend Rick鈥檚 Aunty Kaisrie (below)!
Aunty Kaisrie鈥檚 Spice Blend (Masala)
聽From "The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook 鈥� Home Cooking from Asian American Kitchens" (Sasquatch Books, 2009)
Masala 鈥� the Hindi word for a blend of spices 鈥� is at the heart of Indian cooking.聽Rick鈥檚 Aunty Kaisrie is the family masalchi, or spice-blender. A masala can comprise聽just two or three spices or up to a dozen or more and it may be added whole or ground and at different stages of cooking. The popular garam masala is a blend of savory aromatic spices added near the end, or at the end, of cooking when making curries. The following spices are available at South Asian markets and in the bulk section of gourmet markets. To make a larger or lesser amount of this blend, increase or decrease the ingredients in proportion to one another.
Time: 45 minutes
聽Makes: 3/4 cup
2-inch stick cinnamon, broken up
聽1 tablespoon black onion seeds
聽1 tablespoon black peppercorns
聽2 tablespoons cardamom seeds
聽1/4 cup aniseed
聽1/4 cup black mustard seeds
聽1/4 cup fenugreek seeds
聽1/4 cup cumin seeds
1. In a medium cast-iron skillet, dry roast the spices one at a time over medium heat, stirring until they turn a few shades darker and release a musky aroma. Transfer to separate plates as they are roasted and let cool.
2. Each spice takes varying lengths of time to roast so pay careful attention not to burn them. Grind the spices separately in a clean coffee or spice grinder until powdery. Combine and sift all the spices together. Store the masala in an airtight jar for 2 to 3 months.
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