How to combine spices with different ingredients

Nature so conceived that the energy we get from food. And it is hardly possible to meet a person who prefers tasty food to ascetic dishes consisting of crackers and water. Is that somewhere high in the mountains of Tibet, in distant monasteries. But we are talking about ordinary people, and not about those who have known being and refused the pleasures that hinder the knowledge of the universe.

A century ago, few rich people could afford spices. Ordinary people had to be content with one seasoning – salt. And if you look back a couple of centuries ago, then salt was also at a price not cheaper than many non-ferrous metals and precious stones. It is good that we live in the 21st century, where black pepper is no longer a sign of wealth, but a habitual spice; where you can buy saffron not for a small ship, but for a reasonable amount, and where a variety of seasonings is amazing.

But if you pour spices at random in the dish, then you risk not to improve its taste, but to make the food unusable. Different spices are suitable for each product, and if one seasoning goes well with meat, then it will simply spoil the fish. The same goes for the other ingredients. We will talk about which spices are suitable for different products.

Meat

Meat is one of the few food products whose taste varies greatly depending on the spices used. A spice suitable for any meat is pepper. The most common seasoning is black pepper. Apart from it, you can add green pepper (has a milder taste than black), white (sharper than green, but softer than black), cayenne (ground chili seeds, very spicy and good for grilled meats), chili (gives burning taste) and allspice (has an unusual taste and bright aroma).

So, we figured out the spices that are  suitable for any meat. Now consider the types of meat separately.

The following seasonings are suitable for pork: marjoram, rosemary, cumin, cardamom, celery, garlic, bay leaf, paprika, hops-suneli, basil, oregano, cumin, tarragon and turmeric. If you want to bake the pork in the oven, then you can make a set of several seasonings listed above. The main rule when choosing spices for pork is the absence of too bright tastes or aromas. Choosing soft spices is necessary because pork has a dull taste, and too fragrant seasonings can overshadow meat. For the “classic” skewers often take black pepper, coriander, cumin and thyme. Remember: no marinating in mayonnaise, ketchup or vinegar. It is so gastronomically wrong that cooks at the sight of such a mockery of meat, take up the knives.

Thyme, rosemary, tarragon, cloves, oregano, basil, mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, nutmeg, thyme and cumin are well suited to beef. Since beef has a bright taste, fragrant spices are suitable for it. When roasting beef, you can add chili, basil, rosemary, oregano, tarragon or sage. Naturally, it is better to choose one, maximum two spices from those presented above. Marinate beef can be in a mixture of peppers, rosemary, barberry and thyme.

For lamb you need to pick up other seasonings that will remove its specific taste and aroma, make the meat more soft and tender. Thyme, cumin, cardamom, ginger and paprika are good for mutton. They also use hot and allspice to kill the taste, especially if it is the meat of an old sheep. In general, for mutton it is better to use bright spices.

Bird

If we talk about the most common bird – chicken, then choose the spices is not so difficult. Chicken has a bright taste, so you can use aromatic spices such as pepper, clove, turmeric, mustard seeds, cumin, ginger, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Universal seasonings for chicken are garlic, curry and paprika.

Game also has a rather specific taste, depending on what it eats. Most often, game meat has a taste of fish. To interrupt this taste and make the meat soft, you can use mint, celery, marjoram and melissa. Also used a set of spices, consisting of rosemary, orange peel and myrtle. For cooking hot dishes in the oven or grill, chili, cinnamon and nutmeg are well suited to chicken. Recall that in no case need to soak the chicken or anything at all in mayonnaise, ketchup or vinegar. This is done with one goal – to kill the taste and smell of spoiled meat, and not to give it a pleasant taste. But for boiled chicken is better to use a minimum of seasonings. Most often, when cooking, put black or allspice, as well as thyme, onion or garlic.

A fish

Fish is divided into two types: freshwater and saltwater. Regardless of the type of fish, rosemary, thyme, tarragon and marjoram are the universal spices for it. Also lemon juice is good for fish. Garlic, turmeric, basil, coriander and lemon juice are suitable for grilled freshwater fish. By the way, adding lemon juice will remove the river smell, due to which many people prefer freshwater fish to the sea. Pepper, mint, rosemary, basil and lemon balm are suitable for stewing. Bay leaf, interrupting river smell, pepper, celery, saffron, rosemary, sage or nutmeg are well suited for cooking. Remember that these spices have a bright aroma, so use one or two of those listed. Bay leaves, mint, lemon balm, turmeric, coriander, thyme or marjoram are best for baking.

For sea fish requires a different set of spices. It is best to fry sea fish with one pepper to choose from — usually black, red, white, or allspice — as well as adding thyme, lemon balm, ginger, or nutmeg. Stew sea fish with allspice, ginger or nutmeg and garlic. Bay leaf is added, but only at the end, to emphasize the taste of sea fish. Sea fish is baked with rosemary, thyme, fennel or basil, and turmeric or paprika is added. Do not forget to pour lemon juice on the fish – it will emphasize the taste and aroma of the dish. In addition, you can add celery and bay leaf to baked fish. Sea fish is rarely boiled, but if you decide to eat fish soup, a modest set of black pepper, cloves and onions will do.