The World in 10 Spice Blends

We have opened the most precious casket to give you the 10 rarest and most secret Spice Blends that man has managed to keep in the millennia that have characterized its history.

Average weight per jar : 60 g


ZHUATANG

Origin : China

Born around 1300, this blend is among the oldest in the world. Legend has it that it was created with the intention of bringing together all five flavors that form the basis of Chinese dietary theory: sweet (cinnamon), salty (cloves), bitter (anise), acid (fennel seeds) , spicy (pepper), and to balance Yin and Yang. In Chinese cuisine it is normally used to prepare the so-called "Lu" foods, a cooking method used to stew some dishes, generally fatty meats, such as pork and duck: thanks to the long cooking, the latter absorb all the aromas to the maximum. Also recommended with tofu, soups, sautéed vegetables and all the various noodle dishes.

Ingredients : Star Anise, Cinnamon, Szechuan Pepper, Fennel, Cloves.


MADRAS CURRY

Origin : India

This Curry is so famous that it has become synonymous with the word Curry in the world. Madras is the ancient name of the city of Chennai in southeastern India. It is a strong Curry which, depending on the amount of chilli pepper, can be more or less spicy. The prevailing flavor is that of turmeric: dry and enveloping. Then follow the spicy and particular notes of mustard and pepper, enhanced by the light smokiness of paprika. Cardamom, with its floral aroma, completes the blend.

Ingredients: Coriander, Turmeric, Fennel, Salt, Cumin, Garlic, Fenugreek, Laurel, Cloves, MUSTARD, Pepper, Smoked Paprika, Cardamom.


CHIMICHURRI

Origin : Argentina

This blend of herbs and spices originated in Argentina and has spread throughout South America and Northern Europe. The flavor and aroma of onion and garlic stimulate the combination with grilled meat and fish. It lends itself to the composition of marinades with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkling the meat and letting it rest for at least an hour. The result will be amazing.

Ingredients : Garlic, Onion, Sweet Paprika, Oregano, Salt, Parsley, Pepper.

BREAD WITH SPICES

Origin : France

Pain d'Épices is a blend of spices created to flavor desserts, biscuits, bread, panna cotta, puddings and more. It comes from the small town of Colmar, the capital of Alsace, also known as the capital of the production of Alsatian wine. The origins of this sweet blend are lost in the mists of time. Greeks and Romans used to make sweet breads flavored with honey, but the most ancient ancestor of Pain d'Epices as we know it today can be found in a honey bread flavored with herbs and used as rations by the Chinese army around 1100 AD

Ingredients : Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cardamom, Coriander, Macis, Allspice, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cloves.

RAS EL HANOUT

Origin : Morocco

It is a blend of spices with warm and "sweet" and non-spicy scents, such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg. Since it can be considered a condiment, it is easy to use to marinate meat, perhaps mixed with fat, or transformed into a cream to spread not only on meat, fish or vegetables, but also on stews and tagines. To prepare a spread, add a teaspoon of Ras el Hanout to softened butter, sour cream or Greek yogurt; if, on the other hand, you want an emulsion to make your pinzimonio special, mix it with extra virgin olive oil.

Ingredients : Turmeric, Coriander, Allspice, Cinnamon, Chilli, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Ginger, Cumin, Fennel, Nutmeg, Star Anise, Orange Peel, Fenugreek, Bay Leaf.


CAJUN

Origin : Louisiana

Cajun cuisine is a typical American cuisine born with French immigrants from Canadian Acadia and forcibly moved by the British to Acadiana, a colonial region of today's Louisiana and part of eastern Texas. Cajun foods are characterized by simple preparation and the use of rustic ingredients. This spicy spice blend is very popular in the USA and is suitable for all red meat and game dishes.

Ingredients : Salt, Thyme, Black Pepper, White Pepper, Onion, Garlic, Sweet Paprika, Cane Sugar, Oregano, Chili Pepper, Nutmeg, Cumin.

BERBERÉ

Origin : Eritrea, Ethiopia

Berberé is the name of a mix of African spices, used in Eritrea and Ethiopia for the preparation of the famous national dish, the zighinì stew. The blend includes spices with innumerable properties: cardamom, chilli pepper, ginger, cloves, coriander, allspice, common rue, ajowan, sometimes even long pepper and fenugreek. There are essentially two types of Berberé: the one with fenugreek and the one with cardamom. Berberé can be used to spice up countless foods and dishes and to increase the use of spices in the kitchen, also helping to eliminate salt and fat.

Ingredients : Nutmeg, Coriander, Cardamom, Allspice, Black Pepper, Kummel, Cayenne Pepper, Ginger, Cloves, Salt, Fenugreek.


ZAHATAR

Origin : Lebanon

Zahatar is a very popular mix of spices in the area of ​​the former Ottoman Empire (Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Israel and Jordan). In Israel it is very fashionable, as well as in Palestine where they consider it a typical ingredient of their cuisine. In Lebanon, children are raised on bread and zahatar as it is believed to strengthen the body and mind. Very versatile, Zahatar is used simply mixed with oil to dip bread, bagels, pitta or manakish, a kind of pizza common throughout the Middle East; in Palestine it is served with chickpeas and olives and is eaten, as well as as breakfast in the morning, also as a mid-morning snack, served with hummus; it is added to labne, yogurt that has the consistency of a cheese; it is also used to flavor meat and vegetables. You can use it to flavor an onion pizza or to flavor stewed potatoes; it is very pleasant to use it as a dry marinade for chicken or lamb and it is also tasty on tomatoes and mozzarella or on eggs.

Ingredients : White Sesame, Sumac, Thyme, Salt, Marjoram, Coriander, Dill.


MYKONOS

Origin : Greece

The Mykonos Herbal Blend was invented in the 1960s. It seems that one of the chefs on Aristotle Onassis' yacht, on the occasion of Jacqueline Kennedy's first visit, who would later become the Greek shipowner's wife, prepared this melange to dress a carrot, cucumber and tomato salad that Jacqueline was fond of. The guests were so enthusiastic that the recipe soon went around the world. This blend contains all the scents of the Mediterranean in an aromatic bouquet. It is a mixture particularly suitable for flavoring fish and white meats, eggs and sauces and dishes based on steamed vegetables and legumes. Also excellent for marinating meat to be cooked on the grill.

Ingredients : Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Laurel, Mint, Marjoram, Oregano, Fennel.


KASKA

Origin : Niger, Mali, Ghana

In some citations from the 13th century AD, a Syrian historian from Aleppo mentions Kaskà on four occasions, always pairing it with couscous. These ancient citations show that couscous, and therefore Kaskà, spread rapidly, but that in general they were common especially in the Islamic West up to Tripolitania, while further east, starting from Cyrenaica, the cuisine was above all Egyptian type for which couscous was only an occasional dish. One of the first references to Kaskà in northern Europe is in Brittany, in a letter dated January 12, 1699, but already much earlier it had made its appearance in Provence, where the traveler Jean Jacques Bouchard wrote that he ate it in Toulon in 1630. This mixture is not only essential for the preparation of couscous to which it is added during cooking, but it is a happy combination if combined with fish and lamb.

Ingredients : Coriander, Cumin, Paprika, Black Pepper, Chilli.