Spice Flavours disappear, (do they ?)

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spud
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Spice Flavours disappear, (do they ?)

Post by spud » Tue Jun 24, 2014 09:21

Have a question that keeps me awake at night.
I have tried to search the Forum fior answers but cant seem to track down what I want.
Example I'm finding is the spice quantities mentioned in recipes seem to disappear into the muixture and I cant fiond them when I do a tasting. I've adopted a double & see attitude after the teating.
This seems to work on some of the recipes. The recipes are all from reputable Fellows and Ladies alike so I'm maybe the one on the wrong side of the fence.
Example I have is to use a recipe from Our "Members' Recipes Index" and convert this to metric and away I go. I do use a spread sheet that once I have the conversion I bang the recipe in and I'm off. I'm doing one tonight and I will post what I
"I'm using and maybe the expert that posted the recipe can look at what I'm doing and advise.

I still think that sausage mixtures hide those spices very well, is that a fact or fiction.

Any assistance with searching the subject would be appreciated as well as I dont seem to be on top of that feature here as well. Maybe the size of the fingers :cry:

Thanks in anticipation.
Spud OZ
Last edited by spud on Tue Jun 24, 2014 18:59, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Chuckwagon » Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:24

Spud ol` partner, we`ve missed you pal! ("Spud" is one of the founding members of this site. We went to different schools together! ) Good to hear from you ol` friend.

Graham,
Spices will always lose most of their flavor if put into food too soon. Most chefs add spices to a dish during the last few minutes of cooking. In sausage, certain flavors like ginger and garlic will dissipate completely over time. Others, such as caraway or fennel in Italian sausages, will permeate the meat and hang on for a while. The flavor in meat increases as an animal ages. However, flavors concentrate in the fat more than the lean, so... low-fat means low flavor. On the other hand, though freezing affects meat flavor very little, it can definitely affect its flavor if the fat has gone rancid by exposure to oxygen, accelerated by exposure to light. Here is a reference list for some common spices.

Common Spices And Herbs:

Allspice (spice) is a sweet and spicy small berry native to the Caribbean, sometimes mistaken for pepper. Wouldn`t you know it? Someone put together a blend of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, called it allspice, and has sold it to be used with meat dishes, egg dishes, fish, gravies, pickles, relishes, tomato sauce, fruit preserves, cakes, cookies, pastries. Real allspice is great on grilled meats and seafood.

Anise (spice) is a small 1/8-inch long yellowish-brown seed that resembles the cumin seed, but tastes much like the licorice of fennel as both contain the essential oil anethol. Actually, anise is slightly stronger and sweeter than fennel. It is used with meat, poultry, vegetables, fruits, cakes, cookies, and candies.

Basil (herb) has a pungent, sweet aroma and is broiled and roasted with meat and poultry, fish, egg dishes, soups, vegetables, tomato dishes, pasta, dressings, stuffings, and sauces. Today`s favorite herb!

Bay Leaf (herb) is strong in flavor, removed from dishes before serving, and used in stews, soups, vegetables, pickles, gravies, sauces, and marinades. Many folks on salt-free diets have surmised food will taste forever bland. Not true! The biggest little secret of great tasting roast pork, chicken, beef, or ham is the use of bay leaves. California bay leaf is the strongest in the world although Turkish bay leaf remains the most popular. Some cowboys say that the Turkish variety has more depth. If you need to curb your intake of salt, try bay leaves as an alternative.

Caraway (spice) has a sweet, slightly sharp flavor used in meat loaves and stews, bread, pot roasts, vegetables, salads, cheese spreads, dips, and sauces.

Cardamom (spice) pungent, aromatic seed used in bread, pastries, cookies, fruits, meats, poultry, and fish.

Cayenne is very hot red pepper used with meats, seafood, egg and cheese dishes, soups, sauces, dips, spreads, and French dressing. Use it carefully and do not add large amounts at one time.

Celery Salt And Celery Seed (spice) provide a tangy celery flavor used in meat, fish, stews, cheese dishes, egg dishes, sauces, spreads, dressings, and stuffing.

Chamomile is used for brewing tea. Try iced tea with your barbecue. Let the leaves steep inside a large glass jar placed in the sunshine on a hot afternoon. Strain, drain, and serve it over ice.

Chili Powder is a hot, peppery blend of herbs and spices used in Spanish or Mexican dishes, bean and rice dishes, barbecue and cocktail sauces, spreads, dressings, dips, egg dishes, and vegetables.

Chives (herb) have a sweet, delicate, onion-like flavor and are used with fish, poultry, egg or cheese dishes, vegetables, soups, salads, and dressings.

Cilantro (herb) is used the world over in diverse ethnic foods and people seem to either hate it or love it! Some say it tastes a bit "soapy. Cilantro is best used fresh or as a finishing herb as prolonged cooking diminishes its pungency. It is especially popular with barbecued dishes, fresh salsas, pastes, and sauces. The seed from the plant is a spice called coriander.

Cinnamon (spice) has a sweet, spicy flavor and aroma. It is used in breads, cookies, cakes, desserts, pastries, beverages, sauces, and vegetables.

Cloves (spice) provide a strong, spicy-sweet flavor and aroma used with pork, lamb, barbeque sauces, pickles, relishes, fruits, breads, cakes, cookies, desserts.

Coriander (spice) is the small, round, seed of the cilantro plant and has the flavor of sage and lemon rind. It is used in sausage, curries, stews, pickles, bean and rice dishes, breads, cookies, gingerbread, and cakes.

Cumin (spice) is a strong, slightly bitter-lemon flavored spice used in Spanish, Mexican, and Eastern dishes, stews, pickles, and tomato dishes.

Curry Powder is a blend of many spices, warm and sharp through hot and spicy. Its exact flavor depends upon the brand used. Curry powder is used with meat, poultry, seafood, egg dishes, cheese dishes, soups, sauces, seafood salads, dips, cheese spreads, and rice dishes.

Dill (herb) is popular with fish and many Greek and Asian recipes. Mild with a slight caraway aroma, it is used with meat, poultry, fish, seafood, stews, soups, salads, sauces, dressings, dips, pickles, breads, and egg dishes.

Fennel (spice) Virtually all of the fennel plant is edible and tastes much like anise, as both contain the essential oil anethol, although anise is slightly stronger and sweeter than fennel. The roots and stalks may be cooked and eaten as a vegetable and the stems are great chopped and added to salads. The bulb may be eaten raw or cooked and chopped leaves may be used in soups, with fish, or added to salads. Fennel seeds are used in pickles, liqueurs, tomato sauces and sausages as well as candy and perfume.

Garlic is supplied in supermarkets almost invariably in "softneck" varieties. Store it at room temperature in the open air - never inside your refrigerator. Don`t put it in a plastic bag and always use fresh garlic, not that fraudulent facsimile in a bottle. It's a snap to prepare. Peel it by simply smacking it with the flat side of your kitchen knife, Chinese cleaver, or the bottom of a drinking glass. The peeling will literally fall away from a fresh clove of garlic. Remember, garlic burns easily, becoming bitter, so add it to a pan after another food has absorbed the initial heat. Drop a few cloves of partially crushed garlic into your vinegar bottle and use raw, crushed cloves in salads and dressings for a special treat. And be sure to try your own garlic infused oil for your stir-frying.

Ginger has a pleasant odor and a pungent taste. Its used in Oriental dishes, meats, poultry, vegetables, fruits, dressings, pickles, jams, marinades, breads, cookies, pies, cakes, and desserts. Grate your own from a fresh plant as the powdered product has usually lost its flavor.

Mace (spice) is the membrane surrounding a nutmeg. Slightly sweeter than nutmeg, it is used with meat, fish, stews, egg, cheese and vegetable dishes, soups, sauces, cakes, and cookies. See: Nutmeg

Marjoram (herb) is a member of the mint family and is spicy and sweet. Use it with roasts (meat and poultry), fish, seafood, eggs, stews, casseroles, soups, vegetables, salads, gravies, and sauces. The plant is often mistaken for oregano and is best used as a finishing herb.

Mint (herb) is spicy, cool, and used with roasted lamb and beef, vegetables, sauces, relishes, jellies, salads, fruits, beverages. There are over 2,000 varieties best used as finishing herbs.

Mustard (spice) has a pungent taste and is used with pickles, relishes, dressings, sauces, dips, egg dishes, marinades, pork, ham, and corned beef.

Nutmeg (spice) is warm, sweet, and spicy and is used with vegetables, egg dishes, beverages, breads, cookies, cakes, desserts, and sauces.
Nutmeg and mace are rarely used together because they both come from the same source - the myristica frangrans, or nutmeg tree. Mace consists of the vein-like threads that cover the dried fruit, while nutmeg is the kernel inside the seed. It's much like the kernelinside a peach pit.

Oregano (herb) is a strong and aromatic hearty perennial shrub with fuzzy spade-shaped leaves with tough stems. The plant resembles marjoram and is used with Greek and Italian dishes, pizza, pasta, meats, poultry, fish, seafood, stews, casseroles, egg dishes, tomato sauces, soups, vegetables, salads, and dressings. Oregano`s flavor is described as "earthy and musty with a spicy bite".

Paprika (spice) varies from mild and slightly sweet to hot and comes from the pimento pepper. Larger and milder than chilies, its main purpose is to add color to foods although it definitely has a distinguishing flavor of its own. It is often used to add color to dishes with meat, poultry, cheese, dressings, dips, vegetables, soups, and salads.

Parsley (herb) is mild and brings out the flavor of most non-sweet foods. Parsley, called "nature`s mouthwash", reduces the pungency of onion and garlic.

Poultry Seasoning (mixture) contains mostly sage and is used with poultry, stuffing, and biscuits.

Rosemary (herb) has a sweet, spicy, pine-like fragrance. The plant`s needles are stripped from its stems and used with all roasts - especially lamb. It`s also used to flavor other meat dishes, poultry, fish, stews, casseroles, stuffing, salads, bread, and egg dishes. A little rosemary goes a long way and may easily be overused. Its best used during the last half hour of cooking.

Saffron (spice) has a strong aroma, is slightly bitter and is used with poultry, fish, seafood, rice, bread, and cakes.

Sage (herb) is strong, slightly bitter, and is best known as the main ingredient in poultry seasoning. It is used with roasts, meat, poultry, fish, stuffing, vegetables, cheese dishes, salads, gravies, and sauces.

Savory (herb) has a pleasant, peppery aroma. It is used with meat, poultry, egg dishes, fish, stuffing, salads, soups, gravies, and sauces.

Sesame Seeds (spice) are mild and nutlike. They`re best toasted and are often used as a tasty garnish on bread, rolls, and cookies. Sesame also adds flavor to salads and Oriental dishes.

Tarragon (herb) is assertive, having an orange-anise aroma with the light flavor of licorice. It is used with meats, poultry, fish, stews, vegetables, salads, and sauces. Tarragon is called "the dragon`s tongue".

Thyme (herb) is strong and pungent and may be added near the beginning of the cooking process. Some say its flavor is deep and grassy with a hint of lemon. It is used with roasted meat and poultry, fish, stews, vegetables, salads, and sauces.

Turmeric (spice) is aromatic, slightly bitter, and pepper-like. It is used to color food yellow and utilized in curry dishes, pickles, relishes, dressings, and dips.
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by ssorllih » Tue Jun 24, 2014 14:43

My preference is for the seasoning to enhance to meat but not overwhelm it. The sausage that I have used in stuffed peppers has held its taste for 8 months now. Most often I don't keep sausage very long but the stuffed peppers I made in quantity and they are keeping very well.
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Post by Butterbean » Tue Jun 24, 2014 15:03

Seems like I once saw a book written about spices and additives that was based on percentages. The goal of the book was to show the high and the low ends of the additives so you could carve out a recipe without overpowering it with any one ingredient. Can't remember who wrote the book and now wish I had bought it. I doubt its a big seller because it seemed a bit technical at the time but now I see where this knowledge could be useful.
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Post by HamnCheese » Tue Jun 24, 2014 15:31

Here's a pretty cool paper on small scale sausage making which includes percentages of spices (toward bottom of page) which may be a good guide; typical plus supplementary spices are listed. Maybe this will help? Then again, maybe not!

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6556e/X6556E02.htm

PS - if you click on the right arrows at the bottom of the pages, there is additional information about casings, forumlations, etc. The table of contents for the entire article is here:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6556e/X6556E00.htm#TOC

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Post by redzed » Tue Jun 24, 2014 18:05

Good stuff, CW and Lynn. Wish I had a hard copy of that manual Lynn to take on my camping trip. Guess I'll have to read some paperback.
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Spice Flavours disappear, (do they ?)

Post by spud » Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:39

Thanks everyone for the responses.
I did do a batch and I did find the spices and flavours but not to the extent that you do when you dont have the meat in a casing. To tell you the truth I do think its "me".
Should just wind my neck in and get on with it
Doing a Big Guys Thai Chicken tonight and will see what happens.

Not a silly question here again but I'm sure CW will know this one. (love that Spice list) must have taken all night to type that :lol: Good old Drag and paste aye.
When I made a Curry I pan dry fry the whole spices the let cool and grind them, I havent seen anyone doing that in Recipes as yet (here) so is it not a common practice or are we all using shop grd spices.

Comment that shows CW I'm trying to catch up.
Love the posts re "Project A & B"
Looking to start my own "B" in my own time.

Rgds Spud
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Post by sambal badjak » Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:55

I dry roast cumin and coriander before using and sometimes I do the same with black pepper, so you are not alone :lol:

Where possible I buy whole spices as they keep their flavour better and I grind in a cofee grinder or sometimes pestle and mortar just before using them
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Post by spud » Wed Jun 25, 2014 12:05

Thanks Sambal Badjak.
So I'm not alone. Agree you are better able to obtain better flavours.
rgds Spud
kevinmgm
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Post by kevinmgm » Tue Jan 30, 2018 12:46

Hello,

My question is that What spices are in Mcdonald's Sausage?
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