Spices
An assortment of ordinary looking – but
special – leaves, roots, barks and buds are playing an important
new role in modern nutrition and special diets – even though
they’ve been around and used since man’s early history. These
special botanicals – which have become known as spices – have
long been used to enhance the appeal of foods, preserve it, or
serve as primitive medicines and perfumes. But now these ancient
products increasingly are being recognized for their role in
making nutritious foods more attractive, and because they can help
people adjust to dietary restrictions.
The problem of making or keeping foods attractive and
within dietary restrictions, when necessary, is continuously
complicated by growing evidence that the average person in the
United States would be better off with a reduction in consumption
of sugar, fats, and salt. That's where spices can come to the
rescue.
What are spices? They are all of the dried plant products used for
culinary purposes. They range from pepper and cinnamon to the
herbs, seeds, and dehydrated vegetable seasonings. There are many
blends, such as curry powder, poultry seasonings, and Italian
seasoning.
For all the variety of enticing flavors and
aromas they offer, spices are low in calories, sodium, fat, and
cholesterol. For the most part - and especially considering the
amounts normally used - they're so low in these factors that their
contributions can be considered negligible.
Some of the oil-rich seeds, such as poppy and sesame, do
have moderate calorie counts. And seasonings such as parsley
flakes and celery flakes have enough sodium to be counted. But
unless the recipe calls for a substantial amount, or the diet
restriction is severe, they are not usually a problem.
It helps to know the inherent flavors of the spices. Here
are some of the starting points for sugar and salt reduction:
Sugar Reduction
When reducing sugar, the so-called "sweet
spices" are helpful. In this category are cinnamon, cloves,
allspice, ginger, cardamom, anise, and fennel. These flavors are
not really sweet by themselves, but are grouped as the sweet
spices because they become most appealing when combined with sweet
flavors. They're the spices of sugar 'n spice and everything nice.
But they don't necessarily need sugar, or at least they don't need
as much as is normally used.
The natural sugars of unsweetened fruits can be sufficient
to bring out the best in cinnamon and allspice and the rest of
this group. Furthermore, tile spice used this way not only adds
its own flavor, but gives the impression of greater sweetness in
the dish. Result: lower calorie count, but sufficient good flavor
to make the food satisfying to keep the dieter from feeling
deprived.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this kind of
strategy is that it can help a person make a permanent reduction
in the level of sugar used in cooking and baking. It applies not
only to calorie watchers, but also people who could benefit from
lower sugar consumption.
But again, how much spice does it take? And which spices
with which foods? One place to begin is checking your personal
recipe file or favorite cookbooks and looking for fruit recipes
which already call for spices. For the spices, step up the
quantity by about 50 percent while reducing the sugar by the same
percentage.
If feasible, taste before cooking or baking. You may need
to increase the cinnamon, for example. The same may be true of
allspice, ginger, anise, or fennel. Cardamom, however, may need no
more, because it is fairly potent. For cloves, the strongest of
the sweet spices, 50 percent additional could be too much. The
changes depend on the recipe and the nature of the other
ingredients - there is no substitute for tasting and practical
experimentation.
Salt & Sodium Reduction
For salt reduction, your best choices are the savory and bitey spices, herbs, blends, and vegetable seasonings. Black
pepper proves to be especially helpful. Garlic powder, or
granulated garlic is excellent, as is curry powder. Cumin and dill
seeds, basil, ginger, coriander, and onion are all very effective,
depending on the subject foods. Tarragon and oregano are good salt
replacements in tomato containing recipes.
Remember that while onion salts and garlic salts are high in their salt
content, all other forms, from
powdered to minced to flakes, are low. Our no salt seasoning is an
excellent blend of some of the best salt reduction spices.
Along with spices, other helpful replacements for salt are
vinegar, ascorbic acid, lemon juice, wine, and smoke flavor.
One last point about the process of experimenting with
seasonings: It can he a great deal of fun and pleasurable eating!
Information . Black Pepper . Garlic
. Peppercorns
. Saffron
. Vanilla(R)
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