Nigellaseeds
Whenaddingnigellaseedstoyourpantryit’salways
besttolabelthemimmediatelytoavoida futurecase
ofmistakenidentity.Thetinyseedssharea resemblance
toblacksesameseedsbuttastenothingalike.Instead,
thenigellaseedis knownforitsstrong,earthyprofile.
“I likeusingnigellaseedsbecauseyoudon’tnecessarily
havetotoastthem,youcanaddthemtoa seedmixthat
goesontopofsaladsorthrowthemintobakedsweets
fora littlebitofunexpectedflavour,”saysJordaan.“I think
they’reprettyunderutilisedin westerncookingbutare
excellentforpeoplewithdietaryrequirementsandwe
alwaysusethemin theNeighbourhoodWine kitchen,
especially in our burnt butter sauce.” C araway
“I thinka lotofpeopledon’tknowwhattodowithcaraway
andatsomestageit gotlostin thepantry,butit’sa good
spicetogetintothehabitofusingregularly,”saysJordaan.
“It’subiquitousin SouthAfricansweets,Nordicbaking,
Scandinaviancuisineandanyyeastedbakingbecausethe
flavoursreallydevelop.”If you’renewtocaraway,Jordaan
recommendsaddingit toa biscottimix for “pops of flavour
that aren’t too overwhelming”. Cinnamon
Justlikeyourfavouriteactor,cinnamonhasextensiverange,switchinggearsfromsweet
tosavourywithease.Whetheryouuseit topoachripepearsoraddit toa biryaniricedish,
it alwaysdelivers.ForAlmayJordaan,cinnamonrankshighlyin theOldPalmLiquorkitchen
becauseit’sversatile,butyou’llneverseeherusethepre-groundvariety,andshewants
youtostopusingit too.“Whenit comestospicesit’sreallyworthbuyingastopgradeas
youcanfind,evenif thatmeansyoubuylessandgrindit yourself,”sheexplains.“You’re
reallytakingquitea chancewithpre-groundspices– theymightbestaleorhavea really
short life span. Using fresh spices will lift even the simplest dish when it comestoflavour.”“You’rereally
taking quite
a chancewith
pre-groundspices.
Theymightbe
staleorhave
a reallyshort
life span.”AlmayJordaan
OldPalmLiquorand
Neighbourhood Wine62 GOURMET TRAVELLER