The Science of Spice

Flavour Group | PENETRATING TERPENES | Grains of Selim 131

Cook briefly in fat before adding

to a dish, or add towards the end

of the frying time.

Add early when cooking in

watery dishes, to allow time for

flavours to infuse the dish.

Pleasantly fragrant molecules

(particularly phenolics) are deposited

by the rising smoke particles as they

wash over the dry fruit.

BLEND TO TRY

Use and adapt this classic blend

featuring grains of Selim.

Yaji p36

RELEASE

THE FLAVOUR

The main flavour compounds

of grains of Selim dissolve

and mix well in fats and

alcohol, but less so in

water-based liquids.

BLENDING SCIENCE

The unique flavour of grains of Selim is due to a powerful and unusual compound

called fenchone. You can also make interesting matches with its less dominating

flavour compounds, such as vanillin, germacrene, linalool, geraniol, and pinene.

FOOD PARTNERS

Drinks Use the ground spice to make

the Senegalese coffee drink café touba.

Vegetables Add the ground spice

to a vegetable curry of beans, tomatoes,

and courgettes; sprinkle the ground

spice over a spiced squash soup.

Fish Use the ground spice as a rub for

fish, such as cod, before grilling, baking,

or adding to a richly spiced gumbo.

Meat Make peppersoup, a West

African soup containing grains of Selim,

nutmeg, chilli, and assorted meats.

Rice Add a whole pod to pilaf or

biryani, or to Nigerian "one-pot" jollof rice.

complement sweet

hints with fruity,

tangy spices:

juniper is an

excellent sweet

match, sharing

pinene and geraniol

sumac brings

mouth-puckering

sweet-sour notes

liquorice contains

intensely sweet

glycyrrhizin and

shares cineole

team with other

spices that carry

this compound:

fennel brings a

strong liquorice taste

and accentuates pine

flavour

dill carries subtler,

anise-like flavours and

adds hints of citrus

enhance woody

notes with similar

compounds

nutmeg and

mace contain a

woody compound

called myristicin

add a fragrant

floral spice to

the mix:

coriander’s floral

flavours are sweet

and citrus infused

cardamom shares

linalool while

penetrating cineole

complements the

lingering camphor

notes

FENCHONE

bitter | penetrating |

camphorous

VANILLIN

sweet | fragrant |

creamy

GERMACRENE

woody | spicy |

sweet

LINALOOL AND

GERANIOL

floral | sweet |

herbal

Kitchen

creativity

Whole pods add a raw pepperiness to soups, porridges, stews, and sauces, while the

ground pods make excellent dry rubs for meat and fish. The whole pods are

sometimes tied in a muslin pouch so that they can be removed easily before serving.

Aroma-laden

fragments embed in

the skin of the pods

MAXIMIZE

THE SMOKINESS

Dried pods are smoked during drying to

give a musky, wood-smoke aroma. Most

of the smokiness is in the pods, so for the

fullest smoky flavour grind the whole

pods just before use.

GRAINS OF

SELIM

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