The Science of Spice

Europe 73

SPICE

PALETTE

Bitter orange

powder is made

from the dried peel

of Seville oranges,

and imparts a sour

citrus flavour.

Biscuit shapes

cut from Finnish

piparkakut dough,

see p213.

One of the culinary legacies of the British Empire

is a taste for South Asian spicing, often amalgamated

into all-purpose curry powders. These are used

liberally in the eponymous “national dish”, as

well as a gravy-like sauce for chips, the vegetable

preserve known as piccalilli, and the summer

buffet staple Coronation chicken. Dating further

back to Britain’s medieval past is a love of warming

aromatic spices for flavouring sweet bakes and

alcoholic drinks consumed in the cold winter

months; to a Brit, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg,

ginger, and mace are all immediately evocative

of the festive season.

LOCAL SPICE BLEND

Mulling spice

Warm red wine or cider is infused with this

collection of whole sweet spices and traditionally

drunk at winter celebrations, from Bonfire Night

to orchard wassails on Twelfth Night.

2 cinnamon sticks

6 cloves

6 allspice berries

½ nutmeg

2 bay leaves

Add the spices to a pan of red wine or cider and heat

to simmering point, or tie them up first in a piece of muslin

for easy retrieval. Add sugar or honey, orange and/or lemon

slices, and rum or sloe gin to taste. Enough for two bottles

of red wine or 1.75 litres (3 pints) of still cider.

GREAT BRITAIN

Warming | Gutsy | Festive

Signature

Curry powder, allspice,

clove, cinnamon

Curry powder is a mix of

spices including fenugreek,

turmeric, ginger, and cumin.

Allspice is used in a myriad

of sweet dishes and also in

salted beef.

Supporting

Mustard, cayenne pepper,

nutmeg, mace, ginger, juniper

Potent English mustard is

an essential accompaniment

to cooked meats, fiery

cayenne is used in devilled

kidneys, and juniper is most

often used in game dishes.

Supplementary

Saffron, white pepper, coriander,

anise, turmeric

Historically, saffron and

white pepper were popular,

but their traditional use has

largely dwindled to Cornish

buns and preserved meats,

respectively. In addition to

use in pickling spice, coriander

seeds flavour Lancastrian

Goosnargh cakes.

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072-073_Scadinavia_Britain.indd 73 04/06/2018 15:47