E - SPICES, HERBS, AND BLENDS FROM A TO Z - The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs - Padma Lakshmi

The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World - Padma Lakshmi (2016)

SPICES, HERBS, AND BLENDS FROM A TO Z

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EGYPTIAN SPICE BLEND

This popular blend can be made with a variety of spices, the choice and number depending on the spice merchant or cook, but a typical version might include allspice, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, ginger, and nutmeg, as well as dried rosebuds. These blends have a complex but delicate aroma and a rich flavor. They are used as dry rubs for grilled meats, poultry, and fish and are also added to soups and stews and to many lentil, grain, and bean dishes. A simpler spice blend, the Egyptian equivalent of the French quatre épices, consists of allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

EPAZOTE

BOTANICAL NAME: Chenopodium ambrosiodes

OTHER NAMES: pigweed, wormseed, Mexican tea, skunk weed

FORMS: fresh and dried leaves

Epazote is an annual native to Mexico, but it is also found throughout Central America, as well as in the South and other parts of the United States. It’s a tall, bushy plant that is often treated as a weed, in part because it self-seeds readily and spreads easily. The leaves are narrow and serrated, with a distinctive aroma. The name epazote comes from the Nahuatl word epatzotlepatl means “skunk” and tzotl means “dirty.” No wonder it is often considered an acquired taste! Others compare its aroma to petroleum, creosote, or turpentine. But epazote is an essential herb in many Mexican black bean dishes. It is used in moles and long-simmered stews, in tortilla soup and other soups, and, in its fresh state, in quesadillas. When carefully dried, the herb retains its characteristic scent and taste. When buying dried epazote leaves, avoid samples that contain a high proportion of the woody stems; if necessary, pick out the larger stems and discard them before crumbling the leaves into the dish you are preparing (or wrap the epazote in a square of cheesecloth and then remove it from your soup or stew after cooking). If it’s not obvious at this point, epazote should be used sparingly.

MEDICINAL USES: Epazote can be brewed into a tea believed to relieve gassiness, but note the Caution below.

Caution: Epazote should not be consumed in large quantities; the concentrated oil from the plant has been reported to have negative health consequences; some have linked excessive use to kidney and liver damage, but any real connection remains unclear.