flavored butter
Flavored butter can make plain food instantly interesting by enlivening it with the flavors of fresh herbs, ginger, citrus, chiles, or roasted garlic. Keep some in the freezer to use in cooking or at the table. Give an instant flavor boost to plain steamed vegetables, broiled or grilled fish, eggs, grains, pasta, corn on the cob, or mashed potatoes. Slather it on fresh bread, rolls, or biscuits.
YIELDS GENEROUS ½ CUP
TIME: 10 MINUTES
½ cup butter, softened
ingredients for one of the flavors listed
Soften the butter at room temperature, or microwave for about 10 seconds. With a flexible spatula, mix in the flavor ingredients. Use the spatula to form the butter into a log on a piece of aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or waxed paper. Wrap the log and close tightly. Refrigerate or freeze.
For the best flavor protection, place the wrapped butter log in a labeled and dated plastic storage bag. Well-wrapped Flavored Butters will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks and in the freezer for 6 months. To use frozen butter, unwrap and slice off as much as you need. It may crumble if cut immediately out of the freezer, but it will slice cleanly after a few minutes at room temperature.
roasted garlic butter
Mild and mellow garlic flavor.
1 head of Roasted Garlic, the softened cloves squeezed out of the papery husks
herbed butter
Fresh herb flavor any time of year. Delicious with just one herb, or mix and match.
¼ cup chopped fresh basil, tarragon, dill, or chives
gremolata butter
An Italian classic, fragrant with lemon.
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
chipotle lime butter
Canned chipotle peppers add smoky, spicy heat.
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotles in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
ginger butter
The bright flavor of ginger, especially good with seafood.
2 tablespoons finely grated peeled ginger root
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
a few splashes of Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (optional)
curry powder
A fresh curry powder that is mildly hot and packs a flavorful punch compared to commercial blends, which may sit on store shelves for months past their prime. Stir into butter or mayonnaise and use to flavor rice, roasted potatoes, or fish.
YIELDS ½ CUP
TIME: 5 MINUTES
4 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Toast the cumin seeds until aromatic, a couple of minutes, in a hot, dry skillet while stirring or shaking continuously or in a toaster oven. Allow to cool before grinding.
In a spice grinder, whirl all of the spices until finely ground. Allow the spice grinder to sit for a minute before removing the cover to avoid the discomfort of cayenne dust in your eyes and nose. Store Curry Powder in a tightly covered jar in the cupboard.
moroccan spice mix
We use this aromatic spice mix to flavor roasted vegetables and baked or grilled shrimp or fish.
YIELDS ⅓ CUP
TIME: 5 MINUTES
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger or cinnamon
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne or black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Stir together all of the ingredients. Store in a well-sealed container in the cupboard.
serving ideas
Sprinkle Moroccan Spice Mix on Roasted Sweet Potatoes before putting them in the oven. Make a variation of Old Bay Roasted Fish & Vegetables by using Moroccan in place of Old Bay seasonings. Stir ½ teaspoon of Moroccan Spice Mix into ½ cup of yogurt for a flavorful little sauce.
salt & pepper
Salt and pepper are sometimes the only seasonings you need to bring out the flavor of simple dishes and fresh ingredients.
SALT may be the single most important ingredient in the kitchen because it enhances the flavors of all other foods, even sweets. The kinds of salt commonly available differ in taste, texture, and makeup.
TABLE SALT, mined from the earth, can be so highly refined that it loses character. Processing removes the iodine naturally present in salt and added anticaking agents can leave an aftertaste.
IODIZED SALT contains iodine, added to replace what was lost in the refining process.
SEA SALT has a brighter, more complex flavor and retains beneficial minerals, including iodine. It is available either coarse or fine-grained.
KOSHER SALT, which has no additives, is less intensely flavored than sea salt or table salt, and it dissolves quickly. Its coarse crystals don’t fit through the holes of a standard salt shaker, so keep it in a small covered dish next to the stove and on the table.
If you have the opportunity, sample the unusual salts found in many natural foods stores and gourmet specialty shops, such as crystalline, mild fleur de sel—a large-grained gray salt from France’s northern coast—black lava and red clay salts from Hawaii, Peruvian pink salt, English Maldon sea salt, and smoked Danish salt.
PEPPER is the other seasoning we take for granted but would dearly miss if we had to do without. Because their volatile oils are released after being crushed or ground, peppercorns quickly lose flavor and aroma. So instead of packaged ground pepper, we prefer to use whole peppercorns and grind them with a peppermill, spice grinder, or mortar and pestle. The flavor of freshly ground pepper is warm, intense, and complex.
Green, black, and white pepper look and taste quite different from one another. They all come from berries of the same tropical plant, but they’re harvested at different stages.
GREEN PEPPERCORNS are harvested when they’re unripe, soft, and aromatic. Green pepper can be sprinkled directly onto food or first mashed into a paste.
BLACK PEPPERCORNS are picked green and then turn black when dried. Black pepper has a more complex, hotter, sweeter taste than green.
WHITE PEPPERCORNS are picked when fully ripened, soaked to remove their red outer skins, and then dried. White pepper has a mild flavor and is used in creamed soups and sauces where its color is preferable.
cumin salt
Cumin salt is a handy
