Let’s talk about - aw, man!
Hey guys, salut, this is Alex
and today, I will show you six essential spices
that will literally change the way you cook
forever,
nothing less.
Perfect, and now I have the pressure.
This video is about a series about spices
where we try to understand
and classify each and every spice
the planet has to offer.
So maybe not all of them;
at least we’ll do cumin.
Which ones should you have
where to get them,
how to organize them,
and what about blends?!
Welcome to
Mundus Aromaticus.
So I love spices.
I think they can put the finishing touch
on a complex dish,
but also they are great
to improve a simple pasta dish
or just, you know, a humble bowl of rice.
Spices are not only for chefs.
You got that? Good. So -
sorry.
Now that I have all your attention
let’s get back to basic.
What is a spice?
What the [beep] is spice?
What the [beep] is [beep]?
So according to Wikipedia,
a spice is a seed, fruit, root
bark, berry, bud, or vegetable substance.
Dried herbs are not usually
considered as spices, which is,
in my opinion, a bit questionable
but anyway -
spices can be expensive,
they can be cheap,
they can be common,
or they can be really rare!
I’m not sure I’m even helping
but what you need to remember - um -
but what you need to remember are the four
different and almighty uses of spices.
First one: flavor.
Of course you would expect this one.
Spices will affect
greatly the taste and flavors
of your dishes.
Notice that I just say
affect instead of improve
or ruin because it depends on how
and how much you use your spices.
Two: coloring.
Spices can be truly colourful
and colours will make you happy.
And y'know, being happy is good!
That’s all I’ve got.
Three: preserving.
Spices can have anti-microbial
or anti-bacterial properties
which makes them very handy
and also very common in tropical zones.
Four: medicine.
Spices can do lots of
good stuff to you, like heal
or detox.
Sadly, uh, I’m not a doctor
so we’ll just leave that aside.
I’m supposed to be a surgeon.
Enough with the dull education stuff
Let’s answer the
only legitimate question:
which spices should I have
in my pantry?
Like me, mine, myself!
Okay, so:
that’s a tough and
a slippy question at the same time.
Spices are definitely
related to culture.
So in this video, I had
to make a global choice.
And by that, I’m going to give
you four different options
going from: I don’t
care about cooking, just give me the food,
all the way to
I like spending hours
in the kitchen
pretending I am cooking,
but in fact, I’m just sipping wine.
If you could only have one spice
in your pantry, that would be:
black pepper.
It adds depth, and a bit of
heat to any savory dish.
Freshly ground pepper can’t ever better flavor
but as you only have one spice
in your pantry,
maybe you don’t care that much.
So - one spice is fine.
Black pepper is an all-around spice.
It’s brilliant on pasta,
like carbonara,
and is necessary on meat.
But also a touch of black pepper
will sublimate
the strawberry and cream dessert.
If you could only have
three spices,
they would be:
black peppercorn, which was just mentioned,
plus cumin.
That little spice is really powerful
and is widely used in
Mexican, Middle Eastern, African,
Indian cuisine, you name it.
It has that earthy and warming flavor.
For balance purposes,
its best mate would be coriander seeds.
Use it with confidence on any types of chilis
or when making falafels
or you know, just roasted carrots -
honey and cumin, great dish.
Cinnamon.
Incredibly popular
and widely used all over the globe,
North America, North Africa,
but also Northern Europe.
Use cinnamon sticks to flavour stews
or stocks, and use the ground version
as a deadly sprinkle on dessert.
Think of pastries, apple pies
donuts, but also sweet-savory dishes
like the famous Moroccan bastilla pie.
So before we go any further,
it is time to make an update to
of the studio!
You remember the boxes on the ground.
Well apparently, someone put them
on the wall.
And by someone,
I mean me.
Next improvement in the studio
is this one!
Yaaaa -
truth be told, I’m so proud of this one.
Look at this!
And now I’m screwed.
Being able to properly wash your hands
in the kitchen -
priceless.
Also it might be a bit less interesting
for you guys, but it’s important
for me; I made a space for all the tools.
And everything down here
is gonna go up there.
And last but not least,
there’s a good friend of mine
who is now in the studio.
Look at this!
My lovely bicycle, ma belle chérie!
So guys that’s it for this update tour
of the studio.
Uh, there is still much work
to do, but for now, let’s go back
to the spices.
If you could only have six spices
in your pantry,
they would be:
the three spices we just mentioned
plus chili powder.
And if you think I should be using cayenne
pepper instead, well, I am.
Cayenne pepper is not made from peppercorn,
it’s made from grounded chili.
Heat is a major component of so many dishes,
like, try to picture any Thai food
or Mexican food without the heat.
Turmeric.
That yellow spice is a vibrant
blessing you will find everywhere in India,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Slightly warm and peppery,
I have to admit that I mainly use
turmeric for its bright and sunny, yellow colour.
It will do miracles on cauliflower,
cabbage, and root vegetables.
And you know, just a sprinkle
will wake up any pale soup.
Coriander, or cilantro.
It’s the first spice of the list
which is not bringing a warm feeling,
but more like a fresh and lemony flavour.
If you find coriander leaves soapy,
well, don’t judge the seeds too quickly
because they will give you something
quite different.
As I said earlier,
coriander will balance
the power of cumin.
And that’s why they’re often
associated in dishes.
Use the seeds in pickles,
or the powder in curries, stews, and marinades.
I believe you now have
the base to build a solid kitchen spice rack.
In the next episode of Mundus Aromaticus,
we’ll get more advanced
and see which spices you should get
if you had 12 spices.
I will also give you tips on how to properly
wake up spices.
See what’s coming?
You can do a lot worse, in my opinion,
than subscribing to my channel.
Of course, that’s my opinion.
I love hearing from you,
so if you think, “Oh, my God,
I can’t believe he just forgot about my favorite spice
he’s such a loser! I’m going to kill myself.”
Then first, just settle down,
and also share that amazing spice
in the comments below,
so that everyone can enjoy it.
Please remember that it’s not
a big deal if you make mistakes.
Try new spice combinations,
that’s how you learn, okay?
Bye bye, salut!