STARRY BADIANA
So precious that Marco Polo was silent on its origin. The star anise is an eight-pointed star with flavors of fennel and green anise. Ally with your punches, mulled wines and arranged rums. It finds its place in broths, chutneys, compotes and syrups.
This badian fruit is cultivated in four provinces of China: Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan. Its Chinese name is “Badjiao” which literally translates to “Eight horns”. In China, this spice is traditionally used whole in infusions or ground in the Chinese 5 spice blend.
Star anise or Chinese fennel was introduced to Europe by Marco Polo in the XNUMXth century. In the Middle Ages the spice was difficult to acquire. Its very high price made it an exceptional spice. It was not until the Renaissance and its importation by the English that its consumption was democratized in Europe.
The Badiane harvest takes place twice a year in China between April and October. All stages of production are entirely manual and drying takes place in the sun.
Star anise has a more anise taste than green anise. It can be used whole, in powder or crushed to flavor an infusion, a tea, a sauce, a broth or a marinade. Grated, it will bring a touch of originality to a dessert, grilled red meat, sautéed vegetables or white fish.
Country of Origin China
The taste of childhood.
Vanilla is native to Mexico, where the Aztecs used it to soften the bitterness of chocolate. This "black flower" was introduced by Cortes in 1521. Later, Louis XIV fell in love with it and wished to cultivate it on Bourbon Island, Reunion Island.
The liana flourished but gave no fruit, because it had to be fertilized by a wasp that existed only in Mexico. Nobody knew how to fertilize her when in 1850, Edmond, a young slave of Bourbon Island, understood this process by pricking and shaking the flower. To thank him he was freed and the young man took the name of freedom Albius in reference to the white color of the orchid.
Vanilla is an orchid Vanillia planifolia, whose culture requires constant attention and delicacy. It is a liana that leans on a tree guardian, usually a mango tree or an avocado ... It blooms only 3 years after planting and it is necessary to wait 8 months that the pod ripens to harvest.
Its preparation is very tedious because entirely manual and requires a lot of rigor, patience and love. The pods are first scalded, parboiled, sun dried for two weeks, flattened by hand, then dried in the shade for 8 months in trunks and finally calibrated.
An exquisite citrus!
The Combava is native to Indonesia, in the archipelago of the Sunda Islands. It was introduced by Pierre Poivre at the end of the 18th century in the Indian Ocean. It owes its name to the island of which it is native: Sumbava. The plantation from which this combava comes from has exceptional conditions since it is located along a large river of Madagascar: the Manantsatrana.
The Combava is a very fragrant lemon-like citrus fruit, but smaller and more acidic. This is why we use bark and leaves rich in essential oils. The zest is dried and reduced to powder.
Its captivating scent with notes of verbena, lemongrass, ginger and coriander is penetrating and original.
Its taste is intense and incomparable freshness, delicious on fish, white meats and broths.
A good luck bean!
In French Guiana, to make a wish, you need a Tonka bean in your left hand and a dead snake in the other. To make his wish come true, all that remains is to throw the bean into a stream and hook the snake into the highest branches of a tonka bean tree: the Coumarou, the Brazilian teak tree.
The name Tonka comes from Tupi, the language of the Tupis of French Guyana.
The gigantic tree coumarou that feeds the green lung of the earth, produces orange fruits whose shape remembers that of a mango. At maturity, this fruit provides red, oblong, almond-sized seeds that are dried for almost a year, and then immersed in strong alcohol during 24h. After this long process, they are dried again and become black and frizzy.
Its aromas of sweet almond vanillacaramel, coffee for some or tobacco "Amsterdamer" dear to our grandfathers for others, are of incredible finesse. Its taste is warm and greedy with a slight bitterness close to cocoa. The tonka bean is used grated, in compotes, creamy desserts, with chocolate, in potimarron soups or with sweet potatoes.
A spice of legend!
Cinnamon is native to Ceylon but in antiquity, its origin has fed many legends. The Egyptians, who used it for embalming, believed that it grew in secret rites in a mysterious and remote country. Thus, to unravel this mystery, Queen Hatshepsut sent an expedition to this land of Punt, the "land of God", present-day Ethiopia, and opened the path of aromatics.
In Rome, the madness for Indian luxury goods, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, pearls, ivories, was almost an orgy.
From the Renaissance, the Portuguese, the English and the Dutch fought a fierce war for the monopoly of these spices that they spread throughout the world.
Cinnamon is the bark of cinnamon, Cinnanomum zeylanicum whose harvest requires great dexterity. It is a tree up to 10m high, whose new branches are cut and cleared of their outer bark.
Then the thin inner bark is incised and gently peeled off, then scraped by hand and finally dried.
This mixture with delicate aromas and notes of cinnamon is mainly intended for making gingerbread. You will be able to make your own homemade gingerbread and delight all your guests!
It will also flavor meat, vegetables or fish with cream. It will bring a note of originality to a sorbet or a garden apple pie.
Among the ingredients of this mixture are cinnamon, cardamom, coriander et the Nutmeg.
The ancestor of gingerbread would be Chinese. It would have for origin the "Mi-Kong", a bread of honey used in the XNUMXth century by the army of Genghis Khan as a ration during the conquest of China. The recipe was then transmitted by the Chinese to the Arabs and it was only later during the Crusades that Westerners became aware of it. They then brought the recipe back to Europe as well as the spices that compose it.
Ingredients: cinnamon (Madagascar), green anise, fennel, coriander, ginger, clove, green cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper.
Ginger has notes more or less pungent and more or less delicate aromas depending on its origin. This Nepali ginger is harvested by hand in the Mahabharat Range at 2000m altitude. It is exceptional for its freshness on the palate and its sweet and lemony flavors.
Ideal in mashed sweet potatoes, on prawns, with homemade jam, in a fresh fruit salad or on a pan of wok vegetables.
This tropical perennial comes in the form of a tuber. This rhizome belongs to the same botanical family as cardamom, turmeric and Kororima from Ethiopia.
Native to India, this spice is widely used in Creole, Asian, African and Indian cuisine.
Originally from the Middle East, cumin appeared as a smoking spice or to prepare food. It is the same family as parsley. Cumin is the fruit of the plant. Before maturity, it cuts its stems and clusters. Suspended for a few days, then beaten like wheat, the harvested fruits are dried in the sun.
Its bitter but warm flavor, slightly sweet, and its strong aroma, make this spice a dominant note in your preparations. Cumin will give tone to a chili con carne, a sauerkraut, a lamb pie. It will surprise in a salad of oranges, and in the traditional hummus.
This Paprika comes from the Zitava region of Slovakia. It has been grown for more than 100 years in a traditional way. Its moderately pungent notes, iodized and strongly smoked give it character and exceptional spicy notes.
Food and spice pairing: a Savoyard fondue, a gratin Dauphinois, a creamy sauce for white asparagus, a cream to accompany a smoked fish, infused in a stew of beef with red wine,
It is best to sprinkle the mixture at the time of serving. Paprika is also used as an infusion in a meat preparation such as a stew (goulash in Hungarian).
Aromatic imprint: the powerful aromatic intensity of this paprika delivers us a fruity and intense set which is mingled with notes of cooked cherries and burnt herbs. In the mouth, we are surprised by its flavors of caramelized meats and its slightly sweet attack.
The Japanese lemon!
This Japanese citrus will go wonderfully with oriental tabbouleh, sorbet, falafel, white fish, vegetable julienne, sweet potato puree or chocolate preparation.
Yuzu originates from eastern Asia. It was introduced to Japan during the Tang Dynasty around AD 700. Its fruit looks like a small lime, 5 to 8 cm in diameter. It is harvested in October in Koshi prefecture in Japan. Yuzu is yellow or green depending on its degree of maturity. It has a taste similar to that of tangerine and yellow grapefruit.
Yuzu is consumed in different forms: fresh, in juice, in zest, in powder or pearl.
A citrus fruit close to lime whose zest will refresh preparations with chocolates, shrimp salads, seafood tartares and even osso bucco!The taste of childhood.
Vanilla is native to Mexico, where the Aztecs used it to soften the bitterness of chocolate. This "black flower" was introduced by Cortes in 1521. Later, Louis XIV fell in love with it and wished to cultivate it on Bourbon Island, Reunion Island.
The liana flourished but gave no fruit, because it had to be fertilized by a wasp that existed only in Mexico. Nobody knew how to fertilize her when in 1850, Edmond, a young slave of Bourbon Island, understood this process by pricking and shaking the flower. To thank him he was freed and the young man took the name of freedom Albius in reference to the white color of the orchid.
Vanilla is an orchid Vanillia planifolia, whose culture requires constant attention and delicacy. It is a liana that leans on a tree guardian, usually a mango tree or an avocado ... It blooms only 3 years after planting and it is necessary to wait 8 months that the pod ripens to harvest.
Its preparation is very tedious because entirely manual and requires a lot of rigor, patience and love. The pods are first scalded, parboiled, sun dried for two weeks, flattened by hand, then dried in the shade for 8 months in trunks and finally calibrated.
The spices of Louisiana.
The French-speaking Cajuns are the descendants of the Acadians, those Frenchmen from Nova Scotia who were deported to Louisiana by the English during the tragic "great inconvenience" of 1750. They established themselves in the strange and inhospitable lands of the Mississippi Bayous, swamps teeming with wild animals, as this was the only place where they were allowed to settle.
These cousins of America have music, dance, cooking, the joy of living in their skin ...
This mixture of spices and aromatics is the fruit of the ingenuity of these French who learned to survive in these unknown lands. It's made of p, coriander, mustard, turmeric, fennel, cumin, black pepper, garlic and is a delicious court-bouillon for shellfish, with full-bodied and spicy notes, very aromatic.
Melting pot of French cuisine, creole, African, Spanish, Cajun cuisine is one of the richest cuisines in the United States, which includes famous traditional dishes like Jambalaya, gumbo with meat, shrimp or sausages, all more fragrant than each other with the Cajun blend.
The "saffron country"
Turmeric is used as a spice, it is common in the composition of spice mixtures such as curry or massalé but it also serves as food coloring and was formerly used in painting.
Native to Southeast India, it is widely grown in Asia and Africa.
Turmeric is a rhizome of a magnificent orange-yellow color, with peppery and musky aromas. It comes from a tropical plant from the same family as ginger.
A long process: after having cleaned and cut it, it is boiled to remove its skin and once peeled and dried it is reduced to powder.
At the meeting, the "saffron country" is inseparable curries, traditional dishes very fragrant, where it shines a thousand lights and a thousand virtues.
This turmeric from Madagascar is harvested from July to October by the Bezanozano Ethnia. In Malagasy turmeric is said "Tamotamo". It is traditionally used on the island to spice up vanilla rice pudding or in a custard called "koba" which consists of mashed bananas and rice flour.
Turmeric is used in many Indian, Caribbean, Nepalese, Thai or Maghrebi spice mixtures: curry, tandoori, vadouvan, colombo, ras-el-hanout. It was already marketed on the spice route between East and West since ancient times.
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