Whole/Ground/Toasted/Fried Cumin and Coriander
I know you get a different flavor from cumin and coriander seeds from toasting or frying, as well as grinding them as opposed to whole, but I've never tried different methods in the same dish and my inner empiricist doesn't want to perform a rigorous test. Anyone know what the different flavors are?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
4 Comments:
Strength and freshness are the main differences between grinding your own from whole seeds and buying pre-ground at the store. Think about how fast bread goes stale when you tear it into a bunch of pieces and leave it on the counter. Same kind of thing with pre-ground spices.
Frying like in Indian cooking or toasting as in many cuisines I think just brings more intensity and maybe a bit more nuttyness. I also imagine the frying will bring out oil soluable flavor componds that wouldn't be expressed without the frying.
climbhighak at 11:08PM on 10/20/09
Yes, toasting the whole pod and then grinding them will result in a much more intense and complex flavor. Another tip: Indian food markets are great places to buy whole spices in bulk for a fraction of the price you'd pay in your local grocery store. I don't know where you are, but here in Northern California we have a ton of Indian food markets in west Berkeley. I don't know how they sell the stuff so cheap, but they do.
lauracarmen at 1:33PM on 10/21/09
Get yourself a copy of Madhur Jaffrey's amazing memoir, CLIMBING THE MANGO TREES. Some great basic curries in there and she's good and patient at explaining how the whys and whens of adding spice (and frying, toasting, simmering or grinding spice) can change the fundamental nature of a dish. Whole cumin, coriander, fennel and mustard seeds are a total must if you are interested in Indian cooking. Have fun!
eleeb at 2:41PM on 10/21/09
A note of clarification: I buy most of my spices whole and grind them only as needed, so I'm less interested in the freshness difference than the flavor difference.
@eleeb: thanks for the recommendation; I'll be sure to check it out.
MFalk at 3:05PM on 10/21/09