Has Your Culinary Journey Reach A Special Crossroads?

There may be a design to receive that ecstasy inducing acclaim only a delectable dish and create. As someone samples a bite, their face melting in ecstasy, in comes a culinary superhero – Smoke Spices.

We’ve deemed this entire genre of guilty flavors
a necessity for culinary maestros everywhere…

A Must Have For Every Foodie’s Toolkit

Spices ultimately vary the taste, color, aroma and most importantly the nutritional content of a meal; nutritional values that cannot be overemphasized by the over-abundance of studies emerging on the holistic benefits of spices and herbs.

From WebMD: Spices and Herbs That Can Help You Stay Healthy

Cultural Revolution

It’s worth acknowledging that some of the world’s most revered cultural meals often feature classic mixes of spices, herbs, sourced from a unique wide range of regions globally. Chicken remains chicken, spices give the difference in taste.

Since the moment man discovered cooking as a means of preparing food, advances have been made to “add something” to food being prepared, aiming to boost palatability and enhance health benefits; eventually dawning man into the aromatic arms of spices.

As our knowledge of the earth and it’s bounty grew, so did the use and proliferation and demand of spices skyrocket, eventually leading us to the delightful, yet spicy modern food-laden playground we have today.  

But then, what are these spices? These are flavor, colorants preservatives or even medicine as the case may be which are added to food being prepared or drinks such as tea.

It is the chemical compounds (phytochemicals) such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, and terpenes which greatly determines individual spice properties that are utilized in cooking. There is however significant variation in the levels of biochemical (what?) in the spices hence variations in their usage.

Most Commonly Used Smoked Spices

The following are the most commonly used smoked spices: peppercorns, paprika, onion powder, nutmeg powder, mustard powder, ginger powder, garlic powder, cumin seed, coriander seed, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cinnamon powder, celery seed not to forget the adored allspice among others which are known for their chemical properties which gives food colors, improves taste, serve as preservatives by taking killing spoilage microorganism such as bacteria and fungi and other properties, and gives food a wonderful aroma!

Why should you really add smoked spices to your routine? 

Exploring The Benefits of Smoked Spices

Super Powered Preservatives

Instead of synthetic preservatives which are clouded with myriad of negative considerations, smoked spices are quite healthy to use and generally organically produced, rendering them better options for extending the shelf life of home cooked meals.

Cross Functional Medicinal Properties

It seems the last couple of years have seen a renewed vigor in the demand for a healthier culture, as access to organic foods increased for some, we witnessed the rise of the vegan revolution,  and American dairy producers are swimming in their own cheese as people begin to gravitate towards alternative options. Spices have been found to contain properties such as serving as antioxidants which scavenge on free radicals in the body, cancer fighting properties, antimicrobial effects, antidepressant, and the list goes on. Therefore, preparing food using some of the smoked spices have been linked to healthy life and longevity of existence on planet earth.

Expanding The Spice Cabinet

Using spices to make food is at the heart of every chef who is interested in putting a delicacy on the table. There are a several spices which one can add in the meals while still cooking in the pot while others are added after the meal is fully cooked. This is featuring both fresh and smoked spices. However, majority of the spices are best cooked with the meals to send aromatic feeling of the meal as it cooks. The cooking process is also allowing time for the biochemical inherent in the spice to mix uniformly throughout the meal. The beauty of everything is in lowering the instances where one chews the spice other than beholding the taste and aroma. Covering the cooking meal also allows for better infusion of the spice components into the soup and meal. A general rule of thumb has it that most fresh spices are added raw to the meal while dried spices are to be cooked with the meals; though it is not completely crosscutting.  No matter the approach, a well cooked meal should feature a spice or more!

Create Delightful Dishes!

Selection of the best natural plant materials to use in preparing spices is an art which is normally passed from one generation to the nest to give food best taste, colors, and aroma. The use of these natural herbs is better and safer than utilizing the synthetic cooking additives which may be linked to one health challenge or the other.

For those who have been in the far extremes of food materials cooked, where the rubber meets the road is not “What did you cook?” but it is about “What did you put in it?” There smoked spices come in! Now that you’ve been thoroughly introduced to the benefits of using smoked spices in your cooking, you can be your own maestro in the kitchen. Try out some of the recipes, we’d love to see what you came up with.