Whole Spices

I wrote yesterday about using whole spices in making my own Chinese 5-Spice powder. I firmly believe that as far as possible, whole spices should be used and ground as needed. In most cases, the flavor and aroma of freshly-ground spices are significantly better than pre-ground ones. You just don't know how long those spices have been ground, and many of the flavor and aroma from these spices are rather volatile.

Black pepper is the first and most common example of something you should grind as needed. It shouldn't be difficult to use since pepper grinder are rather common. I've also used the back of a heavy pan, or even a pestle and mortar to smash black pepper if I need larger pieces. Pre-ground black pepper loses a lot of its strength, making it tame and wimpy.

Nutmeg is my next example. Pre-ground nutmeg has almost no flavor. Don't believe me? Do your own test. Sniff some pre-ground nutmeg powder and do the same on freshly-grated nutmeg. There is no comparison! If you're baking and spend time and effort to make something good, why wouldn't you just add a small effort in grating your own nutmeg?

Finally, there's cardamom. This has to be one of the most fragrant spices around, and yet, the pre-ground ones feels rather tame. Whole kernel of cardamoms can impart its pleasant aroma to a pot of rice, while ground ones seem to add nothing but grittiness.

So for me, these are the 3 spices where there is night-and-day differences between freshly-ground ones versus pre-ground ones.

Remember, life is too short to eat bad food!

Zz.