Those would make a fascinating sound as you drive.
Probably be killer on your gas mileage, too.
imaginary:
real:
Actually, thatâs the spice used for eggnog. What is commonly known as âpumpkin spiceâ
Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, allspice, nutmeg.
so really, Pumpkin Spice is just shorthand for people who donât have all the others handy.
Sort of like curry â also a mixture. My wife liked to blend her own to keep the cumin (bleah) levels low.
Similar to:
(and depending on the mixture, the composition can be rather similar tooâŠ)
Or âItalian Seasoningâ or âMontreal Steak Seasoningâ, yup.
ButâŠ
From the book âFood Culture in Colonial Asia: A Taste of Empireâ
In her essay on the ideological work of gender, (âDomesticating Imperialism: Curry and Cookbooks in Victorian Englandâ) based upon her examination of Victorian domestic cookbooks and the curry recipes in them, Susan Zlotnick claims that to validate their domesticity, Victorian women in England attempted to neutralize the threat of the Other by naturalizing the products of foreign lands. One of these ânaturalizedâ products, Zlotnick states, was curry. Thus she argues that curry was first appropriated from India in the first half of the nineteenth century, later marketed in India as a commodity at the end of the century. Zlotnick claims that curry powder was âfabricatedâ by British colonials and that the commodification of it for British taste was linked to the notion of eating India itself.
Interesting.
My dining experience with curry is limited. The flavor just doesnât appeal.
funny how the world works: iâm picking up your cumin slack. we love the stuff, and usually when a recipe specifies it, i double it.
the thing is, any cook worth their salt will tell you that those pre-mixed bottled spices are usually bland and not worth it. i guess if youâre just dumping pumpkin spice on top of your coffee or whatever, it doesnât matter. but for 5-spice or curries or anything else, i like to mix 'em up myself in small batches.
Depends on the brand - and Iâm worth my salt and my pepper AND my cardamom, lol! - McCormickâs Montreal Steak seasoning, Janeâs Crazy Mixed Up salt and pepper, and (surprisingly) store-brand Italian seasonings arenât bland.
I was also Chief Taste-Tester of my motherâs pumpkin-pie filling prior to it going into the crust to be baked, and she always used different proportions of spices.
(thatâs one of my fondest memories - we were, for a while, a happy family, and all four of us participated in Thanksgiving-dinner prep to some degree.)
Cardamom is super expensive if you rely on McCormick to bottle it. Youâll get better prices at the indian food store-- or perhaps the halal market. Only problem is that they come in bags-- youâll need to supply a suitable airtight container.
Another, potentially more interesting Indian spice mix (or melange) is garam masala.
I love cardamom, but canât afford it. They do carry it at American Bulk Foods, though (I LOVE that place!).
For real, youâll get like a pound of spices at an Indian store for the same price as an ounce at a normal grocery store. And if you get one of the spice grinder thingies, garam masala is easy enough to make.
yeah, indian markets (or any market devoted to one regionâs cuisine) is really the best way to go. SO much cheaper than buying stuff at the grocery store! i went to one recently and picked up a bag of saffron threads that wouldâve emptied my bank account if i had gone to Penzyâs or the grocery store, and it cost me⊠$5, maybe? even if it isnât the best saffron in the world, who cares â i wonât have to buy saffron again for a long, long time.
The only thing I will say about this, as someone who has spent a lot of time in southeast Asia, is that only the big international companies with something to lose if the quality and safety doesnât remain high are ensuring that appropriate hygiene standards are being met. Once youâve seen piles of hand-filled 5- or 10-pound bags of spices, teas, etc. crawling with bugs, rodents, and lizards in the wholesale stalls awaiting pickup, you donât forget it.