Salt, but do not overdo it.
Table salt can be divided into "fossil" and "sea". The first is extracted from the ground. The second is obtained by evaporating seas and lakes from salt water, it is rich in iodine and is more useful. Depending on the origin, the salt can acquire a variety of color shades and properties.
Black KALA NAMAK is an unrefined salt from Northern India, having a dark-brown color. Contains many compounds of iron and sodium, which give it a specific smell of sulfur. Suitable for vegetarian dishes.
Pink (Himalayan) salt acquires a characteristic color due to natural mixing with red dust of volcanic clay. Contains 84 microelements. It harmonizes with meat and fish on the grill, with leafy salads.
Gray salt FLEUR DE SEL DE GUERANDE - marine, collected and purified by hand. Sodium chloride in it a little (35%) aroma - stunning. Gives a wonderful taste to raw vegetables.
Do it yourself!
Aromatic salt can also be prepared at home by mixing ordinary cooks with herbs or garlic. Take 2 cloves, chop them in a blender, mix with 2 teaspoons of salt, season with spices (the ones that you like best), put them in a vacuum container and put them in a dark place for a week until the garlic dries. If you want to use the seasoning immediately, burn it for 2-3 hours in the oven. In the same way, you can prepare a mixture with onion or celery.
Table salt is an important source of sodium, which together with potassium regulates the distribution of fluids throughout the body, participates in the transportation of amino acids and oxygen. Refusing it completely is not necessary. But it is important to get it with maximum benefit. Not with canned food, but in pure form. It is better to choose the sea: it will give you a portion of iodine. Salt is best introduced into the dish at the end of its preparation. First, fry fish or meat, try the food to taste its true taste, and then solite as long as you want. Pepper added at the end of the cooking also better reveals the taste of the dish.
Do not confuse Kala Namak with Thursday salt. The latter - burned with rye flour, has a bonfire flavor and 6% of ash in the composition. In the modern version is produced with activated carbon and cleanses the body.
Dragon Spice
The most famous and widely used in cooking black, white, green peppers - the fruits of the same perennial plant species piper nigrum, growing in southeast India. The difference is only in the way of processing. In addition to this "quartet", Peruvian pink, fragrant and Hungarian pepper, better known as paprika, is also used.
Black pepper - unripe fruit of the plant, cooked in hot water, and then dried in the sun. Due to this "pea" get a wrinkled appearance. Combination with dishes: "peas" is indispensable in canned food and meat stews. Ground is good in cold soups, in sauces based on tomatoes and cream. It goes well with homemade cheeses. Subtlety of application; season them with a dish just a few minutes before they are ready: long cooking will intensify the bitter taste of pepper and can spoil the dish.
White pepper
What is this: ripe fruits with the removed pericarp. In comparison with black, not so hot, however, they have a brighter, sharper flavor.
Combination with dishes: perfectly harmonizes with seafood and various fish dishes.
Subtlety of use: to optimally open the aroma of white pepper, it is "introduced" into the dish about 5 minutes before the ready, ground or whole peas.
Green pepper
What is it: unripe seeds after dry drying, which have preserved a natural appearance. Combination with dishes; adds not so much witticism as freshness, and is used in delicacies, which will spoil the burning of other types of pepper. For example, in home pies. It is traditionally used in Thai cuisine, in marinades. Subtlety of use: add a couple of minutes to readiness: a long heat treatment "kills" its flavor.
Peruvian pink pepper
What is this: dried fruits of pepper tree shinus molle. Combination with dishes: it is usually used in mixtures with black, white, green pepper and gives the dish a color. Can be used instead of black, if you need the dish to turn out not very sharp. Good in desserts. Subtlety of use: try just to crush the peas and sprinkle them with the ready-made dish: so it will acquire a piquant aroma and beautiful pink "blotches."
Jamaican (sweet-scented) pepper
What is this: dried in the sun a little immature fruit of a clove tree. Combination with dishes: an indispensable ingredient in fish soups, canned vegetables, pickled snacks. Add the ground to the confectionery and tea. Subtlety of application; optimally gives its laurel-clove flavor, if you add it at the beginning of cooking. Take it out before you serve food on the table.
Hungarian pepper (paprika)
What is it: powdered red capsicum.
Spices and seasonings, as well as their use, is famous for India and China. Combination with dishes: gives an orange tint and a special taste to pasta (Italian pasta, for example), the famous Hungarian goulash, mushrooms, cabbage and potatoes. Subtlety of application; add to the rest of the ingredients in the cooking process and "boil" in the secretion of the juice. Be careful: the burnt paprika will make the dish bitter.
Salted seasoning with spices
- 6 tsp. salts;
- 2 tsp. dried leaves of thyme;
- 2 tsp. dried garlic or garlic powder;
- 1/2 tsp. marjoram;
- 4 tsp. paprika;
-1 tsp. dry mustard;
- 4 tsp. curry powder;
- 4 tsp. dried onion or onion powder;
- 4 tsp. dried fennel;
- 2 tsp. dried celery root;
Make sure all ingredients are dried before preparation. Mix them in a blender, then transfer to a container. Puncture in the oven, the resulting seasoning is not worth it, otherwise it will be too bitter. Keep in a dark place. Add to meat dishes and soups.