Spices and Recipes

Rosemary (Rosemarus-Dew of the sea) is ritual herb indigenous to the Mediterranean region. This grows around the Mediterranean coast because of the salt sea spray. Ancient Greeks believed that Rosemary has the reputation for strengthening the bram and memory. It is used as an emblem of love remembrance and friendship and generally used in weddings, chastening and funerals. Students from Greece used to make garlands of Rosemary in their head when taking exam to stimulate their minds. The plant gives pungent, resinous taste with a delightful perfume. It imparts lasting flavour to many foods.

The fresh and dried leaves are used frequently in traditional Mediterranean cuisine as an herb; they have a bitter, astringent taste, which complements oily foods, such as lamb and oily fish. A tisane can also be made from them. They are extensively used in cooking, and when burned gives off a distinct mustard smell, which can be used to flavor foods while barbequeueing.

Since it is attractive and tolerates some degree of drought, it is also used in landscaping, especially in areas having a Mediterranean climate. It can in fact die in over-watered soil, but is otherwise quite easy to grow for beginner gardeners. It is very pest-resistant.

Rosemary is easily pruned into shapes and has been used for topiary. When grown in pots, it is best kept trimmed to stop it getting too straggly and unsightly, though when grown in a garden, rosemary can grow quite large and still be attractive. It can be propagated from an existing plant by clipping a shoot 10-15 cm long, stripping a few leaves from the bottom, and planting it directly into soil.

Medicinal Uses

Rosemary has been found to be a stimulant and mild analgesic, and has been used to treat headaches, poor circulation, and many ailments for which stimulants are prescribed. Rosemary is not in wild by nature, even if its labeled as being so.

It can be used as a disinfectant, as a mouth wash and to treat fever or rheumatism.

Externally it can be used in hair lotions; a few drops of Rosemary oil massaged into the scalp, then rinsed with an infusion of nettles can revitalize the hair. Used in this manner, it is supposed to prevent premature baldness. Rosemary is also reported to stop dandruff.

Hungary water was first invented for a Queen of Hungary to ‘renovate vitality of paralysed limbs’. It was used externally and prepared by mixing 180g of fresh rosemary tops in full flower into a liter of spirits of wine. Leave to stand for four days then distill. It is also supposed to work as a remedy against gout if rubbed vigorously on hands and feet.

For a tonic against headaches put some sprigs into a teapot, add hot water, strain, and serve.

Rosemary has a very old reputation for improving memory, and has been used as a symbol for remembrance (during weddings, war commemorations and funerals) in Europe, probably as a result of this reputation. Students in ancient Greece are reported to have worn sprigs of rosemary in their hair while studying for exams to improve their memory, and mourners would throw it into graves as a symbol of remembrance for the dead. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Ophelia says, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance”.

Rosemary and its constituents carnosol and ursolic acid have been shown to inhibit the growth of skin tumors and to provide a natural anti-oxidant protection against skin cancer and photodamage.

• For diuretic disorder . Prepare diuretic tea- take one tea spoon leaves boil it with Lovage and Juniper
• Rosemary water (Rosemary steeped in boil water) improved the skin, and used as a hair wash. It also stimulates hair growth.
• It acts on weak digestion, flatulence, neuralgic pains.
• It stimulates circulation of blood
• It widens the tissues where it is applied
• It acts as a room freshner-twigs are burnt to give the aroma
• It is used as a moth repellant with other herbs
• Oil of Rosemary; Soak apieal shoots and leaves in vegetables oil for a week and keep it in the sun. Then the oil is filtered and used as Oil of Rosemary.

Culinary Uses

• The leaves impart piny pungent and lingering aroma.
• It adds flavour to most unusual foods as well as every day dishes of meat, eggs and vegetables
• Freshly chopped leaves gives flavor to Jam, sweet sauces and herb butter
• It acts as ‘digestif’ after a banquet and will refresh the body and mind
• It used in the preparation of biscuits, cheese, eggs, soup, stews, sauces
• It is also used in meat, fish poultry and stuffing or rabbit
• It is used for the preparation of Rosemary tea, wine.

Health Precautions: In some cases, rosemary can cause autoimmune diseases. Rosemary in culinary or therapeutic doses is generally safe, however precaution is necessary for those displaying allergic reaction, or those prone to epileptic seizure. Rosemary essential oil is a powerful convulsant; if applied to the skin, it may cause seizures in otherwise healthy adults or children. Rosemary essential oil is potentially toxic if ingested. Large quantities of rosemary leaves can cause adverse reactions, such as coma, spasm, vomiting, and pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) that can be fatal. Avoid consuming large quantities of rosemary if pregnant or breastfeeding.

Fennel is widely cultivated - both in its native range and elsewhere - for its edible, strongly-flavoured leaves and seeds. The flavour is similar to that of anise and star anise, though usually not so strong.

The Florence fennel (F. vulgare Azoricum Group) is a selection with inflated leaf bases which form a sort of bulb. It comes mainly from India and Egypt and it has a mild anise-like flavour, but is more aromatic and sweeter. Its flavour comes from anethole, an aromatic compound also found in anise and star anise. Florence fennel is smaller than the wild type and has inflated leaf bases which are eaten as a vegetable, both raw and cooked. There are several cultivars of Florence fennel, which is also known by several other names, notably the Italian name finocchio. In North American supermarkets, it is often mislabeled as “anise”.

Fennel has become naturalised along roadsides, in pastures, and in other open sites in many regions, including northern Europe, Cyprus, the United States, southern Canada and in much of Asia and Australia.

It propagates well by seed, and is considered an invasive species and a weed in Australia and the United States (see Santa Cruz Island).

Florence fennel was one of the three main herbs used in the preparation of Absinthe, an alcoholic mixture which originated as a medicinal elixir in Switzerland and became, by the late 1800s, a popular drink believed by many to have psychoactive properties beyond those found in other alcoholic beverages. Due to these beliefs, Absinthe was banned in most countries by the 1940s, but a recent relaxation of laws governing its production, importation and sale has caused a moderate resurgence in consumption. Many modern preparations marketed under the name “Absinthe” do not, however, make use of fennel as did the traditional recipes.

The bulb, foliage, and seeds of the fennel plant all have secure places in the culinary traditions of the world. Fennel pollen is the most potent form of fennel, but it is exceedingly expensive. Dried fennel seed is an aromatic, anise-flavored spice; they are brown or green in color when fresh, and slowly turn a dull grey as the seed ages. For cooking, green seeds are optimal.

Fennel seeds are sometimes confused with aniseed, which is very similar in taste and appearance, though smaller. In India, it is common to chew fennel seed (or saunf) as a mouth-freshener. Fennel is also used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes. Some people employ it as a diuretic, while others use it to improve the milk supply of breastfeeding mothers.

Many cultures in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East incorporate fennel seed into their culinary traditions. It is an essential ingredient in the Bengali/Oriya spice mixture panch phoron and in Chinese five-spice powders. It is known as saunf or mauti saunf in Hindi and Urdu, mouri in Bengali, and shombu in the Tamil language. In the west, fennel seed is a very common ingredient in Italian sausages and northern European rye breads.

Many egg, fish, and other dishes employ fresh or dried fennel leaves. Florence fennel is a key ingredient in some Italian and German salads, often tossed with chicory and avocado, or it can be braised and served as a warm side dish. One may also blanch and/or marinate the leaves, or cook them in risotto. In all cases, the leaves lend their characteristically mild, anise-like flavor.

Essential oil of sweet Fennel is included in some pharmacopoeias. It is traditionally used in medicine to treat chills and stomach problems (carminative, antimicrobal action and so on).

Fennel leaves can be boiled, the steam inhaled to relieve croup, asthma, and bronchitis.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

Turmeric is the dried rhizome of a herbaceous perennial tropical plant. The primary rhizomes which are rather round in shape are called bulbs while the thin long secondary rhizomes are fingers.

Turmeric, essential to curry powder, is a member of the ginger family. It has a light, musky flavor along with a brilliant golden-orange color for which it is famous throughout the world. In Asia, its main use for thousands of years was as a dyestuff. At one time, sun worshipers, whose sacred color was yellow, dyed their textiles with the very expensive saffron. When it was discovered that the very inexpensive turmeric produced the same brilliant color, the sacred saffron was guarded for special culinary dishes.

Turmeric can replace the golden color with which saffron graces foods, but not saffron’s distinctive flavor! For a while, turmeric was also used as a fabric dye in this country, until it was replaced by newer coal-tar compounds. To this day, some Hindu brides paint themselves with turmeric as part of the wedding ceremony, while married women rub it into their cheeks to give off an attractive golden glow. In Asia, turmeric is considered a good luck charm; newborn babies might have it rubbed on their forehead, or a bit of the root may be made into a necklace for them to wear.

Over the last several years, there has been increasing interest in turmeric and its medicinal properties. This is partially evidenced by the large numbers of scientific studies published on this topic.

Turmeric has long been used in both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory, to treat digestive disorders and liver problems, and for the treatment of skin diseases and wound healing. The active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin, which has been the subject of numerous animal studies—but as of yet, very few studies on people—demonstrating various medicinal properties. Curcumin has been shown, for example, to stimulate the production of bile and to facilitate the emptying of the gallbladder. It has also demonstrated in animals a protective effect on the liver, anti-tumor action, and ability to reduce inflammation and fight certain infections.