Spice mixtures

Curry - from a tree, from a shrub or from the spice box?

The curry tree is a small broad-leaved tree growing at the foothills of the Himalayas and in Sri Lanka. The fresh leaves are an important factor of the Indian cuisine. Immediately after picking they are added to the meals, cooked along and just like laurel and taken out before serving. The curry tree has nothing in common with the curry plant, a Mediterranean shrub. Even in Germany it can be grown in gardens. Its silver leaves are used for spicing. Leaves of the curry tree and the curry plant have one thing in common: the typical scent and taste. These leaves need to be added to a meal freshly picked, they soon lose their taste and that's why you cannot find them in curry powder.

Curry powder is neither is a mixture of different spices and herbs. In some Indian curry powders it occurs there and then - not to add its taste - but for alibi function. Curry powder was more or less invented by the British in the 19th century. Back in England most of the colonial rulers, who were living India for many years, they still wanted to enjoy the flavour of curry. So they were looking a solution and came up with curry powder. Curry powder itself is, as we mentioned a mixture and the ingredients can vary strongly. Mostly it consists of 10-12 ingredients, the most important components are:

Turmeric (giving the yellow colour), Cumin, chillies, pepper, mustard seeds, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and sweet calamus. In certain curry powders more than 30 ingredients can be found. The taste can vary from mild (called English curry) to hot curry (called Indian). According to the guidelines for spices and spicing ingredients the following ingredients may be added: salt (up to 5%), starch and pulse meal. Organic curry powders do not add is these ingredients.

Spice mixtures

According to German law, spice mixtures consist exclusively of spices. That sounds easy and clear. But the trouble starts when it comes to terms like: „Gewürzzubereitung“ This means a blend of spices to which flavour enhancers can be added.

The share of pure spices must be 60% and salt is allowed to be added up to 5%. The rest of 35% can be made of flavour enhancers, Aroma, binding agents: all of them mostly unnatural products. Organic spice mixtures contain only natural ingredients like: sea salt, whey, yeast or sugarcane.

Whether professional or amateur chef - they both discuss on the usage of spice mixtures. The most important contra argument against its usage is that the individual creativity gets lost and the taste gets somewhat equalized. But, on the other hand, everyone knows that you situation that good friends drop in by surprise and you have to cook a proper meal for them. In those cases spice mixtures (also organic ones) do their share to make it a good meal.

Spice mixture for the Mediterranean cuisine

What do Spanish Tapas, Italian Pasta, Turkish Kebabs, Syrian Falafel and Croatian Cevapcici have in common? They belong to the Mediterranean cuisine!

In Mediterranean countries olive oil plays an important part for the preparation of meals. But also the following fruits can be found on the menu of all different Mediterranean countries: tomato, eggplant, capsicum and the usage of herbs, namely basil, origan, garlic, and thyme. Fresh fish and seafood is preferred to meat. To eat means to enjoy, that is way one takes time to eat. Of course, wine is part of the meal. The different spices and spice mixtures for the Mediterranean dishes invite you to cook on your own at home, since the dishes are easy to prepare. Mediterranean cuisine is one of the most favourite in Germany due to several reasons: On one hand it provides a healthy nutrition, on the other it may bring a part of the Mediterranean atmosphere right into your home.

Spice mixtures for the German cuisine

Asking Non-Europeans on typical German customs and traditions you may hear: The German drink beer as if it was water. They start the day with it. Mostly they eat Sauerkraut, Bratwurst or Eisbein (kuckle of pork). That's why they are tall and fat. Fortunately they are not dangerous, wearing leather trousers and a mountain climber hat. Gazing at the Octoberfest in Munich this statements proofs true. Some years ago some TV stations started broadcasting this festival all over the globe so that even people in farthest regions like the Amazonian rainforest can see it. The result is that the number of tourists on the Octoberfest is constantly rising. These tourists celebrate, take photographs and get a picture of what Germany is like (according to their opinion).

But Germany and its cuisine is more than this: no other country has such a big variety of bread, sausages and beer. Although a German law prescribes that the only ingredients for beer are: Water, malt and hops they are able to produce a huge variety of different beer.

Whereas Mediterranean countries had trading partners in the orient, Germany was cut off these trading routes. They had to rely on their own „home-grown“ spices and herbs like e.g. wood garlic. Even today some German dishes taste quite rustic and solid. The German saying „Taste can be discussed“ applies for the country itself, since every region has its own proper delicacy. Labelling their provenience, many German dishes are named after the region where they come from: Schwaebische Maultaschen, Bayerische Weisswuerste, Hesssischer Speckkuchen, Rheinischer Sauerbraten, Norddeutscher Labskaus, Halberstaedter Wuerstchen, Schwarzwaelder Kirschtorte, Westfaelischer Pumpernickel, Thueringer Kloesse, Leipziger Allerlei, Dresdner Stollen, Hamburger Aalsuppe, etc...

Today, there are two trends in German cuisine: The first trend follows the traditional way preparing and cooking the old school dishes whereas the second trend becomes more and more popular: traditional German dishes influenced by international cuisine, the rising usage of organic vegetables and cutting back on the number of calories.

Spice mixtures for the Asian cuisine

In contrast to our eating habits, mealtimes are of great importance in Asia's everyday situation. Character feature of the Asian cuisine are: food of high quality, fresh ingredients, long preparation time for the meal and a perfect procedure of cooking.

Unlike in every Chinese restaurant the people in china eat less meat than we may assume, they are more into vegetables, rice, fish and other seafood. By carefully refining vegetables in a wok they remain crispy and most of the vitamins do not get lost.

An Asian kitchen does actually not exist, since Asia is a vast continent, ranging from Turkey to Indonesia, almost every country has its own, proper cuisine using their preferred and typical spices. In India for example different curries, freshly made, dominate this cuisine. In Indonesia hotter spices are used along with coconut milk. The background of spicing a meal very a hot has not only reasons in taste: Most of the spices show antiseptic effects and can kill bacteria and parasites within one's body.

For a mid-European, the different tastes of these exotic are hard to differentiate. But one is for sure: whenever we come across the combination of sweet and sour, spicy and mild, we call this Asian cuisine.

Spice mixture for the oriental cuisine

The term Orient still sounds exotic today, full of secrets and seducing. These impressions are amplified by the oriental cuisine: all that wonderful spices, the big variety of dishes, delicious sauces, bread and extraordinary sweets. Major parts of this cuisine are ingredients of the current season, usually more vegetable than meat. Constant components are dairy products like milk, cheese, yoghurt and kefir. Bread is obligatory for every meal. In some regions, parts of bread are used instead of cutlery. Used spices are anis, pepper, saffron, sesame, cardamom and cinnamon.

The so-called orient is the region ranging from northern Africa to Southwest Asia and 1000 years ago Arabic merchants were the „lords of the spice“, since they kept the provenance of the spices a secret for centuries. The crusaders opened the trading routes for occidental merchants and thus the spice trade with Europe entered a new dimension. Spices became so precious that they were an accepted currency. Nowadays, everyone can afford spices and they can in no way be called a luxury good but organic, natural spice and spice mixtures are still precious.

Spice mixtures for the American cuisine

On first sight typical American dishes seem to be fast food meals like burgers, hot dogs, brownies and donuts. Looking closer you can discover more: Chili con carne, barbecue, muffins, etc... Since America is called a melting pot of cultures and nations, influences from all traditions, cultures and religions can be found. The same is true for its cuisine. In the 17th and 18th century people went there from Britains, France and Spain. In the 19th century many Irish and Germans followed. In the early 20th century, Italian, Polish and Russian people came, who were followed after world war II by Latin Americans and Asians. Every nation brought there cuisine to the new world, therefore we cannot speak of THE American cuisine.

It is needless to say that all federal states themselves have their own preferences in taste. One thing, however, they have in common: their love for solid and rustic dishes. Mexicans for example fry their agricultural products like corn, tomato and beans in fat, which is basis for Enchiladas, Tortillas and Tacos. Asians love their pasta doughs with different fillings. Donuts go back to a cake made by the afro-American slaves. The Italians spread out Pizza and Pasta, the Germans brought beer and sausages. The most known one is the „Frankfurter“. Maybe because of its shape they named a kind of dog a sausage dog (Dackel). Though there is no evidence or proof, many assume that this is the reason for the name hot dog.