Matching Spices and Herbs
One of the nicest things about Barbecue is that it has an infinitely and surprisingly larger panorama than it would appear at a superficial glance. It is a context that is wide but not huge, full of doors. You open them convinced to find a dusty closet and instead you discover a parallel universe that is lost in sight, of which until one second earlier you ignored the existence, and which itself contains other doors to be opened in a journey of which virtually still nobody knows the end yet. If you followed us when we talked about rub or even when we discussed the topic Pepper, you know well that one of these doors leads to the discovery of the complex and articulated world of spices and aromatic herbs. You could lose yourself among the thousand types and qualities of paprika, not to mention the curry, the pepper, the chili and all the rest but face the argument of compatibility and the combination of these spices between them could reveal the yet another door in the door. It is worth it before you approach it, to try to map the territory.
Of course any gastronomic combination is always a subjective matter and it is wrong to put stakes to the possible combinations of tastes and aromas but in general which are the best known ones? It may be useful to establish a sort of dictionary of spices and aromatic herbs, which indicate for each the conventional associations, the most known and celebrated with specific reference to compatibility with other ingredients and to the pairing with fruit and vegetables, besides of course to that with meat. The goal is obviously not to establish rules nor the claim is to provide a total selection of possible combinations, or the existing ingredients but only to give an indicative track, a rough help to those who may be unfamiliar with some of them, to make it easier to take confidence. It occurred to me to try to look for a bit ‘on the net and this is what I found most frequently:
Star Anise
Compatibility: cinnamon, tea, chocolate, caramel
Meat: beef, feathered game, foie gras, fish
Vegetables: carrots, beet
Fruits: coconut, apple, lemon, raspberry, figs
Basil
Compatibility: blue cheeses, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, vinegar
Meat:beef, chicken, fish
Vegetables: artichokes, aubergines, garlic, mushrooms, olives, tomato
Fruits: coconut, figs, peaches, raspberries
Bay
Compatibility: cheese, walnuts, thyme
Meat: beef, feathered game, chicken, fish
Vegetables: artichokes, beans, mushrooms, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: apple, banana, lemons, dates, figs, tamarind
Caraway
Compatibility: cheese, dill, fennel seeds, garlic, walnuts, oregano, chilli pepper
Meat: pork
Vegetables: beets, cabbage, mushrooms, onions, potatoes
Fruits: –
Cardamom
Compatibility: caramel, cinnamon, coffee, curry, ginger, pepper, nuts
Meat: pork
Vegetables: beans
Fruits: apple, banana, lemon, coconut, dates, pumpkin
Chervil
Compatibility: chives, cheese, eggs, walnuts, parsley, tarragon, thyme, vinegar
Meat: fish
Vegetables: asparagus, carrots, artichokes, mushrooms, onions, potatoes
Fruits: lemon
Chili Peppers
Compatibility: cheese, coriander, cinnamon, chocolate, cumin, garlic, ginger, oregano
Meat: pork, beef, chicken
Vegetables: beans, corn, potatoes
Fruits: banana, lemon, coconut, tropical fruit
Chives
Compatibility: blue cheese, dill, chervil, eggs, parsley, tarragon
Meat: fish
Vegetables: beets, asparagus, horseradish, mushrooms, olives, potatoes
Fruits: –
Cinnamon
Compatibility: caramel, chili, cardamom, cloves, chocolate, coffee, ginger, nutmeg, tea, vanilla
Meat: pork, feathered game, foie gras
Vegetables: beans
Fruits: apple, banana, berries, dates, figs, pumpkin
Cloves
Compatibility: cinnamon, ginger, pepper, walnuts, nutmeg, vanilla
Meat: wild game, foie gras, pork
Vegetables: beet, tomato
Fruits: apple, peaches, pineapple, pumpkin, lemon
Coriander
Compatibility: chives, cumin, mint, parsley, curry
Meat: game, chicken, fish
Vegetables: beans, tomato
Fruits: banana
Cumin
Compatibility: chives, garlic, mint, parsley
Meat: beef, pork, chicken, fish
Vegetables: cucumber, onion, tomato
Fruits: avocado, lemon, coconut, mango
Dill
Compatibility: aniseed, blue cheese, cumin, chives, eggs, fennel seeds, mint, oregano, parsley, tarragon
Meat: fish, veal
Vegetables: beet, cabbage, cucumber, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: –
Fennel
Compatibility: anise, basil, blue cheeses, tarragon, dill, garlic, oregano, parsley, thyme
Meat: pork, veal, fish
Vegetables: artichokes, beans, aubergines, olives, onion, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: apple, figs
Ginger
Compatibility: aniseed, chives, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry, fennel seeds, garlic, nutmeg, pepper, tea
Meat: chicken, fish
Vegetables: asparagus, carrots, onion
Fruits: banana, lemon, coconut, raspberry, dates, figs, pear, raisins, pumpkin, tropical fruit
Horseradish
Compatibility: capers, chives, cheese, dill, walnuts, mustard, vinegar
Meat: beef, pork, fish
Vegetables: beet, celery, onion
Fruits: apple, lemon
Juniper
Compatibility: cheese, chervil, lavender, oregano, pepper, rosemary, vinegar
Meat: beef, game, chicken, veal
Vegetables: cabbage, olives
Fruits: –
Lemongrass
Compatibility: chives, chilli, coriander, coconut, curry, garlic, pepper, parsley, thyme
Meat: fish, chicken
Vegetables: onion, tomato
Fruits: Red fruits
Mint
Compatibility: basil, coriander, chocolate, fennel seeds, garlic, parsley, tea, yogurt
Meat: beef, feathered game, chicken, fish
Vegetables: beans, carrots, aubergines
Fruits: emon, coconut, raspberry, figs
Mustard
Compatibility: anise, cheese, capers, honey, chili, fennel seeds, vinegar
Meat: anchovies, beef, chicken, pork, fish
Vegetables: asparagus, chard, cabbage
Fruits: –
Nutmeg
Compatibility: cheese, cinnamon, cloves, coffee, eggs, ginger, cumin
Meat: fois gras, pork, veal
Vegetables: asparagus, cabbage, carrots, potatoes
Fruits: currant, peach, pumpkin
Origan
Compatibility: basil, cheese, cinnamon, cumin, fennel seeds, garlic, walnuts, parsley, thyme
Meat: beef, veal, chicken
Vegetables: artichokes, beans, aubergines, mushrooms, tomato
Fruits: –
Parsley
Compatibility: basil, bay leaf, chervil, dill, garlic, oregano, thyme
Meat: beef, feathered game, chicken, fish
Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beans, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: –
Rosmary
Compatibility: basil, cheese, garlic, fennel seeds, walnuts, oregano, parsley, sage, thyme
Meat: beef, game, fish, chicken
Vegetables: asparagus, beans, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: apples, lemon, raspberries, figs, raisins
Saffron
Compatibility: basil, bay leaf, chives, candles, cloves, coriander, cumin, curry, fennel seeds, garlic, mint, thyme
Meat: chicken, pork, fish
Vegetables: –
Fruits: –
Sage
Compatibility: capers, cheese, garlic, lavender, walnuts, parsley, rosemary, thyme
Meat: anchovies, beef, game, chicken, veal, fish
Vegetables: beans, mushrooms
Fruits: lemon, raspberry, plum
Sesam
Compatibility: cinnamon, garlic, ginger, walnuts, mustard, pepper, rosemary, thyme, vinegar
Meat: game, chicken, fish
Vegetables: beans, aubergine, onion
Fruits: banana, lemon, coconut
Tarragon
Compatibility: chervil, eggs, garlic, oregano, parsley, thyme
Meat: fois gras, chicken, fish, veal
Vegetables: artichokes, carrots, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: lemon
thyme
Compatibility: basil, bay leaf, cheese, chervil, dill, mint, walnuts, oregano, parsley, sage
Meat: chicken, fish
Vegetables: artichokes, beans, carrots, mushrooms, onion, potatoes, tomato
Fruits: bananas, lemon, raspberries, dates, figs, raisins
Vanilla
Compatibility: caramel, chocolate, chili pepper, cinnamon, coffee, lavender, nuts
Meat: shell fish
Vegetables: –
Fruits: apple, banana, lemon, coconut, dates, figs, tropical fruit
Of course this is limited to being a simple observation of what is most frequently seen on the net but certainly lacking very effective combinations and matches. Do you know anyone?
