The Wonderful World of Spice Mixes

Can you cook without herbs and spices? I can’;t. Do you have way too many containers with odd spice mixes somewhere on a kitchen or pantry shelf? I do.

I am a bit of a spice freak. Whenever I travel, I visit spice shops. I taste spices and I buy them and bring them back home and cook with them.

Travelling foodies will tell you that spices and particularly spice mixes are an important element through which to learn about new or old cultures, and it is a central component of food memories and nostalgia for most travellers.

Those passionate about spice mixes will engage in endless debates about what ingredients should and should not be in a particular mix, what the most appropriate ratios of specific ingredients ought be, and even the origins of the most appropriate ingredients and the various spice mixes.

Although some spice mixes have gained international popularity, there is little agreement about their content. Consider one well-known example: In some of the world’;s most populous parts, curries are arguably the most well known and frequently used spice mixes, and yet, there is no agreement about what a curry is, and what it should be.

Their exact contents are contentious and often debated and disputed, and almost never agreed upon. It depends entirely on who you are, where you are, whom you ask and what you want to achieve. Anyone who has ever travelled or lived on the Indian sub-continent and/or South East Asia will tell you: “A curry is not just a curry”.

On the sub-continent, curry mixes are made mainly with dried spices, while in South East Asia, it is mainly made from fresh herbs, roots and spices. Yet collectively, these dishes are known as curries even if they are as different as Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Or as different as Durban and Cape Town, and Cape Town and London.

All lay claim to authentic styles of curry.

Another example is the spice mixes known as ‘;BBQ Spices’;. Of these, there appear to be as many as there are people grilling meat, chicken, fish, vegetables and then some more. Korean BBQ has only one thing in common with the BBQ styles of Texas and the Carolinas, and that’;s that it involves wood and flames and coals, but even this basic fact has to be qualified as the former is cooked over direct heat and the latter often uses indirect heat.

Yet, everywhere we go, we find BBQ spice for sale.

Just recently I saw local spice merchants selling ‘;Kapana Spice’; which I suspect is a clever rebranding of stock-standard BBQ spice. No chance any of the ingredients used in kapana spice will be found in Caribbean jerk spice or Mexican barbacoa seasoning.

I find this kind of disagreement about spice mixes quite appealing with much room for creative derivatives. “Know your classics, but don’;t die by them” – if you know what I mean.

I have gotten into the habit of blending my own spice mixes. It is fun, and in my view, allows for greater creative freedom. Our palates are not the same, and by mixing our own blends, we get to make sure that we use the best ingredients possible.

I buy ingredients on larger scale and then blend away. There are a few mixes that I always have available: Chinese Five Spice, Thai Seven Spice, Jamaican Jerk, Ethiopian Berbere, Moroccan Harissa, Garam Masala and various curry spice blends obtained from a wide variety of sources.

Generally I like spicy food so I lean toward heat in my blends, and because I do not make or eat many sweet things, I tend not to pay too much attention to that side of the spice spectrum.

Some of the spice blends are used as dry rubs; others are mixed into oil-based pastes or combined with some or other liquid to form a marinade.

Sometimes I make too much or use too little. I find that it is best to keep the excess in a glass jar with an airtight lid away from sunlight. Packed into small jars with interesting labels and wicked names, spice blends make fun gifts.

A current favourite of mine is Za’;atar, a spice mix that has its origins in the Middle East. It goes with just about anything, even bread.

Happy blending!

• 240 grams bread flour

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1⁄4 cup olive oil

• 1⁄4 teaspoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon yeast

• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

• 1 tablespoon dried basil

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