Holiday Spices, part 1

There are a series of Spices that are associated with the holiday.  I decided that I would share those with you in two posts.   I’ll give a small description of its uses and provide recipes to go with the spice.  Spices I have included are:

             Ginger

             Clove

             Saffron

             Cardamom

             Star Anise

             Allspice

             Nutmeg

             Cinnamon

The first half of the list will be posted today and the second half tomorrow. Enjoy!  

NOTE - This post was updated in Autumn 2018, new information was added, pictures were replaced and some recipes were removed to be rewritten.  

If you are looking for a recipe you think was here before, please see this post in 2018 with relocated recipes.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger's warm, slightly woody flavor makes it one of the world's favorite spices. By and large, fresh ginger is used in savory cooking, while dried or ground ginger is favored for sweet dishes. I also use this spice in Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend.

Choose the freshest, youngest-looking ginger you can find—old rhizomes tend to be fibrous, tough, and not so flavorsome. It will keep two to three weeks in the refrigerator. Or store whole fresh ginger in a refrigerated jar of sherry, and use both ginger and sherry in Asian dishes. Ground ginger loses its aroma and flavor quickly, and it should be used within two or three months.

Pear and Ginger Crisp

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 1/2 pounds pears, peeled, cored, and sliced

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/2 (1-ounce) slices white bread

1/4 cup slivered almonds, ground

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add first 6 ingredients; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place pear mixture in a 2-quart casserole lightly coated with cooking spray. 

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, and salt; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until crumbs measure 3/4 cup. Stir breadcrumbs and nuts into flour mixture.  Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over pear mixture. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden.

Note: The slight heat of ground ginger brings out the sweetness of the pears. Ground gingerroot is far more intense and peppery than fresh. If you prefer only a hint of ginger, omit it from the topping.

Cloves (Syzyium aromaticum)

Cloves are an ancient spice, used for millennia in China and imported by the Romans. Cloves are the dried flower buds of a tree with an intensely sharp, slightly bitter taste. Use sparingly as they can overpower other flavors. In holiday cooking, cloves traditionally appear ground in gingerbread and fruitcake, and whole in mulled wine or for studding baked and glazed hams. I also use this spice in Backyard Patch Cinnful Dessert Blend.

Use cloves whole or ground. If you use whole cloves to flavor a dish, make sure to remove them before serving, as in this fresh ham recipe. Cloves don't need toasting before use.

Baked Ham

1 (8-pound) 33%-less-sodium smoked, fully cooked ham half

2 teaspoons whole cloves

2 cups apple juice, divided

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 

Directions: 

Place ham in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Cover with water to 2 inches above ham; cover and refrigerate for 24 hours. Drain; rinse well with warm water. Drain. Preheat oven to 325°.

Trim fat and rind from ham. Score outside of ham in a diamond pattern; stud with cloves. Place ham, skin side down, on the rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Place rack in pan; pour 1 cup apple juice over ham. Cover ham loosely with foil. Bake at 325° for 2 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with remaining 1 cup apple juice.

Remove ham from oven (do not turn oven off); uncover ham. Combine sugar and mustard; brush over ham. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 140°. Place ham on a cutting board; cover and let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

NOTE: Soaking the ham in water draws out some of the sodium so the ham won't taste too salty.

Saffron (Crocus sativus)

The yellow-orange stigmas from a small purple crocus make up the world's most expensive spice. The prices comes from the extremely labor-intensive way it must be harvested.  Each crocus flower provides only three stigmas, which must be hand-picked then dried. Fortunately, a little saffron goes a long way, only a few dried stigmas are needed to color a dish and impart an aromatic slightly bitter quality. This spice is integral in many traditional dishes such as the Swedish saffron buns, risotto milanese, bouillabaisse, and paella.  Best known for its use with rice, saffron also combines well with honey, pears, rosemary, garlic, and onions, and ginger and cardamom.  

Powdered saffron loses its flavor and can often be adulterated with imitations, so for best flavor buy a small quantity of high-quality threads, and crush or steep just before using. For most dishes, saffron is best soaked in a few tablespoons of warm liquid to allow the color and flavor to develop fully before adding to the rest of the ingredients. It is easy to use too much, which gives an unpleasant medicinal tang to the dish, so never double the amount, even if you double the recipe, without tasting it with the original measurement first. Store saffron airtight in a cool, dark place.

Holiday Saffron Cake

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar, divided

1 large egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

1 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup golden raisins

10 almonds

1 teaspoon pearl sugar (sugar crystals) 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.   Place butter and all but 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add egg; beat until well combined.

Heat milk in a small pot over medium heat. Crush saffron with remaining 1 teaspoon sugar in a mortar or small dish. Remove milk from heat; add saffron sugar to pot, and stir. Cover and let steep 5 minutes.

 Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Add flour mixture and milk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, blending well after each addition. Stir in raisins.

Scrape batter into a lightly greased 8-inch round cake pan. Arrange almonds on top of batter; sprinkle evenly with pearl sugar. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove cake from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Note:  This cake isn't overly sweet, but it is topped with pearl sugar, which you can sometimes find among the icing and cake decorating items in the grocery store. Regular granulated sugar would work in a pinch, but we highly recommend using either pearl or turbinado sugar. Make sure to use high-quality saffron threads.

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)

Cardamom comes from the same family as ginger and turmeric. The best pods will be pale sage green and have sticky black seeds inside. They are intensely aromatic and have an orangey flavor that works well in sweet and savory dishes.

Cardamom's essential oils are volatile, so ground cardamom's flavor dissipates quickly. Bruise whole pods before using to allow the flavor to escape—press down on them with the blade of a knife until the pod opens. If the seeds are dry and light brown, they are old and have lost their flavor and aroma. Discard those pods.

Orange with Carmel and Cardamom Syrup

1/2 cup water

2 cardamom pods, crushed

6 tablespoons sugar

5 medium navel oranges (about 2 1/4 pounds)

1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons honey

1/8 teaspoon orange water or orange juice

Mint sprigs (optional)

Directions
Combine 1/2 cup water and cardamom in a small, heavy saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 20 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve over a small bowl; discard solids.

Combine 1 tablespoon cardamom water and sugar in pan over medium heat, and cook for 9 minutes or until sugar is melted and barely golden (do not stir). Increase heat to medium-high, and cook for 1 minute or until mixture darkens to a deep amber. Remove from heat; carefully pour remaining cardamom water down the side of the pan. When adding the cardamom water to the caramel, pour down the side of the pan to prevent the caramel from sputtering too much.  Return pan to medium-high heat; stir until well blended. Remove pan from heat.

Peel oranges. Cut each orange crosswise into 6 slices. Arrange slices on a rimmed platter; pour hot syrup over oranges. Cover and chill overnight.

Combine yogurt, honey, and orange-flower water in a small bowl. Serve yogurt mixture with oranges. Garnish with mint sprigs, if desired.

Note:  Orange-flower water infuses this simple dessert with Moroccan flair; look for it in gourmet markets or Middle Eastern grocery stores. Chilling overnight is crucial for imbuing the oranges with flavor.