Spices and Herbs |
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If you enjoy Indian cuisine then you may very well be knowledgeable of fennel seeds, cassia, turmeric, dill seeds and other spices and herbs. Then again if you don’t participate in the preparation and cooking of food you may be still unaware of where those flavours are derived from. Just a teaspoon of fennel seeds added to your cooking can add a liquorice-like flavour! Seeds may be minor but they are exceptional flavourants.  Putting together a meal, the cook needs only add a little volume of spices to enhance flavour. Mundane dishes can be made to appeal to various tastes if the household cook takes time to add from the numerous spices and herbs. Cooking healthy nutritious meals can be a tasty hearty experience or just plain dull if we avoid those minor ingredients. Research seems to show how children reared on a highly processed diet are more susceptible to disease and poor learning ability. Artificial preservatives that include colourants and flavourants have been linked to childhood asthma and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). A child with the latter disorder can present with tantrums, excess physical activity, poor concentration and inability to keep still for some time. Poor nutrition is the culprit yet children crave and demand those unhealthy foods, which places stress in the home environment. Diagnosis is often made during formative school years and the option of medication is decided by the parents with suitable medical advice. Eating sweets, chips and other delightful treats is part of most children’s happy contentment. Parents can opt for the lower preservative holding treats and from an early age encourage fruit consumption. Leaving fruit to be taken freely as snacks is helpful. Then it comes to meal times. The processed meal can be very tasty with well utilised flavourants. Put the flavour back in home cooking by using those little quantities of herbs, spices and seeds. Seeds, as small as they are, deliver useful nutrients. This adds up to enhance a healthy body. If you over do the minor ingredients it can spoil the whole meal, be conservative. High intakes of spices, which are common in highly ‘hot’ curried foods, can aggravate ulcers. A pot of stew with lamb and potatoes can taste tremendously appetising and provide various remarks. Anyone who eats can usually taste alterations of the same dish if the minor odd ingredient is changed. Cigarette smoking is said to reduce competence of the taste buds and relying on salt and pepper is famous yet so boring. The same meal of anything can be made afresh with a touch of creative flavouring. Try and taste the results, it’s a matter of trial and error but starting off with less is a basic principle. You can always add more, yet not whip it out once sunk in. Anastacia Sampson D.N. Med |