Author Topic: Using spices - is it just me? (Read 3176 times)

Bartman · « **on:** July 01, 2008, 10:39:59 AM »

I find herbs and spices really stink! I mean literally. If I am using them to prepare something I can hardly stand how they smell, but once they get cooked I like how they smell and taste. I was just attempting a very basic herb rub so I can cook a chicken on the BBQ tonight. Thyme and Rosemary with garlic and lemon rubbed all over the chicken and inside. Seemed basic enough and not over spiced. Other than the lemon smell the other three just seemed horrible and I was hardly using anything for quantity. I was going to add basil and garlic salt, but the resulting smell of the mix was so horrid I through it out. Rosemary and Thyme were the least offensive so I picked those.

I use dill weed on eggs all the time and like the taste, but it smells gross. Same with garlic. Love the taste, but can hardly stand to smell it.

I always think I'm going to totally ruin the taste when I experiment like this.

Do you guys mind the smells or is my nose just too sensitive?

I've accumulated all these spices over the last year seeing them used in various things, but can't get past the smell.

Bart

Sonny · « **Reply #1 on:** July 01, 2008, 11:13:40 AM »

I love the smell of most herbs and spices. Don't care much for cloves but really enjoy most everything else.

karen J · « **Reply #2 on:** July 01, 2008, 04:07:54 PM »

Rosemary can be pretty strong for me. It's kind of like Pine- resinous and assertive. I usually cut the amount called for by half, even if it's the first time I'm trying the recipe.

Garlic is funny too. I love it, but it has to be fresh. Some garlic is just too darn bitter and it ruins the dish. Always give it a little taste first and only use it if it tastes good.

How are you with other spices, like Cumin, Pepper, Allspice, Cloves, and that kind of thing? Maybe its just Herbs that you have an aversion to?

Esther · « **Reply #3 on:** July 01, 2008, 04:58:18 PM »

I didn't notice who had posted this and I was going to ask HER if she was pregnant.

Bartman · « **Reply #4 on:** July 01, 2008, 06:26:30 PM »

Maybe that is the problem!

So, I gave it a go. Cooking a whole chicken on the BBQ spit is rather pointless for me since it is more than I can ever eat, but I wanted to see what I could come up with.

I decided the garlic and lemon was okay and the other spices (the Thyme and herb) added to it a bit, but not enough to bother with them again. Overall it didn't have a lot of flavour so the next attempt I'll need to increase the lemon and garlic and get more salt into it without using salt to dry it out. It took about 1.25 hrs to cook and was a nice colour when finished. Not too dry (I cooked it 1.5 hours which I don't think I needed to do) and okay for tenderness. I might try using the garlic salt rubbed under the skin and putting in some lemon pulp under the skin as well to see if that can liven it up a bit. I want to avoid the cure all of smothering it in BBQ sauce 10 minutes before it is finished, but I do like the Tony Roma's BBQ sauce I have and perhaps experimenting for the sake of experimenting isn't required if I have something I like and can do a good job with out of the bottle.

So, the BBQ experiment worked. Next time I'll see what I can do different. It turned out good enough that I kept the extra for work lunches for a couple days and froze more of it for fried rice or pizza peta later on.

Bart

karen J · « **Reply #5 on:** July 01, 2008, 07:08:24 PM »

Bart, We made a whole chicken the other day that was so good we ate the whole thing. If you Google "Bear's Chook" you might find the recipe. Basically, you mix together 4oz softened cream cheese with 4 oz softened butter. Add some Argentinian Chimichurri seasonings (garlic, parsley, oregano, s&p, onion, a little lemon). Gently loosen the skin from the chicken by entering through the evisceration opening. Smooth the mixture all over the chicken, under the skin, being careful not to break the skin. Truss. Roast the chicken. Wow! You wont be able to stop eating it. The drippings make a great sauce. Time consuming, but very well worth it.

If you really want to flavor Chicken well, massive amounts of butter should do the trick. Depends on where your Chicken comes from.

Here in the US, our Chickens come from massive factory farms and don't have very much "Chicken" flavor.

Bartman · « **Reply #6 on:** July 01, 2008, 07:39:52 PM »

I think chicken is just one of those foods that tastes just like whatever it is cooked with. It is the base for the flavour from everything else.

Bart

Jonna · « **Reply #7 on:** July 01, 2008, 07:46:59 PM »

Bart, I don't want to be a downer but the next time you are at the doctor, mention that your sense of smell seems to be a little off the norm. It can be a sign of lots of other things. Just saying.

Bartman · « **Reply #8 on:** July 01, 2008, 08:43:36 PM »

Oh I think the ol' sniffer is working just fine and normal. I think I just find the smells of spices and herbs to be not so great. My friend makes a steak maranade that is totally disgusting to the taste and smell to everyone, but is great once cooked. I'm just sensitive to the "raw" smell. I can also smell cigarette smoke half a block down wind from where I am! I'm probably better off not smelling the stuff, just using it and enjoying it after it's cooked.

Bart

Mikey · « **Reply #9 on:** July 01, 2008, 09:49:54 PM »

I enjoy the smell of most spices......except cumin. I like cumin but I don't like the smell.... I like the smell of Rosemary which we have growing in the garden, but I don't like the taste of it on food, with the exception of a lamb roast.

When we visit Israel we really enjoy walking through the Muslim quarter because they have open-air markets and the spices are unbelievable. The fetching Mrs. Mikey loves visiting a spice specialty store in Torrance, Penzeys. http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html She enjoys cooking and likes to use mostly fresh spices.

Last week I BBQd a whole chicken on the rotisserie spit and it was to die for. The white meat was very moist. I brined it for a couple of hours, dusted it inside and out with my blend of spices, placed several slices of lemon in the cavity along with some butter and several crushed garlic cloves and then onto the spit for about 1 1/2 hours....

Sunbeam56 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 02, 2008, 12:25:15 AM »

In a former life, I had a spice garden on the windward side of the backyard. So when we were eating out back - which we did a lot because the weather was good, and the mosquitoes weren't too bad, I would walk through the garden. The smell would linger for hours.

You probably shouldn't try any such foolishness if you don't like the smell of fresh herbs.

Which assumes something. Are your herbs fresh? If they are not, you may have some minor molding that is causing your repulsion to the scent.

Bartman · « **Reply #11 on:** July 02, 2008, 06:02:40 AM »

All items except the garlic is dried. Too difficult to find fresh here unless I tried to grow it myself which isn't going to happen.

More experimenting will be required. I think I can safely increase the garlic and probably devise a marinade soak that will get the flavour through it more something like oyster sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice and garlic in a sealable bag then stuff it with more garlic and lemon slices before cooking. As for a herb mix I think I agree with Mike about the Rosemary not working for me. I'll need to figure out "better chicken spices". Possibly some sage. Mom uses a bit of that in her turkey and chicken stuffing and I like that so long as it is a dash not much more.

Bart

Sonny · « **Reply #12 on:** July 02, 2008, 06:30:20 AM »

Dried herbs are more concentrated than fresh so you need to scale back when using them. If you're dried herbs are more than a year old you should toss them out. Spices might last a little longer but not much. One problem I have with buying herbs and spices (at least here in the US) is that you don't know how fresh they are. Same problem with olive oil. They are not required to tell you when they were harvested. That's why I buy all my stuff at Penzey's and I buy only small quantities each time. They don't have a date on their stuff but they do have a large enough turnover to guarantee freshness. And if you don't have a store nearby you can order online. If you like pepper you should try their Whole Special Extra Bold Indian Black Peppercorns. Great for Steak au Poivre.

Edit: Oh, and when it comes to chicken... I like putting Oregano in mine

Mikey · « **Reply #13 on:** July 02, 2008, 08:25:41 AM »

LOL @ Jim. Quick wit

Bartman · « **Reply #14 on:** July 02, 2008, 09:10:36 AM »

I knew about dried being more concentrated and scaled back. I only used a small amount of the Rosemary and just a bit more of the Thyme (like 1/4 teaspoons if that). Oregano is a tough one. If it isn't just the right amount it is either overpowering or not even noticed. It's not a favorite with my family, but good on lasagna when used sparingly.

Bart

Sunbeam56 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 02, 2008, 07:02:21 PM »

Have you tried majoram?

When I cook mexican its: garlic, cumin, pepper, salt.

When I cook italian its: garlic, oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil.

When I cook french its: sage, majoram, thyme, garlic.

You might like "french".

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #16 on:** July 02, 2008, 08:18:58 PM »

I love the smell of spices and especially cilantro and rosemary. We have a Penzey's here too. Love the place.

Bartman · « **Reply #17 on:** July 03, 2008, 09:11:45 AM »

There is something in Mexican food that doesn't agree with me so I'm not even familiar anymore with any spices that may be used in that cooking so cumin may be what I can't stomach.

Looks like French may be the way to go. I don't mind sage as much as other things, thyme isn't as bad as rosemary and garlic is garlic - just don't like it smelling up the place. Not so bad after it's cooked.

Bart

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 04, 2008, 07:40:43 AM »

Tex Mex is full of cumin but the Mex I grew up on in AZ doesn't have any. The Mexican cooking instructor I took lessons from one year at the local community college did not use any either.

Joyce · « **Reply #19 on:** July 05, 2008, 08:15:00 AM »

I can't clump 'Mexican' into one big blanket statement either Leeanne.

I love it all.

Sure I have had 'some' Mexican food disagree with me, but I think it was the cooking practices of that one particular restaurant.
I didn't make up my mind to not eat Mexican food over a couple bad experiences.
All sorts of foods I have at times had 'disagreements' with, but I understood one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch.

I can not comprehend anyone not liking the smell of herbs.

Bart, I would take the advice here and get your sinuses checked out.

Also, I thought of the mold problem too, and not just in the herbs/spices.

Did you know that people can get mold infections in their sinuses and have no symptons, except that things start smelling funny/bad, or not at all?
And sometimes have Sinus headaches too.
They had a CSI episode about this, and it was really creepy cuz it killed a man cuz he didn't get treated (cuz he had no idea). No joke!

Spices just aren't good even after a few months,
After a year, we chuck them.
And a lot of them we keep in the fridge.

Jonna · « **Reply #20 on:** July 05, 2008, 03:06:53 PM »

The differences in the regional cuisines of Mexico are enormous. Most of the food labeled 'Mexican' in the US is derived from the cuisines of northern Mexico. It is also recognized now that the cuisines of the US southwest are a separate regional cooking in their own right. I like all of it, but I am partial to the foods of the Yucatan which center on black beans, turkey, chipotle, cooking bananas, corn masa and edam type cheese. Of course, we also eat a lot of fish, seafood and tropical fruits. Comino or cumin is not a big part of the dishes here. There are other herbs more commonly used such as epazote that are not often used farther north. I swear that sometimes I think I've spent the last 7 years just eating my way around Mexico and Central America. I've got the hips to prove it too

Mikey · « **Reply #21 on:** July 05, 2008, 04:10:54 PM »

Quote

I've got the hips to prove it too

Bartman · « **Reply #22 on:** July 06, 2008, 07:05:10 AM »

If the smell thing can be related to sinus problems I don't need to see the Doctor. I already, and so does my Doctor, know that my sinuses give me some problems. The solution is to have them "drilled out" (my way of describing it) and they aren't that much of a problem yet to go that route.

Since not all of them smell bad to me it is also possible I just don't find all herbs to be appealing. These are also all less than 2 weeks old as I just started buying them to experiement with the grilling. Generally I don't use much in the way of herbs except for dill weed which I use almost daily on eggs and steamed veggies.

As for the Mexican food. Without going into detail let's just say that each time I have tried it I had a negative reaction within minutes. Now, granted I have not tried every Mexican dish out there, but whatever is being used in the dishes I did try was enough to keep me away from it for good. I'm sure it is a specific spice. I had a package of frozen egg rolls that had a strong smell of some kind of spice that gave me the same reaction so I was finished with those too.

I was raised on bland and overcooked food. That is how my father liked it so that's how we all got fed so there is no doubt my stomach doesn't know what hit it when I try anything with spices.

I'm going to try a new combination tomorrow on the peppers so I'll see how that goes.

Bart

Mikey · « **Reply #23 on:** July 06, 2008, 09:52:06 AM »

Some herbs/foods are an acquired taste, however, if those herbs make one ill then one will never acquire a taste for them for obvious reasons. I guess I'm lucky in that I don't know of any herb or food that physically disagrees with me. The fetching one loves cilantro. I used to find the smell and taste of cilantro quite objectionable. I believe "disgusting" is the word I used

. However, after numerous exposures to cilantro I have since acquired a taste for this herb in certain foods, mostly salsas.

Let us know how your spice adventure turns out....

Quote

I was raised on bland and overcooked food. That is how my father liked it so that's how we all got fed so there is no doubt my stomach doesn't know what hit it when I try anything with spices.

Boy, does that statement bring back memories. My foster mom had a habit of not planning menus. She would buy ground round and then leave it sitting in the refrigerator for a week or so before getting around to cooking it. It smelled and tasted something horrible..... Thus, I grew up thinking that ground round was disgusting... Then at the age of 18 I started dating the fetching one. One night she invited me over to her parents house for dinner. When I learned we were having tacos for dinner, made from "ground round", I was less than excited..... When I bit into my taco it tasted great. I asked what kind of meat was in the taco and was assured it was ground round. I was thinking to myself, "No, this can't be ground round because I've had ground round before...."

Sean · « **Reply #24 on:** July 06, 2008, 10:28:39 AM »

Hey Bart,

Sounds to me like you may have food allergies. I have many and they seem to change every 10 years. All of my food allergies cause different reactions as well. If it is a food allergy, you may want to see an allergist and see what exactly you are allergic to as some food allergies can be fatal. I have an anaphylactic reaction to eggs.

Cheers,
Sean

Bartman · « **Reply #25 on:** July 06, 2008, 10:32:44 AM »

Macaroni and Cheese. You haven't had it until you have it like my father likes. Paste. It "Sticks to your ribs" to be sure! I always said pasta is to be firm to the bite not pre-chewed and mixed with glue. To this day this is one of my least favorite things, but at least when I cook it it looks, tastes and has the texture you expect it to have so quite a bit better then those paste days I used to dread.

Bart

Bartman · « **Reply #26 on:** July 06, 2008, 10:36:29 AM »

That would be a drastic reaction Sean. What are some of the minor symptoms? I'm sure there are things I probably have allergies to, but I have never had any kind of typical allergy reactions. Occassionaly I've got hives, but have never been able to figure out the cause.

Really, though, I think I just don't like the smell of some herbs. I opened up my cupboard today when they are currently sitting and there was a nice smell so I think I need to combine everything in that cupboard together!

Bart

EagleEye · « **Reply #27 on:** July 06, 2008, 07:03:19 PM »

Lets get back to the original question:

Is it jsut me?

Yup, it's just you Bart, I love the smell of spices, somtimes better then the taste, but people that eat my cookin seem to like the taste.

Steve

karen J · « **Reply #28 on:** July 06, 2008, 07:58:05 PM »

Quote from: Sean on July 06, 2008, 10:28:39 AM

Hey Bart,

Sounds to me like you may have food allergies. I have many and they seem to change every 10 years. All of my food allergies cause different reactions as well. If it is a food allergy, you may want to see an allergist and see what exactly you are allergic to as some food allergies can be fatal. I have an anaphylactic reaction to eggs.

Cheers,
Sean

Can't agree more. Food allergies are one of the most common things... they cause all kinds of irritating symptoms as well... skin problems, neurological problems, on and on. A simple skin test done by an allergist can identify not only foods that you are allergic to, but also foods that don't quite "make the list" (there is a subtle reaction that would improve if you eliminated that food).

Right now I'm thinking that I may be allergic to dairy/cheese foods. Don't know how I'll live without, but must try elimination for a couple weeks....

I love cheese. :'(

Bartman · « **Reply #29 on:** July 07, 2008, 09:03:43 PM »

By George, I think he's got it! Hopefully I can remember it!

The last mix was garlic salt, a dash of salt and pepper, fresh chives, thyme and basil in extra virgin olive oil left in a resealable bag in the fridge for 24 hours. Grilled just enough to have some grill marks on the skin and bingo! Red peppers with a nice flavour, but not overwhelming. Finally, I was getting sick of peppers! Now, one "signature" dish to put on the BBQ. I'll have to see how this will work on other veggies now.

Bart