All about spices
Here you can find an index of the newsletter posts on the “All about spices” series, where we learn more about specific spices, the plants they are collected from, and discover recipes to experiment with these spices.
Anise
I learned that anise is a divisive spice when a friend hosting a gathering warned me: “Look, just so you know, this has anise”. After I asked in surprise why she warned me about this specific ingredient, she told me she knew many people who didn’t like it.
A pinch of nutmeg
Myristica fragrans is a plant whose fruit provides two different spices - nutmeg and mace.
Cooking with cinnamon
If you ask me what is the first food that comes to mind when I think of cinnamon? Pastel de nata, the typical custard tart from Lisbon, that you can eat sprinkled with cinnamon just after it comes out of the oven. That combo of custard and cinnamon melting in your mouth is certainly a good use for this spice. In fact, in the West, cinnamon is frequently…