Sweet Apricot, Pepita and Flax Bread

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. – George Bernard Shaw 

Lots of progress and change going on here recently – in many facets of life. It seems one hurdle is just vaulted and another one rises in front of you. The vicissitudes of life...

Last Friday it was a new furnace; the week before a new roof shingle job; a month before a new drilled well. Today it's a front door.

The door was needed. We had an attempted break-in before we were living here daily. They smashed the front glass but couldn’t get in. Bastards. I "patched it with plexiglass. Quite inelegant.

Although it was a nice heavy wooden door, the old glass was single pane so wasn’t very energy efficient. So in goes a vented steel door with argon glass. Should not only make the front look nicer but save on heating costs. Sweet.

But what does that have to do with bread? Nothing, really. But man cannot live by doors alone. We do need bread – especially for those quick snacks. My spouse at college needs bread, too (even though he may not totally agree) – as well as his “landlady,” a good friend.

So baking I did. Two loaves. One for the chef and one to help out. This one’s not your run-of-the-mill loaf. It’s packed full of apricots, pumpkin seeds and flax, so hopefully it is a little healthy, too.

I love my no-kneading breads. They do take time (a day, or overnight) but dovetail easily with a busy schedule, much like mine recently.

Of course the pepita and flax can be changed. Try walnuts or any other rough chopped nut, or quinoa, or whatever. Variations are endless.

For added sweetness I used molasses, but honey could be substituted, too.

If you’re looking for a slightly sturdy loaf (most with fruit are) this is one you should try. It was quite delicious, still warm, and slathered with butter!

Sweet Apricot, Pepita and Flax Bread

Prep: 10 min  |  Rise: 8 hrs  |  Bake: 30 min  |  2 loaves

5 cups flour

2-1/4 cups water, 110°F

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds, unsalted

1/2 cup flax seeds

1/4 cup molasses

1 tbsp yeast

1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a large ceramic bowl. Knead to bring together and then knead in the bowl for an additional 3 minutes.

Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let rise on the counter for 8 hours.

Once risen, punch down and divide in two. Fold each piece with your hands into two logs, each able to fit in a 4x8 buttered bread pan. You may need to use a little flour to do this.

Place the loaves in the pans, dust with flour and let rise again until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 450°F with a pan of water on the bottom rack. Bake the loaves for 10 minutes with the water bath, then remove the water and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes.

The loaves are done when nicely browned on top and sound hollow when tapped with your fingers.

Remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack.

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Foraging for Beach Peas

To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me. – Sir Isaac Newton

That's a Canadian penny next to the peas. They're tiny, but perfect  looking.

Here's another example of Mother Nature using a familiar shape of plant and flower. This one – beach peas – grow (where else?) on our beaches.

I don’t usually start off with a warning but this time I will. I have found many, many sources that cite historical uses of beach peas as a food source. I have also found the seeds of beach peas (grouped in the family of garden “sweet peas”) contain a toxic amino-acid.

A mass of beach pea on the shore of a local beach in Nova Scotia. You can just see
my spouse and Henry the Bouvier in the waves (top left).

This amino acid—in large quantities—can cause a very serious disease of the nervous system known as Lathyrism. I would assume it is present in all members of the genus Lathyrus because the condition’s name is so like the plant name.

The seed is said to be perfectly safe and very nutritious in small quantities, but should not comprise more than 30% of the diet. So as another blogger wrote, if you’re marooned on a desert island watch out how much you eat.

But now on to the plant...

Beach pea in bloom. It's quite attractive.
Photo: Anita 363, Flickr ccl

If you’ve been to a beach in the northern hemisphere anywhere in the world you’ve most likely seen this. Beach pea is a perennial coastal plant that grows in the sand dunes and gravelly areas of beaches. 

The species that grows here is “var. maritimus.” There are many others that appear worldwide.

Beach pea looks very much like either vegetable peas and/or garden sweet peas except “hardier.” By that I mean tougher looking, I assume to stand up to coastal conditions. It is hardy to USDA Zone 3. That’s pretty hardy.

Bech peas can reach about 2 feet in length. The leaves are oval, arranged in pairs and terminate with a tendril. The flower is a raceme with 5-12 blue-violet flowers. 

If you’ve ever seen a sweet pea (or vegetable pea) you know what they look like. Flowers appear in July through September in Nova Scotia. 

The fruit is a typical legume, with 2 halves that split open  but remain hinged at the base. Inside you will find pea seeds arranged in a row. They are quite tiny in relation to vegetable peas. 

The seeds ripen from late July through to October. If you want to eat the peas you have to pick earlier (when they’re immature) rather than later as they toughen as they mature. If you want to grow it in your garden, you have to let the seeds fully mature.

The pea pods, both "pickable" and dried.

Beach peas are pollinated by bees and butterflies. The plants help in fixing nitrogen in the coastal soil. In Canada, beach pea can be found in British Columbia and from Manitoba to Newfoundland. 

Beach peas can be successfully grown in the garden in well drained soil and full sun. They cannot tolerate shade.

Here’s uses I found for beach pea. Remember the warning at the top of the post...

The immature peas themselves can be cooked like garden peas. The mature seeds can be sprouted and eaten. The pods can be stir-fried whole and the tendrils can be harvested as a “gourmet” treat. Pea tendrils are quite a fad right now in many gourmet food magazines. They are often tossed in with salads.

You can also eat the plants when young, either raw or cooked. The mature dried seeds can be roasted for a coffee substitute. With the price of coffee now I may be trying that one...

The Chinese used beach peas as a tonic for the urinary organs and intestinal tract. Iroquois treated rheumatism with cooked whole young plant. Of course, never try to treat yourself with wild edibles.

So if you can get past the fear of lathyrism it may be well worth a nibble the next time you go to the beach. Just for fun...

I certainly wouldn’t want to have to shell enough of these small green darlings for a meal. So poisoning my family is almost certainly not going to happen – at least not by beach peas...

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Indian Spice Rubbed Chicken, and a Raita

You've got to bumble forward into the unknown. – Frank Gehry 

Have you ever bought something having no idea how or even when you will use it? Of course you have. I do it all the time, too.

Fenugreek seeds.

Luckily my purchases tend to be on the smaller side – sometimes quite small actually, in the form of spices or seeds. Thank goodness for the bulk food barn. You can give things a test drive at minimal financial cost. 

About two weeks ago I went in for something (I can’t remember what now) and came out with what I "needed," as well as several small bags of herbs and spices just for fun. I don’t seem to be able to resist them.

It’s worse when I go to ethnic groceries. Don’t leave me alone. You never know what I’ll come out with.

The last really “odd” purchase I made was a bag of dried limes. It turns out they are a staple in much Middle Eastern cuisine, after you pulverize them. You can also throw a whole one in with rice as it cooks for an extraordinary flavour.

But I digress. The weird one that made it to the checkout with me on the day in question was fenugreek. I had heard of it but had never bought it alone. It was right alongside something else I felt I needed (fennel seed for sausages, I believe).

The rub.

Coincidentally, fenugreek is an annual in the family Fabaceae (the peas). I wrote about several in yesterday’s post. Like other members, the plant has the distinctive pea flowers, small round leaves and forms seed pods. 

It is cultivated worldwide and is a common ingredient in dishes from Africa, the Middle East and India. It is in many curry blends. So you may not have bought it separately, but you’ve eaten it.

Fenugreek has a very distinctive smell and taste, right up there with cumin in my mind. You can also use several parts of the plant: the dried seeds, fresh or dried leaves, and even as a micro vegetable (sprouts).

Fenugreek has a “semisweet” aroma. It’s hard to describe. Think of being in a very good Indian restaurant. That’s as close as I can come. Be forewarned, I have read that a little fenugreek goes a long way.

The seeds are often toasted slightly to help activate the aromatic oils. If you’ve ever made your own curry blends you probably have toasted seeds yourself.

Your best friend, on the barbecue or in the kitchen.
Buy yourself an instant-read thermometer.

We’ve been using the barbecue a fair bit lately and I had some chicken in the freezer. So I thought rather than a barbecue sauce it might be nice to mix it up a little with some exotic flair.

This rub didn’t disappoint. Even before the chicken hit the grill the kitchen was filled with the most delicious Indian spice smell.

Four may seem like a lot of dried chillies, but the mix wasn’t very hot at all actually. If you want, feel free to adjust either up or down. It all depends how hot your dried chillies are, and how hot you want the rub.

I made an unbelievably simple side dish for with the chicken that helps cut spiciness. Raita is highly undervalued as a “salad” in North America in my opinion. Onion, carrot, hot pepper, yogurt and mint make a perfect foil for any hot dish. Even people who don’t like a lot of onion will love this.

I’ve given the recipe for the raita, as well the times and temperature I used to cook the chicken on the barbecue. No sense going to the expense of buying chicken breasts only to burn them!

Let the rub flavour the chicken for at least 1 hour.

Indian Spice Rubbed Chicken

4 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

3 whole dried red chilies (about 4” long each)

5 whole cloves

2 green cardamom pods

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp dried ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all the whole spices in a grinder and grind until powdery. I use a coffee grinder especially set aside for spices. Minimal cost, maximum results, quickly.

Rub the spice mix onto all the surface of the chicken. Then cover and let rest on the counter for 1 hour, or refrigerate for 4-8 hours.

Heat your barbecue to about 325°F. Place the chicken pieces directly over the flame, bone side down and let cook for about 10 minutes. Then turn and do the skin side. Check periodically to ensure it’s not burning. Chicken fat tends to flare up.

The yogurt helps cool any "heat" you may find in
the main dish.

After 20 minutes, start checking the internal temperature of the thickest part of the chicken. It should read almost 180°F. It will continue to cook to proper temperature after you remove it.

You can also broil the chicken in the oven, to the same internal temperature.

Onion and Carrot Raita

Serves 4  |  Make at least 1 hour ahead

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, julienned

1 hot green pepper, chopped

1/2 cup plain yogurt (or 1/2 cup sour cream mixed with 1 tbsp sugar)

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped (or 1 tbsp dried)

juice 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp salt

Mix everything together in a bowl. 

Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. This allows the acid in the yogurt to mellow and soften the onion.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Lakeside Foraging: Pickerel Weed

A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. – Henry David Thoreau

Pickerel weed, reflected in the still water of Ponoque Lake.

This plant is as common in Nova Scotia as the white, fragrant water lily. In fact it almost always grows in the same location. I remember this plant from when I was very young. Oddly, I didn’t know its proper name until I researched this post.

Pontederia cordata, commonly known as Pickerel Weed (or Pickerelweed), is an aquatic shoreline plant native to the Americas. It has an extremely wide range – from eastern Canada south all the way to Argentina. 

A flower stalk in bud, but not opened.

Pickerel Weed grows in flooded conditions, so the plant is generally dependent upon aerenchyma (spongy holes) in the stem to carry oxygen into the roots. It is often found in areas where water levels rise and fall over the seasons, like lake shores where fall, winter and spring water levels are much higher than in summer.

The plant flowers in mid to late summer in Nova Scotia. The purple flowers bloom on what is called an inflorescence. Inflorescence is the botanical term used when small flowers bloom in clusters. 

Once the flowers begins to produce seeds, the stem bends to submerge the heads. This is the same trick employed by water lilies that pull their pollinated blossoms below the surface to develop. 

Interestingly, there is great variety in the style of the flowers and leaves, not only within the species, but also within the same colony. Although the plants do reproduce by seed, they also can spread through creeping rhizomes. They often form large colonies long the shoreline.

Edibility

The seed can be eaten raw, or cooked like rice. It is said they have “a very acceptable nutty flavour and texture when raw,” and are “excellent if the seed is lightly roasted in an oven.” (From Plants for a Future web site)

The seed can also be dried for long-term storage whole, or ground into a powder. I haven’t been able to find any particular use for the ground powder form.

The newly emerging stalks can be eaten raw or cooked – as can the adult plant, but young leaves are supposedly better. They can be used raw in salads or boiled or steamed like spinach.

This plant is also an important source of food for wildlife, in particular waterfowl.

Pickerel weed will colonize large areas if allowed to do so.

In the garden

Pickerel Weed makes a good ornamental garden plant, either in a home pond or even in a planter. It has actually won horticultural awards.

If not grown in standing water just make sure that you have the ability to soak the entire container holding it every 3-4 days. It should never dry out entirely.

If slight care is taken it should re-emerge every spring and potentially spread. Even if planted in a pond it may be wise to plant in a bucket to control what can be an invasive occupant.

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Gardening: Maples are in bloom too!

A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and honest people are screwed first. – Chanakya 

Red maple flowers. They're a little damp. It was a very foggy morning.

A few days ago I posted about the star magnolias being in bloom in Nova Scotia. They’re certainly not the only tree that is doing its “spring thing.” On the weekend we saw a saucer magnolia that was nearly in bloom. That’s about two weeks earlier than usual here. It was a mild winter to say the least.

Sugar maple blossoms. Note the difference in colour from above.

But when we’re looking at what’s shaking off the doldrums of winter we shouldn’t forget those native species that put on a flowery show. 

One such tree is the Acer, more commonly known as the maple tree. It also happens to be the national tree of Canada, and one of its leaves appears on our flag.

From Wikipedia:

There are approximately 129 species, most of which are native to Asia, with a number also appearing in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Only one species, the poorly studied Acer laurinum, is native to the Southern Hemisphere. Fifty-four species of maples meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria for being under threat of extinction in their native habitat.

The word Acer derives from a Latin word meaning "sharp" (compare "acerbic"), referring to the characteristic points on maple leaves. It was first applied to the genus by the French botanist Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in 1700. The earliest known fossil maple is Acer alaskense, from the Latest Paleocene of Alaska.

This is a sugar maple seed. Maples make many. many, many.
Photo: Wiki CC

Although several species grow in NS, the most common by far is the sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Its habitat ranges from here west to southern Ontario and as far south as Texas. 

If I had thought of it earlier I could have easily posted this plant under my “foraging” category. Sugar maple is the one that is “tapped” for its sap in early spring, that is then turned into maple syrup. It’s a very useful tree.

Maples are big trees. They can grow over 100’ tall with very wide trunks. They are also excellent shade trees. Maples put on a dramatic display in the fall when their leaves turn to colours ranging from yellow orange to bright red.

Another common maple here is the red maple. As the name suggests, its leaves, twigs, flowers and seed pods are all red to varying degrees. It is often used for landscaping because of the foliage, as is the sugar maple.

In both types of maples the flowers appear in corymbs of 5-10 together. You can tell from the photos what is meant by a corycomb. The resulting fruit is a double “samara” with two winged seeds. So many are produced they are often considered a nuisance by gardeners. They tend to sprout quite easily...

Both maples are putting on quite a show right now. They can be easily spotted while on walks or even driving by because of their colour. The sugar maple have flowers that are yellowish-buff. Red maples have red blossoms.

The flowers don’t last too long so if you want to go see them you should really get out and have a look. They’ll soon be gone for another year.

Young sugar maple at right; Henry the Bouvier at left.

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Recipe: Homemade Extract of Clove

Nothing is pleasant that is not spiced with variety. – Francis Bacon

Today's victims.

This is number 3 in my quest for extracts to make inexpensively at home. It's always good to know how to make things yourself that cost a lot of money to buy, if you can even find them...

Photo: Wiki CC

I have seen extract of clove for sale at bakery shops, health food stores and the local bulk food store. It’s usually sold in tiny little bottles for several dollars. Clove oil, a stronger extract, can be purchased over-the-counter at pharmacies.

Making extract of clove is as easy as making homemade vanilla or cardamom extract, both of which I posted previously. Use that search button at the right. I’m sure it gets lonely…

If what I see with my own eyes is correct, extract of clove may be one of the fastest extracts you can make. Within 24 hours the colour was darker than my month-old vanilla. That bodes well.

A brief history of cloves

During China’s Han dynasty, supplicants addressing the emperor we required to have cloves in their mouths to mask their bad breath. That reminds me of a joke by George Carlin: “If you run out of deodorant, put a bay leaf under each arm. It won’t stop you from perspiring, but you’ll smell like soup!”

A 14th Century French apothicaire. Photo: Wiki CC

Cloves made their appearance in Europe in the 4th Century as a luxury spice. Because of its ancient use in medical preparations (other than masking bad breath) it wasn’t long before Europeans were exposed to home-cooked medicines of various “effectiveness” using clove oil (the distilled, stronger extract).

From healingnaturallybybee.com:

The medieval German herbalists used cloves as part of anti-gout mixture. Once clove became easily available in Europe, it was prized as a treatment for indigestion, flatulence, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. It was also used to treat cough, infertility, warts, worms, wounds, and toothache. European hospitals use clove to treat viral hepatitis, bacterial colitis, hypertension, thyroid dysfunction, and fatigue.

Early American Eclectic (huh?) physicians used clove to treat digestive complaints and added it to bitter herb-medicine preparations to make them more palatable. They were also the first to extract clove oil from the herbal buds. They used it on the gums to relieve toothache.

Traditional uses in America include treating worms, viruses, candida, and various bacterial and protozoan infections. Clove is also used for toothaches, bad breath, dizziness, cough, earache, colitis, epilepsy, palsy, and digestive upsets, as a sleep-inducer, anti-inflammatory, blood-thinner, mental stimulant, etc.

Proven health value of cloves

From whfoods.com

Clove contains significant amounts of an active component called eugenol, which has made it the subject of numerous health studies, including studies on the prevention of toxicity from environmental pollutants like carbon tetrachloride, digestive tract cancers, and joint inflammation. In the United States, eugenol extracts from clove have often been used in dentistry in conjunction with root canal therapy, temporary fillings, and general gum pain, since eugenol and other components of clove (including beta-caryophyllene) combine to make clove a mild anaesthetic as well as an anti-bacterial agent. For these beneficial effects, you'll also find clove oil in some over-the-counter sore throat sprays and mouth washes.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Eugenol, the primary component of clove's volatile oils, functions as an anti-inflammatory substance. In animal studies, the addition of clove extract to diets already high in anti-inflammatory components (like cod liver oil, with its high omega-3 fatty acid content) brings significant added benefits, and in some studies, further reduces inflammatory symptoms by another 15-30%. Clove also contains a variety of flavonoids, including kaempferol and rhamnetin, which also contribute to clove's anti-inflammatory (and antioxidant) properties.

A Nutrient-Dense Spice

Like its fellow spices, clove's unique phytonutrient components are accompanied by an incredible variety of traditionally-recognized nutrients. Using our nutrient ranking system, we determined cloves to be an excellent source of manganese, a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K, dietary fiber, and vitamin C and a good source of calcium and magnesium.

Extract of clove at right. This is after only 24 hours.

My culinary uses

I’m going to use my essence of clove in baked goods. It should add a nice zing to gingerbread, chocolate cake, spice cookies or any other food that uses whole or ground cloves.

It could also be tossed with apples before baking a pie, or many other fruits in compotes or tarts.

Use your imagination! Watch for more extracts in the future...

How to make Extract of Clove

1 bottle with well fitting top (either cork or screw)

vodka

clove buds

Fill your chosen container 1/3 full with clove buds. Pour the vodka over the top and let it age for 3-4 weeks before use. 

There is no need to strain the infusion but it may make it easier to pour...To use it taste how strong your infusion is and judge from there.

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Make Your Own: Homemade Cardamom Extract

One of the hardest tasks is to extract continually from one's soul an almost inexhaustible ill will. – Victor Hugo

Delicious stuff, this is.

There’s nothing ill will about making your own extracts. My vanilla experiment is coming along nicely at the one week mark. I have high hopes for it to turn out well over the next 3 months.

I now have it in my head to make other extracts. There is clove, cinnamon, you name it… The first on my list (after the vanilla) is cardamom. This one only takes a few days too, unlike the vanilla.

Cardamom is a Middle Eastern/Indian spice that has a very wonderful aromatic scent. Interestingly it is also common in Scandinavian baking. This was due to the oceanic adventures of the Vikings. I have used cardamom powder in sweet rolls with glaze before and the flavour was amazing.

Pure cardamom extract is not inexpensive. 3 fl. oz on Amazon cost $12 USD. To make it, I discovered, is inexpensive. 

This recipe makes the same volume as I found on Amazon. To make around 1/3 cup only takes 1/2 cup of vodka and 1/4 cup cardamom. Buy the spice at the bulk food store and you only pay pennies. 1/2 cup of vodka is probably about $3.50. That’s quite a saving. So about $4 as opposed to $12.

Squeeze the seeds to get as much liquid out as possible.

This extract is going to be fantastic in baked goods like my sweet rolls, or cookies, cakes or even squares. I have already used it in a recipe I will post in a day or two.

Homemade cardamom extract is a little less strong than vanilla so you may need to add a little more, but at the cost to make it that is no problem.

Stay tuned for more extracts in the future. Absolutely.

Cardamom Extract

Prep: 5 min  |  Steep 2-3 days

1/4 cup green cardamom pods

1/2 cup vodka

Crush the green pods in a bag with a rolling pin. Combine the crushed cardamom with the vodka in a jar. Let steep for 2-3 days only. Any longer and the extract runs the risk of becoming bitter.

Strain through fine cotton cloth.

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How To: Make Vanilla Extract and Save Money!

Experience is the extract of suffering. – Arthur Helps 

This is someone else's homemade vanilla extract. I'll swap out with mine when it's ready.
Photo: di.wineanddine, Flickr ccl

This is one of those how-to recipes that that everyone should try at least once. It is so easy that it essentially makes itself without any outside intervention. Unfortunately it’s also one of those recipes that you have to wait, and wait, for the results.

This is all you need to make your own vanilla.

Have you ever wondered what miraculous processes are involved in making that oh-so-expensive pure vanilla extract? I thought I “sort of” knew, until I read a short article in a small weekly newspaper here in Nova Scotia called The Advance.

In that particular issue was an article about money saving ideas that are easy to do yourself – that we never think of doing. One of them was making vanilla extract. It actually was even easier than I thought. It just takes waiting time. There is no instant gratification. That comes later.

So how do you do it? All you need are vanilla beans, vodka, small bottles and a knife. I found small corked bottles at Michael’s arts and crafts for $1.69 each. They are perfect.

In case you don’t already know, vanilla beans (the origin of “real” extract) are the seed pods of the orchid Vanilla planifolia. 

Mesoamerican peoples cultivated the vanilla orchid, but it wasn’t called vanilla until the Spanish arrived. Their word “vainilla” means "little pod." Cortés is credited with introducing Europe to both vanilla and chocolate.

We usually purchase vanilla extract here in Nova Scotia for about $15 per 4 ounces (110 ml). Since we’re making a whopping 375 ml supply to compare cost multiply that by three to $45 CAN.

Split each half-bean to expose the seeds. That's what you see
as "dirt" on the cutting board. They're very small.

This recipe (375 ml of vanilla extract) costs between $25-$32 for the whole lot, including the bottles. The variable is in the price of the vanilla beans. They really can make a difference in cost. They’re cheap at our local Bulk Barn bulk food stores and every bit as good as more expensive gourmet stores.

If you do a lot of baking I know you swear by pure vanilla extract. This does take time but is well worth the wait.

My photo shows the extract right after combining. About 5 hours later I could see a little colour coming into the bottles. I’ll keep updating pictures on this entry as it ages.

Homemade Vanilla Extract*

This is right after combining.

Time: 1 to 6 months

4-1/2 vanilla beans

375 ml vodka

3 1/2-cup bottles (118 ml)

Cut each vanilla bean in half. Split the vanilla beans down lengthwise and peel back to expose the seeds.

Add 1 and 1/2 beans to each small bottle. Pour 1/2 cup vodka over the beans, cork and wait.

It will be perfectly clear at first, but at 1 week you will begin to see some colour. After 12 hours I could see some colour in mine.

This is the vanilla after only 24 hours.

At 1 month your extract will be usable but weak. At 3 months it will be very good. At 6 months it will be amazing. It will continue to darken as it ages.



I have read that you can keep your vanilla going by topping up with more vodka as you use it and exchange the beans as they get exhausted.

If you do it now, you’ll be ready to gift these come September. I know it’s a while, but it will be here before we know it, I’m sure.

* Of course you can scale this recipe up or down. The ratio is 1.5 beans to 1/2 cup (118 ml) of vodka.

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Ingredient of the Day: Cloves

Variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor. – William Cowper

Dried whole cloves. Can you smell them? Photo: Urban Hafner, Flickr ccl

I often use something in a recipe and then think “that would make a good post.” It’s funny because I always start out thinking I hnow what I’m going to write, but as I read about the subject the post very often takes on a life of its own. Cloves is no exception. I learn with you.

Clove flowers. Photo: YIM hafiz, Flickr ccl

For example, I kind of thought cloves were flower buds, but I wasn’t sure. Now I am….

Cloves are the dried flower buds of a tree in the Myrtle family. Guava, feijoa, allspice, and eucalyptus are other members in the same family. Cloves are native to Indonesia and  are harvested mainly in Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

From Wikipedia

The scientific name of clove is Syzygium aromaticum. It belongs to the genus Syzygium, tribe Syzygieae, and subfamily Myrtoideae of the family Myrtaceae. It is classified in the order of Myrtales, which belong to superorder Rosids, under Eudicots of Dicotyledonae. Clove is an Angiospermic plant and belongs to division of Magnoliophyta in the kingdom Plantae.

Photo: G.Eickhoff, Flickr ccl

The English name derives from Latin clavus 'nail' (also the origin of French clou and Spanish clavo, 'nail') as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape.

Clove is an evergreen that grows to a height ranging from 24–40 ft (8–12 m). The buds start off a pale color and gradually become green and then bright red. It’s when they’re red that they are ready for collecting and drying.

Cloves are wonderful in both sweet and savoury dishes. On Valentines Day (two days ago) I posted a recipe for chocolate cake with a pink clove drizzle. The clove with the chocolate was a wonderful combination. I also personally use cloves in my version of the classic Osso Bucco and a dish I made up that has Persian influences called Beef Marakesh. 

Photo: Amandabhslater, Flickr ccl

Cloves are used in cooking both whole and ground. They have a very strong and recognizable taste and smell so are often used very sparingly in cooking. Cloves are used in many of the cuisines around the world.

Cloves is a key ingredient in the Northern Indian spice mix Garam masala. In south Indian cuisine it is commonly used in biryani. Cloves are also used in chai tea. Mexican cooking uses cloves in combination with cumin and cinnamon, most famously in mole (pronounced mow-lay, not “mole”) sauce.

Due to their Indonesian colonial connection, cloves are common in Dutch cuisine. They are used in cheese, stews and baking. Most other European and North American uses are more commonly in baked goods as opposed to the main portion of the meal. This is a shame. Cloves really adds a lot to anything it's used in.

Non-culinary

This first use is sort of healthy, I guess. Cloves are used in non-tobacco cigarettes called Kreteks (they're under another brand name in the USA due to a law prohibiting them). I have had friends who tried to kick tobacco by smoking them. They smell terrible.

Cloves are an important note in perfume making because of their aromatic qualities. We all can capture some of this by studding an orange with cloves and hanging it. Or if you want your home to have a wonderful fragrance boil several whole cloves in water on the stove. The steam will fill the house with the essence of cloves.

Photo: Fras1977, Flickr ccl

Medical

Cloves are used in many of the more ancient medicines of the world where the essential oil is sometimes used as a painkiller. Clove oil is also used against various skin disorders like acne. It is also used in severe burns, skin irritations and to reduce the sensitivity of skin.

Western studies have supported the use of cloves and clove oil for dental pain. Clove may reduce blood sugar levels. The buds have anti-oxidant properties. Apparently clove has also been studied for treating premature ejaculation, but the studies have proven inconclusive.

Of course for any medicinal effect one must ingest far more clove (and far more often) than one would in a normal diet.There are clove supplements available, but there are several safety concerns and possible drug interactions.

So if you go looking for more information and think that clove is what you need talk to your doctor first.

Hopefully you now know a little more about cloves than before. I know I do. 

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