One of the benefits of modern life that we can easily take for
granted is the availability of dozens of spices—from the ordinary to the
exotic. Yet if we go back in time, we are reminded that spices were once so coveted that they rivaled gold and precious
stones.
During the reign of the Roman Empire, pepper and other popular
spices were status symbols for leaders
and wealthy families. And at the birth of Jesus Christ, the three Magi from the
Orient brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the latter two being
exotic, expensive spices equivalent in value to gold. Fifteen centuries later,
Columbus discovered the New World while looking for gold and—you guessed it—a
route to the spices in the Orient.
In the 21st century, however, you don't have to be a student of
history, a wealthy individual or a gourmet chef to incorporate spices into your
cooking. At a modest price, you can easily purchase ordinary spices—like onion,
oregano, paprika, pepper and garlic—at your grocery store.
Or you can experiment with more exotic spices, such as Aleppo pepper, a Turkish crushed chili spice that can be
sprinkled on deviled eggs, pizza, salads or grilled meat. Going one step
further, you can create your own exotic mix of spices, such as Bavarian style seasoning, which is made of crushed brown mustard,
rosemary, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and sage.
Why should you expand your cooking repertoire with spices?
Because most of us are trying either to lose weight or avoid
gaining weight, and spices can be helpful in reaching our goal.
John Peters, PhD, professor of medicine at the
University of Colorado and chief of strategy and innovation at the Anschutz
Health and Wellness Center, conducted an experiment to see if spices could
overcome the loss in dietary satisfaction of foods when the level of fat is
reduced. The goal was "to see if using herbs and spices could help people
meet the recommended Dietary Guidelines that advocate a moderate total fat and
reduced saturated fat intake." If so, the use of spices could be a
practical strategy for weight loss or weight maintenance.
In Dr. Peters's experiment, a test group of 150 subjects ate a
meal (meat loaf, vegetables and creamy pasta) that was either full fat, reduced
fat or reduced fat with spices. The meals were randomized so that the subjects
did not know which meal they were eating, and the subjects assigned a score to
the meal based on dietary satisfaction.
Dr. Peters found that the overall liking of the full-fat meal and
the reduced-fat meal with spices received the same score in satisfaction.
Indeed, participants liked the reduced fat spice vegetables better than full
fat vegetables. The creamy pasta didn't fare as well, probably because the
spices cannot deliver the unique mouthfeel of creamy pasta.
Bottom line, Dr. Peters concluded that except for foods that are
heavily dependent on a creamy mouth feel, "spices
will likely have great utility in many foods as a way to reduce fat and
saturated fat." In other words, through the creative use of spices, we can
enjoy reduced-fat food as much as, if not more than, a full-fat food.
If you need ideas on how to incorporate spices into your cooking,
check out the recipes on the McCormick for Chefs website. You can choose recipes by kind of food (e.g., poultry,
appetizers or salads), style of food (e.g., vegetarian, ethnic or health and wellness) or brand of spice (e.g., Lawry's,
McCormick Culinary or Thai Kitchen). You'll also find dozens of recipes with a
unique combination of flavors, such as one of my favorites, Crunchy Asian Slaw with Roasted Ginger.
Nearly
60 years ago, syndicated columnist Harriet Van Horne,
wrote, "Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or
not at all." Harriet was ahead of her time in promoting real food for real
people. As evidenced by her comments in an early Vogue magazine article, Harriet was not a fan of
"premixed, prewhipped, pre-stewed foods that
crowd the grocer’s shelf."
So
in the spirit of uninhibited learning, go ahead and express your creativity in
the kitchen by experimenting with new and exotic spices—and as an added
benefit, watch the numbers on the scale retreat.
Bon
appétit.
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