Know Your Seasonings

We use them everyday .They add to our every meal and even snacks.Yet do we really know that much about our most common seasonings and their proper uses? The answer might be surprising . What we shake and sprinkle on our foods are more versatile than we think. Salt is one of our most ancient seasonings.The Roman armies were paid in it, hence the reason why our pay is call salary(derived from the Latin word for salt).For years it was used for curing , brining and preserving.It was a staple both in cooking and seasoning afterwards for a few centuries.Thanks to a renewed interest in sea salt ,it's becoming an everyday must have.Unlike regular iodized table salt sea salt comes from all over the world.One of the Best comes from northern France and is called fleur de sel.It is a delicately flavored kind that can sell for almost forty five dollars a pound .It melts delicately on the tongue.There is also sel Gris or grey salt.It is made the same as flier de sel but the drying process is a tad different.The salt is allowed to touch the drying pan hence the silvery grey color.The Himalayas also offers salt as well.It's a healthier sort that helps regulate blood pressure and the heart.Start using these different salts to improve your food's flavors They, more than the regular table kind will definitely bring out subtleties. Salt's partner pepper is also a seasoning with a long history.Like it, peppercorns have been used for two millennia They helped to not only preserve meats but to cover up rotting food.The spice was first harvested from Indonesia ,mostly from Sumatra and Java during the early days of its'use.Now pepper can come from as far away as China and as close as the Caribbean island of Reunion.It is the fruit from the plant of the same name, a woody vine that can grow in almost any landscape.You can get red, white, pink pr green.The black is one of the spiciest ,thanks to the piperine ,a phyto chemical that also gives pepper it's fiery taste.Your best bet is buying a grinder full of whole seeds.FreshyY ground pepper flakes give zing to such bland dishes as scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes.You could also use white peppercorns in making Asian dishes.It's a mild flavor used commonly in all sorts of Chinese dishes.Pepper can also be added to homemade ice cream ,gloving the vanilla flavor a b Surprisingly good boost of flavor. Salt and pepper have been table staples for millennia.Use them to spice up your dishes.They bring out the flavors of everything from tomatoes to potatoes and from breakfasts to snacks.