A pungent perfume with strong smell is obtained from fruits, flowers, buds, roots and barks of plants. There were many spicy spices in ancient China, including pepper, ginger, Chinese medicine, rattan, cinnamon, pepper, mustard, pepper and so on. These spices can not only add flavor to food, but also have irreplaceable dietotherapy effect, especially for many diseases.

(Main producing areas) India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Mexico and China.

Spices are generally dry, because their fragrance and excitement are better and stronger than fresh ones. When shopping, it is best to choose those that are sufficiently dry and fragrant.

(Usage) When using spicy spices, it should be noted that the spicy ingredients of each spice are different, and the usage is naturally different. Among them, pepper is the hottest, which is characterized by burning in the mouth, as hot as fire, but almost no fragrance. The spicy ingredients of pepper will not be weakened by the influence of high temperature, so it can be used with various foods. Others, such as pepper and ginger, can remain stable even when heated, but horseradish (Japanese horseradish), a spicy ingredient, is produced by the action of enzymes, so it cannot be used with heated food.

Pepper (pepper)

Van Gogh's name "Wei Lu", also known as Gu Yue, Kurokawa and Shirakawa, is a perennial vine, native to tropical Asia. Berries are spherical and yellow-red. According to maturity and baking degree, there are four kinds of berries: green, black, red and white. There are three forms of use: powder, crushing and whole grain. It has the functions of removing fishy smell, inhibiting taste and enhancing taste in cooking. Generally, whole pepper is used for seasoning and preservation of meat, soup, fish and pickled food, and more powder is used when adding spices and gravy.

Pepper is pungent, warm and fragrant, which can warm the middle warmer, dispel cold, regulate qi and relieve pain, stop diarrhea, stimulate appetite and detoxify, and can treat stomach cold, cold diarrhea and loss of appetite. When purchasing, it is best to pay attention to uniform, full, clean and dry particles. Pepper and its products should be kept in a dry and ventilated place to avoid moisture. The pungent smell of pepper is volatile, so the storage time should not be too long.

Pepper from China

Zanthoxylum bungeanum is an odorless shrub or small arbor with red fruit and black seeds. The fruit is Zanthoxylum bungeanum, containing volatile oil, which is hot and spicy. Zanthoxylum bungeanum, as a unique spice in China, was called the three major spices in China together with ginger and bamboo before it was introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty. Zanthoxylum bungeanum was regarded by the ancients as a symbol of many children and many blessings, which was used to worship ancestors, welcome gods and exorcise evil spirits. There is a special taste of hemp, which is mostly used in dishes with heavy hemp flavor, such as "hot pot", "boiled fish" and "Maoxuewang". Red pepper is the most popular and widely used one, while dog pepper is generally not used or used less because of its poor color, fragrance and hemp taste and many seeds.

Zanthoxylum bungeanum is pungent and warm, which can warm the middle and dispel the cold. It can enhance the smell and fragrance in cooking, and can also be combined with spices such as pepper and salt to form a spicy and mellow compound taste. Zanthoxylum bungeanum not only tastes delicious, but also has important medicinal effects, such as stimulating appetite and strengthening spleen, regulating qi and stopping diarrhea, expelling ascaris, treating rheumatism, arthritis, vomiting, diarrhea, common cold and toothache, obviously inhibiting various bacteria, locally anesthetizing and relieving pain, promoting sexual function, resisting aging, and enhancing endocrine gland function.

When selecting Zanthoxylum bungeanum, it is better to choose the whole dried product with large and uniform particles, strong fragrance, few seeds or no seeds. When buying peppers, it is better to buy whole peppers than to buy powder, because the smell of pepper ground into powder is easy to lose. Before use, put the whole pepper into a dry pot and bake it with minimal fire. The oil in pepper is volatilized by heating, and then it is crushed or ground for cooking.

Zanthoxylum bungeanum should be stored in a dry, ventilated and breathable place, and the particles can be stored for 2 years in a sealed state.

Japanese pepper

Zanthoxylum bungeanum is a Japanese specialty, and its unique spicy ingredient is not in the seed, but in the peel. The powder of young leaves and immature fruits is called "no bud", which can be used to flavor and increase the aroma of soup.

Ginger (ginger)

Also known as ginger, a perennial herb, it is cultivated once a year. It is native to Indonesia. Its fibrous roots are undeveloped, its tubers are large, irregular palm-shaped, gray or yellow. It can be used as vegetables, condiments and medicines. Ginger smells as soon as it opens, and this smell comes from the volatile oil in the ingredients. The spicy ingredient is gingerol. Different ages and proportions of gingerol lead to different tastes of ginger and dried ginger. Ginger sweats to stop retting and detoxify, and dried ginger or dried ginger warms the middle and dispels cold. Ginger produced in summer is the tender bud of ginger, which is suitable for shredding and raw food.

2 ... Introduction of spices

Ginger contains volatile gingerol and gingerol, which can drive away toxins and pathogens, warm the intestines, nourish blood, dispel cold, remove dampness and sweat. In addition, it also has the effects of invigorating stomach, stopping vomiting, removing fishy smell and eliminating edema. Therefore, doctors and folk sayings say that "ginger should be prepared at home, and the best storage method is to wash the bought fresh ginger and bury it in a salt pot, which can keep it dry for a long time."

Recipe: 1, fresh ginger juice can relieve postprandial pain of gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.

2. When traveling abroad, chew a piece of ginger or stick a piece on your navel before departure, or put it next to your nose to smell it, which can prevent motion sickness and seasickness.

Pepper (capsicum)

Solanaceae perennial woody plants, native to Central and South America and western India, were introduced to Europe in the15th century and China in the Ming Dynasty. Now they are planted in tropical areas all over the world, and there are more than 200 well-known species, which are the most widely distributed perfume plants. Pepper is the representative of spicy seasoning, which has almost no other taste except spicy taste. The hottest part is the seed and the white veins beside it. As for the degree of spicy taste, it varies from variety to variety. Pepper looks green when it is immature, and turns into different colors such as red, apricot, yellow and purple when it is mature. The shape is long and round, with different sizes, and the bright red of finger size is the most commonly eaten. Mature peppers are prepared and eaten in various ways. Besides being eaten raw or fried, dried peppers can also be pressed into coarse slices, thin slices and powders to make cooking spices, such as Chili powder, Chili oil, Chili sauce and other processed products, which have the functions of sterilization and deodorization.

Pepper has a pungent taste, which can warm the middle and lower the qi, stimulate appetite and dispel cold, dispel wind and promote blood circulation, and has a unique role in resisting diseases caused by humid temperature, cold and other climates.

When buying peppers, the quality should be cooked, dry, hard, heavy and smooth. When storing, the peppers can be washed, dried, wrapped with paper towels and stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

Lilac (clove)

The earliest place of origin is Moluccas in Indonesia. Also known as chicken tongue clove fragrance, it is a spice made by picking flower buds before lilac trees bloom and drying them in the sun. Cloves are very suitable for sweets or greasy food, and Americans often sprinkle them on barbecue food. Europeans like to insert cloves in oranges, tie them up with ribbons and hang them in wardrobes to incense clothes. Africans like to add cloves to their coffee and cook it together. Lilacs can be used not only for these purposes, but also for cook the meat, pickled pickles, baking cakes and making liqueur.

Essential oil can be used as disinfectant and analgesic, diluted clove oil can be used as mouthwash, and essential oil can relieve toothache by rubbing on gums.

When buying cloves, it is best to buy whole cloves, because the fragrance of powder cloves is easy to be oxidized and lost, and it is not easy to preserve. Buying whole cloves can eliminate these shortcomings. The best appearance of cloves is usually large, round, dark brown with reddish yellow, rich in oil, and the stems are less than 0.5 inch.

Nutmeg (nutmeg)

From a tropical evergreen tree, nutmeg is the kernel in the center of the fruit, emitting a sweet and exciting fragrance, slightly bitter and full of exotic flavor.

/kloc-In the 6th century, nutmeg was not only one of the main commodities between Europe and Asia, but also a medicinal material for treating digestive diseases in China and Arabia. After the whole nutmeg is crushed with a chopping board, it is a common seasoning for ground meat foods such as hamburgers and is also suitable for western-style cakes. Nutmeg has a hard nucleolus, which can be preserved for a long time. The rich aroma is full of flavor as long as it is placed in the dish. Generally speaking, nutmeg powder can be stored for 8 months, while the original particles can be stored for more than 2 years.

Cardamom peel

The dark red reticular aril covered on the black shell of nutmeg is nutmeg skin, which is used as spice like nutmeg after drying. Their fragrance is very similar, but the fragrance of nutmeg skin is much lighter, which is often used in ground meat, sausages, doughnuts and other foods.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia)

Cinnamon, also known as osmanthus fragrans, osmanthus fragrans or cinnamon, is one of the earliest spices used by human beings. There are about hundreds of Cinnamomum cassia trees in the world, among which Cinnamomum cassia from Ceylon and Cinnamomum cassia from China are in the leading position and have great commercial value. Ceylon cinnamon is soft and sweet, with excellent flavor. Cinnamon is light brown and thin.

Cinnamomum CASSIA cassia China has a pungent aroma, thick bark and dark color, and the aroma is slightly inferior to the former. Cinnamon has a mild fragrance, which is suitable for matching with sweet and rich dishes, especially for cooking mutton, and can also be used for candied fruits (especially pears), chocolate desserts, cakes, drinks and so on. In addition to the so-called cinnamon powder made of cinnamon sticks and bark, cinnamon oil is also sold. The aroma of fresh cinnamon powder is much stronger than that of cinnamon sticks. When cooking, if you don't want it to be too thick or there are cinnamon powder particles in the food, you can cook it with cinnamon sticks and discard it. People who love cinnamon can make cinnamon tea by themselves. Just soak about 1 g of shredded cinnamon in 250 ml of boiling water for 10 minute.