Ajowan
Tiny, power-packed seeds tasting like a combination of thyme and black pepper. Use with discretion if you are new to them and just as they are: they are too small really to need grinding. Just the thing to add to savoury baking, like cheese biscuits, or to thread through bread dough but they could be very lightly crushed first to ensure you get their full virtue. Very useful as an unexpected sprinkle anywhere a clean acidity is welcome – on every type of grain, starch or vegetable, but most arresting when scattered on or rubbed into something made of fish or seafood. If you have used fresh thyme in a dish ajowan seeds also offer a bright way to refresh the flavour when serving; I have used them most successfully to finish coq au vin. Remember, fresh seeds are very powerful so don’t go overboard, which is where to throw ajowan seeds that have no lift or tang. Speaking of which, ajowan is another of those ingredients that deflate flatulence and colic, and these seeds are also credited with adding to a ‘husband’s enjoyment in middle years’.
Allspice: one of my favourite devices for giving a boost to all manner of food, allspice is the dried, unripe berry of a myrtle-related tree discovered in the New World by Christopher Columbus. Its hot spicy smell and taste are similar to a mixture of the sweet spices of the Old World – cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. And thus its name, a single spice that tastes the same as a combine of the others.
Allspice is not commonly encountered in Middle Eastern cooking, where they have the originals to enjoy, but Turkey uses it a lot with great success, especially in meat stuffings that might also contain fresh parsley and coriander.
If your mixed spice is too sweet or has lost its flavour, add freshly pounded allspice berries. Freshly pounded or ground allspice goes well in rice stuffings for poultry and lamb and is essential in pork or veal-based pâtés, with sweet root vegetables like carrots and parsnips; fruit pies and sauces, pickles and curries can also benefit. The whole berries are nice in pot pourris and ground allspice can be used for pomander-rolling mixtures.
In old books allspice is often called Jamaica pepper or pimento or pimento pepper, but it must not be confused with pimiento, which is the vegetable we call capsicum or red/green/whatever pepper.
