If you’re looking for a gastronomic experience that truly immerses you in another world, travelling to a foreign country is second to none. That is why merchants looked for spices beyond the seas over the course of history. Unfortunately, the pandemic makes us miss spending vegan holidays on foreign countries, exploring exclusive tastes and spices that vary from regions and cultures.
If you’ve been on a plant-based diet for some time now, it might have become a challenge to find different spices that make your food taste unique and flavorful. But today, you wouldn’t need a passport for every exotic spice you encounter. Here are five rare spices to spice up your pantry and have that authentic haute cuisine experience.
Saffron
Saffron (Crocus sativus) is the most expensive spice in the world. Its vivid red-orange stigmas from the saffron flower have been used across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries for both cooking and medicinal purposes and its production is quite labor intensive.
Not only is it a beautiful golden colour, but saffron is packed with a florally sweet flavour with bitter notes, and a sprinkle will bring any dish to life.
Annatto
While it is not as expensive, this one might be rare in Europe. The annatto seed comes from a tree called the achiote, and is used as a food coloring. and it adds a yellow tinge to food. Try adding it to your chili con carne for a slightly sweet and peppery taste.
Grains of Paradise
Grains of paradise is a spice with a lot of flavor and a slightly peppery punch. It is also rare, because it is still not used in the western world very often. It is earthier than black pepper, and pungent like allspice.
It has a light brown color and has a woody smell and tastes bitter which acts as an appetite suppressant. It can be found in West African stores, Caribbean spice shops, or online if you don't have any luck at the stores you search.
Caraway Seeds
The seeds of the caraway are tiny, skinny and curved. Its shape look like a cross between a crescent moon and a tiny banana. It has a warm, musky aromatic quality; they are often used in chicken and potato dishes. Caraway seeds are usually used to flavour breads and pastries such as cookies, crackers and cakes - the Greeks use them to flavour tsatsiki. It’s also perfect as an additional spice for brining, pickling, or as a substitute for cumin (use half less than requested).
Asafoetida
A pungent, bitter spice with a long history, asafoetida is certainly an unusual tasting herb. This brown powder comes from the sap of a fennel-like plant, Ferula assafoetida.
In some respects it is also a medicinal plant but it is very hard to cultivate in large quantities. If you are ever lucky enough to be on vegan tours, there’s a good chance you’ll come across this herb many times in the Mediterranean and South Asian regions.
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