Topic: Should I Use Freshly Ground Spices?

[tomek]

in your experience, how much of a difference does it make when using freshly ground spices as opposed to powders sitting on the shelf for a while.

i know with coffee the difference is night and day.  there's nothing like the aroma and flavour of freshly ground coffee in my opinion, but do i stand to benefit as much when using freshly ground spices in my curry?

[George]

i know with coffee the difference is night and day. 

IMO it's the same difference with spices as with coffee.  I always ground my own spices as far as possible. The difference in flavour and aroma is huge, like night and day as you say. The whole spices should be fresh as well.

I bought some coffee beans from Morrisons yesterday. There was a poor choice of just three packs of whole beans and dozens of different packs of vastly inferior ready-ground. People are so lazy / uninformed. They don't know what they're missing. My next step is to get green coffee beans and roast my own, for even more flavour, just like you can do with roast cumin seeds and other spices for Indian cooking.

Regards
George

[wardy11]

I know what you mean about coffee. Do you just grind enough of each spice then George each time you make a curry.?

[Curry King]

I would say that the majority of BIR's will not bother to gind their own, prefering cheap of-the-shelf packets like Rajah.  I'm sure that some do but whenever I have used freshly ground spices the taste is way of any BIR i've been in.

cK

[Cory Ander]

I agree CK,

Over the years, I have moved away from freshly ground whole spices to commercial ground spices and curry powders.  This is also in an effort to get closer to the BIR taste.  I find that freshly ground spices are simply too aromatic and pungent.  I find that commercial ground spices and curry powders produce a far more "diffuse" flavour, in comparison, and produce a taste more closely resembling that produced by a BIR restaurant.

Regards,

[George]

Do you just grind enough of each spice then George each time you make a curry.?

Marc

Yes, that's right -  just ground enough whole spices for each cooking session. That way, the aroma/potency is held in, within the whole spice.

When I first made some Indian curries - from Madhur Jaffrey's books in the 80s as it happens, I used spices which had been hanging around for some time. The curries did little for me. When I next tried them I was in the Middle East where the spices are much fresher, due to the greater turnover. The same dishes came alive. It was a transformation.

Regards
George

[laynebritton]

The same dishes came alive. It was a transformation.
Regards
George

Yep In my opinion I totally agree George your spot on buddy !
Layne 

[George]

I agree CK...Over the years, I have moved away from freshly ground whole spices to commercial ground spices and curry powders.  This is also in an effort to get closer to the BIR taste.  I find that freshly ground spices are simply too aromatic and pungent.  I find that commercial ground spices and curry powders produce a far more "diffuse" flavour, in comparison, and produce a taste more closely resembling that produced by a BIR restaurant.

Cory and CK

You may be right but isn't this a bit sad? i.e. if it's the case that you need to 'dumb down' a recipe by using arguably inferior spices, in order to get close to the BIR taste, even though nobody has yet persuaded anyone else that they have truly cracked the elusive BIR taste?

I use Rajah curry powder because I wouldn't know how to mix a DIY blend to get the same fragrance.  But if I had their secret recipe for the blend, I would make it myself from whole spices.

I had enjoyed hundreds of BIR curries by the early 80s when I first went to (then) up market restaurants like 'Last Days of the Raj' in London. Their flavours were superior to my local BIRs. Perhaps it was because they used fresh spices, amongst other superior elements.

Regards
George

[tomek]

ok, i'm sold on the idea and will give it a try.

i've found whole coriander, turmeric and cumin, so i'll grind them next time i make a curry and report back.

[Curry King]

Hi George,

I agree but it's a similar situation to the olive oil debate, it's better for you and it doesn't make that much difference but if your trying to duplicate something it does.  I've only tried freshly ground spices a few times and the resulting currys were not what I am looking for but that was a few years ago so might be worth trying again.

cK