Antibiotic Spices

Many of us use certain spices for their antimicrobial activity; I know I use garlic and onions a LOT in my lacto-ferments... and I know that other spices have some degree of antimicrobial properties, but I've never had a clear picture of which ones, nor how much benefit is available. Given that many pathogens now come packaged with our industrialized foods like fresh produce, I thought the information might be helpful.

Cornell University did a survey on food-spoilage microorganisms and spices a few years back. The news release about the survey is here. (Full report: "Antimicrobial Functions of Spices: Why Some Like It Hot," Jennifer Billing and Paul W. Sherman, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 73, No.1, March 1998.)

"Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything), followed by thyme, cinnamon, tarragon and cumin (any of which kill up to 80 percent of bacteria). Capsicums, including chilies and other hot peppers, are in the middle of the antimicrobial pack (killing or inhibiting up to 75 percent of bacteria), while pepper of the white or black variety inhibits 25 percent of bacteria, as do ginger, anise seed, celery seed and the juices of lemons and limes."

Top 30 Spices with Antimicrobial Properties
(Listed from greatest inhibition to least inhibition of food-spoilage bacteria)

1. Garlic
2. Onion
3. Allspice
4. Oregano
5. Thyme
6. Cinnamon
7. Tarragon
8. Cumin
9. Cloves
10. Lemon grass
11. Bay leaf
12. Capsicums
13. Rosemary
14. Marjoram
15. Mustard
16. Caraway
17. Mint
18. Sage
19. Fennel
20. Coriander
21. Dill
22. Nutmeg
23. Basil
24. Parsley
25. Cardamom
26. Pepper (white/black)
27. Ginger
28. Anise seed
29. Celery seed
30. Lemon/lime

Using Cardamom in Rice Pudding

I'm trying to learn about and use more spices that are unfamiliar to me, and this is one of them. Cardamom is not a common spice in American households despite extensive use in the rest of the world. Years ago I used to buy Dunkin Donuts that had a "handle' on them... just a plain cake donut. Now years later, the taste in their plain cake donuts isn't the same, and the handle seems to have disappeared along the way. Maybe no one dunks their donuts anymore?

After I tasted some cardamom cookies last year,  I think I finally know that the elusive hint of spice in the earlier donuts I so loved might have been cardamom, so I bought some whole green cardamom pods recently.

Split Cardamom Pod, after cooking in the rice pudding

Cardamom is an ancient spice, and second only to saffron in price. The taste is hard for me to describe, but others have said it is spicy, herbal and citrusy; it is generally used with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove or other aromatic spices. The best cardamom seems to come from Mysore (India). Above, you can see the tiny black seeds that are inside a pod. They dry out rapidly so it's better to buy whole green pods; you can grind the seeds in a spice grinder for freshness.

Like the real tapioca pudding I hadn't had for years but made recently, rice pudding joins the list of old-time desserts in my family. I found a recipe for a rice pudding flavored with cardamom and lemon, and it's cooking as I'm writing this.

Here's the recipe, which I got from the Epicurious recipe site but forgot to copy the URL. Recipe calls for cooking in a slow cooker, although I see no reason it couldn't be baked in an oven.

Rice Pudding with Cardamom and Lemon
Makes 6 servings

3 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from 1 medium lemon)
5 whole green cardamom pods

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups partially cooked medium-grain white rice
1 cup golden raisins

In slow cooker, whisk together milk, cream, eggs, granulated and brown sugars, vanilla, zest, cardamom pods, and nutmeg. Stir in rice, cover and cook on high 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, add raisins, and cook 1 hour more, stirring occasionally. Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Like with most recipes, I only use about half the amount of sugar specified. In this case, I only added the light brown sugar and omitted the white sugar all together. I wasn't sure what they meant by "partially cooked" rice, nor did they say drained or not. I cooked mine until almost done but not water-logged.

Update: 
Pudding is now cooked, and indeed it seems cardamom might be my missing spice in those donuts. 

The amount of sugar was just fine without being too sweet, but the vanilla was a bit too much, so maybe just ¾ teaspoon? The recipe could use a tad of salt, perhaps ½ teaspoon? (or just more salt in cooking the rice!). The rice has mostly distinct grains when finished, which could be that my rice was a little overcooked enough that it didn't absorb the custard... OR maybe it's that I used basmati rice because that's the only white rice I had in the house... OR maybe even a combination of those 2 factors.

In any case, the rice pudding is very tasty but it doesn't have a crunchy top like baked rice pudding. Since the cardamom flavor was my goal, I'm quite satisfied with the taste. However, I think I shall tweak the recipe later for an oven-baked version.

Now I need to try some cardamom in my coffee, as they do in the Middle East!

Love Vanilla?

I have read several glowing reports about this vanilla, Vanilla Bean Crush, and I have an order ready for when my next check comes in. I thought I'd pass the information along in case you never heard of it and might be interested. Additionally, 10% of the selling price goes for a great cause.

KAF (King Arthur Flour) carries it, (be sure to read all the reviews) and the manufacturer's site is here. It is an artisanal syrup of crushed whole vanilla beans (Madagascar Bourbon and Tahitian), and one of the things I promised to make with it is hand-cranked homemade vanilla ice cream (with the help of my niece) this summer. Breyer's used to make a decent vanilla-bean ice cream, but not anymore.

Somewhere in my recipe mess I have an old family recipe for a cooked custard base for vanilla ice cream. I haven't made it in years but I can still remember the taste. YUM!

Salmonella in Peppercorns?

Green peppercorns, photo used with permission from macinate's photostream

I get all the updates on food recalls by the USDA, sometimes several a day. I seldom post them anymore because all that does is dwell on the negative.

However, I just recently noticed something I had not previously considered. A couple of huge batches of salami, Italian sausage, pepperoni, etc. were recalled for salmonella contamination, and it seems the culprit may be the peppercorns used in the spicing. I thought that would be almost impossible... aren't peppercorns machine-dried which entails heating?

Photo used with permission from exfordy's photostream

So I did some research. What turns the pepppercorns black is fermenting, the first step after harvesting. Traditionally the spikes are threshed and the ripe berries left overnight at room temperature to begin a simple fermentation. Depending on the drying process, the fermenting continues through the drying process.

Alternatively, the berries can be steam blanched to deactivate the enzymatic reactions in the pepper to speed the fermentation.

Traditional drying (rather than mechanical) is still done in many countries around the world. Usually the berries are placed on mats in the sun for about 4-5 days, until the moisture content is reduced to about 10%. You can also use a solar dryer, or even a tray-style dryer. The draw-back to air drying is the increased risk of contamination, so sorting must be done carefully.

In machine processes, sterilization is done just before packaging. Some processing plants use a steam process where the peppercorns flow through a steam container. This is not true sterilization. True sterilization requires a certain amount of time at prescribed temperatures and pressure to kill the microbes.

However, salmonella does not ever originate from the peppercorns themselves. Salmonella bacterium live in the intestines of birds, reptiles and mammals (including humans), and can contaminate our foods by transmission from animal and human feces due to unsanitary conditions, or even by bird droppings on air-drying peppercorns. Someone who has had salmonella exposure can unknowingly be a carrier for up to a year.

So when you purchase peppercorns, do so from a trustworthy processor. Bulk peppercorns may come from a reputable vendor like Frontier Herbs (mine do, via my natural food stores), or they may come from purveyors of imported and unknown origin goods at the wharves.

There's lots more to know about various peppercorns and flavoring techniques, but that's for another day.