SpiceLines

Black, white and green peppercorns are the fruit of the piper nigrum
vine which flourishes in the tropical heat and rain of the world's
equatorial regions.

To learn absolutely everything you need to know about black pepper and more, follow this link to SpiceLines newsletter: www.globalprovince.com/spicelines/index9-05.htm.

Every issue of SpiceLines newsletter is devoted to a single spice. In our first issue, we explore the tantalizing world of peppercorns. We delve into the history of the pepper trade and give you seven spicy recipes to try, plus advice on selecting the very best peppercorns and peppermills. In Chef’s Interview, Floyd Cardoz of Tabla in New York tells us how black peppercorns are used in his own kitchen and in the cooking of Goa where he spent his childhood.

Follow these links to specific articles:

Feature Article: Black Pepper: The King of Spices

“One nibble of a pepper-encrusted claw and my lips began to tingle. A few more bites and my eyes were watering, my nose streaming, my mouth aflame—but I could not stop. The incendiary heat of the cracked black pepper paired with the sweetness of the crabmeat was irresistible….”

Chef Interview: Bombay Spice: A Conversation with Floyd Cardoz

“Tabla is not actually an Indian restaurant, but a wondrous cross cultural kitchen manned by Floyd Cardoz, whose inventive way with Indian flavors creates dishes that owe as much to French or American styles of cooking as to the subcontinent….”

Spice Kitchen: Pepper Recipes

Seven delicious peppercorn recipes, including Floyd Cardoz’s Black Pepper Shrimp, Watermelon and Lime Salad. Don’t miss Singapore Black Pepper Crab and Elizabeth David’s Steak au Poivre, or our Seven Tips for Cooking with Pepper.

Spice Shop: Best Peppercorns and Pepper Grinders

Our favorite sources for Peppercorns of all types—black, white, green pink, Sichuan and more—and a review of the best Pepper Grinders, with advice for picking the one that is right you.

And check out our Peppercorn Glossary for a thumbnail description of each type of peppercorn, plus botanical information, growing regions, and culinary uses.

Our Spice Library is your ticket to great reads: Books, articles and other websites devoted to the fascinating world of spices.

True cinnamon from Sri Lanka has soft, crumbly bark and a complex aroma:
sweet, warm and woody, with whispers of clove and citrus.

To learn absolutely everything you could possibly want to know about cinnamon (and more), follow this link to www.globalprovince.com/spicelines/index.htm.

Every issue of SpiceLines newsletter is devoted to a single spice. In our first issue we explored the tantalizing world of peppercorns. In our second, we savor the delectable flavors of true cinnamon, grown in Sri Lanka, and its closely related cousin, cassia. Eleven tempting recipes, from Perfect Cinnamon Toast to Estofado de Pollo, will lure you into our Spice Kitchen. In Chef’s Interview, Susana Trilling of Seasons of My Heart cooking school in Oaxaca, tells us all about canela and the way it’s used in traditional Mexican cooking.

Follow these links to specific articles:

Feature Article: Cinnamon: Eight Leagues Out to Sea

‘“The shores of the island are full of it and it is the best in all the world,” wrote a Dutch sea captain some centuries ago as his ship neared the coastline of Serendib. “When one is downwind of the island, one can still smell cinnamon eight leagues out to sea.” Once known as Ceylon, modern day Sri Lanka is still the source of the most aromatic true cinnamon, a spice almost unknown in America…”

What is the difference between cinnamon and cassia? Could the world’s most ancient spice be an aphrodisiac? Our feature plumbs the chemistry of cinnamon’s sweetly astringent taste, then peers into its tempestuous past. (Did you know that Nero burned a year’s supply of cinnamon at his wife’s funeral?) After a look at cinnamon-spiced desserts in America, we travel to Morocco and Mexico to learn how the fragrant spice is used in savory fare. This use of cinnamon has a long history reaching back into the Middle Ages—and it’s stirring again in the most current kitchens…

Chef's Interview: Oaxaca Spice: A Conversation with Susana Trilling

“Seven other students and I are lounging at a long, hand hewn table, sipping chilled Coronas, eating buttery black-skinned aguacates criollos we bought in the market earlier that day. I take notes but steal an occasional glance at the Sierra Madres from the window of the school at Rancho Aurora where we have gathered for a five-day cooking class. If culinary heaven exists, I’ve found it here…”

In our interview, Susana Trilling, vivacious chef and owner of Seasons of My Heart cooking school, tells how a Chinese junk washed up on the Pacific Coast of Mexico centuries ago may have introduced Ceylon cinnamon to the Western Hemisphere. She guides us through the celebrated cuisine of Oaxaca, where canela is used to flavor everything from the region’s seven spicy moles to the most delectable Mexican chocolate.

Spice Kitchen: Cinnamon Recipes

Eleven delicious recipes, from Perfect Cinnamon Toast and Fresh Apple Tarts with Cinnamon Ice Cream to Grilled Pork Chops with Moroccan Tomato Jam. Don’t miss Susana’s recipe for Estofado de Pollo, Oaxaca’s salute to Spain: This luscious, cross-cultural chicken stew combines Asian spices (cinnamon and black pepper) with ingredients from the Old World (green olives and capers)—and the New (tomatoes and chilies). Plus Seven (Very Useful) Tips for Cooking with Cinnamon.