The World of Spices

Welcome to the World of Spices. Here you will find the rare opportunity to learn about all aspects of spices which make our foods taste so wonderful. To help you understand how and why spices flavor by themselves and together to create fantastic entrees, is Ann Wilder, President of Vanns Spices Ltd, a 15 year old company dealing in the world of spices.

Ann won three gold medals from the Chef's in America Foundation. Additionally, spices which she furnished, were used exclusively by the Canadian team - They won every gold medal in the most prestigious Culinary Olympics in Frankfort Germany in 1992!

She was regularly invited to speak at chef's seminars and conventions. Her most recent one was before 150 chef's from all over. She graciously agreed to furnish us with some of her in sites into smells and flavors of spices from all over the world.

A Discussion of Spices At one time, spices were the most expensive item in a household account and were usually locked away in drawers for safe keeping.

Pepper is not Pepper is not Pepper . . . Choosing the right pepper for perfect barbecue requires knowing about pepper's flavor, aroma, heat and color.

What the Big Boys Know Large companies have many advantages .... they employ talented, trained tasters.

The 'Sweet' Of "Sweet Hot" The right balance between sweet and hot is the secret of great barbecue. Choosing the right sweet and the right heat is the difficult part.

Pepper Is Nothing To Sneeze At Would you believe here are at least 13 designated types of black pepper, and none is grown in the U.S.!

Sweet Spices For Savory Dishes Allspice, a useful but much neglected spice, marries well with meat and with other spices, The sweet peppery flavor of allspice combines particularly well with chili peppers and creates a wonderful sweet, hot flavor.

The Spice Rubs Rubs produce more intensely flavored dishes since rubs are composed of spices undiluted by liquids and since they adhere to the surface of foods better than marinades.

The Mystery of Salt To quote Chris Schlesinger: "The ability to use salt properly is a skill that separates good cooks from great ones."

Storing Herbs n' Spices Flavor and aroma of ground spices begin to deteriorate as soon as ground while whole spices retain their flavor indefinitely. Learn how to make the most of your spices!

Seasoning as Comfort Food I am often asked which spice is my favorite. This question is rather like asking which is your favorite child. However, this time of year the question is easy to answer. It's nutmeg, of course
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The Changing Spice Scene The spice scene in the U.S. is changing drastically. I first wrote that cooks were going to change their cooking habits in the next few years to reflect the changing sophistication of food.

Chili - America's Gift to the World Chilies were unknown in any other part of the world until Columbus returned from the Caribbean with what we believe was Scotch Bonnet peppers ... find out more.

Sichuan Pepper - A "Berry" Taste Spice It's known by many names - Chinese pepper, Fagara, Flower pepper, Sancho powder, Szechwan pepper, anise pepper. Sichuan pepper, by whatever name, is a spice worth knowing.

Sesame Seeds - "Open Sesame"..... We all love a nutty flavor and we know this particular flavor so well that we have no need of other words to describe it.

Cinnamon Confusion - Ann tells us about the many uses and type of cinnamon which can be used in our many recipes.

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