SC - In case you don;t have web access....

[Elaine Koogler]

I might also add that Sam Adams uses Grains of Paradise in (I think) their
summer ale...or one of their other brews!  For anyone near College Park,
Maryland, I found grains at Smiles Herbs.

Kiri

micaylah wrote:

> This is the article that is found at the NY Times site. I haven't seen
> this posted yet in its entirety so hopefully I'm not duplicating
> something already posted.
>
> YIS
> Micaylah
>
> *****************************************************************
> Those that live by the sword frequently get shot by those that don't.
> *****************************************************************
>
> What Peppercorns Only Dream of Being
> By AMANDA HESSER
>
> FIRST saw them in a spice shop in London. Not long after, they were
> spotted among the ingredients on a bottle of Van Gogh gin. Their name
> alone, grains of paradise, sparkled. Then a friend gave me a small
> bagful as a gift from his travels.
>
> For the first time, I had my hands on an ingredient before it was,
> like lemon grass or chipotle, strewn across every menu. It was as
> refreshing as it was disconcerting: I had no idea what to do with the
> tiny round grains, brown as nutmeg. They looked as promising as an
> oyster in the shell. Paradise could not have seemed farther away.
>
> I put a few between my teeth and crunched. They cracked like
> coriander, releasing a billowing aroma, and then a slowly intensifying
> heat, like pepper. The taste changed by the second. The heat lingered.
> But the spice was pleasantly tempered, ripe with flavors reminiscent
> of jasmine, hazelnut, butter and citrus, and with the kind of oiliness
> you get from nuts. They were entirely different from black
> peppercorns. And in my mind, incomparably better.
>
> Black pepper is something that cooks, myself included, use mindlessly.
> It is added to dishes as sugar is stirred into coffee or ice is added
> to a glass. Taste is not so much the point as the burn.
>
> Grains of paradise are dense fragrance underlined with heat. And that
> brings food to life in a way that black pepper never does.
>
> I soon realized there is probably no recipe in which grains of
> paradise can't be substituted for black peppercorns. Like peppercorns,
> they can be crushed in a mortar and pestle or ground in a pepper mill.
> But with a different effect: spread as a crust on tuna, they gave the
> fish a round, faintly peppery edge, rather than blunt heat.
>
> The more I came to know them, and the more I was seduced by their
> lingering, comforting aroma, the more astonished I was that they had
> not already caught on in America, where heat is often irresistible.
> Spice dealers like World Spice Merchants in Seattle, Vanns Spices in
> Baltimore and Adriana's Caravan in Manhattan have begun carrying
> grains of paradise in the last few years. The spice is not expensive,
> only about $3 to $5 an ounce, against about $1.50 for black
> peppercorns.
>
> I began poking around, trying to piece together what I could about
> grains of paradise. Food encyclopedias helped little. Grains of
> paradise remain in the realm of African scholars and spice purveyors.
>
> For ages, the spice has been relished for its heat in both religious
> rituals and cooking in West Africa, where it originated.
>
> The heat is what has kept grains of paradise alive in people's minds.
> The spice grows wild in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea and
> Liberia.
>
> The plant, Aframomum melegueta, is a short shrub that produces pods
> the size of figs, each containing 60 to 100 seeds, or grains. Grains
> of paradise are also called guinea pepper, atare, alligator pepper and
> melegueta pepper (not to be confused with pimenta malagueta, a
> Brazilian chili of the same name, usually preserved in oil). But the
> spice is not a relative of the Piper nigrum family, the source of
> black and white peppercorns. Even experts disagree, though it is most
> often linked to the cardamom family.
>
> Grains of paradise are among many hot spices, like long pepper and
> cubeb, from West Africa, where spices are ground and combined in
> complex blends. Grains of paradise are mixed with coriander, cinnamon,
> dried chilies and cloves as a condiment for grilled lamb, chicken,
> fish, pumpkin and okra, or added to soups, stews and pickling
> mixtures. They also turns up in raz al hanout, the spice mixture of
> Morocco.
>
> In the Middle Ages, before trade routes from Europe to the East were
> established, grains of paradise were sought as a substitute for black
> peppercorns, an expensive import from the East. West Africa was much
> closer to Europe and was also important for the trades in gold dust,
> ivory and slaves. Europeans began importing grains of paradise, using
> the spice to season foods. It also found its way into the spiced beers
> of Belgium. (It can still be found in some beers, like ales of
> Ommegang, a New York State brewery, and Blanche de Bruges from
> Belgium. As with Van Gogh gin, it becomes a discreetly layered
> aromatic, indiscernible as grains of paradise.)
>
> Trade in the grains grew so much that the coastline just north of the
> Ivory Coast became known as the Grain Coast. Trade prospered until
> Europeans found their way around the Cape of Good Hope, making the
> East and all of its spices, including black peppercorns, much more
> accessible. Black peppercorns, which are easier to cultivate, came
> down in price, and the market for grains of paradise in Europe
> evaporated.
>
> ______________________
>
> Grains of paradise remain more vital perhaps in religious ritual.
> Yvette Burgess-Polcyn, a Manhattan priest who practices the Nigerian
> religion of the Yoruba people, said that the spice is used as an
> offering to the spirits. When a follower is coming for a spiritual
> consultation, she will arrange on a saucer nine pieces of fresh
> coconut the size of a pea, each dabbed with palm oil and a grain of
> paradise, and she will place it on an altar. Sometimes the grains are
> added to food prepared as an offering to a deity. They are also used
> ritually in the religion of the Ibo people.
>
> "We're very careful with guinea peppers not to drop them, because
> anyone stepping on them could generate fights," Ms. Burgess-Polcyn
> said.
>
> Jessica B. Harris, a culinary historian in Brooklyn, said grains of
> paradise are also a paradigm of abundance. With so many seeds in the
> pod, she said, "If you drop it, if you lose it, you're cutting your
> abundance."
>
> And the heat has great power metaphorically, said Robert
> Farris-Thomson, a professor of African-Atlantic art at Yale
> University. "If you want to bless someone, you chew on this hot
> pepper, and it is believed that the heat of the pepper on the tongue
> will go into your words and spiritually underline them," he said.
>
> The metaphor of heat extends to food as well, Mr. Farris-Thomson said.
> In the belief of the Kongo people, you can defend yourself from
> envious people by eating foods cooked with grains of paradise or other
> peppers.
>
> The symbolism of heat stayed with African people in the New World, but
> the sources of heat changed, to chilies and peppercorns. Spices like
> grains of paradise stayed behind.
>
> "Once in America, we were forced to come up with new variations on old
> themes," said Diane Spivey, author of "The Peppers, Cracklings and
> Knots of Wool Cookbook: The Global Migration of African Cuisine"
> (State University of New York, 1999). African-Americans, she said,
> used what was available here and, drawing on what they knew, created
> new dishes.
>
> It is difficult to find African restaurants that use grains of
> paradise. Mama Zee in Staten Island is one. Oyebolanle Grant, the
> chef, who is from Nigeria, uses the grains in a dish called suya,
> mixed with peanut butter, dried red pepper, salt and a bouillon cube,
> then spread on beef, sliced as thin as bacon. The beef is strung on
> skewers, then grilled and served with more of the rub.
>
> She also adds grains of paradise to a custard with ginger, a
> traditional Nigerian breakfast dish, which takes four days to make.
>
> Both dishes sounded appealing but were not exactly what I had in mind
> when I first tasted the spice. I wanted to use it more as Europeans
> had, in place of black peppercorns.
>
> I started off pan-roasting pieces of cod. When they came out of the
> oven, crisp on the edges and opaque in the center, I squeezed on a few
> drops of lemon juice, sprinkled on a little olive oil and then let
> flecks of grains of paradise, crushed in a mortar and pestle, speckle
> the fish. Cod, which is buttery and sweet, was a perfect fit for the
> oily fragrance of the grains, and they did not seem unnecessarily
> aggressive, as ordinary pepper can.
>
> With a baby chicken, I rubbed the skin with a mixture of grains of
> paradise, crushed coriander and lemon zest -- all of which are fruity
> and floral. The mixture, which lightly freckled the skin, whispered
> its flavor just enough for the mild flesh.
>
> The roundness in flavor of grains of paradise is reminiscent of sweet
> spices like nutmeg, coriander and cinnamon. It struck me that it would
> be terrific with sautéed chicken livers, showered with grains ground
> in a pepper mill as they finish cooking in the pan.
>
> I pressed some grains into a fresh pink piece of tuna, then seared it
> in a shallow iron pan. I let the tuna cool to not quite room
> temperature, then laid it on salad greens with green beans and
> hard-cooked eggs, a loose interpretation of salade Niçoise. The
> spice's fragrance had not diminished but had infused the fish, adding
> heat without bite.
>
> I rolled a small crottin of fresh goat cheese in the crushed grains,
> flecked it with thyme and drizzled it with a stream of golden olive
> oil. What I needed was a good loaf of bread and plans for a brunch.
>
> As I was cooking, I realized that using black pepper had become a
> reflex. I had to be more thoughtful with grains of paradise; their
> gentle flavors could be easily overpowered.
>
> I later learned that Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the very,
> very few chefs who have begun experimenting with the spice. He crusts
> halibut with the crushed grains, adds them to mignonette sauce for
> oysters and stirs them into tomato juice with balsamic vinegar and
> lime juice to make a startlingly peppy bloody Mary.
>
> John Ash, the culinary director for Fetzer Vineyards, slips the grains
> into tomato water and herbal syrups and sometimes infuses crème
> anglaise with them.
>
> I tried his recipe for rosemary syrup with grains of paradise, chopped
> ginger, white wine and balsamic vinegar. As it simmered on the stove,
> it darkened like wet leather. I strained it and spooned it over slices
> of ripe mango. I was skeptical, and I worried about the mango, which I
> had patiently ripened. I have had syrups of ginger and black pepper
> before, many of which are like a shot of cheap whiskey coursing down
> your throat. This was different. It was like a decadent, aged port and
> so thin that it barely wetted the fruit.
>
> I have a new black pepper in my kitchen and I'm not looking back.
>
> BLOODY PARADISE
> Adapted from Jean-Georges Vongerichten
>
> Time: 5 minutes
>
> 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
> 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground grains of paradise, more for garnish
> 1 cup tomato juice
> 2 tablespoons lime juice
> 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
> 1 1/2 ounces citron vodka
> 2 basil leaves, fried in oil and sprinkled with salt, for garnish.
>
> In a shaker, mix together salt, grains of paradise, tomato juice, lime
> juice, vinegar and vodka. Shake well. Pour over a glass of ice, and
> grind more grains of paradise over the glass. Garnish with basil
> leaves.
> Yield: 1 drink.
>
> PAN-ROASTED COD SEASONED WITH GRAINS OF PARADISE
>
> Time: 5 minutes
>
> 3/4 pound cod fillet, cut into 2 pieces
> Sea salt
> 1 tablespoon peanut oil
> Extra virgin olive oil, for sprinkling
> 1/4 teaspoon grains of paradise, coarsely ground in a mortar and
> pestle
>
> 1 lemon, halved, for sprinkling (optional).
>
> 1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place a medium iron skillet over medium
> high heat. Season cod on both sides with salt. When skillet is hot,
> add peanut oil, then cod. Saute until crisped and brown. Then turn,
> saute for one minute, and transfer to oven to finish cooking, about 2
> minutes longer, depending on thickness of fish.
>
> 2. Remove from oven, and place on serving plates. Drizzle with olive
> oil, and sprinkle grains of paradise on top. Squeeze a little lemon
> juice over fish, if desired.
>
> Yield: 2 servings.
> ============================================================================
>
> To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
> Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".
>
> ============================================================================