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Notes & Glossary
For some of the odder ingredients or preparations; will be updated as I add recipes with unusual ingredients, or get questions.
Spices
Liquid seasonings
Grains
Spices
Mahleb aka mahlab, mahaleb, mahlepi the
seed inside the pit of a type of black cherry tree; a classic
mediterranean seasoning that is a little like almond extract but more
than that. It harmonizes beautifully with many things including
stone fruits (cherries, apricots, plums, peaches, nectarines), honey
& poppyseed, and I use it sometimes like or with vanilla as a
mellow flavor to build on.
Wikipedia entry
Liquid seasonings
Pomegranate molasses cooked
down pomegranate juice, this is easily found in middle eastern
groceries and grocery stores with good sized international sections.
It adds a wonderful fruity, tart note that is just right to
finish off a lot of dishes, but is less one note about the sourness
than lemon juice.
Grains
Rice flour
Rice adds to the crispness of the resulting cookie, compared with
straight wheat flour, so I pick from what I have on hand. I
generally don't use the brown basmati because it does have a fairly
strong flavor (nice sometimes in wheat/rice crackers, however), and the
thai black rice has a strong color; so I stick with whichever mild
flavored and pale-colored brown rice I have available, usually plain
short grain brown rice or sweet rice. I really don't know that it
makes any difference which one you use. Rice flour is very likely
from white rice, but still adds the crispness.
Freekeh aka
frika or freekah, roasted cracked green wheat, a smoky wonderful treat
expecially with sweet summer vegetables. I've never done any of
the classic freekeh dishes mentioned here in the Wikipedia entry, but was so entranced with my spring vegetable soup with freekeh that I have stuck with it.
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Note to self: Gold label = osmotolerant yeast