Almost Like Christmas…

Our Whole Spice order arrived today:

While you might think some of the bags look pretty big, I'm anticipating being able to share some of the bounty as holiday gifts.

Clockwise from the upper left:

• Amchur powder: “Amchur powder is also referred to as “mango” powder. It is made from green dried, ground mangoes.” -Whole Spice Web Site.  Well, naturally, I HAD to try this.  I love mangoes (well, any fruit, really—I am a fruit wampyr) and I’m always looking for different ways to add a new zing to sauces.
• Citric Acid: Also sometimes called “Sour Salt”.  I use this all the time for adding a little citrusy bite to sauces or fillings.  Or syrups, or rubs… It’s great for adding a little extra flavor in something like an apple filling, where the apples turn out not to have as much flavor as I’d like, but I don’t want to add a noticeable lemon flavor by using lemon juice.  Since my last bottle suffered an untimely demise a couple months ago, I’ve really been missing it (and couldn’t find it anywhere locally anymore).
• Lemon Omani:  Dried Persian Limes.  A Persian restaurant that we used to frequent served a stew (koresh gheimeh) that had these dried limes in it.  The restaurant closed, alas, and we’ve been trying to approximate the dish ever since, substituting cut up pieces of regular lime.  Looking forward to trying it with the real thing!
• Pumpkin Pie Spice:  This was a surprise, included as lagniappe with the rest of the order.  I’m looking forward to experimenting with different creative uses for it.
• Ras el Hanout:  Traditional Moroccan spice blend.  From the Whole Spice web site: “The name ras el hanout loosely translated means “head of the shop” and is meant to represent the very best the spice merchant has to offer.”  There’s a recipe I’ve been wanting to try from a cookbook I acquired recently that simply calls for “Moroccan spice blend”—I think this is probably what they are referring to.  Anyways, I’m going to try it!
• Sumac: A spice used in Middle Eastern cuisine (and not to be confused with the highly toxic Poison Sumac found in parts of eastern North America).  That Persian restaurant that I mentioned put out shakers of sumac on the tables.
• Harissa:  Another Middle Eastern spice blend.  I’ve had dishes that I enjoyed at several favorite restaurants that included this in the description and wanted to give it a try.
• Epazote: A pungent herb used in certain Mexican dishes, black beans in particular.

This is the second order I’ve placed with Whole Spice, and I’ve been quite happy both times. Their website is easy to navigate and full of little extras, like recipes for using the different spices, and their prices are reasonable (especially since they were running a 20% off promotion when I ordered). While I haven’t had a chance to use any of this order yet, the contents of my previous order were fresh, and of good quality. If you’ve never tried fresh ground spices, it really does make a noticeable difference.

And when one is not exactly in a position to be a world traveller, it’s fun at least to have a whiff of distant lands delivered into one’s kitchen.