Saffron Guide

Archive for January, 2007

Flowering bulbs are among the most popular of all ornamental plants, and they have enjoyed striking popularity for many years. Bulbs are renowned for their hardiness, color and variety, and there are enough types of bulbs to please even the most discriminating gardener.

With so many bulbs to choose from, it can be difficult to choose the right ones, so we present here a quick rundown of some of the most popular varieties of bulbs for the garden.

Crocus Crocus bulbs typically bloom in early spring or in late winter, and they feature tubular shaped flowers ranging in size from 1″ to 3″ long. Crocuses come in a rainbow of colors, and they are a staple of many gardens. Other types of crocus, such as the saffron crocus, bloom instead in the fall, and the flowers can rise from the bare ground weeks, or even only days, after the bulbs are planted. It is important for crocus bulbs to be planted as soon as they become available in the fall. The best way to plant crocus bulbs is two to three inches deep, with a spacing of three or four inches between bulbs. Crocus bulbs should be planted in good quality soil with good drainage, and they should be provided with full sun or partial shade and watered regularly during their growing and blooming seasons.

Dahlia Dahlias bloom from summer through fall, and they also come in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes. The size of dahlia flowers can range from two to twelve inches, and the height of the plants themselves can vary from just under a foot to more than seven feet for certain stake varieties. It is best to plant dahlias after the last frost of the spring, and the roots should be set between four and six inches deep. Tall dahlia varieties should be spaced four or five feet apart, while shorter ones can be spaced from one to one and a half feet apart.

Dahlias should have access to full sun, but in areas where the summers are very hot they may benefit from partial shade as well. It is important to observe a regular watering schedule during the bloom and growth cycles of the dahlia.

Dahlia bulbs can be left in the ground if the winter temperatures do not go below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but most gardeners prefer instead to dig the dahlia bulbs up at the end of each growing season. To do this, you should wait until the foliage has yellowed, then cut the stalks back to approximately four inches. The clumps of the roots should be permitted to dry in the sun a few hours, then placed in boxes in a single layer and covered up with either sawdust or dry sand. The bulbs should be stored in a cool dry place over the winter and replanted the following spring.

Galanthus Nivalis The galanthus is more commonly known as the snowdrop, and it is one of the first plants to bloom at the end of the winter. These plants are typically six to eight inches in height, and they feature one bell shaped flower on each side of the stalk. Snowdrops are best suited for colder climates, and the bulbs are best planted in the autumn of the year. The bulbs should be planted from three to four inches deep and about three inches apart. Snowdrops typically do best in full sun or partial shade, and they like regular watering during their blooming and growing cycles.

About the author:

Tony Robinson is an international author and webmaster. In his busy life he finds time to “Smell the Roses”. For geat tips, techniques and articles visit http://www.rose-bloom.com

Written By: Tony Robinson

In any number of cookbooks and recipes you will find advice on which herbs go with what. Im not going to take that route.

While there certainly are marriages that are tried and tested, such as tomatoes and basil or lamb and rosemary, the reality is that the use of herbs is every bit as much a matter of personal taste as any other aspect of cooking.

Consequently, what I want you to do is to sample as many herbs as you can and try to marry up the flavors with the foods you are familiar with. Thats not as difficult as it sounds. Just close your eyes and think about it.

You will find, after a while, that you will instinctively know which flavoring to use, when to use it and how much of it you need.
Do this with both fresh and dried herbs. Crush a little between finger and thumb and smell it. This is much more important than your sense of taste.

Something magical will happen. You will come to realize that fresh herbs are not better than dried ones, they simply impart a different flavor. There are two major exceptions to this.

One is mint, which has a strange musty flavor when dried, and the other is chives, which are so delicate that the flavor rarely survives cooking. Using dried chives is therefore pretty pointless.

One other point to watch out for is that some dried herbs can remained inedible even after thorough cooking. Rosemary is a very good example of this and needs to be filtered out of any liquids in which it has been used as a flavoring.

In any case, fresh or dried, it is better to chop up herbs such as this before using them.

Using herbs in cooking

Many herbs, such as basil and coriander (sometimes called Chinese parsley and cilantro in the USA) are terrific simply torn up in salads. Note that I said torn up and not cut; only cut herbs if you intend to cook them.

Its important to recognize that some herbs lose flavor with extended cooking, even in their dried state. Fortunately its fairly easy to spot which those are.

Tough leaved herbs such as bay can be safely added at the start of cooking time and will maintain their flavor. In fact, they may need to be in the food for as long as possible in order for their flavor to fully develop.

Herbs with light and delicate leaves, however, will lose their flavor very quickly once in contact with heat. To use basil in a soup, for example, you needed to add it, not to the hot liquid as you might expect, but rather to the warm plate you intend to serve the soup in. Then pour the soup on top of it.

Alternatively, simply sprinkle it on top of the soup and leave it there. It will make an attractive decoration and impart a wonderful aroma as you take the soup to the table.

Whats that? You want to use a tureen and server the soup at the table? No problem. Sprinkle the herb in its raw state on top of the soup anyway. The effect, when you remove the lid, will be the same. Just stir it in as you serve.

The spices of life

Most people, including most professional chefs, use spices that have already been prepared.

That is to say they have been ground up, ready to use. The main exception to this is probably black pepper, which you should always grind yourself. Not difficult. You can buy a pepper grinder just about anywhere and the peppercorns are available in any supermarket.

Of course you can, if you wish, go to the trouble of buying a pestle and mortar, tracking down the raw spices and then grind them yourself.
If you do this, you will be richly rewarded with deep and penetrating flavors. You may also find that you get tired of doing it very quickly. However I would highly recommend it for a special occasion, or a wet weekend in Bargo.

Generally speaking, though, the shop bought variety are fine, providing you dont keep them hanging around in a cupboard for too long. They will lose their flavor.

As with herbs, its very important that you learn the taste and smell of each individual spice and, uniquely, its pungency. This last item is one that is frequently overlooked, even by experienced cooks.

Just about everybody is aware that chili needs to be used carefully for obvious reasons. But for some reason they do not pay the same attention to turmeric, which is quite delicate, and, say, star anise which can strangle an incautious palate at a hundred paces.
Both give themselves away, however, if you simply take the lid off the jar and sniff them.

Mixing spice

Generally speaking, it is a rare thing to add more than a couple of spices to the same dish. The obvious exceptions to this are Asian and Indian dishes, where the carefully blended mix of flavors will be both traditional and subtle.

You have a choice with these. You either follow a recipe, or you use one of the many excellent pre-prepared pastes that are now available. I tend towards the latter choice, although I do still mix my own spices from time to time.

You should do the same. Its fun and you learn a great deal about which spices mix well and which are best kept as an individual flavoring.

However you choose to cook with spice, treat it with respect and always add it a little at a time, tasting as you go.

Remember also, that the flavor will change with the length of cooking time. It may deepen, or it may lessen in its effect. Only experience will teach you what each individual spice does and how quickly it does it.

One excellent way to test the effect of adding spice, is to cook your rice with something like cardamom seeds. These come in little pods that needed to be cracked open and the seeds extracted.
Do this by placing them on a stable surface, place the flat of a cleaver blade over them and apply a bit of pressure. They will open easily. Use about two pods for one dish of rice.

You could also add some turmeric to the same rice dish. This will turn it yellow and also add a subtle flavor which complements the pungency of the cardamom. Call it saffron rice if you like, very few people will be able to tell the difference.

Rice is a good way to test any number of flavorings. Personally I find it a bit boring on its own, and I frequently add something to it to jazz it up a little. Experiment. You will be pleasantly surprised at what a difference a new flavor can make.

You will also be pleasantly surprised at your growing reputation.

About the Author

Michael Sheridan is a former head chef at the Pierre Victoire restaurant in London’s West End, specializing in French cuisine. An Australian, he is a published author on cooking matters, and runs a free membership club and cooking course for busy home cooks at http://thecoolcook.com

Written By: Michael Sheridan

In recent years the issue of Alternative Healing has skyrocketed to the forefront of the medical field. A 2004 government survey concluded that more than one third of adults use alternative medicine and healing.

One facet of this burgeoning interest is Herbal Medicine. While it may seem “trendy” to some, Herbal Medicine has been around for thousands of years. In fact, many of the familiar pharmaceutical medications we use today were originally created from “natural” ingredients.

Drugs like opium (from poppies), aspirin (from willow bark), digitalis (from foxglove) and quinine (from the cinchona tree.) Interestingly, the synthetic version of “aspirin” is credited with the beginning of the pharmaceutical industry. A chemist working for the Friedrich Bayer Company in Germany created the synthetic.The company registered the term “aspirin” as a trademark but Bayer lost the patent rights when the Allies seized and resold its foreign assets after World War I.

Here are 3 herbal remedies to help with popular conditions:

1. Arthritis.

The term Arthritis literally translates to “joint inflammation.” If you suffer from Arthritis, chances are you have taken drugs to combat the effects or tried other “home remedies.” If you haven’t yet tried “Urtication,” it might be helpful. The term “Urtication” comes from the botanical name, Urtica dioica and dates back some 2,000 years to biblical times. Urtica dioica is “Stinging Nettle. The treatment is to grasp the nettles in a gloved hand and swat the sore joints with the nettles.This may seem bizarre, but the practice has proven to be so effective for some sufferers of arthritis that they now maintain a nettle plant on their window sill.

2. High Blood Pressure.

Try vegetable soup. Yes, vegetable soup. Add any of the following: Celery, Garlic, Hawthorn, Kudzu, Onion, Tomato, Broccoli, Carrot, Purslane (any anything else that contains magnesium), Saffron, Valerian, Fennel, Oregano, Black Pepper, Basil and Tarragon. Consume on a regular basis. Eliminate pork, beef, and alcohol from your diet. Eat more plant foods and herbs and use a good vitamin regimen.

3. Dandruff.

Create an herbal scalp rinse. Add one teaspoon of Potassium Chloride (find in salt section at the supermarket) into 6 cups of water. Heat until the Potassium Chloride dissolves. Chop four ounces of fresh Celandine (if fresh is not available use a half cup of the dried herb instead).Add Celandine to the solution. Allow to stand for two hours. Then boil slowly for 20 minutes. Strain out the plant material, and simmer reducing to one and one half cups. Add eight ounces of glycerin and continue simmering reducing the liquid slowly to two cups.Strain the result and bottle it. Store in cool place. Use once or twice a day as a hair rinse.

Lastly, make certain that both your physician AND your herbalist are fully aware of all medications and/or herbal treatments you are using.

About the Author

Tony Newton publishes the popular health and wellness website – http://www.1st-for-health.com With lots of informative articles on low carb diets, hair loss, arthritis pain relief, acne and lots more.

Written By: Tony Newton