Few people know how to compose bouquets of aromas on their own, and it's easier to pour a teaspoon of seasoning into a saucepan without thinking and run off to do business. We buy ready-made seasoning mixes for potatoes, pork, and chicken, and, at best, we check whether the ingredients contain monosodium glutamate.
But the ability to choose accents in dishes is a real art. Moreover, for a long time, spices were an incredibly profitable business. Merchants valued spices on a par with fur, silk, and precious metals. Now, perhaps, only saffron remains expensive and amazing. Well, cardamom and anise. And the rest of the spices are ground into powder, packed in bags, and they cost from a few hryvnias.
We decided to remember (and to be honest, there was a lot to learn for the first time) what our ancestors added to their food, how traditional and common it was or how surprising and hard to find.
Air
Ayr (Tatar herb) originates from India and China, and appeared in Ukraine with the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Nomads believed that the plant purified water, so they always took aire with them and threw the rhizomes into water bodies to safely drink and water their horses.
Dried root powder can be added to alcoholic beverages, compotes, replaced with bay leaves, used to make syrups, candied fruits, and used instead of ginger in puddings and cookies. Preparing calamus rhizome is easy: wash it in running water, air dry it, cut it, and dry it completely in the oven.
Anise
In the Middle Ages, anise was valued extremely highly, almost worth its weight in gold, so only wealthy people could afford to buy this spice. In particular, it is known that in the 14th century, cities across the Thames were renovated precisely at the expense of taxes on the sale of anise. In fact, the English were the first to discover anise as a fragrant spice that could be added to desserts, pastries, drinks, and sauces.
In Russia, tinctures, vodkas, kvass, and beer were prepared with imported anise. Traditional recipes for sauerkraut and apples also included the addition of these aromatic spices. They say that if you add a glass of anise vodka to fish soup, you will get a simply royal dish.
Black elderberry
It is a tall bush that is considered almost a weed. But it is a medicinal plant, its berries are eaten.
They are used to make syrups, jelly, ketchup, vinegar, etc. Berry juice has long been used to dye fabrics and Easter eggs, and in cooking it has been added to wines, tinctures, liqueurs, and jams.
Cornflowers are real.
This plant is a banal and well-known basil. So, when you come across an old recipe with cornflowers somewhere, know that this is not a Mediterranean herb, but a plant that has been known in Ukraine for centuries. It comes from South Asia, by the way. And please do not confuse it with blue flowers - cornflowers (false).
Cornflowers have a characteristic strong aroma due to essential oils and are used in salads and sauces. They go especially well with tomatoes.
White mustard
Mustard is an ancient, purely Ukrainian cultivated plant. Its seeds are used to prepare the mustard we know, added to marinades, and seasoned smoked meat. Young leaves are added to salads.
Growing white mustard at home is very easy – just place the seeds on cotton wool or a piece of cloth soaked in water. Edible sprouts will appear in a week.
Hrytsiki
Buckwheat (Russian: "shepherd's bag") is an unpretentious plant that is found on roadsides and in vegetable gardens.
Buckwheat leaves are added to broths, green borscht, soups, and various fillings, and the seeds can be used instead of mustard and pepper.
Haystack
Fenugreek (Russian: фежитник, fenugreek) is a plant from the legume family. Dried seeds are used, as well as young green shoots. At first, fenugreek was imported to Ukraine from the Southeast as a spice for meat - hard ground brown-yellow seeds with a pungent odor. Later, our ancestors began to cultivate the plant themselves and use the refreshing greens in dishes.
Gunba seeds are part of the famous oriental spice hops-suneli, and in India they are used to make a coffee substitute. Seeds suitable for germination are difficult to find on sale, but very easy to grow on a windowsill.
Devil
A plant that was held in great esteem by the Scythians and Slavs, who had long grown it in their gardens.
Leaves and stems were added to borscht, salads, and vegetable side dishes. Fresh roots are still used to make jams and candied fruits; dried roots, ground into powder, are added to dough, meat sauces, compotes, and tea. The seeds are used to flavor strong drinks.
Ginger
In cooking, ginger roots are used, ground into powder. These were one of the most favorite spices of our ancestors. Ginger was used to make kvass, honey, brews, tinctures, liqueurs, as well as mead cakes, Easter cakes, etc.
From the mid-16th century, and in Galicia and Western Podillia even earlier, the diet of the rulers began to include more game dishes, sometimes even the meat of swans, pigeons, and peacocks, which were seasoned with overseas ginger and cloves. Guillaume de Beauplan, describing the customs of the time, noted that the Ukrainian nobility "imitated the Polish."
Today, ginger is also commonly added to sauces, vegetable and fruit marinades, stews, and poultry. It not only adds flavor to meat, but also makes it more tender.
Cardamom
Cardamom is one of the most exquisite and, to date, most expensive spices. It comes from India and Sri Lanka. Cardamom is mainly used to give a sophisticated aroma to pastries and coffee.
It can be used to make homemade tinctures and liqueurs, fruit marinades, in some sweet dishes, as well as in fish stews, minced meat, etc. The small grains must be ground before consumption.
Cumin
Cumin (cumin) has long been widely used in Ukrainian national cuisine. Cumin has been known to man since the dawn of civilization and has been cultivated for his needs since Neolithic times.
This plant is an indispensable authentic component of many Ukrainian dishes - blood sausage, black bread, sauerkraut and stewed cabbage, soups, fish cutlets and strong tinctures. It is very easy to grow in gardens and vegetable gardens.
Cinnamon
This spice is a late borrowing in Ukrainian cuisine. Cinnamon appeared on our territory in the 16th-17th centuries. from Sri Lanka, the Indonesian islands and China. It is the bark of several species of trees of the laurel family. It is used ground when baking sweet dough, preparing sweet dishes and some vegetable dishes (with carrots, cabbage, etc.).
Cinnamon goes especially well with dishes that include apples and apricots. Cinnamon can also be used to prepare poultry and lamb dishes, as it enhances the flavor of fatty meats. It is often added to dry spice blends for marinades.
Coriander
Coriander (cilantro, coriander, cilantro) has long been used as a spice in Ukraine, having come from the Mediterranean.
The greens are used in salads, soups, and meat dishes. The seeds are much more common and are used in soups, marinating fish, baking bread, sauerkraut (along with cumin), and making kvass and beer.
Nettle
Since ancient times, our ancestors have eaten nettle as an ordinary garden herb – they cook green borscht from it, prepare mashed potatoes with eggs. Nettle is a bitter-spicy herb that tastes like spinach.
Dishes with nettle retain their rich, bright green color even after heat treatment.
Lavender
Lavender is an evergreen plant, a semi-shrub, known since the times of Ancient Egypt and Rome. Previously, it was believed that in Ukrainian lands only the Crimea had a climate suitable for growing lavender. But this is not so. Now lavender is successfully grown in Volyn and other regions are gradually becoming interested in the exquisite French flower.
Lavender is often included in southern spice blends. It has long been used mainly for making desserts. Today, lavender is widely used in cheesemaking, meat dishes, jams, cookies, dairy drinks, and ice cream. It is also very easy to make lavender salt - add dried flowers and a little olive oil to rock salt.
Dandelion
The plant is a native of the mountains of Southern Iran, which has long taken root in Ukraine and is considered a purely Ukrainian spicy herb. In villages, it grows in almost every yard and, by the way, is considered an aphrodisiac. Its taste is quite sharp, salty-bitter.
The leaves, roots, and fruits are used for food. The leaves are used to season beef broth soups, sauces, vegetables, and salads. The fruits are used to pickle tomatoes and cucumbers, and sprinkled on bread and cheese biscuits. Candied fruits are made from the stems of lovage.
Oregano
Oregano (oregano, oregano) is a common plant, long used in Russia in kvass, homemade beer, to which it gave not only a smell but also the ability to be stored for a long time. In Ukraine, it is easy to find it on every forest edge, especially where hazel grows.
It was widely used in dishes made from legumes, meat, mushroom dishes, eggs; it was added to birch sap, tea and strong tinctures. Oregano is placed in a barrel with brine when salting cucumbers, and a decoction of the herb is added to kvass. Oregano is known worldwide as oregano and is widely used in Italian cuisine as a seasoning for pizza.
Melissa
Melissa (lemon mint) came to Ukraine many centuries ago. It has a delicate, pleasant mint-lemon aroma.
Dried and fresh leaves are used as spices. They are added to salads, borscht, vegetable soups, tea, compotes, kvass, beer, mash, and lemon balm is used to flavor vinegar and oil. Dried lemon balm can be added to pickles. And lemon balm oil is used to make the famous herbal liqueur - chartreuse.
Peppermint
Mint is a perennial cultivated plant, long known in Ukrainian cuisine, which does not grow in the wild. The leaves are considered spices, which are used both fresh and dried. Mint is usually not combined with other herbs and spices.
It goes well with fruits, desserts, and drinks, especially in hot weather. Mint is rarely used with meat dishes today, except with lamb, but it is widely used with tomatoes, cucumbers, and legumes.
Calendula
Marigolds (calendula) were introduced to Ukraine in the Middle Ages and quickly became very popular. Marigolds were called "poor people's saffron" because their petals were used to color butter, cheeses, soups, sauces, and dough.
The dye contained in calendula petals dissolves only in fats, so to color the petals, you should boil them in milk.
Black pepper
Black pepper is native to South India. It appeared in Europe during the time of Ancient Rome, and in the Middle Ages, pepper was a medicine, a spice, a currency, a means of investment, and simply a gift. Pepper was used to pay duties, fines, and bribes.
Black pepper has traditionally been used in meat, fish, vegetable, mushroom, and egg dishes. It is a component of marinades and many spice blends. Sometimes it is used sparingly in desserts and drinks.
Musk
Tansy is a perennial plant of European origin. Today, tansy is known only as a medicinal plant. But our ancestors used its leaves, which have a strong aroma and a somewhat unpleasant taste, to repel the sharp specific smell of meat, mostly lamb.
Tansy is now a "dangerous" spice, but gourmets recommend adding it to omelets, minced meat, and fish, but in small quantities, because in large doses it is poisonous. Only young, freshly picked leaves are eaten.
Wormwood
Wormwood has long been found everywhere. Its leaves are very bitter, so it is used in food in small quantities. Wormwood is recommended to be added to fatty boiled and fried meat dishes, as a result of which not only their taste improves, but also the body digests them better.
A duck will acquire a special taste if you put wormwood leaves inside before baking. Bitter wormwood is used to make vodka, liqueurs, vermouth, and absinthe, but prolonged use of such drinks leads to strong excitation of the nervous system. When brewing beer, bitter wormwood is sometimes used instead of hops.
Wormwood "Chernobyl"
Wormwood (Chernobyl) has been used as a food and medicinal plant since ancient times. In particular, the Bible (Exodus 12:8) describes the traditional way the Israelites used this herb – they sprinkled it on a roast lamb.
In modern European cuisine, it is used as a seasoning for fatty pork, lard, duck, goose. Powder from dried wormwood is added to meat dishes or meat is marinated in a decoction of this wormwood before cooking. Hunters use wormwood when preparing game in the field. It improves the quality of wines, tinctures and vinegar. Young leaves are collected separately or together with unopened inflorescences.
Fresh leaves are used to make green borscht, add it to salads, soups, purees, and sausages. The bitterness contained in the leaves of the chernobyl increases appetite, promotes bile secretion, and helps digest fat.
Wormwood "God's tree"
Wormwood has a strong lemony smell. In Ukraine (mainly in the western regions) it is sometimes cultivated in gardens and vegetable gardens as an aromatic plant, sometimes it is found in a wild state. Fresh or dried leaves are used as spices.
In traditional Ukrainian cuisine, a small amount of leaves is added to dishes, especially fatty pork or lamb, roasted goose or duck, and to give a special flavor to pies, cheese, vinegar, sauces, mayonnaise, and salads. In some European countries, bread is baked with the addition of juniper berries and wormwood.
Tarragon
Tarragon (tarragon) grows scattered in the forest-steppe and steppe along the banks of rivers and in steppe glades, on wastelands. It was brought from Mongolia and Siberia and is cultivated as a spicy plant.
Tarragon is used to flavor vinegar (just put a piece of fresh stem in a bottle), to make tarragon mustard, and is added to pickled cucumbers, squash, poultry, rice, and fish dishes. And, of course, tarragon is the basis of the drink of the same name.
Rosemary
Rosemary is an exotic shrub that grows naturally in the Mediterranean. In 1813, this evergreen plant was brought to the southern coast of Crimea.
Young shoots and leaves are a spice for canned fish and meat, soft drinks, and cheeses. It is usually added to meat dishes, where it performs a dual role: it reflects a specific smell and gives its aroma. Rosemary, like bay leaf, cannot be kept in a dish for a very long time.
Rue
Rue has been known since ancient times. Young, fresh and dried leaves can be used as a spice, and their unusual aroma enhances the taste of fish, eggs, and cheese pies. However, rue takes some getting used to.
In mixtures with other spices, it is used for cooking game. Vegetable juices flavored with rue give an original taste and aroma. It is used in the preparation of fruit drinks and tea. Fresh fragrant twigs are placed on sandwiches and sandwiches, the combination with black bread and cream cheese is especially tasty. Rue essential oil is used in the production of liqueur and cognac.
Fennel
Fennel is a close relative of dill, and it came to Ukraine from Asia Minor. It is an ancient spicy plant with a pleasant taste and anise-like aroma.
All parts of the plant are eaten: fennel leaves and roots are added fresh to vegetable salads, added to stewed fish and pork. Fennel seeds are added to marinades, cabbage, watermelons, melons, apples, and wild berries. Fennel sauces go well with pork, offal dishes, and cold fish.
Horseradish root
Horseradish originates from the Far East, but its second homeland can be considered Ukraine. Here it has been growing both as a wild and garden plant for centuries.
The roots are eaten raw and boiled, mainly as a seasoning for various dishes. Fresh horseradish leaves are added to salads, soups, added to sandwiches, and used when pickling cucumbers to keep the vegetables crunchy. Fresh grated root with salt, vinegar, and beet juice is an excellent seasoning for boiled meat, especially jellied meat. In combination with cranberries or lingonberries and sour cream, horseradish is suitable for game.
Zest
From the 17th century, citrus fruits appeared in the diet of magnates, and later - of the nobility and burghers. A little later, our ancestors began to enjoy the zest separately - the outer, ethereal layer of the skin of the fruits of various citrus plants: citron, orange, tangerine, grapefruit.
The zest is used for baking dough, sweet dishes, meat gravies, fish and meat fillings.
Savory
Savory is one of the oldest spice plants, which is almost forgotten today.
The delicate aroma of its fresh leaves goes well with salads and beans. You can infuse vinegar on savory, add it to stuffing for stuffing poultry. But you should use savory in small quantities because of its bitterness.
Thyme
Thyme is a widely known spicy herb in Ukraine, known since ancient times.
Thyme is a versatile spice used with vegetables and soups, fish, poultry and meat. It is added to minced meat, salads, pickles; it is appropriate in smoked dishes, sandwich butter, and it is used to flavor honey and tea. Fresh cheese with thyme and salt is very tasty.
Sage
Sage also holds a worthy place among spices. Along with ginger and bay leaves, sage has long been used to prepare spicy alcoholic beverages.
Dry ground leaves replace rosemary in soups, meat dishes, game, poultry, in salads with eggs and cold meat. Sage is put in pies with cabbage, meat, eggs with rice, chicken broths, boiled fatty fish, stewed beef, etc.
Juniper
Juniper is an evergreen coniferous shrub whose fruits (cones) have a unique taste and smell; they are used to make vodkas and liqueurs. Sweet syrup from cones is added to cookies, gingerbread, jelly, etc. The custom of steaming barrels for sauerkraut with juniper branches has survived to this day.
Due to their typical forest aroma and spicy, tart taste, juniper berries have become a favorite spice of hunters for game dishes. They can also be used to prepare fish marinades, fatty meat, cabbage and beets. In ancient times, beer was made from juniper cones. Juniper goes well with pepper, marjoram and bay leaf in cooking, as well as with citrus fruits and fruits.
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