22 herbs and spices in a superb not-at-all secret blend

While the name “Staff Barbecue Spice” may sound a bit innocuous don’t be fooled—this stuff has 22 different herbs and spices. Check the list—cayenne, chile flakes, New Mexico chile flakes, chipotle, paprika, black cardamom, red Sichuan pepper, black pepper, white pepper, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, savory, oregano, basil, onion, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and then the two kickers that take it to an otherworldly level of excellence—ground dried tangerine peel and lavender! Seriously, it sounds more like the recipe for a medieval liqueur. As you’d imagine, the complexity and character it imparts is something special.

As with most of the Épices de Cru spices, the Barbecue spice needs to be ground or pounded with mortar and pestle. It takes only a minute or two of extra effort—it’s worth it! It releases the essential oils right before you use it. As per its name, you can, of course, use it on anything you’re going to grill. Fish, chicken, beef, pork, vegetables. Amazing on shrimp. You can also sprinkle onto salads and it makes an incredible pot of chile. If you’re curing your own bacon, this would be a terrific seasoning to spread on the raw pork!! Excellent sprinkled onto fried eggs, or into omelets. Add it to vinaigrettes. Really good on rice! Toss it on new potatoes along with some olive oil or pork fat before roasting. Sprinkle some on a pizza. The Creamery has some killer cheeses for toppings—their fresh, made-daily, mozzarella and fresh goat cheese are both fantastic ways to top your “pie.” The Staff Barbecue spice is about as easy a way as I can come up with to make your next meal into something special.

I have to admit that, for years, I had a reluctance to use “spice blends”. It was a carry over from when I realized that most of the spice blends on the market were really just a few sad dried up flavorless herbs blended with a lot of salt. Now I understood that the spices from Épice de Cru were different—that they sourced the best they could find, were committed to preserving the flavor, and presenting them in the best way possible. I even had some of their spice blends in my pantry, but I just wasn’t using them. That changed after I attended Ari’s Top Ten Spices tasting back in May during Spice Week, which is when I became inspired to start doing some experimentation.

I decided to start with Silk Road Blend. The first time I saw and smelled this product I was compelled to buy a tin. It is such a beautiful mix of spices—you can see the red rose petals mixed in with the bright green of the cardamon and the orange brown of the cassia. It also contains ginger and fennel, cassis, star anise, long pepper, szechuan pepper, saffron, and cloves. Quite fragrant and beautiful! If you get to the Deli be sure to ask to smell a sample. I don’t think I can do it justice by describing it, but it’s exotic and enticing and transports me to other lands.

The first thing I had to figure out was how to grind the spices. The folks at Épice de Cru recommend using a granite mortar and pestle, but I haven’t yet invested in one that is large enough. However, I do have an extra electric coffee grinder tucked into one of my cabinets, so I decided to use it. This works great, but I found that I need to put in at least 2 tablespoons of the blend so there’s enough of the spices to grind. (With a mortar and pestle you can do a smaller portion). There is an upside to grinding a bit more spice though—I didn’t want it to go to waste, so it encouraged me to test out a few different recipes.

There’s so many ways to use this spice. Adding it to rice, and seasoning eggs with it are things I’ve tried, and I’m sure you’ll have other experiments in your kitchen with it. I hope you enjoy the three recipes below:

Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Silk Road Blend
1 head cauliflower, cut florets into 2-3” pieces
1 medium onion- diced ¼”
1 tbsp silk road blend spice- ground
Good quality salt such as Trapani Sea Salt from Sicily to taste
3-4 tablespoons Extra virgin Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 375 F
Put cut cauliflower in a large bowl with the olive oil, silk road blend, salt, and olive oil. Toss to blend and thoroughly coat cauliflower.
Bake for 15 minutes, check to see if one side is more done than another, and if so rotate pan in oven. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes depending upon desired doneness.

Silk Road Blend Dipping Sauce (for veggies or bread)
2 Tablespoons ground Silk Road Blend
¼-½ tsp. high-quality Salt
3-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

This one’s very simple:
Use a small plate with a bit of a rim to it. Mix the spice and salt, pour oil over the spice & serve with raw veggies and slices of bread. Zingerman’s Bakehouse Paesano is always my go-to for dipping, but the True North or the Country Miche would also be a nice pairing.
&amp

Fresh Cherries & Berries with Silk Road Blend Spiced Whipped Cream
(Yes I know this sounds a little unconventional, but I love the depth of flavor this ads to the whipped cream, and the fresh fruit! And with the price of vanilla still skyrocketing, it’s a fun alternative flavor.)

4 oz. heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. Silk Road Blend, finely grounded
3 tbsp. maple syrup
2 cups fresh berries or pitted cherries

Place heavy cream, maple syrup, and grounded Silk Road Blend into mixer. Beat on high until medium-to-stiff peaks form. You can also make this a shortcake style dessert by topping a slice of any Zingerman’s Bakehouse coffee cake with cherries and whipped cream. I had a Bumble Honey Cake in my freezer which I enjoyed. For something more neutral, you can use Sweet Butter Tea Cake, which the Bakehouse makes every so often, and I always love the Blueberry Buckle with this combination.

Spice up your life! It’s Spice Week at Zingerman’s—the Spice Trekkers from Montreal’s Épices de Cru will be here all week for their annual visit. If you haven’t already signed up for events, don’t worry—some have sold out, but we still have a few spaces for Spice-ology 101 and the Indian Spice Dinner at the Roadhouse. And you don’t need any reservations to meet them at Miss Kim on Tuesday and Wednesday. Reserve your spot today! You’ll be glad you did.

Reserve your seat today for these events:

Spice Trekker Philippe de Vienne from Épices de Cru in Montreal has decades of experience as a spice hunter. Before that he was one of the most sought after caterers in Montreal. His five cookbooks about cooking techniques from around the world are a treasured part of our personal collection.

For the third year, the Roadhouse welcomes Philippe to delight you with the authentic flavors of traditional Indian food. Join us April 18th for our Indian Spice Special Dinner #207. We’ll discuss and experience curry, chutney, and the depth and warmth of Indian spices. Chef Alex Young will add a dash of his own culinary talent by collaborating with Philippe on the menu for this very special event.

With Philippe’s expertise, we will guide you through the traditional flavors of Indian cuisine. This menu, a reflection of Phillipe’s talents and expertise, will be available to enliven any upcoming wedding or event though Roadhouse Catering.

Tuesday, April 18 &
Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

6:30pm–8:30pm, $35/person

Zingerman’s Deli

With Special Guests, Épices de Cru, from Montréal on their special once a year visit! Reserve your seat; will fill up quickly!

Few people know spices like the folks from Épices de Cru. They scour the globe to find the absolute best spices available. And they’re master blenders!—their spice blends combine the most amazing spices from around the world to make blends that really sing. Join us for an evening as they share their wisdom and savoir-faire about tasting, sourcing and cooking with spices. Last year this one sold out quickly and the attendees’ dinner tables at home have never been the same.

What you’ll learn: where spices come from, how to use them in your everyday cooking, how to store them, grind them, serve them and how to tell you’re getting the best. Guaranteed to elevate your creativity in the kitchen!

Tuesday, April 18 &
Wednesday, April 19th, 2017

5:00pm–10:00pm

Miss Kim

Miss Kim is honored to host the fabled Spice Trekkers from Épices de Cru during their annual visit to Ann Arbor! On Tuesday, April 18th and Wednesday April 19th, they will be on site (dinner service only) and available to talk with YOU, answer YOUR questions and regale you with stories of their travels while you dine!

While they’re visiting, we will also be highlighting a number of our favorite Épices de Cru spices in our dishes: Chinese 5 Spice Braised Pork, our hand-made Mushroom Buns, featuring Sancho Pepper and a very special Pu-erh Tea are just a few of things that we can’t contain our excitement about. Be sure to stop by for this exclusive opportunity because they won’t be back again until next year!

The Roadhouse will be hosting our Indian Spice Special Dinner on April 18, at 7:00 pm. Spice Trekker Philippe de Vienne from Epices de Cru in Montreal, will be our special guest—and he also worked with Chef Alex Young to create a delicious Indian menu!

Within the past two months, I have been asked the following question at least five times: “What is your favorite type of Indian food?” The truth is, I love all kinds of Indian food. What I love about the question itself is its implication of how global cuisine has evolved over the decades for Americans. As our exposure to regional foodways has expanded, our food experiences have become bolstered by the array of flavors Indian cuisine offers.

Lavanya Ramanathan states in the Washington Post that “The ebb and flow of global influences is the only constant in American food….Our exposure to a world of foods has never been greater; our palates have never been more primed.”

Thinking outside the take-out box
The influence from waves of immigration on the availability of foods available to us is impressive. The idea that Indian cuisine is now an everyday consideration (like pizza) for dining out in America is progressive. The incline of the Indian population in America has been steady since the 1960s, since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which lifted nationality quotas established by previous legislation around immigration. By the year 2000, the Asian-Indian population made up the fourth largest immigrant community in the United States, enriching our country with exceptional professional talents and really, really good food.

Indian food’s fast-growing popularity in the United States is often linked to the cuisine’s complexity and balance and how it appeals to the emboldened American palate. According to Indian-American Top Chef Master, Floyd Cardoz, “Our love for flavorful food surpasses that in any other country, and that is the reason why ethnic food is so popular in the U.S.” It’s easy for one to say “I love a good red curry” or “Tandoori really knocks my socks off”, yet understanding the nature of why Indian food is so wonderful is key to unlocking how delicious it can be as it develops in our menus and home kitchens.

Curry under a microscope?
So why do we love Indian food so much? According to Roberto A. Ferdman, in an article for the Washington Post,, scientists were able to nail down, on a molecular level, the compounds in Indian food and what makes them so special. Their research showed that in contrast to Western types of cuisine, Indian recipes use ingredients with flavor compounds that do not overlap. In other words: “…all those ingredients — and the spices especially—are all uniquely important because in any single dish, each one brings a unique flavor.”

Consider the onion versus the coconut. No similarities whatsoever. Yet throw them into a really good curry, and they are amazing together. The number of combinations in which the components of an Indian dish can be offered is astounding considering all the different ingredients and spices that can be found across the subcontinent of India. As Indian cuisine has traveled across the oceans over time, what keeps it intact?

Spices are nice…

However one might choose to rub them together in a recipe, spices appear to be the critical component in preserving Indian food’s integrity throughout its travel across the globe. Without these spices, we could not enjoy the Indian food we have come to love and incorporate into the American dining experience.

If anyone understands this concept, it’s the de Vienne family from Épices de Cru in Montreal. Whether it is cumin, masala, cayenne, coriander, allspice, or cardamom (just to name a few), the Spice Trekkers know how to place spices in a dish in such a way that each one shapes the flavor pattern with the rest of the ingredients. The truth is, we can find many of these spices on our shelves at home, but without guidance, the complexity of using them to cook an Indian dish could be daunting.

By traveling the world and spending time in different regions with growers, Philippe and Ethné de Vienne have developed a healthy understanding of those essential flavors that is worth its weight in…well, spices. Sharing their knowledge about these spices in the cookbooks they’ve written and the education they offer has contributed to an appreciation of Indian cuisine by making it more approachable for chefs and home cooks to recreate.

Let the flavors marry.

When asked about the momentum of Indian cuisine in American culture for Visi R. Tilak’s Wall Street Journal article in 2012, Suvir Saran, Indian American chef and author, said “I do think folks are more cognizant of Indian foo, and we are certainly coming of age. However we are not there yet….We are not wedding food yet.”

Five years later, Zingerman’s Roadhouse Catering is proud to offer an Indian menu for any event, including weddings, thanks to Philippe de Vienne from Épices de Cru. With his guidance, Chef Alex Young has refined the menu, and and we will offer it to our guests for the Indian Spice Special Dinner #207 at the Roadhouse. For a taste of progress, purchase your tickets to this incredible dinner today.

At last, we have our own chips! What took us so long? Quite honestly, we don’t know, but, we think the chips we’re now making—with the help of two great companies—were worth the wait.

The project first began last year, almost by accident. The holiday months are traditionally the time when Co-Managing Partner and Deli Chef Rodger Bowser retreats to the kitchen. “It’s kind of nice,” he explains. “There are fewer meetings—and just less stuff to do—and October through December is my favorite time of year to cook because fall foods are the best.” It was during one of those sessions that he got the idea to make small batches of chips as a weekend special. He figured it’d be a good way to sample the Épices de Cru spices that the Deli sells.

“We’ve been working with Épices de Cru for a long time. They’re very exciting, and their spices are exciting,” says Rodger. Not too surprisingly, the spices from the Montreal-based company, which sources their world-class products from all over the globe, tasted great on the freshly made chips. That got him thinking about making them a regular menu item, but the time and process required to make chips in-house on a daily basis didn’t seem feasible.

“I thought, ‘I don’t want to fry chips. There’s got to be someone who’s way better at this than me that I could get the spices to,” he says. Suddenly, he realized what the Deli shelves were missing: Zingerman’s brand potato chips! It was what he calls “an ah-ha moment.”

The first thing he did was cold call Great Lakes Potato Chip Company, a family-owned business from Traverse City, Michigan, that he was eager to work with. They were very receptive. “The owner, Chris Girrbach, said, ‘This is a no brainer. We’re kind of wondering why you didn’t call earlier.’ The conversation was a slam dunk,” says Rodger, who loves what Great Lakes Potato Chip Company is doing and that they’re using Michigan potatoes. “They’re making a great skin-on potato chip. The flavor’s great, the crunch is nice.”

When he mentioned the idea to Ari and fellow Managing Partners in the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, his enthusiasm was matched. “We were off and running. Now I had to figure out how to get the product to market,” he says, laughing.

He began testing different flavors with Great Lakes, sending them the Épices de Cru spices, which he felt were an absolute must for the chips he wanted to produce. They experimented with 20 different varieties over a few months and settled on three crowd-pleasers to start production: French Grey Sea Salt, Barbecue, and Tellicherry Black Pepper. They discovered some unexpected flavors that worked well, too, and Rodger is planning a few special edition runs that could include Trinidad curry, Spanish paprika (he’s the most excited about this one) and maybe even a chip that tastes like Zingerman’s famous pickles.

After some serious number crunching, countless spreadsheets, and finding a great distributor (Cherry Capital Foods, another company that Rodger admires, got the gig), the next step was creating the great packaging that Zingerman’s is known for to pull the project together. Staff illustrator Ryan Stiner created a fun depiction of the Deli for the new bags. “I was really excited to get to work on this project – potato chips are one of my favorite foods! I knew I wanted to create something iconic – so that whenever and wherever you saw these bags you’d know where they came from and the quality they stood for. I quickly realized that the deli building looks pretty similar to a bag of chips and the design just kind of came together from there.”

Rodger says Zingerman’s Potato Chips are a true collaboration of excellence. “It’s a trifecta: Zingerman’s recipes, Great Lakes Potato Chip Company, and Epices de Cru spices. Three is the magic number.”

Zingerman’s Chips are available at the Deli, Bakehouse, and Roadhouse. Also, you can get them in your Zingerman’s Catering Bag Lunches.

Welcome to Cooking with Grace! This is where Grace Singleton, a managing partner at the Deli, shares her delectable home cooking with us. This week, she brings us Honey Drop Cookies!

I found myself with several almost-finished jars of honey and wanted to make a different kind of Christmas cookie. I wanted to clean out my cupboard a bit before I let myself buy any more (I have a thing for honey!). There are so many different flavors and styles of honey, and each can transport you to a different part of the world or a different season—you get to taste the flavors of the land that were captured by the bees.

I had gotten a copy of a 1936 publication called “Let’s Cook with California Honey,” which was prepared for the California Beekeepers Association by UC Davis (Division of Home Economics and the College of Agriculture). It explains how to cook with honey, i.e. altering the water content of the recipe and also adding soda to counteract the acidic nature of honey. It also has a great section on why to cook with honey: “Why, then, is honey better than sugar for any kind of cooking at all? The answer is contained in one word: flavor.”

I adapted their Soft Honey Cookie recipe a bit (substituting butter for Crisco) and added some ground Silk Road Blend from Epice de Cru, which we sell at the Deli. I’ve been infatuated with the Silk Road Blend since I first saw it—it’s chock full of so many wonderful things, including fennel, ginger, rose, cassis, and szechuan pepper (just to name a few!).

Here’s the recipe:
cream 1/2 cup butter
add 1/2 Cup honey
add 1 egg

sift together:
1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp silk road blend (grind & be sure to sift out any large pieces)

Add dry mix to butter/honey/egg mix just to incorporate
Roll out and cut into shapes, or roll into small balls
Place on ungreased baking sheet at 375 F for 15 minutes

I really like the depth of flavor the honey and spices add to this cookie. If you want it a little sweeter, dust or roll cooled cookies with powdered sugar.

Now, which honey should I buy next?

—Grace