Katalin ©
We have already discussed the general properties of spices used in baking in Part 2 (see).
Literally informative - about several specific mixtures. In Soviet and modern culinary literature (including in special reference books) they are called "dry perfumes" ("dry perfumes"), "confectionery dry perfumes", "bouquet of spices" or simply "bouquet".
The term "dry perfume" (French: solid perfume) previously also used to refer to aromatic sachets (pillows, bags filled with aromatic dry plants). Later, paraffin wax was used as a basis for such “dry perfumes,” which was melted and a composition of essential oils and poured into a certain form (analogous to an aroma stone). Nowadays such flavored products can be called “dry perfumes,” but for now we are interested in confectionery production.
"Confectionery dry perfumes (D. Gewürz; E. Dry Perfume). Spices used for flavoring products" (GOST 17481-72. Technological processes in the confectionery industry. Terms and definitions).
As for regional mixtures, it is possible to divide them “by nationality” only conditionally (especially mixtures of modern producers). There are some combinations that have proper names, but there are few of them and they are all German. For example, a mixture "Neunerlei Gewürz /9 spices"(English pepper, cinnamon, ginger, anise, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, fennel) or "Spekulatiusgewürz"(a speculative cookie baking mix based on cloves and cinnamon, with other spices varying). These same mixtures can be called by the general word "Lebkuchengewürz", and modern bags with this name can be used for any gingerbread baking.
The following tables will help you make your choice and practice making your own mixtures. Both taken from the book V. Pokhlebkina "All about spices."
I like to use mixture I for gingerbread.
Another option. "Home cooking cakes, pastries, cookies, gingerbreads, pies" (authors R.P. Kengis, P.S. Markhel):"Gingerbread cookies prepared with honey have a strong aroma of honey, so they need to be lightly flavored. Gingerbread without honey needs to be flavored much more. Finely ground dry spices are added as aromatic substances. For a mixture of spices, take 35% coriander, 30% cinnamon, 10% cardamom, 10% nutmeg and 5% each of cloves, star anise and allspice. You can change the spice ratio to taste. In addition, for aroma and taste, you can add another 1/2 cup of peeled, roasted chopped nuts, peanuts or almonds, candied fruit, lemon or orange zest and 5-10 g of vanilla sugar."
And one more thing: “The mixture of spices added to the gingerbread dough is called “bouquet” or “dry perfume”. It consists of (%): cinnamon – 60, cloves – 12, allspice – 12, black pepper – 4, cardamom – 4 , ginger – 8." (O. Shamkut. “Profession of a confectioner. Study guide”).
From modern proprietary mixtures for gingerbread baking in Lately most often what catches your eye is the composition from French chef Ivan Gillardi, advertised more than once on websites and in books by N. Belotserkovskaya ( last time- in another “masterpiece” called “Everything under the Christmas tree!”). In fact, the “Christmas cake” that uses these spices is a variation of the traditional French pastry Pain d'épices ("spiced bread").
This is my photo of a page from one of the books by the same compiler. In the book "Everything under the Christmas tree!" the text is absolutely the same, letter for letter.
Here in addition to famous spices used long pepper, not a popular ingredient for Europe. Will fit into the gingerbread baking mixture cubeba pepper, you just need to know in what proportions :)
Mixtures from British manufacturers have an interesting composition: the packaging directly states cassia, which must be distinguished from cinnamon.
"Mixed Spice" by "Schwartz": ground cinnamon (cassia) - 40%, ground coriander - 38%, cumin, nutmeg - 4%, ginger, cloves.
"Herbs Mixed Spice" from "Hambleden" (organic): cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, fennel, cassia. This mixture contains both cinnamon and cassia, which suggests that both spices differ in some of their properties. Not much, but, for example, like nutmeg and nutmeg, which are sometimes also found in the same mixture. If you use cassia in its mono version, the differences will be more noticeable: it is rough, has a low odor and a bitter taste, unlike high-quality cinnamon.
Polish and Czech baked goods mixtures can often include different types of peppers, as well as Bay leaf and mint.
When buying spice mixtures, you need to carefully read the packaging: some manufacturers may add sugar, dyes (natural and non-natural), leavening agents, etc. to the composition. In the title photo I have a mixture from Dr. Oetker (bottom left), that’s what it’s called: not a spice mixture, but a mixture for baking gingerbread.
Typically, spice mixtures are already designed for a certain amount of flour (most often 500 g), and some bags even have recipes printed on them.
Important! Star anise count For convenience, it is marked with asterisks, but only seeds are taken for baking. From cloves ideally it is better to take only top part, but everyone has long forgotten about this :) True, if you want heat, you can take the whole clove buds, but then do not add pepper to the mixture.
One more reminder. Sometimes, looking at and comparing different bags of spices, the buyer thinks that since the composition is the same, the aroma, taste and effect of the spices will also be the same. So no :) What is written in the list of ingredients first is what is in the bag and most of all, i.e. The enumeration goes from larger to smaller proportions. This rule applies, for example, to medicinal, cosmetic and hygiene products: whichever component is listed first on the packaging is the basis of the drug. Some components can be taken in equal proportions, but 99% of manufacturers do not write the percentage composition on the packaging.
About the Hungarian spice mixture, you can also find information about the spices with which gingerbread was baked in the 18th and 19th centuries. Now I’ll write what’s in some of the bags shown in the title photo.
Gingerbread baking mix from Dr. Oetker: disodium diphosphate, sodium bicarbonate and 48% spices (ground cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger).
By the way, mixtures where cloves predominate exude a strong aroma through almost any packaging!
Gingerbread mix from "Kotányi": cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, fennel, ginger, cloves, allspice, anise, star anise, black pepper, cardamom.
Muffin mix from "Kotányi": sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cloves, fennel, ginger, allspice, star anise, anise, black pepper, additional flavoring (?), cardamom.
There are muffin mixes that, in addition to spices, also contain citrus zest. By the way, zest is also included in some German gingerbread mixtures.
"Spekulatiusgewürz" from "Ostmann": cinnamon, orange zest, lemon zest, cardamom, cloves, coriander, nutmeg.
"Lebkuchengewürz" from "Ostmann": cinnamon, orange zest, coriander, lemon zest, star anise, fennel, nutmeg, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom.
And that’s all I have about gingerbread for now. We'll see them next season! Although winter is still going on, the gingerbread aroma will be in my kitchen until spring. Gingerbread cookies are the most warming baked goods! :)
let `s talk about gingerbread spices? After all, they have a solo part and how they play depends taste, And aroma and even color Your gingerbread cookies.
What do spices give us and is it possible to make gingerbread without them?
Purely technically, of course, it is possible. But these will no longer be gingerbread cookies. Call it what you want! Though " honey cookies”, although “sugar cookies”, they no longer have the right to be called gingerbread simply because the words "Gingerbread" and "SPICE" are the same root.
What do spices give to gingerbread?
Firstly, TASTE and AROMAT. The most important. And in order for it to open up more fully, we add them to the hot base for gingerbread dough. Let the dough “ripen”. Let him lie in the cold for several days and absorb this magical aroma of spices.
Secondly, the spices make the gingerbread the dough becomes darker, with such a rich dark color, characteristic of all gingerbreads. You also like this color, right? Is it true?)))
Thirdly, almost all spices are natural preservatives. That’s why the shelf life of both the gingerbread cookies and the dough itself is so long. Gingerbread dough, depending on its type, can be stored in the refrigerator from a month to three. And ready-made gingerbreads take from six months to a year. Read more about how long gingerbread cookies are stored and how to store them correctly.
For gingerbread I use mine your own unique set of spices, which was born for quite a long time. I tried various options. I added some spices and excluded some. I experimented with their quantity and proportions until I found one IDEAL!))))
This is ideal for me. I really like this set, proportions and amount of spices. I find it very balanced.
But we are all different. I often get questions like this:
Everything is fine, but I want more spice. Can you double them?
But my son doesn’t like cloves! Can it be excluded?
I went through all the stores, but I can’t find star anise. Can I bake the first batch without it?
And I have only one answer to all these questions: OF COURSE YOU CAN!)))
Spices are zone of your creativity. You can reduce or increase their quantity, exclude some spices and add others. I just advise everyone to first make gingerbread cookies with my signature set of spices. After all, maybe this is your ideal too!)) Many students write to me that they fell in love with this unique taste and smell))).
But if suddenly you cannot find a certain spice, then this is not a reason to put off preparing gingerbread dough. Do first without her, and when you find it, you’ll try it together with her!)))
Now let's look at these same spices, about which we have been talking for so long)))
What spices do I add to my gingerbread cookies?
- Ginger— ginger roots are widely used in cooking and in Russian cuisine, in particular. Ginger has a rather pungent and pungent taste. To add to gingerbread dough, you can use ginger powder, or you can add fresh ginger(to do this, first peel the ginger root and grate it on a fine grater).
- Cinnamon- This is the dried bark of young shoots of the cinnamon tree. A very popular spice with a delicate and sweet aroma. I prefer to use cinnamon sticks and grind them myself.
- Carnation- these are the dried unopened buds (flower buds) of the tropical clove tree. It has a very specific strong aroma and pungent taste.
- Cardamom- a very concentrated spice with a pronounced taste. So that cardamom does not interrupt the taste of other spices, I add very little of it. I grind the whole cardamom: that is, both the pod and the seeds. By the way, cardamom has tonic properties and many people add it to drinks: coffee, tea, hot chocolate.
- Nutmeg— has a hot-spicy taste and a unique aroma.
- White pepper- Compared to black pepper, white pepper has less heat and a more subtle fragrant aroma.
- Star anise or star anise - is the dried fruit of the evergreen tropical tree, star anise. I grind the stars completely.
- Orange zest— I never use dried orange zest. Not the same scent at all. And in order not to grate the zest for each dough preparation, I prepare it: I simply mix the zest with sugar in a 1:2 ratio (1 part zest, 2 parts sugar) and store it in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator.
OK it's all over Now!)))
I hope this article has answered many of your questions about spices!
But if there are any left, write them to me in the comments, and I will definitely answer.
(photo from the Internet)
I came across the following problem - in Germany, a mixture of spices for gingerbread is sold year-round in any store, but I didn’t plan to bake gingerbread :) and didn’t buy it, but now I need it, so what should I do??? Of course, I’ll look at it in the store, but you can mix it yourself! Using these links I found some very interesting options!
Spice mixture for gingerbread and holiday bread (http://irenka2501.livejournal.com/33866.html)
35 g cinnamon
9 g cloves
2 grams of pepper (allspice or black)
2 g coriander
2 g ginger
1 g cardamom
1 g nutmeg
There is also something interesting here: http://community.livejournal.com/pracooking/8207.html
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http://supercook.ru/decoration/pryan-dom-02.html - and here there is a lot more important things about gingerbread!
Any gingerbread is flavored with herbs or ground spices. This is an important part of cooking.
DRY PERFUME - Russian confectionery designation for a set of spices used in confectionery production, especially gingerbread.
Dry perfumes include (according to Pokhlebkin): cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, star anise, cloves, anise, ginger, coriander, lemon and orange zest, calamus, nutmeg, nutmeg, vanilla.
Typical of a good gingerbread dough is a whole mixture of spices: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, anise, coriander, cardamom, nutmeg, a little black pepper, cayenne and salt, all ground into a powder.
Grinded bitter almonds, lemon and orange zest are also added.
Dry perfumes (flavoring and aromatic additives) are added at the dough kneading stage so that they properly saturate the gingerbread dough with their odors.
You can use the compositions suggested below or come up with your own signature - the main thing is that the prepared spices are pleasant to you in the finished and mixed form.
If any component seems out of place or you simply don’t like its smell, change it at your discretion.
– 35% coriander,
- 30% cinnamon,
– 10% cardamom,
– 10% nutmeg,
- 5% cloves,
- 5% star anise,
– 5% allspice
Typically, 1-2 tsp is added per 1 kg of gingerbread dough. mixture, be sure to grind it into the finest dust.
(how much of this mixture to put into the dough is decided according to your own taste, i.e. for the first time we just add a little, smell and taste the dough, during subsequent preparations we add according to our experience)
- as additional elements, you can add grated lemon zest, orange zest, fried and then grated nuts (for example, walnuts), and a little vanilla to the gingerbread dough.
All components must be thoroughly ground into dust and kneaded into the dough when it is still quite liquid.
Good results are achieved by adding 1-2 tbsp. spoons of good cognac or rum per 1 kg of flour. Or, according to taste, part of the water can be replaced with good fortified wine (sherry, port, muscat, tokay, various dessert wines).
There are a lot of compositions of dry gingerbread perfumes - gingerbread masters have always kept them a great secret. For example, once in Tula various private bakeries produced wonderful gingerbread cookies from very many different types gingerbread dough. After the hardships of the revolution and the Second World War, all gingerbread secrets were lost, and only thanks to a happy accident it was possible to reliably restore a single recipe for Tula gingerbread; all other recipes were irretrievably lost. A lot had to be reinvented. So don't be afraid to experiment and create your own excellent gingerbread recipes.
SOME MORE OPTIONS FOR GINGERBERRY DRY PERFUME
These and other versions of gingerbread mixtures are used mainly in the confectionery industry, where 1-2 teaspoons of powder are used per 1 kg of dough.
1st OPTION (in teaspoons):
- cinnamon - 4,
- star anise - 2,
- nutmeg - 1,
- ginger - 1,
- Jamaican pepper - 1,
- orange zest - 1,
— nutmeg color — 1/2,
- anise - 1/2,
- black pepper - 1/2.
2nd OPTION (in teaspoons):
- star anise - 3,
- anise - 2,
- cinnamon - 2,
- ginger - 1,
- lemon zest - 1,
- cloves - 1/2,
- nutmeg - 1/2,
- cardamom - 1/2.
3rd OPTION (in teaspoons):
- cinnamon - 4,
- star anise - 2,
- nutmeg - 1,
- ginger - 1,
- cardamom - 1/2,
- cloves - 1/2,
- lemon zest - 1/2,
- orange zest - 1/2,
- orange zest - 1/2,
- black pepper - 1/2,
- Jamaican pepper - 1/2.
NOTE.
Confectionery spice mixtures are used in many types of baked goods.
Usually they include in various versions such spices as anise (cookies, gingerbread, gingerbread); star anise (Easter cakes, cookies, muffins, gingerbread); vanilla (all baked goods, cream, cakes, curd products); cloves (gingerbread); oregano (pizza); ginger (cookies, gingerbread, candies, marmalade, jelly; an essential component of “dry perfume”); cardamom (Easter cakes, cookies, honey cakes, gingerbreads, pies from yeast dough); coriander (bread, cookies, gingerbread, gingerbread); cinnamon (cookies, rolls, biscuits, gingerbreads, gingerbread); lemon balm (cakes, pastries); nutmeg mixed with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise (gingerbreads, gingerbreads, cookies); black pepper (gingerbread); allspice or Jamaican pepper (gingerbread; included in “dry perfumes”); caraway seeds (bread, cookies, gingerbread, buns, bagels, cheese sticks, cheese and feta cheese cookies); saffron (as a flavoring and yellow coloring for Easter cakes, muffins, rum women).
Modern confectionery mixtures in Russia, as in European countries, have many options, fairly stable recipes and usually consist of 7-10 spices.
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Something else that seemed important to me! (all information from here)
Making gingerbread - true creative process, providing the gingerbread master with the widest opportunities; It is not without reason that gingerbread technology has always been associated with many secrets and mysteries, which the masters carefully guarded from meticulous, malicious competitors.
Of course, this is a personal choice for everyone, but:
. real gingerbread dough is prepared only with honey and sour cream (without added sugar or molasses and without any artificial leavening agents);
- in all cases, to obtain a good gingerbread leavening, add 4 tbsp. spoons of vodka, cognac or rum per 1 kg of flour;
- if you have to use sugar (sucrose) instead of honey, try to replace it in the same amount with natural sugar fructose (fruit sugar);
. for real gingerbread they take only butter(but not margarine or vegetable oil);
. real gingerbread dough should only be custard (and not raw);
. The gingerbread glaze should only be real (cooked with beaten egg whites, not water, and, preferably, not with sucrose, but with fructose).
It’s even better to glaze gingerbread cookies with honey boiled to a caramel state, mixed during boiling with a small addition (about 10%) of some acidifier (juice of cranberries or other sour berries and fruits, lemon, etc.; or you can add a little strong solution citric acid) is an ancient traditional method, and it is the best.
. Very good results are obtained by adding various ground dried berries to the gingerbread dough, as well as finely grated nuts - experiment with their additions, and your gingerbread cookies will surpass all others in taste!
You can also add dried fruits finely chopped with a knife (or minced through a meat grinder) to the gingerbread dough (raisins, dried apricots, dates, prunes, etc.) - the gingerbreads will be even tastier.
Surprisingly, low-grade flour gives better results in gingerbread.
I really love making gingerbread and Gingerbread Cookie. To do this, I always need a gingerbread spice mixture or, as it is also called, dry perfume. Of course, the easiest way is to go and buy a ready-made mixture of dry perfumes in a store. But, believe me, the spices for gingerbread that you make yourself will be many times more aromatic and much cheaper, which is quite important. I described in great detail this simple method of making dry perfume and showed in the photo how easily and simply you can prepare it yourself.
Ingredients of spices for gingerbread:
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds;
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon;
- 1/3 teaspoon ground nutmeg;
- 3-4 pieces of cloves;
- 1/3 teaspoon of star anise seeds;
- 4-5 pieces of allspice;
- 1/3 teaspoon dry ginger.
How to make dry perfume for gingerbread with your own hands
Pour all ingredients into a bowl and mix. If you have a very large carnation, take 3 pieces. If the cloves are small, then you can take 4-5 pieces. The main thing is not to have too much cloves, otherwise it will take on all the aroma.
Pour the entire prepared spice mixture into a coffee grinder or blender and grind it into powder. The gingerbread mixture should have a uniform structure similar to powder.
Transfer the dry perfume to a container with a tight-fitting lid so that the aroma does not evaporate during storage.
A mixture of spices for gingerbread prepared at home can be stored for a long period, but over time the aroma fades. Therefore, it is better to make dry perfume in small quantities and always have fresh ones.
- 50 g cinnamon bark
- 20 g dried ginger
- 15 g cloves, all
- 15 g shelled cardamom seeds
- 10 g nutmeg
- 10 g allspice
- 10 g black pepper *
- 5g shelled anise seeds (optional, not all flavours)
Grind all the ingredients in a coffee grinder (ideally), grate on a fine grater or with a special pestle in a mortar. Mix.
Store in a tightly closed container, protected from the sun. The seasoning is very aromatic and quite spicy (you can reduce the amount of pepper).
For 1 kg of flour, give on average about 3 - 4 tablespoons of spices, depending on preference.
Spice mixture for gingerbread and holiday bread
35 g cinnamon
9 g cloves
2 grams of pepper (allspice or black)
2 g coriander
2 g ginger
1 g cardamom
1 g nutmeg
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Making gingerbread is a truly creative process that provides the gingerbread master with the widest possibilities; It is not without reason that gingerbread technology has always been associated with many secrets and mysteries, which the masters carefully guarded from meticulous, malicious competitors.
Of course, this is a personal choice for everyone, but:
. real gingerbread dough is prepared only with honey and sour cream (without added sugar or molasses and without any artificial leavening agents);
- in all cases, to obtain a good gingerbread leavening, add 4 tbsp. spoons of vodka, cognac or rum per 1 kg of flour;
- if you have to use sugar (sucrose) instead of honey, try to replace it in the same amount with natural sugar fructose (fruit sugar);
. for real gingerbreads, use only butter (but not margarine or vegetable oil);
. real gingerbread dough should only be custard (and not raw);
. The gingerbread glaze should only be real (cooked with beaten egg whites, not water, and, preferably, not with sucrose, but with fructose).
It’s even better to glaze gingerbread cookies with honey boiled to a caramel state, mixed during boiling with a small addition (about 10%) of some acidifier (juice of cranberries or other sour berries and fruits, lemon, etc.; or you can add a little strong citric acid solution ) is an ancient traditional method, and it is the best.
. Very good results are obtained by adding various ground dried berries to the gingerbread dough, as well as finely grated nuts - experiment with their additions, and your gingerbread cookies will surpass all others in taste!
You can also add dried fruits finely chopped with a knife (or minced through a meat grinder) to the gingerbread dough (raisins, dried apricots, dates, prunes, etc.) - the gingerbreads will be even tastier.
Surprisingly, low-grade flour gives better results in gingerbread.