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Spice Mixtures

or ‘mixed spices’ are commonly thought of as, and here taken to be, dry powders; but they are sometimes taken to mean spicy pastes such as are described separately, for example sambal (Indonesia) and masala (India).

A spice mixture, in the sense of a mixture of spices, may be peculiar to one village, or family, or individual. Here the term ‘spice mixtures’ is used to indicate established mixtures, well known in a country, region, or ethnic group. However, even established mixtures are variable, not only in the proportions of ingredients but also in the ingredients themselves; it is notorious that there may be five, six, or seven spices in Chinese five spice mixture.

Variations of a local kind are particularly common in Arab countries, where the composition of ready-made spice mixtures is variable even within a single neighbourhood, and the names vary widely. In Bahrain, for instance, the mixture might be called bharat, in other places one might hear afawi, abazir, or other names.

Spice mixtures should not be kept for long before use. This is true of individual spices also, once they have been ground, but the principle applies more strongly to mixtures since the various components will stay viable for different lengths of time, with the result that some elements in a mixture will stale before others and the balance will be upset.

Important mixtures, which are the subjects of separate entries, are: advieh, colombo, curry powder, duqqa, five spices, harissa, masala, nam prik, panch phoron, ras-el-hanout, shichimi, tabil, zaatar.

Other noteworthy mixtures include:

• baharat, a fiery preparation from the Gulf States, used to spice meats and vegetables (see Arabian food); there are counterparts elsewhere in the Arab world, e.g. sabe b'harat makhlootah in Lebanon;
• berbere, a complex and variable Ethiopian blend, in which chillies, ginger, and cloves are standard ingredients;
• criollo, the term used in Venezuala for their mixture of cumin, oregano, annatto, pepper, and paprika, see recado rojo below;
• goma shio, a simple Japanese mixture of sesame (goma) and salt, used as a condiment;
• Mexican chile powder is a spice mixture for making chili con carne, containing cumin, clove, and garlic powder as well as hot pepper;
• mixed spice, as used in British baking, usually consisting of cinnamon, cloves, mace, nutmeg, coriander, and allspice. Also known as pudding spice;
• pickling spice, highly variable (often according to the material being pickled), with ingredients such as black and/or white peppercorns, mustard seed, coriander, ginger, allspice;
• poudre douce (or douce poudre), poudre fine, poudre fort, poudre lombard; four medieval mixtures, of which the first and third were sweet and strong respectively. These terms occur in many different spellings in medieval manuscripts. The Menagier de Paris gives a recipe for poudre fine, composed of ginger, cinnamon, grains of paradise (melegueta pepper), cloves, and sugar;
• pudding spice; normally equals mixed spice, above;
• quatre épices, a French term which usually indicates a mixture of black pepper, nutmeg, ginger, and clove, but with cayenne pepper and cinnamon as alternative ingredients;
• recado rojo or achiote paste, a Mexican (Yucatan) blend of annato, cumin, clove, cinnamon, pepper, allspice, garlic, and oregano;
• rempah, a base spice mix of Singapore and Malaysia (in Indonesia it is bumbu), the ingredients of which vary depending on the dish, but may include chillis, turmeric, blacang, and candlenuts;
• suwanda kudu (meaning ‘fragrant mixture’), prepared in Sri Lanka with cumin, black cumin, cardamom, cloves, coriander, fenugreek, and, especially, cinnamon;
• todas especias is the Mallorcan name for their mix of cinnamon, peppercorns, and cloves that might perfume a slow-cooked casserole.

Lesley Chamberlain (1983) mentions two interesting mixtures which she met in Russia:

• khmeli suneli (suneli meaning bouquet), a mixture containing crushed fenugreek, bay leaf, coriander, dill, celery seed, parsley, basil, thyme, saffron (or turmeric), and mint, in variable proportions;
• adzhika, ‘a mixture of cayenne pepper, chilli powder, salt, black pepper, and crushed bay leaves’.

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