Essential oils

There are some useful culinary essential oils available in retail. Any health food store carries

a large selection of essential oil for aromatherapy, some labeled suitable as culinary flavorings. But

they are not easy to use and that is why they have not gained much acceptance. They are so highly

concentrated that what you need in a dish you measure by the drops, and it is too easy to ruin a

recipe by adding too many drops. For example, the equivalent to one teaspoon of lemon extract is

only one or two drops of essential oil of lemon. If you are overzealous and use four drops, your

cookies will reek of lemon.

As another example, when I make a gallon (4 liters) of peppermint iced tea, after preparing

the tea from regular black tea leaves, I dip a wooden skewer into the essential oil of peppermint and

stir the tea with it. The amount of oil that clings to the skewer gives plenty of peppermint flavor to

the iced tea. One drop in the same amount would overpower it.

Essential oils are expensive, but using two or three drops at a time, the tiny bottle lasts for

decades, if not a lifetime. They have unlimited shelflife. (Most of these bottles come with droppers

for easy use.)

The extracts on your kitchen shelf are really essential oils dissolved in an agent, often

alcohol, to make measuring more practical. It is easy to measure one teaspoon of vanilla, much

more difficult to measure two drops of essential vanilla oil. That is probably why you don’t find

essential oils in supermarket spice racks.

Points to Remember

Spices are more concentrated in flavorings than herbs and are from hard-stemmed plants;

herbs are parts of soft-stemmed aromatic plants.

Buy dry spices and herbs fresh and in small quantities, label the date of purchase; discard

any that is old or stale.

Buy spices and herbs whole whenever possible and freshly grind or crush them .

1 teaspoon dry herb equals 3 teaspoons fresh herb.

Have a supply of fresh herbs you often use in the freezer.

Make all you own spice mixes and store them in the freezer.

Add flavorings late in the cooking process to preserve the essential oils; add extracts only

after food is cool.

For flavor impact, be generous with herbs and spices.

Serious Kitchen Play