Hey guys, salut, this is Alex

and today, I will show you six essential spices

that will literally change the way you cook

forever,

nothing less.

Perfect, and now I have the pressure.

This video is about a series about spices

where we try to understand

and classify each and every spice

the planet has to offer.

So maybe not all of them;

at least we’ll do cumin.

Which ones should you have

where to get them,

how to organize them,

and what about blends?!

Welcome to

Mundus Aromaticus.

So I love spices.

I think they can put the finishing touch

on a complex dish,

but also they are great

to improve a simple pasta dish

or just, you know, a humble bowl of rice.

Spices are not only for chefs.

You got that? Good. So -

sorry.

Now that I have all your attention

let’s get back to basic.

What is a spice?

What the [beep] is spice?

What the [beep] is [beep]?

So according to Wikipedia,

a spice is a seed, fruit, root

bark, berry, bud, or vegetable substance.

Dried herbs are not usually

considered as spices, which is,

in my opinion, a bit questionable

but anyway -

spices can be expensive,

they can be cheap,

they can be common,

or they can be really rare!

I’m not sure I’m even helping

but what you need to remember - um -

but what you need to remember are the four

different and almighty uses of spices.

First one: flavor.

Of course you would expect this one.

Spices will affect

greatly the taste and flavors

of your dishes.

Notice that I just say

affect instead of improve

or ruin because it depends on how

and how much you use your spices.

Two: coloring.

Spices can be truly colourful

and colours will make you happy.

And y'know, being happy is good!

That’s all I’ve got.

Three: preserving.

Spices can have anti-microbial

or anti-bacterial properties

which makes them very handy

and also very common in tropical zones.

Four: medicine.

Spices can do lots of

good stuff to you, like heal

or detox.

Sadly, uh, I’m not a doctor

so we’ll just leave that aside.

I’m supposed to be a surgeon.

Enough with the dull education stuff

Let’s answer the

only legitimate question:

which spices should I have

in my pantry?

Like me, mine, myself!

Okay, so:

that’s a tough and

a slippy question at the same time.

Spices are definitely

related to culture.

So in this video, I had

to make a global choice.

And by that, I’m going to give

you four different options

going from: I don’t

care about cooking, just give me the food,

all the way to

I like spending hours

in the kitchen

pretending I am cooking,

but in fact, I’m just sipping wine.

If you could only have one spice

in your pantry, that would be:

black pepper.

It adds depth, and a bit of

heat to any savory dish.

Freshly ground pepper can’t ever better flavor

but as you only have one spice

in your pantry,

maybe you don’t care that much.

So - one spice is fine.

Black pepper is an all-around spice.

It’s brilliant on pasta,

like carbonara,

and is necessary on meat.

But also a touch of black pepper

will sublimate

the strawberry and cream dessert.

If you could only have

three spices,

they would be:

black peppercorn, which was just mentioned,

plus cumin.

That little spice is really powerful

and is widely used in

Mexican, Middle Eastern, African,

Indian cuisine, you name it.

It has that earthy and warming flavor.

For balance purposes,

its best mate would be coriander seeds.

Use it with confidence on any types of chilis

or when making falafels

or you know, just roasted carrots -

honey and cumin, great dish.

Cinnamon.

Incredibly popular

and widely used all over the globe,

North America, North Africa,

but also Northern Europe.

Use cinnamon sticks to flavour stews

or stocks, and use the ground version

as a deadly sprinkle on dessert.

Think of pastries, apple pies

donuts, but also sweet-savory dishes

like the famous Moroccan bastilla pie.

So before we go any further,

it is time to make an update to

of the studio!

You remember the boxes on the ground.

Well apparently, someone put them

on the wall.

And by someone,

I mean me.

Next improvement in the studio

is this one!

Yaaaa -

truth be told, I’m so proud of this one.

Look at this!

And now I’m screwed.

Being able to properly wash your hands

in the kitchen -

priceless.

Also it might be a bit less interesting

for you guys, but it’s important

for me; I made a space for all the tools.

And everything down here

is gonna go up there.

And last but not least,

there’s a good friend of mine

who is now in the studio.

Look at this!

My lovely bicycle, ma belle chérie!

So guys that’s it for this update tour

of the studio.

Uh, there is still much work

to do, but for now, let’s go back

to the spices.

If you could only have six spices

in your pantry,

they would be:

the three spices we just mentioned

plus chili powder.

And if you think I should be using cayenne

pepper instead, well, I am.

Cayenne pepper is not made from peppercorn,

it’s made from grounded chili.

Heat is a major component of so many dishes,

like, try to picture any Thai food

or Mexican food without the heat.

Turmeric.

That yellow spice is a vibrant

blessing you will find everywhere in India,

Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Slightly warm and peppery,

I have to admit that I mainly use

turmeric for its bright and sunny, yellow colour.

It will do miracles on cauliflower,

cabbage, and root vegetables.

And you know, just a sprinkle

will wake up any pale soup.

Coriander, or cilantro.

It’s the first spice of the list

which is not bringing a warm feeling,

but more like a fresh and lemony flavour.

If you find coriander leaves soapy,

well, don’t judge the seeds too quickly

because they will give you something

quite different.

As I said earlier,

coriander will balance

the power of cumin.

And that’s why they’re often

associated in dishes.

Use the seeds in pickles,

or the powder in curries, stews, and marinades.

I believe you now have

the base to build a solid kitchen spice rack.

In the next episode of Mundus Aromaticus,

we’ll get more advanced

and see which spices you should get

if you had 12 spices.

I will also give you tips on how to properly

wake up spices.

See what’s coming?

You can do a lot worse, in my opinion,

than subscribing to my channel.

Of course, that’s my opinion.

I love hearing from you,

so if you think, “Oh, my God,

I can’t believe he just forgot about my favorite spice

he’s such a loser! I’m going to kill myself.”

Then first, just settle down,

and also share that amazing spice

in the comments below,

so that everyone can enjoy it.

Please remember that it’s not

a big deal if you make mistakes.

Try new spice combinations,

that’s how you learn, okay?

Bye bye, salut!