KACHEN #21 (Winter 2019) English edition

FEATURE
PRE-CHRISTMAS
SPICE SCIENCE
The season of Advent has its own very special fragrance. Responsible
for this are a few well-travelled exotic spices, which by now belong
firmly into the inventory of the western kitchen.
Christmas is perhaps not the most important date
in the Christian calendar – that is probably Easter
– but surely the most popular. No other festivity
is prepared as extensively or celebrated as intensely. In
that, the culinary aspect plays a major role. Evidence,
if needed, comes in the form of TV spots given over to
heartburn medication and feelings of fullness in the days
before the event, while women’s and lifestyle magazines
offer the newest dieting tips right after the festive days.
No other time in the year sees that kind of excessiveness.
It begins with biscuits via alcoholic sins, such as mulled
wine or punch, to the infamous Christmas goose. Most
of these traditional and typical Christmas drinks and dishes
have one thing is common: they are nothing without
the equally traditional and typical Christmas spices. And
in reality, these are originally just as non-Christian and
non-western as Christmas itself.
CLOVES
The clove has nothing to do with the well-known carnation
flower, sometimes known as clove-pink on account
of its similar scent. The spice is actually the dried buds
of the clove tree, which grows on the Indonesian Maluku
Islands, once known as the Spice Islands. In Europe the
clove has been known since the Middle Ages. The German
name for the spice “Nelke” derives from the Low
German word “Negelkin”, which means small nails.
Makes sense. In English, the word is also related, via the
Latin “clavus”, to the word for nail. The spice, indispensible
in Indian curries, belongs to every punch and mulled
wine. Equally, no self-respecting gingerbread can be
without. Yet, the spice is not only good for the refinement
of sweet specialities. Besides many more healing properties,
cloves can also help against feelings of fullness and
wind. Which is why the spice makes sense for the heavy
Christmas roast – besides being delicious. If, by the way,
the cloves have not been removed from the dish after
cooking, do not be tempted to eat the stems for they are
extremely bitter. Moreover, if you do not have the time to
bake biscuits but you would still like your house to smell
Christmassy, here’s a classic and quick two-minute fix: an
orange peppered with cloves.
The taste? Very spicy to slightly fiery with a peppery note
and accompanying sweet aroma.
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KACHEN No.21 | WINTER 19