When I think of saffron, the first thought that comes to mind is expensive, and second, pretty dainty threads of orange, red, and gold. These warm colorful threads are the stigmas of a flower of the crocus family which originated in west Asia and grows in Kashmir and Turkey, and in Mediterranean countries – the largest quantity these days comes from Spain. The use of saffron is very much a part of cuisines of these regions.

Saffron has a delicate fragrance. I find it not-so-easy to pin-point its flavor. For me, it has a somewhat sour, mostly sweet-bitter taste. Some say it’s bitter, or that it has a bitter, honey-like taste. It has also been described as having a bright metallic flavor. The taste is very individual I’d say.

Whatever flavor/s your taste buds detect, you don’t want to actually taste much saffron in a dish. Great chefs say if you can taste the saffron in a dish, there is too much. Use saffron with a light hand, like a pinch, or no more than is needed for a recipe. You’ve probably discovered for yourself a little saffron goes a long way.

But don’t let this or the price sway you from including saffron as staple spice in your kitchen. Have some handy to make great Indian, Mediterranean, Moroccan, and Spanish recipes. Paella is a popular dish using saffron, as well as curry dishes and desserts.

Preparing Saffron
It adds beautiful coloring of golden to pale yellow and give an equally beautiful taste and aroma to recipes. Saffron strands need to be soaked in a little warm water or nut/seed milk to infuse and bring out its gorgeous color. An alternative to release its aroma, flavor, and color is to grind it into a powder, and all you need to do is add the appropriate amount to your recipe – no further extraction is necessary.

Storing Saffron
If stored properly, this precious spice can have a good long shelf life. Keep it stored tightly sealed and in the refrigerator.

The Giveaway
Generally on the last day of the month our monthly herb of the month drawing takes place. The month of June had been kind of hectic and our herb of the month posted on the last day of June. So, this giveaway will run in July until Saturday, July 24th at 11:59pm PST.

If you’ve never or have always wanted to try saffron or have run out and need more, enter this drawing for a chance to receive organic saffron, courtesy of our sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs. Leave a comment below sharing tips, suggestions, ideas, your experience using saffron, or simply your desire to try it. On Sunday, July 25th, one of your names will be drawn from the comment section of this post, and Mountain Rose Herbs will send a gift of saffron to the lucky participant.

Are you on Twitter?
For extra entry points, copy this message below and retweet:

@RawEpicurean offers a gift-the most expensive spice in the world SAFFRON courtesy @MtnRoseHerbs Enter drawing here http://bit.ly/aHjDIB

I like orange skinned apricots – the ones that are fresh ripe and sweet – but last summer I spotted two varieties that really intrigued me. One is called Angelcot White Apricot and the other Black Velvet Apricot, both captured my curiosity and I had to buy them no matter what the cost, believe me they weren’t cheap.

I remember, I couldn’t get home fast enough to try them and when I did, I was amazed. They made quite a tasty impression and both are sweeter and juicier than the traditional orange skinned apricot. Now I am a bigger fan of apricots.

While reading up on these two varieties, I discovered that California produces almost 95% of the apricots grown in the United States, and apricot growers are continually experimenting to produce new varieties. I wonder if any of these clever growers have more mouth-watering apricots coming down the pipeline?

The season for harvesting apricots here in North America usually begins mid-May and lasts until August and novel fruits like Angelcot and Black Velvet – both are part of the Proprietary Class of tree ripened fresh fruits – the season is even shorter so if you see them and haven’t tried them, please do. If you have tried them, I would love to know how you liked it.

VARIETIES

Orange Apricots – these pretty orange apricots range in color from yellow to deep orange, and sometime the skin has red or rosy touches.

My husband and I bought a Blenheim Semi-Dwaft Apricot tree. We anticipate this tree will bare lots of sweet firm golden fruit sometime next year.

Black Velvet Apricots – are the result of a new cross blend of 50% apricots and 50% plums and is exclusively produced from Kingsbury Orchards in California.

Though it is classified as an apricot it has mostly the characteristics of a plum with a faint apricot taste. Its skin has a slightly fuzzy coat, which is probably why the word “velvet” is in its name. It has a tangy sweet flavor.

Angelcot White Apricot – New on the apricot scene, this white apricot was developed by a farmer located in California by the name of Ross Sanborn.

Don’t let its color fool you, its pale flesh may seems like its unripe, but that is simply its distinct coloring. You will know better once you bite into it and taste its succulent juiciness.

The list goes on, there are many more types of apricot, each with their own specific characteristics. Steve Alber at Harvest To Table has a great list of the varieties of apricots with description and harvest times.

Nutritional Profile and Benefits

According to the Apricot Producers of California, just three fresh apricots provide 35% to 45% of the recommended daily intake for Vitamin A. They are a great source of antioxidants and vitamin C. Apricots contain:

Beta-carotene | Calcium | Dietary Fiber | Iron | Lycopene | Phosphorus | Potassium | Tryptopene | Vitamin C

They are low in sodium, calories and fat, so eat as many of these healthy fruits as you desire.

Selecting and Storing Apricots

Apricots will continue to ripen after they have been picked from the tree. Any that are too firm or have touches of green may not be completely tree-ripened. It’s the tree-ripened ones that taste best and have the highest level of antioxidants.

Choose apricots with the best coloring for its particular variety. They should be plump with fairly firm skin, yield to gentle pressure when lightly squeezed, and have a delicate aroma.

Ripe fruit can be kept longer if refrigerated. If you have apricots that need to ripen a bit more, keep them at room temperature or place them in a paper bag with a banana or an apple. [The ethylene gas released helps ripen the fruit.]

Freezing apricots – cut in half and remove the pit. Dip in a solution of 1 part fresh lemon juice and 3 parts filter water to help discourage discoloration. Place apricot halves in an airtight freezer friendly container or bag. Freeze up to 3 months

Preparing Fresh or Frozen Apricots

Fresh apricots – wash them well before use; pit and peel, if necessary.

Frozen apricots – bring to room temperature and prepared as desired.

Serving Suggestions

Apricots are one of many delicious fruits to eat out of hand, whole and fresh. If you can find Black Velvet and Angelcot apricots, try them. They would make a unique and delightful stand in for the traditional orange apricot in recipes. Serve these fresh juicy sweet fruits in one of the following way:

Have you tried Black Velvet or Angelcot apricots?

Recipe Suggestion :: Apricot Crumble Bar

What is your favorite apricot recipe?

Coriandrum sativum

Historically cilantro is among the world’s oldest spices and said to be one of the first spices to arrive in America. This fresh flavorful feathery flat leaf herb is also referred to as Chinese parsley or coriander leaves. The entire plant [leaves, stalk, seeds, even the roots] is edible and worth singing its praises but, it’s the coriander seeds that are the focus and our herb of the month.

Coriander seed is actually the dried fruit of the coriander plant. It’s used as a spice and has a refreshing, earthy-lemony scent. I like to open the jar and inhale; it smells so delicious. Coriander seed is one of the most popular of all the spices used in Indian cuisine, plus is an essential flavor covering broad culinary territory in recipes from African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern kitchens.

It is a key ingredient in Indian curry powders, curry dishes, and garam masala.
It is used as a pickling spice.
It has been prescribed as a digestive for thousands of years.
It helps relieve indigestion and nausea.
It has antibacterial properties.

The ready-ground coriander powder is a great convenience but it loses its flavor and aroma quicker than if you purchase the whole seeds. I prefer to buy the whole seeds and grind it with a mortar/pestle, or in a coffee grinder.

I like to store my spices in recycled glass jars, keeping the lid closed tight and placed in the cabinet. Glass jars will keep your spices fresh and help retain flavor and aroma for many more months when properly stored, up to a year or two. To preserves the flavor, aroma, and color or coriander seed, store in a cool, dry and dark place.

Leaving a comment below enters you into the drawing. Share your tips, suggestions, ideas, experience using coriander, or your desire to learn more and try it.

At the end of this month, one name will be drawn from the comment section of this post. Our sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs will send a gift coriander to the winning participant.

Related Posts
Previous Herb of the Month Giveaways

This months herb of the month is on red clover, a pretty pinkish/purplish flower with narrow petals. It’s one of the many species of the clover family and is considered to be one of the richest sources of isoflavones and it offers many valuable nutrients:

The young fresh leaves and new flowers of red clover are both edible – add them to salads and soups. Also, the sprouted seeds add a robust flavor and crisp texture to salads, sandwiches, and other recipes.

These pretty blossoms, either fresh or dried, makes a delicate sweet and medicinal tea. It is alterative, antiscrofulous, antispasmodic, aperient, detergent, diuretic, estrogenic, expectorant, sedative and tonic – used medicinally to treat a wide variety of conditions, many of them having to do with reproductive functions, and menopause. It’s also known to be a good tonic for colds, purify the blood, and studies suggest it’s an anti-cancer agent.

Red clover is an easily grown no fuss plant from seed. You can even grow it from root cuttings. This plant blooms from April thought out the summer months. Consider growing it in your yard, you can find red clover seed online at Mountain Rose Herbs, or you can enter the drawing for red clover below.

Leaving a comment enters you into the drawing. Share any tips, suggestions, ideas, your experience using red clover, or your desire to learn more and try it. At the end of this month, one of your names will be drawn from the comment section of this post, and our sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs will send a gift red clover to the winning participant.

Happy Herb of the Month anniversary Mountain Rose Herbs!
It’s been a year a great fun and learning. Much appreciation and many thanks to everyone at Mountain Rose Herbs for your sponsorship and support, and to Raw Epicurean readers for your interest, participation, and support. We look forward to many more herb of the month posts and giveaway and we hope to inspire you to use herbs and spices in more and more recipes.

xoxo,
Ingrid

He’s not vegetarian, vegan, or raw, however Jamie Oliver advocates something extremely important. He is campaigning and calling attention to the unhealthy plight of school meals in the American school system. Jamie is no stranger to fighting for healthy meal for school systems. He began campaigning in his native country, England, to ban the junk in British schools and get kids eating fresh, tasty nutritious food.

Watching this video reminds me that there is plenty of resistance simply toward the idea of healthy eating. Children depend on and learn from us. They are the future. If these children are fed devalued junk “food”, and as a result are undernourished and sickly, what will their future be as the next generation of a nation of people? Imagine.

I love most herbs and spices. Cardamom is up there as one of my favorites. I enjoy its warm and pungent aromatic fragrance, and tasting it’s unique flavor, especially in Indian dishes, but you can find the flavor of cardamom in Middle Eastern and Scandinavian dishes too.

Two Varieties

Elettaria is the most commonly recognized of the two varieties. It is light green and looks like little puffed triangular pods. Amomum is the larger dark brown pods. Both are members of the ginger family Zingiberaceae and have alias names.

Elettaria aka green cardamom or true cardamom
Amomum aka black or brown cardamom, Kravan, Java cardamom, Bengal cardamom, Siamese cardamom, white cardamom, or red cardamom. Additionally, you may see white cardamom, which is mainly used in Northern European.

Purchasing and Storing

There are three ways to purchase green cardamom: whole pods, seeds, or powdered form. Some recipes may call for pods, some for seeds. Personally, I like to purchase the pods because they offer the longest shelf life. I’ll open as many pods as I need to use the seeds, or grind them into powder in a spice mill or coffee grinder.

Like all spices, it is best to keep cardamom in an airtight container away from heat and direct light. If your local markets doesn’t carry cardamom, there are online resources where you can purchase this wonderful spice.

Benefits and Uses

Cardamom has numerous health benefits like improving digestion and stimulating the metabolism. Use cardamom seeds to flavor coffee and curries, desserts, pudding, and mulled wine. One of the best known beverages featuring the taste of cardamom is chai. Cloves and cinnamon combine well with cardamom.

Recipe

Garam Masala

Making your own homemade blend is the best.

Split open cardamom pods by crushing the outer shell with the back of a spoon or spatula. Coolect the seeds and add to a coffee grinder along with all the remaining ingredients. Grind spices into a powder, about 3-4- seconds.

Transfer powdered spice mix to a bowl or container. Continue grinding spices, if there are any left, and add to bowl or container. Store in a small jar with a tight fitting lid until ready to use. Keeps between 3 – 6 month if stored properly. Keep away from heat and excess sunlight.

Giveaway

At the end of this month, one of your names will be drawn from the comment section of this post, and our wonderful sponsor Mountain Rose Herbs will send a gift cardamom to the winning participant.

I’d love to know how you use cardamom. Share your tips, suggestions, and ideas in the comment section.

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo,
Ingrid

In honor of Nation Brain Awareness Month, I’ve put together a concise list of nutrient rich foods that help boost brain power. These foods contribute to helping us ward off free radicals, think faster, improve memory, solve problems, concentrate, think clearly, comprehend information better, and improve your life overall. A diet rich in essential fatty acids, fruits and vegetables helps unleash your brain’s full potential.

Leafy Green Vegetables and Cruciferous

Asparagus, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, onions, radishes, red peppers, spinach, sprouts, turnips, and water cress are helpful for memory retention and good in boosting brain power.

Berries

Berries are rich in antioxidants which protect your brain cells from oxidation and free radical damage and have been shown to have the ability to improve memory. Antioxidants may slow down brain aging and prevent disease, while promoting the growth of healthy brain cells and keeping your brain youthful. Each of these berries are loaded with antioxidant power and brain power boosting benefits:

Blackberries [improving motor skills and learning capacity], Blueberries, Boysenberries, Cranberries, Elderberries, Goji Berries, Mulberries, Raspberries, Red Grapes, Strawberries [improves memory recall].

Avocados

Buttery, fatty avocado fruit is just plain delicious and contributes to healthy blood flow [helps lower blood pressure], which contributes to a healthy brain. It is rich in good fat and vitamin E.

Tea
Tea has potent antioxidants which promotes healthy blood flow, and can enhance memory, focus, and mood.
Freshly brewed high quality loose tea leaves is ideal, like sencha green tea, but a high quality tea bags is fine too. Matcha, a stone-ground Gyokuru green tea powder, contains exponentially higher amounts of EGCG [Epigallocatechin Gallate, a compound found uniquely in green teas with powerful anti-cancer, anti-aging and overall health benefits] than regular brewed green tea.

Another tea like Tulsi tea [made of an Indian herb called holy basil], ginseng tea help keep you alert, reduce stress hormone cortisol, and aids memory. Also a cup of two of gotu kola tea daily, regulates dopamine. That’s the brain chemical that helps protect brain cells from harmful free radicals, boosts pleasurable feelings, and improves focus and memory.

Try this drink recipe: Matcha Latte

Source:
Tulsi Tea

A cup of two of Gotu Kola tea, an ayurvedic herb, regulates dopamine helping to protect brain cells from harmful free radicals. It also boosts pleasurable feelings, and improves focus and memory.

Source:
Mountain Rose Herbs

Dark Chocolate aka Cacao

Rich, dark luscious chocolate has powerful antioxidant properties, contains several natural stimulants, including caffeine, which enhance focus and concentration, and stimulates the production of endorphins, which helps improve mood. It is rich in flavanols that boost blood supply to the brain and help improve cognitive skills. Though dark chocolate is a beneficial superfood, it is wise to eat it in moderation.

Source and information:
Moutain Rose Herbs
Read more information about cacao
Excellent reference book Superfoods by David Wolfe

Red Wine
A few glasses of red wine weekly delivers the powerful antioxidant resveratrol, which may prevent free radicals from damaging brain cells.

Organic Vegan Wine Sources:
Frey Wine
Our Daily Red

thiamine, a brain-boosting nutrient.

Plant Oil
Essential Fatty Acids EFA found in coconut, olive, flaxseed, hempseed, avocado, and walnut oil keeps oxygen-rich blood flowing to your brain offering more memory-boosting power.

Sources:
Nutiva
Manitoba Harvest
Natural Zing

Turmeric

It’s the key ingredient in curry, which contains the chemical curcumin and the powerful antioxidant resveratrol. Turmeric is said to protect brain cells from harmful free radicals and help remove plaque from the brain.

Source:
Mountain Rose Herbs

Cinnamon

Add some cinnamon to your recipe, it contains a chemical good for keeping your blood sugar in check and can improve neurotransmission.

Gingko biloba

Gingko is a well-known brain tonics that improves mental clarity, alertness and memory.

Source:
Gingko biloba

Rosemary
Rosemary has long been known to improving your smarts. For example, the Pents’ao, an ancient Chinese compendium of herbal lore, recommended ginseng for “benefiting the understanding,” and in India, the herb gotu kola is a traditional brain tonic so highly regarded that it’s called brahmi, or “of the highest order.”

Sage

Helps the brain to function properly and has been known to help transmit message to and from the brain. No wonder sage is the herb of wisdom.

Sea Vegetables and Marine Plants

Sea veggies are a rare source of iodine, which helps promote brain function. Marine phytoplankton, microscopic plants & organism that live in the ocean, helps produce healthy new cells and nero-chemicals for the body and the brain. Blue-green algae is a good source of omega fatty acids.

Source:
Maine Coast Sea Vegetables

Lentinula edodes

I adore mushrooms. I like the texture of mushrooms and they taste delicious. Even as a child I eat them without complaint. The mushrooms I grew up with were the white button mushrooms. Later, through the pages of Bon Appetite and Gourmet magazines, I discovered brown mushrooms and from there a whole world of mushrooms.

Have you ever foraged for mushrooms? It’s great fun. It is a popular pastime in Europe, in fact, the countryside of France is where I first foraged for mushrooms, with friend who knew which ones to pick. Now when I forage for mushrooms, it’s either at an open market or the produce section of a grocery store.

Most mushrooms I enjoy, but one inparticular is my favorite. It is revered both as a food and medicinal herb, it’s the valuable Shiitake, pronounced – she-TAH-kay. This member of the fungi family of edible mushrooms also goes by the names black forest mushroom, Chinese black mushroom and fragrant mushroom.

Nutritional Profile

Raw foodists, vegans, and vegetarian benefit greatly from shiitake, as it is one of the few non-animal sources of vitamin B12, and is one of a few known natural sources of vegan and kosher vitamin D (vitamin D2). Other bonuses, shiitake is low in calories, high in vegetable proteins, fat free, very low in sodium, contain both essential and non-essential amino acids, vitamins & minerals.

Shiitake mushrooms contain:

Calcium | Copper | Ergothioneine | Fiber | Flavonoids| Iron | Magnesium | Manganese | Phosphorus | Polysaccharides | Potassium | Protein | Selenium | Trypotophan | Vitamin B1 [Thiamin] | Vitamin B2 [Riboflavin] | Vitamin B3 [Niacin] | Vitamin B5 [Pantothenic Acid | Vitamin B6 [Pyridoxine] | Vitamin B9 [Folate – Folic Acid] | Vitamin B12 [Cobalamins] | Vitamin C | Vitamin D | Water | Zinc

Selecting

Shiitake are available year-round and are sold fresh and dried at farmer’s markets, Whole Foods stores, and in Asian markets. They range in color from tan to dark brown and the shiitake caps have a soft, spongy meaty texture.

Fresh shiitake ~ look for firm, spongy caps that are dry. Avoid mushrooms that are withered, with bruises, pits, or feel or look slimy. If possible, give them a sniff test. They should smell pleasant and earthy.

Dried shiitake ~ commonly sold in preserved packages. You may also consider drying your own mushrooms with a dehydrator.

Store

Fresh shiitake mushrooms can keep for up to 14 days when stored in the refrigerator in its container or in a paper bag.

Store unopened packages of dried shiitakes [or any type of dried mushrooms] or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry area away from light exposure.

Prepare

Consider investing in a soft mushroom brush to brush away any clinging growing medium from fresh mushrooms, otherwise simply wipe them with a damp paper towel.

To reconstitute dried mushrooms, soak them in water for 20 – 30 minutes.

Culinary Tips

* After reconstituting dried mushrooms, don’t throw out the water! Reserve it to use in soups, to enhance sauces, or use other ways in other recipes.
* Equivalents: 1 pound fresh mushrooms = 3 ounces dried.
* Dried shiitakes have more of an intense flavor than fresh shiitakes.
* Do not soak fresh mushrooms, they are extremely porous and soak up water like a sponge.
* Salt release the water in mushrooms.
* Avoid using a lot of salt or soy sauce when using shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake is rich in glutamates so they are naturally enhanced with sodium.
* To preserves any dried mushrooms, use several not too old bay leaves to retard and/or eliminate spore development.
* Substitutes for Shiitake in recipes: crimini mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, straw mushrooms, chanterelles, porcini mushrooms, white mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, baby bella, or a combination.