Sercarz Lior Lev - Mastering Spice

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cooking is an act of sharing love with others. I have been and still am fortunate to share many tasty memories with so many people around the world. This book would not have been possible without the huge love and support that I have received over the years. It is a result of many hours, days, and years of fun (and less fun) moments behind the stove and in markets, and endless spicy and tasty moments.

I would like to thank all those who helped me and believed in me (and those who did not). This book is one chapter of an ongoing culinary journey that I hope will never end.

Thank you to my wife, Lisa, for being part of this amazing life; my boys, Luca and Lennon (aka the spice brothers), for making me smile every single moment; my parents, Ayala and Moshe, for never saying no to my ideas and wishes; my sisters, Shelly and Iris, and their families; my in-laws, Susan and Gary Fisher, for their support; the incredible team at La Bote, without whom nothing happens; Amanda and Joe from The Villa at Saugerties for hosting us every time; Thomas Schauer and Sahinaz Agamola Schauer for the fantastic photography; Genevieve Ko for her magical writing; thoughtmatter for the design; Raquel Pelzel for getting me to do this book and for her editing; and Aaron Wehner, Doris Cooper, and the whole Clarkson Potter team. Also, to Gil Franck and Oded Sroka, who took a chance on me and put me on the right track; Eric Ripert for his friendship and inspiration; Daniel Boulud and Olivier Roellinger for mentoring me; Apollonia Polne for sharing many gourmand moments; Jeremy Flowers, David Malbequi, Helen Park, Julie and Fredrick Rosenberg, Ronit Vered, Russell Robinson, Efi Naon, Michael Solomonov, Jennifer Carroll, Paul Kahan, Michelle Bernstein, Brad Farmerie, Robert Fedorko and the Nestl culinary team; David Chang; Justin Smilie; and Bertrand Chemel. I owe a debt of gratitude to all those who have made food a global language.

To all those I forgot but wanted to mention, thank you.

For the love of spices,

Lior Lev Sercarz

I am so grateful to Lior for bringing me on this spice journey. Thank you for sharing your spice knowledge and life. Im grateful to Lisa, Luca, and Lennon for welcoming me into your home. Christian was a great partner at La Bote. The photo team was incomparable, as was the hospitality of Amanda and Joe for letting us shoot at their stunning Villa at Saugerties. A big thank-you to Mitchell Barr for help with recipe testing. Thank you to Raquel for being a wonderful editor and to every partner at Clarkson Potter and the design studio.

Genevieve Ko

SPICE GLOSSARY

You can find everything you want to know about most spices in my reference book, The Spice Companion. Here Ive distilled the details into an easy-to-use chart, broken it down into several categories.

Family. Each spice belongs to a flavor family. Savory is slightly salty, sweet mimics sweetness, bitter is bitter, heat is spicy, sour has acidic notes, and warm evokes a feeling thats not quite sweet and not quite heat. Knowing which family each spice belongs to will help you create balanced blends. Some spices, such as pimentn (smoked paprika), cumin, garlic, and cinnamon also have umami, that elusive sixth taste thats a sort of savory depth.

Form. This describes from which part of the plant the spice comes.

Look. Color, shape, size, and texture are outlined here.

Smell. This gives you a sense of the aroma and fragrance to expect.

Taste. While batches and varieties vary, spices have general tastes that are depicted in this category.

Origin. This gives you the country of origin (not necessarily the current country of production, which varies with different purveyors).

Friends. These are the spices that will play well with the specific spice in blends. Dont feel limited by these suggestions. Theyre just a starting point for blending.

Notes. Anything unique to a spice will be explained here.

Also known as. This identifies other names that spices are sometimes sold under.

Substitutions. You can swap spices that are very similar too. For example, if you dont have peperoncini, which are dried Calabrian chile flakes, you can use red pepper flakes instead. If you dont have Tellicherry black peppercorns, other peppercorns will work as well. Nutmeg and mace are interchangeable. Ginger can replace amchoor in a pinch.