A large body of evidence shows that daily consumption of EVOO can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Part I of this two-part series highlighted the contributions of oleic acid (OA). The other bioactive components of EVOO that protect against CVD are its more than 30 polyphenols.
Factors that contribute to CVD include oxidative stress, inflammation, cholesterol, blood-vessel function, and high blood pressure (hypertension). Below, we’ll look closely at the mechanisms by which polyphenols work in the body to modify and improve these factors.
What are polyphenols? Polyphenols are naturally occurring substances in many plants and fungi. Most polyphenols are antioxidants, which means they help neutralize chemical compounds formed in the body that can damage cells. Hydroxytyrosol (HT) has been identified as the polyphenol in EVOO that is essential in the prevention of CVD.
HT combats oxidative stress
Oxidative stress can cause cell mutations and has been identified as an underlying cause of multiple aspects of CVD. Injured tissues release ions—charged particles—that bind to oxygen, creating an excess of unstable molecules. As an antioxidant, HT directly neutralizes these unstable molecules, or reactiveoxygen species (ROS). HT has also been shown to inhibit the cell damage produced by ROS and to enhance the antioxidant abilities of cells in the blood vessel walls.
Lowers inflammation
HT can block some of the processes that signal for cells to mount an inflammatory response. In this way, HT reduces the impact of inflammatory substances that are linked to oxidative stress as well as to impaired blood vessel function, a key risk factor for CVD.
Reduces “bad” cholesterol and improves “good”
Polyphenols reduce the amount of small molecules of LDL (“bad” cholesterol), which do the most damage. Polyphenols also help prevent LDL from forming plaques that build up in the arteries, or atherosclerosis. In a 3-week clinical trial, HDL (“good” cholesterol) functioning improved significantly in healthy patients who consumed high-polyphenol EVOO, compared with low-polyphenol EVOO.
Protects the blood vessel lining and lowers blood pressure
Polyphenols help prevent damage to the endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessel walls, by increasing the production of nitric oxide (NO), a vasodilator—a substance that relaxes the blood vessels. By enhancing the production of NO, polyphenols can improve endothelial function, protect against arterial stiffness, and lower blood pressure.
References: 1. Lu Y, Zhao J, Xin Q, et al. Food Science and Human Wellness. 2024;13:529-540. 2. Pandey KB, Rizvi SI. Plant polyphenols as dietary antioxidants in human health and disease. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2009;2(5):270-278. doi:10.4161/oxim.2.5.9498 3. Lobo V, Patil A, Phatak A, Chandra N. Pharmacogn Rev. 2010;4(8):118-126. 4. Hernáez Á, Fernández-Castillejo S, Farràs M, et al. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2014;34(9):2115-2119.
Savory Puff Pastry Pinwheels and Imperial Bloody Mary Recipes, Spotlight on Herbes de Provence and Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Storing Spices, Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Weekend Exercising
Recipes are so much more flavorful when you have the best ingredients in your pantry. That’s why I’m so excited about the new herbs and spices in my latest collection from the T. J. Robinson Curated Culinary Selections—six brand-new offerings plus perennial favorites heirloom Vietnamese cinnamon and vine-ripened black peppercorns. I’m sharing two recipes from the Spice Report, the booklet that comes with the collection to show you how easy it is to elevate your dishes. Also, read about an interesting health discovery on the benefits of weekend-only exercise—it provides great motivation for people who just don’t have time to work out during the workweek, along with a study that will have you asking if your diet is pro- or anti-inflammatory.
These look so elegant yet are a snap to make with packaged puff pastry (I love the Dufour brand because it uses real butter). Flaky and delicious on their own, they’re sublime when topped with a slice of Brie and some fig jam.
Ingredients
1 package frozen puff pastry dough, defrosted overnight in the fridge
1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Caramelized Onion Powder
1 small egg, beaten
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 400°F. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, gently roll out any folds in the dough. Sprinkle the entire surface with the tomato powder, herbs, and onion powder (use your fingers as needed to spread them out evenly).
Step 2
Slice the dough in half lengthwise, then roll up each half lengthwise, jelly roll style. Next, cut each roll into rounds about 1-inch wide. Place the rounds flat on two cookie sheets and brush the tops and sides with the beaten egg. Bake until nicely puffed and browned, about 25 minutes, but start checking sooner in case your oven runs hot.
This recipe has twice the tomato-y depth of traditional mixes, thanks to the tomato powder, yet requires little extra effort for all that taste. Enjoy it “virgin” or with your favorite vodka. Multiply the quantities for a party!
Ingredients
12 ounces best-quality tomato juice
3/4 teaspoon Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Splash (about 10 drops) Worcestershire sauce, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns
1-1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Cholula or Frank’s hot sauce to taste
1 jigger vodka (optional)
Optional garnish: celery sticks
Directions
Add all the ingredients to a small pitcher and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking by adding more tomato powder,Worcestershire, horseradish, and/or hot sauce. Add 3 or 4 ice cubes to two highball glasses and fill with the Bloody Mary mix. Garnish with a celery stick if desired.
Yields 2 drinks
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Herbes de Provence and Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Provence, in the south of France, is known for picturesque villages, fields of lavender, and, of course, a gentle Mediterranean climate. One of its many culinary gifts to the world is the fragrant blend of dried herbs appropriately named Herbes de Provence. With one whiff of this exquisite mix of oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme, you’ll be transported to this idyllic locale.
Herbs have been used for thousands of years. Provence was blessed with a wide range of wild herbs, and eventually, locals began to grow them in private gardens and dry them to use long after the growing season. How the specific mix Herbes de Provence came to be is unclear, though some historians credit it to local monks. Americans’ love of these herbs began in the 20th century when culinary legend Julia Child introduced the US to French cuisine and ingredients.
A mainstay of French cooking, these herbs are synonymous with classics like tapenade (recipes for bolded dishes are included in the Spice Report), ratatouille, beef bourguignon, and cassoulet, but don’t stop there. Sprinkle them over potatoes and other vegetables before roasting and to season homemade croutons; dress up flatbread Provençal, pasta, pizza, and omelets. Add them to dry rubs, marinades, and vinaigrettes. Because the flavor is intense, it takes just a sprinkling to impart their essence.
The various herbs in the mix have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Oregano has a high concentration of phytonutrients, including flavonoids and phenolic acids. Savory is also considered a powerful antioxidant and antibacterial agent. Rosemary is an anti-inflammatory with possible antianxiety and memory-boosting effects. Thyme has long been known for its antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties.
Turkey has a unique location in the world, straddling Europe and Asia, with the sprawling city of Istanbul spanning the two continents. The tomatoes for my Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes, a variety known for their tangy flavor, are grown on small farms along the country’s Aegean Sea coastline, part of the Mediterranean region.
The long history of tomatoes began some 80,000 years ago in South America, where small wild tomatoes about the size of cherry tomatoes grew. Early 16th-century explorers brought tomato seeds back to Europe, and soon after, the seeds were carried to North America. Drying fresh tomatoes after the growing season not only preserves them but also intensifies their sweet-tart flavor. Grinding them into a powder is a more modern concept that extends the tomato’s versatility and is a favorite of professional chefs—pure tomato taste with just the right amount of acidity, balanced by sweet notes.
Mix it with panko and herbs for a mac ’n’ cheese topping or to stuff Roma tomatoes before baking. Add it to your favorite rubs for chicken or roasts, vinaigrettes and olive oil-based marinades, hummus, or aioli. Sprinkle it on pizza and into your fresh-pressed olive oil before dipping bread. It will elevate essential tomato sauce and other sauces,gazpacho or other tomato-based soups, zesty rice pilaf, tomato pies,tomato-strawberry jam, savory shortbreads, and scones. It adds color and flavor to breads,homemade pastas, ricotta filling for stuffed shells, and even cream cheese. Sprinkle it on omelets, sautéed or roasted vegetables, and popcorn. You can mix 2 teaspoons of water with 1 teaspoon of powder to make a tablespoon of tomato paste in a pinch!
Tomatoes are chock-full of nutrients, notably lycopene, an antioxidant that supports heart, eye, and prostate health. Drying and grinding tomatoes into a powder helps make the lycopene more bioavailable. Tomato powder also has small amounts of potassium, beta-carotene, and vitamin A.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Storing spices
The best way to store spices isn’t the handiest—they should be in tightly sealed glass containers away from light, humidity, and heat, so not above the cooktop. Keep them on a dry pantry shelf or in a drawer away from the oven, and soon it will be second nature to take them out of their new “home” as you prep ingredients and set the table with these great alternatives to salt.
For Your Best Health
Is your diet “pro-inflammatory”?
As readers of this newsletter know, extra virgin olive oil has significant anti-inflammatory properties—that’s why it gets top marks as a healthy fat. However, according to research done at The Ohio State University’s College of Public Health and published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, more than half of all American adults eat a diet that’s considered pro-inflammatory, meaning it contributes to unhealthy inflammation in the body, which in turn increases the risk of health problems including heart disease and cancer.
The Ohio State research team examined the self-reported diets of more than 34,500 adults included in the 2005-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey using an existing tool called the dietary inflammatory index, which includes 45 dietary components. The tool assigns dietary inflammation values ranging from −9 to 8, with 0 being a neutral diet. About 34% of those in the study had anti-inflammatory diets, while 9% had neutral dietary inflammatory levels. But “overall, 57% of US adults have a pro-inflammatory diet and that number was higher for Black Americans, men, younger adults, and people with lower education and income,” said lead author Rachel Meadows, PhD, scientist and visiting faculty member. “The overall balance of diet is most important. Even if you’re eating enough fruits or vegetables, if you’re having too much alcohol or red meat, then your overall diet can still be pro-inflammatory.”
Dr. Meadows said she’s less interested in labeling foods as “bad” and more interested in thinking about anti-inflammatory foods as tools people can employ to boost health. “Moving toward a diet with less inflammation could have a positive impact on a number of chronic conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even depression and other mental health conditions,” she explained.
Many people also have elevated chronic inflammation due to non-dietary factors, including stress and adverse childhood experiences, said Dr. Meadows. “There are a lot of factors that contribute to chronic inflammation, and they all interact—even sleep is a key component. Diet can be used as a tool to combat that.” In addition to extra virgin olive oil, top anti-inflammatory foods to add to your diet include garlic, ginger, turmeric, green and black tea, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, legumes including beans and lentils, fatty fish such as salmon, and berries.
Fitness Flash
The benefits of being a “weekend warrior”
Are you too busy during the week to find time for workouts and try to make up for it on weekends? We’ve heard about the downside of being a weekend warrior, like the potential risk of a sports injury when your workouts aren’t consistent. But a recent study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital and published in the journal Circulation found many positives, most importantly that being a weekend warrior is linked to a lower risk of developing hundreds of future diseases from heart and digestive conditions to mental health and neurological illnesses. Also, compared to inactivity, concentrated physical activity patterns may be just as effective for disease prevention as when exercise is spread out throughout the week.
“Physical activity is known to affect risk of many diseases,” said co-senior author Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, a faculty member in the Demoulas Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Here, we show the potential benefits of weekend warrior activity for the risk of not only cardiovascular diseases, as we’ve shown in the past, but also future diseases spanning the whole spectrum, ranging from conditions like chronic kidney disease to mood disorders and beyond.”
Dr. Khurshid, along with co-senior author Patrick Ellinor, MD, PhD, co-director of the Corrigan Minehan Heart Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and their colleagues analyzed information on 89,573 individuals in the prospective UK Biobank study who wore wrist accelerometers that recorded their total physical activity and time spent at different exercise intensities over one week. Participants’ physical activity patterns were categorized as weekend warrior, regular, or inactive, using the guideline-based threshold of 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.
The team then looked for associations between physical activity patterns and incidence of 678 different conditions across 16 types of disease categories, including mental health, digestive, and neurological. Their analyses revealed that weekend warrior and regular physical activity patterns were each associated with substantially lower risks of over 200 diseases compared with inactivity and spanned all the disease categories tested. Associations were strongest for cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension (23% and 28% lower risks over a median of 6 years with weekend warrior and regular exercise, respectively) and diabetes (43% and 46% lower risks, respectively).
“Our findings were consistent across many different definitions of weekend warrior activity, as well as other thresholds used to categorize people as active,” said Dr. Khurshid. “Because there appear to be similar benefits for weekend warrior versus regular activity, it may be the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most. Future interventions testing the effectiveness of concentrated activity to improve public health are warranted, and patients should be encouraged to engage in guideline-adherent physical activity using any pattern that may work best for them.”
Yellow Rice and Green Beans with Pimentón Recipes, Spotlight on Pimentón and Turmeric, Storing Spices and Your Health, and How Restricting Calories Can Boost Longevity
Want to elevate your cooking this holiday season? Grab your spices and turn dull into delicious! In this installment of my single-origin spice series, I’m focusing on two high-flavor choices that may seem exotic, yet can be used often and with tempting results.
Remember too that spices aren’t just for cooking—many are great for boosting the flavor of finished dishes. So, bring some out when you set your table. You and your guests won’t reach for the salt shaker as often, and that’s good for your health.
Fragrant and richly hued, yellow rice takes the standard side dish and elevates it. This recipe gets another taste boost from the green peas.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup minced onion
1 cup basmati or jasmine rice
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1-1/2 cups water or chicken broth, homemade or low-sodium store bought
4 strands saffron, optional
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
Directions
Heat a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil and butter, then the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and turmeric, stirring to coat the grains. Add the water or broth and saffron, if using, and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, checking after 15 to see if all the liquid has been absorbed. When done, turn off the heat, fluff with a fork, fold in the peas, and cover the saucepan for 2 minutes before serving.
Wonderful when made with thin French green beans called haricots verts, often available frozen year-round.
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds fresh or frozen green beans
4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into strips
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon Pimentón or more to taste
3 ounces cured ham, preferably Serrano, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Coarse sea salt, if needed
Directions
If using fresh beans, trim the ends and steam them until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes. Immediately plunge them into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain and set aside. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the bell peppers, sautéing the peppers until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add 2 more tablespoons of olive oil and the pimentón, stirring well to distribute the spice. Add the ham and the steamed beans. Season with black pepper and, if needed, salt (the ham itself may add enough salt), and stir the beans with tongs to heat through. If they seem dry, add the rest of the oil. When the beans are ready, taste and add more pimentón, black pepper, and/or salt as desired.
Yields 4 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Pimentón and Turmeric
Pimentón
All peppers were brought to Spain from the Americas, but the peppers used to make pimentón (Capsicum annuum) have a history all their own. They were given to monks at the Yuste monastery in La Vera, an area within the region of Extremadura, by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The monks dried them and turned them into a powder. Peppers later made their way to the rest of Europe, notably Hungary, where the unsmoked version of the powder became that country’s classic spice, paprika.
The distinct sweet smoky aroma and flavor of pimentón come from thelocalclimate and the unique, centuries-old and labor-intensive smoking process. After being handpicked, the peppers go to a two-story smokehouse. On the first story is an oak fire that burns around the clock. The peppers are smoked on the second story—for two weeks, they’re continually bathed in the aromatic heat and regularly rotated for even crispness. The spice’s full name is Pimentón de La Vera DOP. DOP means “Designation of Protected Origin,” a label bestowed when a specific region is recognized as producing certain foods with special local characteristics. It’s pimentón that, in turn, gives the region’s famed chorizo and other pork products their distinctive flavor and color.
Why you should have this spice in your kitchen: Pimentón defines many Spanish dishes, such as shrimp with pimentón and garlic,patatas bravas, and paella. It’s also wonderful in deviled eggs, dry rubs, and marinades for barbecues, and, for the adventurous, homemade sausages. It marries perfectly with fresh-pressed extra virgin olive oil to add heat to any sauté or to popcorn made on the stovetop. I love it on braised greens and cooked legumes.
Golden Turmeric
India is the land of intriguing spices, rich and deep, and none more colorful than turmeric (Curcuma longa). It belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, which also includes ginger, and you can see the similarity between them when you hold up the edible parts, the rhizomes. Also, like ginger, turmeric has been used for thousands of years, and not only in India but throughout South Asia and into the Middle East, Africa, and beyond, in both sweet and savory dishes. Besides its culinary tradition, turmeric is used in Eastern medicine, in religious ceremonies, and even as a natural coloring.
Why you should have this spice in your kitchen: Besides using turmeric in your favorite Indian dishes from kormas to dals, add it to sauces, stews, broths, salad dressings, juices, and baked goods for a depth of flavor and a jolt of color. Toss cut-up root vegetables with olive oil, sprinkle with turmeric, and roast at 400°F until soft. For a soothing brew, createa paste with turmeric, honey, cinnamon,and a healthy pinch of freshly ground black peppercorns, and whisk it into a cup of warmed milk of your choice.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Storing Spices
The best way to store spices isn’t the handiest—they should be in tightly sealed glass containers away from light, humidity, and heat, so not above the cooktop. Keep them on a dry pantry shelf or in a drawer away from the oven, and soon it will be second nature to take them out of their new “home” as you prep ingredients and set the table with these great alternatives to salt.
For Your Best Health
Spices and Your Health
Peppers have among the highest levels of antioxidants of any vegetable, including bioactive compounds like vitamin C, phenolics, and carotenoids (the source of their color), all strong disease fighters. The carotenoids include zeaxanthin and lutein, good for eye health, according to International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Pimentón’s spiciness comes from capsaicin, a compound with anti-inflammatory properties. While the amount of all this goodness in a little pinch of the spice is small, all those little pinches can add up to help meet micronutrient needs.
Most of the interest in turmeric comes from its powerful polyphenol curcumin, thought to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, though research done in Western countries hasn’t quite been able to explain how it works. A newer concept, published in Advances in Nutrition, is that curcumin could have a direct positive effect on the GI tract and that its health benefits could emanate from there. Interestingly, we know that, on its own, curcumin has a low bioavailability, meaning the body isn’t able to draw out and make the most of its nutrients. According to a report in the journal Foods, you can increase that bioavailability by having it along with black pepper, rich in the active ingredient piperine. So, every time you reach for turmeric, grab your pepper corn grinder, too.
Guacamole and Pico de Gallo Recipes, Spotlight on Cumin and Black Lime, Toasting Spices and Your Health, and a 6th Sense Discovered!
Let’s get the party started! Who doesn’t love guac and salsa? (My pico de gallo recipe, below, is one of the simplest salsas you can make.) Just add your favorite dippers—I love bell pepper spears for the extra nutrients—and you’ll have a happy crowd.
Both of this issue’s recipes feature two of the most flavorful spices on the planet: wild cumin and black lime (read on to discover more about them). If these are new to you, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their depth of flavor. I love them both but was frustrated by not being able to find them easily in stores. So, I became determined to locate harvest-fresh, single-origin spices. The latest spice collection in my Curated Culinary Selections includes them both along with six other spice essentials.
Speaking of taste sensations, I’m also sharing the first taste bud discovery in over a century—turns out we have a sixth taste. I’m sure you’ll find the news as interesting as I did!
This guacamole gets a jolt of flavor from cumin. You can intensify the heat by leaving in some of the jalapeño seeds.
Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small jalapeño
1 small onion
1 cup of cilantro, leaves and some stems
3 large ripe avocados
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste
1 lime, halved
1 teaspoon cumin (wild if possible), toasted and ground
Freshly ground black peppercorns
Coarse sea salt
Directions
Mince the garlic and set it aside for 10 minutes to allow its healthful compound allicin to develop. Wearing gloves to keep the jalapeño’s powerful oils off your skin, slice the pepper in half lengthwise and use a small spoon to scrape out the ribs and seeds, and then cut it into a small dice. On a large cutting board, chop the onion into a large dice and keep chopping as you add in the garlic, jalapeños, and cilantro to meld them together. Halve the avocados and use a spoon to scoop all the flesh into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, coarsely mash the avocado with a fork, and then fold in the onion mixture. Squeeze in the juice of a lime half and fold in the cumin, a few twists of your peppercorn grinder, and a sprinkle of salt. Taste and adjust the seasonings, adding more olive oil, lime juice, black pepper, and/or salt as desired.
I love this Mexican condiment for its bold flavors and easy prep—no machines needed, just a good sharp knife to dice the main ingredients. Besides being a delicious dip for chips and veggies, it’s a great condiment for grilled chicken and fish for your next Taco Tuesday.
Ingredients
2 garlic cloves
2 large fresh tomatoes or 6 canned Roma tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 jalapeño or other chile pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (leaves and some stems)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Juice of 1/2 lime
Freshly ground black pepper
Coarse sea salt
Black Lime
Directions
Mince the garlic and set aside. Dice the tomatoes and onion. Wearing gloves to keep the powerful oils off your skin, slice the jalapeño in half lengthwise and use a small spoon to scrape out the ribs and seeds, and then cut it into a small dice. Place the vegetables in a large bowl along with the garlic and cilantro, and toss well. Fold in the cumin and lime juice. Taste, add a few twists of the black peppercorn grinder and a sprinkle of the salt, and taste again, adding more salt and pepper as desired. Let the flavors meld at room temperature for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until serving. Just before serving, top with a sprinkle of black lime.
Yields about 2 cups
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Cumin and Black Lime
Foraged Wild Cumin
Cumin is used in so many cuisines, not only those of countries where it was first grown but also in others a world away. The common variety (Cuminum cyminum) is indigenous to the Middle East and central regions of India. My preference, wild cumin (Bunium persicum), used in cooking for centuries, has a somewhat mysterious history because it’s native to very remote areas of the world. These include regions of central Asia such as Iran, Pakistan, and the Himalayas in northern India, where it is known as kala jeera—you may see it listed that way in recipes, including Mughlai cuisine. The small, dark-brown seeds of wild cumin are extremely rare. They’re not farmed but rather handpicked from wild plants and then sun dried.
Why you should have this spice in your kitchen: Wild cumin, used whole or ground, shines in classic Indian dishes such as biryanis and curries, Middle Eastern falafel and hummus, and North African tagines and harissa, a heavily spiced chile paste. Cumin also is key to many exotic spice blends, such asbaharat and dukkah. But don’t be shy about using it in Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes that typically call for plain cumin, in beans and chili, and in guacamole and pico de gallo.It also adds wonderful zest when sprinkled whole on naan and other flatbreads and when ground for dry rubs and marinades.
Black Lime
Black lime has a rich and storied legacy in Persian cuisine, dating back centuries, and has been used for everything from making a delicious tea to dyeing yarn. It’s popular in northern India, in Iraq, and in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman, where it’s known as loomi or limu Omani. Still, many American cooks have never used black lime before, and it’s hard to find outside of some ethnic food stores. To create black lime,ripe limes are dried in the sun to naturally turn black. While black limes are added whole in many Persian recipes, the ground version is very handy to use, plus the grinding process releases their fragrant oils to the max.
Why you should have this spice in your kitchen: Black lime is the brightest and most intense lime zest you’ve ever tasted. It’s especially delicious on seafood—grilled shrimp, salmon, and tuna—and on meat, rice and other grains, and vegetables. Try it on ceviche, avocado toast, and soft cheeses; as an ingredient in vinaigrettes; in marinades, dry rubs, and za’atar, a spice blend especially delicious with for lamb and chicken; and on any food you like with a squeeze of lime. A fun way to enjoy its flavor jolt is to use it to rim the glasses the next time you mix up a batch of margaritas or bloody Mary’s.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Toasting Whole Spices
Lightly toasting whole spices like cumin seeds intensifies their flavor. The easiest way is in a small frying pan on the stovetop over medium heat. It’s fast—about three minutes—but requires your attention for the entire time because they can burn in a snap. Shake the pan every few seconds to rotate the spices. As soon as you smell the aroma rising from the pan, they’re done. Let cool briefly before grinding or proceeding with a recipe.
For Your Best Health
Spices and Your Health
Wild cumin has a bounty of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Many cultures have used the essential oils pressed from the seeds as a botanical remedy for digestive and other problems for centuries. Because different strains grow wild in different parts of the world, it’s hard to study its health benefits in a formal setting to truly unlock its potential, according to research in the journal Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants.
It’s hard to say how many of the lime’s natural plant compounds, such as vitamin C and other antioxidants, remain intact or, conversely, become intensified by the drying process of making black lime. One thing is certain: It’s a great way to season food without reaching for the salt shaker, and limiting salt has great health benefits, including keeping blood pressure in a safe zone, according to the American Heart Association.
Food Flash
Discovered: A Sixth Taste!
Back in the early 1900s, Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda first proposed umami as a basic taste in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. About eight decades later, the scientific community officially agreed with him. Now scientists led by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences have unraveled the mystery surrounding a sixth basic taste.
It’s been known for some time that the tongue responds strongly to ammonium chloride. However, the specific tongue receptors responsible for it remained elusive until now. In research published in Nature Communications, USC neuroscientist Emily Liman, PhD, and her team found that the response is triggered through the same protein receptors that signal sour taste (the USC team discovered the protein responsible for detecting sour, too).
Called OTOP1, it sits within cell membranes and forms a channel for hydrogen ions moving into the cell. Hydrogen ions are the key component of acids, and as foodies everywhere know, the tongue senses acid as sour. That’s why lemonade (rich in citric and ascorbic acids), vinegar (acetic acid), and other acidic foods impart a zing of tartness when they hit the tongue. Hydrogen ions from these acidic substances move into taste receptor cells through the OTOP1 channel.
Because ammonium chloride can affect the concentration of acid—that is, hydrogen ions—within a cell, the team wondered if it could somehow also trigger OTOP1. To answer this question, they introduced the OTOP1 gene into lab-grown human cells so the cells would produce the OTOP1 receptor protein. They then exposed the cells to acid or to ammonium chloride and measured the responses. “We saw that ammonium chloride is a really strong activator of the OTOP1 channel,” Dr. Liman says. “It activates it as well as or better than acids.
“If you live in a Scandinavian country, you will be familiar with and may like this taste,” says Dr. Liman, who is also a professor of biological sciences. In some northern European countries, salt licorice has been a popular candy for over a century. The treat counts among its ingredients salmiak salt, or ammonium chloride.”
