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Infographic: African Spice Blends

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Jill Frank

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African-Spice-BlendsHeard of ajowain, piri piri, kuli kuli or chermoula? Unique flavors from around the world are bringing inspiration to more and more food products. In this infographic, we explore a variety of savory and sweet African spice blends with ingredients that just might make your next formulation a true innovation.

Click the infographic to the left for the full size version.

Highlights:

Country: Ethiopia
Seasoning: Berbere
Commonly used to season stews and soups, such as doro wat, or rubbed into meats.
Flavor description: A blend of spicy heat with garlic and a hint of sweetness.
Contains:  Allspice, ajowain (or carom seeds; looks like small caraway but tastes similar to thyme), garlic, cayenne, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander seed, fenugreek, ginger, black peppercorn, red chilies & clove.

Country: Morocco
Seasoning: Ras El Hanout
Meaning “Head of the Shop,” it’s commonly used to season many savory dishes including couscous, and is rubbed onto meat or fish.
Flavor description: Strong complex aromatic flavor, but not very spicy.
Contains:  cumin, ginger, salt, pepper, coriander, cayenne, allspice, clove, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika, & cardamom.

Country: Mozambique
Seasoning: Piri Piri
Commonly used to marinate meats or as a topical seasoning on rice or vegetables.
Contains: piri piri or cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, garlic, brown sugar or sugar & salt. Sometimes the following are added: cinnamon, ginger & hot pepper flake.

Area: Northern Africa
Seasoning: Chermoula (or, Charmoula, Sharmoula, Sharmoola)
Commonly used to marinate fish and shellfish. Also good for vegetables.
Contains: Garlic, onion, parsley, chiles, cilantro, pepper, salt & saffron.

Country:  Egypt
Seasoning:  Dukkah (or Dukka, Dukkau)
Commonly used to season vegetables and meats, and is mixed with olive oil for dip.
Contains: coriander, cumin, roasted nuts, sesame seeds, marjoram, mint, black pepper. Sometimes the following can be added:  chickpeas, thyme, lemon zest, hot pepper flake, caraway, fennel, nigella, cinnamon, clove, turmeric, or sugar.

Country: Persian Gulf, Middle East region
Seasoning: Baharat
Commonly used to season meat dishes, vegetables & Tunisian egg tagines.
Flavor description: Blend of spicy, savory and a hint of sweetness, with a touch of heat.
Contains:  black pepper, coriander, cumin, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, paprika, nutmeg & chile peppers. Depending on the region, mint, rosebuds, or saffron might be added.

Country: Nigeria
Seasoning: Suya Pepper Spice
Commonly used to season grilled meats as a rub or baste, or to season rice and vegetables.
Contains:  finely ground roasted de-oiled peanuts (also called kuli kuli), chili pepper, paprika, garlic, ginger, onion & salt. Sometimes beef stock powder or umami flavor enhancer are added.

Note: Certain chefs or manufacturers may add or remove seasonings from these mixes to alter the complexity and fit their needs. Consider these ingredients a starting point to create your own blend.

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Filed Under: Food, Beverage & Nutrition

Jill Frank

About Jill Frank

Jill Frank has been a food industry expert for Prospector since January of 2013. Jill serves as a consultant to all departments and monitors food industry trends and regulatory changes around the world. Her articles on these topics provide timely and relevant information for Prospector’s food industry members. In addition, Jill has played an integral role in optimizing and reorganizing the categorization of food ingredients within the Prospector search engine. Her efforts help to provide an enhanced user experience that is customized to meet the needs of R&D professionals in the food, beverage and nutrition industry.

Prior to joining Prospector, Jill was a Bakery Applications Specialist for Dupont Nutrition & Health, formerly Danisco USA, where she worked with the company’s sales team and with the global development team to analyze and develop new products, custom solutions and sales literature. She has worked as a consultant for nutrition products, and has acted as a Manager and Director of Research and Development at companies in the bakery and nutrition fields.

Jill held multiple titles with Gerber Products Company from 1995 – 2004. During her tenure, she managed and developed formulas relating to bakery, cereal and dry blended products. Jill worked to create, improve and reformulate products, mindful of ingredient origins, nutritional value and consumer acceptability.

Jill holds a B.S. in Bakery Science and Management from Kansas State University. She is a Certified Food Scientist, and is the President of her local chapter of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Jill is also an accomplished seamstress, textile designer and costume maker. She lives in Spring Hill, Kansas with her husband and daughter.

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