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And more!

Five essential spices for any kitchen

> The spices that keep on giving

Katie Czenczek
Staff Writer

 

pices are a must-have for any

ambitious individual trying to cook
something that isn’t prepackaged.
There’s a reason that the UK is infamous
for its lack of cooking expertise—and
it isn’t for a lack of access to spices.
Rather, they’re lacking the know-
how regarding which spices to use,
and how to use them. Here are my
personal five go-to spices that can
bring any dish up a few notches.

Cayenne pepper has the heat to make
any dish fiery hot—with a touch of
sweet! It’s made from dried and ground
red chili peppers, and it is an easy way to
add depth to any dish. Cayenne pepper
is originally from South and Central
America, the West Indies, and Mexico,
which makes sense as to why many
South American and Mexican dishes

call for cayenne pepper. The difference
between paprika and cayenne pepper

is that the latter is made from hotter
peppers, and thus will give you a much
stronger kick. Pro tip: Sprinkle a little
cayenne pepper on dark chocolate to eat
chocolate the way the Mayans intended!

Pretty standard as far as spices go, but
there was a time when cinnamon was so
sought after that Arab merchants would
hide the true origin of this spice. Found
primarily in Sri Lanka and Indonesia,
this sweet-yet-savoury spice is a must
for anyone that enjoys baking. It comes
from the inner bark of the cinnamon
tree—otherwise known as cinnamomum
zeylanicum or cinnamomum vernum.
My favourite use for cinnamon is with
any apple-related baked good, but it
also works really well as a sweetener

for tea when combined with honey.

90 years of BC's own

> A spotlight on White Spot

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

This story is dedicated
to Anthony Bourdain because

he made food look cool.

saw a White Spot commercial last

month where it shows everyday life
in British Columbia. White Spot is a
place to go to have breakfast, lunch,
or to have a great family dinner.
The commercial shows that it is
part of BC’s culture and at the end
of it, I found out that the restaurant
is go years old. I go to White Spot
frequently to have a good dinner, and
we here at the Other Press go there
sometimes for staff meetups so we
can get a lot of appetizers to share
with everyone. It has a long history
that makes it our local favourite.

White Spot was founded by

Nat Bailey in 1928 where it began
as a food cart that served hot dogs
from his Model T truck. It was so
successful that he opened a drive-
thru on Granville Street and 67th
Avenue that served chicken dinners.
As the years went by, more people
were going to the restaurant so they
had to open more locations, and in
the 1960s the Triple-O burger was
made! In my opinion, it is one of the
best burgers in the province. It has
everything that you want in a burger
and while its Triple-O sauce is still

a secret, it adds more flavour to it.
In 2003 Chuck Currie was made
the Executive Chef and began the
practice of putting the Red Seal
chefs in the White Spot kitchens—
meaning that the chefs had to go
through a culinary apprenticeship,
which resulted in better, fresher food.

White Spot has many signature
dishes. They have Nat’s Dry
Ribs, Pirate Paks, hand scooped
milkshakes, and their pies which are
made with fresh local produce and
are available during the summer.

To celebrate the goth anniversary
of the restaurant, they have a
special menu to commemorate the
occasion. By popular demand, they
brought back their classic chicken
dinner with “Chicken in ‘The Straw,”
which is a quarter chicken deep
fried on a nest of fries with coleslaw
on the side. It has the warmth of
home cooking and the chicken
is juicy and very crunchy. Their
dessert offering is the Strawberry
Cheesecake Tart and the tartness of
the strawberry and the sweetness of
the cheesecake makes it balanced.

I for one, am super excited
to try all of these classic White
Spot dishes and wish them
another happy go years!

>

The cousin of cilantro, coriander seeds
give a light, citrusy flavour to any dish.
I recommend buying them in seed
form in order to grind them up into
chunkier bits—it’l] give your dish a
nice texture along with the flavour.
Coriander is generally used in Middle
Eastern and Asian recipes and is a
staple ingredient for many curries and
masalas. The must-have meal this spice
is used for is falafel and Chana masala.

The best friend of coriander, cumin can
also be grounded to a powder or used
as whole seeds. It’s a part of the parsley
family in the same way that coriander
is cilantro’s relative. It has an aromatic,
nutty flavour that is used best for savory
dishes. Cumin is used a lot in Mexican,
Indian, Middle Eastern, and Moroccan
cuisine. The best use for cumin, in my
opinion, is in stews and chillies because
it gives that home-cooked taste.

Smoked paprika gives you everything
you need from standard paprika—a
mild, sweet flavour—and then some.
The difference between smoked and
standard is where it is made and how it
is prepared. Standard paprika is made in
the heart of Hungary, also known as the
paprika capital of the world! However,
Spanish paprika—or smoked paprika—
wins the round for what belongs on
your spice rack due to the fullness of
flavour smoking the peppers brings. My
favourite way to use smoked paprika is
to dust over hummus. It enhances pretty
much any meat dish you can dream of!

Though there are of course many
other spices that are great additions to
any spice rack, these are my personal
favourites for their versatility alone.
They also work really well together,
so don't be afraid to experiment
with different spice combinations.

ietm een aiis

Brittney MacDonald
Life and Style Editor

Let’s be honest, there are generally only two reasons a Canadian
will be patriotic—either we're hosting the Olympics, or it’s July
PGC pyv-1abeem Or vette MDE Vat eolelaaovintem artim one (OM (eB nmbIrveyys
of us don't really fully understand how Canadian history works.
Like, how do we celebrate independence, when technically we're
part of the Commonwealth? Politics are confusing... Luckily, music
isn't. Here are the staff picks for our favourite Canadian jams!

Is This What You Wanted by Leonard Cohen (Katie)

Cut to the Feeling by Carly Rae Jepsen (Rebecca)

Goodbye Weekend by Mac DeMarco (Jessica)

We Were Here by Lights (Jerrison)

Fairy Tale by Saint Asonia (Caroline)

Resurrection by Moist (Brittney)