The spice is right? Check your particle size!

by Alan Rawle, Tuesday, 21st July 2015

particle size spices

Variety is the spice of life.  And variety is the constant theme of my webinars.  We’ve looked this year at absinthe (which makes the heart grow fonder) louching, the rheology of cheese and mayo (another cheesy subject), coffee (think of your own pun), and now the particle size of spices continuing a sort-of strange food menu.

What’s the difference between an herb and a spice?  Ever wondered and asked this question?  You’ll probably grind your own pepper (or even coffee) at the time just before you consume them as an addition to your meal.  Ever thought why?  And do you know how long the world’s largest usable pepper mill is?  We’ll answer these 3 questions and many others in the particle size of spices webinar on June 29th.  We’ll also look at some of the health hazards (noise, dust) in the spice grinding industry as well as some recent research using spices as vehicles for cancer therapies.

We grind our spices to an optimum level (< 600 μm according to US specifications) at time of need in order to preserve the volatile flavors that would be lost otherwise as a result of pre-grinding and storage.  It’s these flavors that titillate and intrigue our taste buds and palate.  We’re probably aware of this for coffee analysis too.  For the same reason, we store (or should store) our spices in tight containers away from light and heat.

We’ll finish our webinar meal with a little taster on the vindaloo and why Victorians (and, yes, Queen Victoria was a curry fan) appeared to like their curries as hot “as the hinges of hell’s front door.” Speaking of vindaloo, remember this England World Cup hit?

Sign up for the webinar – The particle size distribution of spices

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