I did this twice more, both times adding the spices at the end. It makes a huge difference! Instead of having a vague “paprika and rosemary taste” hidden behind layers of char, they actually taste bright and, well, like themselves. (A bit too much so in fact; my spice usage is calibrated to the old technique and I need to use less.) The third time I tried mixing the salt into the oil while it was frying and I found that improved the result (salt doesn’t burn, but it does need time to dissolve and permeate the food).
That makes sense. Yeah from what I understand spices vary in how much time they can spend being sauteed. Ground spices have more surface area exposed and so will burn faster.
I’ve heard and experienced that freshly ground spices are notably better than pre-ground. It’s relatively easy to do in a mortar and pestle or with a spice grinder. And sometimes it’s good to dry roast them before grounding in order to “wake them up”.
I did this twice more, both times adding the spices at the end. It makes a huge difference! Instead of having a vague “paprika and rosemary taste” hidden behind layers of char, they actually taste bright and, well, like themselves. (A bit too much so in fact; my spice usage is calibrated to the old technique and I need to use less.) The third time I tried mixing the salt into the oil while it was frying and I found that improved the result (salt doesn’t burn, but it does need time to dissolve and permeate the food).
That makes sense. Yeah from what I understand spices vary in how much time they can spend being sauteed. Ground spices have more surface area exposed and so will burn faster.
I’ve heard and experienced that freshly ground spices are notably better than pre-ground. It’s relatively easy to do in a mortar and pestle or with a spice grinder. And sometimes it’s good to dry roast them before grounding in order to “wake them up”.