60 each peppercorns, black
4 tsp anise seed or
1 each star anise
2 tsp fennel seed
12 each whole cloves
4 each 1 long stick cinnamon
Directions
Put all 5 ingredients through a spice grinder till a fine powder
Servings: 1 batch
Chinese 5-Spice Powder Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Asian; Chinese
The History of Recipes
Experts have tracked the existence of recipes far back into ancient history, certainly as far back into recorded history as pharonic Egypt, and potentially, even further back. Interesting though that is, mostly, these old cookbooks were just primitive pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to historians is a series of tablets in the Sumerian language describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel blissful. Later on, in The time of the romans 25BC a roman called Apicius created a number of documents which described recipes enjoyed by the Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main course and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius recounts how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of a good variety of spices, including many that are still in use today such as thyme, fennel and parsley. Later on, in the 15th century, people returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from Arab cuisine, including spices such as basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new foods and spices created a torrent in manuscripts on cookery, some of which still exist in private libraries. Over the succeeding few centuries, the families of Europe tried to serve up the most exotic meals, and because of this chefs and their collection of recipes were greatly in demand. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century the formal cooking and recipe publications really came of age. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, spent years to collecting, testing, and recording recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. When we get to the 20th century, cookbooks were increasing in popularity mostly as a result of higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and having more money. The TV revolution gave us celebrity chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. And that brings us to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to access thousands of recipes such as those found on this recipe site. |
We hope you enjoy this Chinese 5 Spice Powder recipe.
