Quatre épices
Encyclopedia
Quatre épices is a spice
used mainly in France, but also found in Middle Eastern kitchens. The name literally means "four spices"; the spice mix contains ground pepper
(white, black, or both), cloves, nutmeg
and ginger
. Some variations of the mix use allspice
instead of pepper, or cinnamon
in place of ginger.
The blend of spices will typically use a larger proportion of pepper (usually white pepper) than the other spices, but some recipes suggest using roughly equal parts of each spice.
In French cooking, it is typically used in soup, ragout and pot-cooked dishes, vegetable preparations and charcuterie
, such as paté, sausage and terrine.
The recipe for the cinnamon
form of Quatre épices is thus:
2 tablespoons ground black pepper, or a combination of 1/2 tablespoon white and 2-1/2 tablespoons black pepper,
2 tablespoons ground cloves,
2 tablespoons ground nutmeg,
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Mix together, use in recipes that call for it.
"Larousse Gastronomique", a recognized world authority in the world of French cuisine, was first published in France in 1938 by Auge, Gillon, Hollier-Larousse, Moeau et Cie (Librairie Larousse), Paris. The full title is "Larousse Gastronomique, The Encyclopedia of Feod, Wine & Cookery by Prosper Montagne". In the first American edition, the translation of the French by Nina Froud, Patience Gray, Maud Murdoch and Barbara Macrae Taylor, Sixth Printing, February 1965, the entry on page 428 reads: Four Spices, Quatre Espices - A much used mixture, by which, formerly, each purveyor had a special formula; the most usual is the following: 1 1/8 cup (125 grams) white pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons (10 grams) powdered cloves, 3 1/2 tablespoons (30 grams) ginger, 4 tablespoons (35 grams) grated nutmeg. The American edition was first printed in 1961 by Crown Publishers, Inc in the USA. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 61-15788.
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
used mainly in France, but also found in Middle Eastern kitchens. The name literally means "four spices"; the spice mix contains ground pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
(white, black, or both), cloves, nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
and ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
. Some variations of the mix use allspice
Allspice
Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper, pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or newspice, is a spice that is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a mid-canopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America, now cultivated in many warm parts of the world...
instead of pepper, or cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
in place of ginger.
The blend of spices will typically use a larger proportion of pepper (usually white pepper) than the other spices, but some recipes suggest using roughly equal parts of each spice.
In French cooking, it is typically used in soup, ragout and pot-cooked dishes, vegetable preparations and charcuterie
Charcuterie
Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, galantines, pâtés, and confit, primarily from pork. Charcuterie is part of the garde manger chef's repertoire...
, such as paté, sausage and terrine.
The recipe for the cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
form of Quatre épices is thus:
2 tablespoons ground black pepper, or a combination of 1/2 tablespoon white and 2-1/2 tablespoons black pepper,
2 tablespoons ground cloves,
2 tablespoons ground nutmeg,
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Mix together, use in recipes that call for it.
"Larousse Gastronomique", a recognized world authority in the world of French cuisine, was first published in France in 1938 by Auge, Gillon, Hollier-Larousse, Moeau et Cie (Librairie Larousse), Paris. The full title is "Larousse Gastronomique, The Encyclopedia of Feod, Wine & Cookery by Prosper Montagne". In the first American edition, the translation of the French by Nina Froud, Patience Gray, Maud Murdoch and Barbara Macrae Taylor, Sixth Printing, February 1965, the entry on page 428 reads: Four Spices, Quatre Espices - A much used mixture, by which, formerly, each purveyor had a special formula; the most usual is the following: 1 1/8 cup (125 grams) white pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons (10 grams) powdered cloves, 3 1/2 tablespoons (30 grams) ginger, 4 tablespoons (35 grams) grated nutmeg. The American edition was first printed in 1961 by Crown Publishers, Inc in the USA. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 61-15788.