Boston Flora

Tag: Eleanor Ford

  • Wednesday, September 13, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Eastern – Spices 101: Garlic, Online

    In defiance of its unassuming stature, garlic is a culinary heavyweight. Few ingredients appear in as many recipes or skip across international cuisines so lightly. Garlic cloves invigorate dishes with their raw, pungent bite or, once softened by cooking, their mellow sweetness. Its power isn’t limited to the kitchen: Garlic repels vampires, snakes, and evil spirits, and has through the ages been decried by various world religions. Smithsonian Associates presents a webinar on Garlic on September 13 at noon. $25 for Smithsonian Associates members, $30 for nonmembers. Visit https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/spices-101-garlic

    Award-winning cookbook author Eleanor Ford examines the botany, cultivation, history, and lore of garlic. She explores the flavor profiles of garlic in its many forms and how various cooking methods can adjust its effect. She also offers plenty of kitchen tips, tricks, and recipes along the way.

  • Wednesday, April 26, 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Eastern – Spices 101: Pepper, Online

    From the tangled jungles of Kerela, pepper spread around the globe and altered the course of history as it did. Peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavor and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world’s most-traded spice, beguiling cooks worldwide with its fragrant warmth. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which imparts a different kind of heat than the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers. Pepper is ubiquitous in the Western world as a seasoning, and has a long partnership with salt on dining tables in shakers or mills.

    Black, green, pink, red pepper…Sichuan, cubeb, long, sansho, and more. Which are true peppercorns and which are pretenders? Eleanor Ford, award-winning author of The Nutmeg Trail, delves into the history, botany, lore, and culinary uses of the world’s favorite spice, then turns to the kitchen to explore flavor profiles, cooking tips, and recipes that put pepper to best use. This Smithsonian Associates webinar will take place Wednesday, April 26 at noon Eastern. $25 for Smithsonian members, $30 for non-members. Register HERE.