The world of cooking has a lot of oddities. People do the strangest things and it seems to catch a lot of buzz. Herb recipes have paves the way for recipes with some of the strangest ingredients.
Gold
Who knows where this idea came from, but apparently it’s a big thing. It’s doubtful that these goodies are worth the extra cost, but people are drawn to the luxury on this one.
Gold Slick Vodka is fairly popular. This vodka has flakes of gold at the bottom. Another liqueur with the gold flakes is known as Gold Water. This particular product comes from Europe. It looks pretty in the bottle, that’s for sure.
Gold is also often used in decorating cakes and other sweets. The flakes make a special finish to the product.
Beaver Castoreum
What is beaver castoreum anyways? It is certainly not for the squeamish that’s for sure. This is one of those things similar to hot dogs, it’s better to live in mystery. Beaver castoreum is apparently used to enhance raspberry flavoring. It is found in gum, candies and other foods. So what is this beaver castoreum? It is also known as beaver anal juice. Not kidding.
Nutella
This product just recently became popular, but it was fairly unheard of for a long time. It is the same consistency as peanut butter, but made of hazelnuts. Nutella is very sweet and is made with cocoa, so it tastes very much like a chocolate spread. For those who love chocolate, Nutella is something to covet. The product is very rich, can be used on just about anything and is excellent for baking. It should be used sensibly though as it fairly high in calories and fat.
Parsnips
The parsnip is a vegetable that doesn’t get a lot of attention and not often seen on the menu. It is used in herb recipes. Parsnips are very nutritious and low in calories. It is rich in fiber and vitamin C. Parsnips are excellent roasted. Another good use for them is in mashed potatoes. Using half the amount of potatoes and substituting in parsnips for the other half is a great way to lighten up herb recipes or mashed potatoes without taking away any of the flavor. They mash well too.
Douchi
This is an Asian ingredient also known as fermented black beans. It is not actually black beans though, it is soybeans that have turned black from the fermenting process. Douchi is generally used for making sauces and pastes for stir fries. Douchi also makes a good marinade for roasted meats. Sometimes these soy beans are added to meals whole, but that is not very common.
Bee Pollen
Bee pollen consists of both honey and the bee’s pollen. It is used to make bread and used in herb recipes.
Prahok
This is a Cambodian ingredient that smells like Camembert cheese. The people preserve fish that is gray. It is a similar ingredient to anchovies. Not a lot of this ingredient needs to be used; a little bit goes a long ways. It is the most distinctive food of the culture, used in herb recipes. It goes to show that smelly ingredients aren’t to be avoided.
