Spices: To Toast or not to Toast

Have you ever heard the saying, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing”? I recently understood the full meaning of that statement during my most recent cooking contract. My job is to design Indian food offerings for Employee dining programs, and my clients are mostly large tech firms in Silicon Valley. Now that the Pandemic is mostly behind us, Employee dining programs are slowly coming back on line. And wherever there is a requirement for Indian food, that’s when I get a call.

It isn’t an easy time for food service companies right now. When the Pandemic hit, most companies had to shut down, and furlough their staff. These trained cooks found work elsewhere and are not so keen on coming back to the hard life of Kitchen work. Bay Area Food service companies have to depend on Contract laborers through apps like Qwick, Tend and Instawork. You can say contract laborers are like a box of chocolates. You never know which ones you are going to get. Some are great. Some, not so much. And some that make you want to punch a hole in a wall. Which brings me back to the subject of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing, and the argument I got into with an Instawork cook. We disagreed over the subject of toasting spices. He insisted on toasting spices before using and I insisted that he should not. It got pretty overheated, no pun intended.

But you may say, “Hey Chef, Isn’t it common knowledge that spices should always be toasted before using?” Yes, that is true. But only if you are using whole spices meant for grinding into a powder. You toast whole spices in order to wake up and activate flavor compounds. But never when it comes to powdered spices. The act of toasting will cause those precious flavor compounds to simply evaporate, leaving the aroma in your nostrils but not in the food it was intended for. In most commercial operations, where food is being cooked for hundreds if not thousands, we always used powdered spices because we go through so much so fast. So you can imagine my frustration when this particular Instawork cook assigned to my team kept insisting on toasting powdered spices, including the delicate blends like Chaat Masala. He got in my face about it quite aggressively too, questioning my knowledge and credibility. It’s true when they say, it takes all sorts to make the world, but really, must they all be assigned to work at my station?

So let me set the record straight when it comes to toasting spices. You almost never toast powdered spices. Just whole spices. It is important to note that toasted spices must be allowed to cool before grinding, otherwise the escaping moisture gets trapped in the grinder jar, causing clumping to happen. Also, mechanical grinders can get rather hot due to friction, and if the spices go in hot, they may just get burnt once the grinding is done.

Before I close, I must point out something. Notice how I keep saying “Almost never toast powdered spices”? It’s because there is one recipe I know that calls for toasting powdered spices. Kerala Beef Fry. Where a combination of Coriander, Cumin and Garam Masala powders are roasted till a color similar to dark chocolate is achieved. That dish is so good, I refuse to put up a fight and argue. Sometimes you just have to give in, even if science and logic is defied, and simply enjoy the proof in the proverbial pudding.