On Thu 25 May 2006 05:55:49a, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Dee
Randall?

>> I agree that lemon for taste is what is important. As far as coloring
>> of the apples from spices, it would depend somewhat on how much you
>> use. I personally like a very lightly spiced apple pie. For a deep 9"
>> pie, I use scarcely 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a bit over a 1/4 teaspoon
>> of ground coriander...no nutmeg. There is only a hint of color from
>> the spices. Having said that, almost all light fruit will deepen
>> somewhat in color when baked in a pie, regardless of spices.
>>
>> --
>> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________
>
> Filed for next pie:
> scarce 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and a bit over 1/4 teaspoon of ground
> coriander. Only. No nutmeg.
>
> I like that, sometimes it seems that an apple pie is so full of that
> standard spice taste that I feel like I'm eating just those spices and
> no apples.

I agree. My grandmother, in fact, maintained that apple pie really
required no spices, just a bit of butter and sugar, and no thickeners. I
suspect the apples of her day were fuller flavored. But I do recall her
pies were wonderful. Apples do not have a strong flavor and too much
spices simply covers it up. If I mix in some really tart apples, I even
eliminate the lemon juice, although I do use it most of the time.

> I think you said that you grind your own coriander. I think that is
> what I'm going to do. Coriander has a certain fragrance and taste that
> I love; the last ground coriander I bought (at a middle-eastern grocery)
> didn't smell or taste like coriander at all!

Yes, for that very reason I grind my own. The whole coriander will hold
it's fresh taste quite a long time, and tastes and smells absolutely
wonderful when fresh ground.

I actually have two Braun coffee grinders (the cheap type with the spinning
blade) that I use for grinding spices. One is reserved for sweet spices,
the other for pungent spices. No amount of grinding rice and dry cleaning
can eradicate all of the pungent spice aroma.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________