By Laura Rancie.
Eleanor Ford’s latest book, A Whisper of Cardamom (she has three others behind this one) is nothing short of spectacular and is now available worldwide.
With its Valentine's Day release, it is only appropriate for the first words in this deliciously whimsical-looking book to be an homage to romance and spice through the ages, but more specifically to the ancient spice, cardamom.
‘The most famous lovers of all time were cast together by the sultry aroma of burning cardamom luring Mark Antony to Cleopatra’s palace. In Medieval Europe, sachets of cardamom would be tucked into mattresses to inspire ardour and in India, a wax-sealed bundle of cardamom, cloves and nutmeg was given as a love token.’
Images and text from A Whisper of Cardamom by Eleanor Ford, photography by Ola O. Smit. Murdoch Books RRP $49.99
The pages are outlined in pastel hues of watercolour and when they are not it’s for a brightly coloured map, picture or infographic about spice trails, spice routes, spice families, histories and origins and stunning botanicals interspersed with birds, sticks of cinnamon, chilli peppers, nuts and florals.
The standout of A Whisper of Cardamom is the absolute
attention to micro details leaving the keen reader with not only a solid
understanding of the intricacies of spice but a curiosity that should extend
from the page to the kitchen. A desire to want to explore at whatever capacity you feel
most comfortable, with whatever spices are already in your cupboards. You’ll
probably be surprised, there are more than you think.
Eleanor’s goal in writing the book was to help the home cook not feel afraid of experimenting
with spice which she accomplishes well - particularly on pages 22 to 35,
where the colourful infographics identify the most commonly used spices, which properties
they hold, why you’ll love them, how to match them (i.e. beans, sweet fruits, other
spices) and how to best extract their flavours.
For beginners, the illustration of 'How-to' guides are life-changing. How to temper a spice if it’s overbearing by
boosting sweetness with a certain spice or, how to calm a chilli heat by adding
this particular spice and how to enhance flavours through yet again another
spice. Baking tips are accompanied by a guide to understanding all the
different sugars available to today’s home cooks and a page dedicated to how to get the most out of spice.
The rest of the book focuses on sweet recipes from across the globe, using all
interesting common and uncommon spices to quite literally, spice up your baking.
When talking to The Australian Good Food Guide, Eleanor remarked that the most unusual spice she has ever used would be ‘passion berry’.
"I couldn’t resist including a recipe in this book for passion berry, which is a little pepper berry that is hard like a pepper but with a distinct aroma like passionfruit. It’s citrusy and bright at the same time. I made a lemon meringue roulade using passion berry and you could see and imagine how that ripe, sexy pepperiness is lovely in there.
"What I’ve
made sure to do in this book is that for every recipe there is at least one
spice switch. I’m never expecting people
to seek out a specialist spice or to be tied by one pepper profile, so you
could also make that lemon meringue with a lemongrass accent which also plays
off those citrusy notes in a different direction.”
To try Eleanor’s special lemon meringue roulade, you’ll need to buy the book
through Murdoch books here, but we’ve handpicked this standout recipe, lavender and rosemary crème brûlée just for AGFG
readers. Just promise us you’ll do yourself a favour, and go get your own
copy this weekend.
