Since my recent obsession with Five Spice powder, sometimes referred to as the ‘wonder powder’, I took it upon myself to make my home blend as holiday gifts for friends and family. I had to share the fact that roasting and blending your own is truly several steps above the store bought version and even though I recently posted the recipe, I know most of you barely have time to cook a meal, let alone roast and grind spices. 

 

 

 

  

Because this spice is so pungent, it can be used very sparingly. It is known to be the spice that covers five flavors, sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and savory. The little known fact I enjoyed learning was that the “5″ came from the balance of the five elements (earth, air, water, fire and metal) as opposed to being made up of exactly five spices, which is not the case.

 

 

It can be as simple as sprinkling on tofu or on fish and browned in a skillet with some butter or olive oil, salt and pepper. Done. I also enjoy slow cooking a pork picnic shoulder, a super cheap cut of meat. Braising for hours will render it tastily infused and tender. Considering a 4 pound piece would use about 3-4 tbs of powder, that’s not too bad. The options are endless for vegetarians and omnivores.

 

 

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RECIPE IDEAS FOR 5 SPICE POWDER:

 

Five Spice braised pork

Five Spice pork belly

Five Spice dry rub pork chops or pork tenderloin

Pot Roast

Lamb Chops 

Ginger and Five Spice Chicken

 

Veggie/ Fish options: 

 

Spiced Nuts - like roasted almonds or other nuts

Roasted butternut squash- with five spice

Five Spice shortbread

Sprinkled on tofu or fish

Five Spice ice cream-  haven’t tried it yet, but why not?

Roasted Cauliflower 

 

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When it came to the packaging, it was important to me to put my wallFlour touch on it. I went ahead and got studio time at the DIY letterpress studio in Silverlake, Lala Press.

 

Here’s what the tag says: “Micro-roasted, artisanal five-spice powder contains the following spices: star anise, sichuan pepper, cinnamon, cumin, clove, coriander, nutmeg, and black cardamon.  

 

For recipes and general inspiration visit wallFlour.com. Made with love by wallFlour.com“

 

Generally, I suppose that the term “micro-roasted” has become a catch phrase widely associated with specialty coffee blends. I use the term here to imply the same concept; individual whole spices, roasted for a specific amount of time and at a specific temperature to enhance and open up the flavor. Once they are all roasted and cooled in small batches, they are ground up and bottled. 

 

 

 

Here’s the sources I used in order to make these handmade treats. 

 

1. The perfect bottle was searched for high and low online. I looked at metal tins as well as laboratory containers. After looking at some packaging inspiration on Dean and Deluca and other specialty food shops, I ended on something that was glass and airtight. Looks nicer and more luxurious. 

 

SKS bottle for the square glass bottles was my best bet, though shipping was more than I bargained for…

 

 

 

2. Lala Press, letterpress studio.  I provided original artwork about 5 days in advance of my studio day. Went in for a couple hours with the assistance of the owner, Mable Lee. The truth is, she does all the hard stuff for me, like registering and cutting paper, then I just crank away. A monkey could do that part.

 

 

 

3. I’m a ribbon freak. I absolutely love the ribbon they have at Paper Source. It’s a bit thicker than what you will find at a craft store and you will need fabric scissors to cut it.  They also have a wide variety of grosgrain and satin, color and widths. I went with red, black and navy to keep it classy. I might try using twine next time since it’s more economical but these just felt right to me for the holidays.

 

 

 

4. The wax seal. This trend of wax seals is rampant. It shows up on lifestyle website (urban daddy, highsnobiety to name a couple), fashion sites and labels, and artisan food packages, candles, etc. I had to jump on the band wagon and went for it with the wF insignia. The black “wax”, is really plastic though.  I love black.

 

5.  Almost forgot-  All the spices were ordered online at SF Herb Company. Wholesale prices, super fresh spices and dried herbs and other culinary spectacular.  Can’t beat that and they only took about a week to get.

 

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I’ve got some other ideas up my sleeve. Let’s just say, consider this the first in a series of artisanal spice mixes from wallFlour. What I appreciate most about this spice gift, I have managed to round up all the ideas and sources I have come across since starting this site a year ago, DIY letterpress, wholesale herbs, packaging ideas, recipes, and fold it all into one tangible product. I hope next year is as enlightening as this year has been.

 

Happy holidays to all of my loyal readers. As the year comes to an end and wallFlour embarks on another delicious and inspiring year, I hope to encourage everyone to enjoy life to its fullest, especially with life’s not so small details, like food and design. With the economic climate on everyone’s mind these days, it’s a good time to make friends with your kitchen and start cooking at home more.

 

As a special holiday ‘thank you’, I will be offering one, four-ounce, Five Spice Powder to the first 5 people who comment on this posting, by January 5, 2009. Yes FREE!  Of course, assuming you are not already getting a spice jar.

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR WINNERS:

Please provide me with a shipping address and I will get one to you in the next week. Just in time for a winter supper or even for Chinese New Year.

 

I can only ship to the continental 48 US States.  Please email me your name and shipping address at info@wallflour.com Just so you know, a 1.4 ounce size of this is $6.50 on Dean and Deluca, and from my guess, pretty weak, since it only contains 5 spices, as opposed to the eight that I used.

 

Offer valid through midnight, January 5th, 2009.

 

GOOD LUCK!