Credit Alison Cook, Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle’s restaurant critic, Alison Cook, has a wonderfully descriptive essay on how the evocative aromas of some dishes bring up memories and associations, and really make a difference in how you experience food. I highly recommend it.
The same idea came to me the other day when my wife, back from a business trip to Bahrain, brought me back a spice from the market there I had never seen before called dar filfil.
Dar filfil (left) and licorice root
These hard dried fruit spikes (they look a little like tiny pine cones) are grated and used as a spicy seasoning, which is why they are sometimes called “long pepper.”
The flavor is similar to black pepper in that it’s sharp and fruity, and it makes your tongue tingle. But there is also something more that comes out in the smell. A friend was over, and we ground one of these little cones into a hillock of powder when we both made the same comment: The smell! Musky, floral, kind …