Easter Egg Platter
Photography
This series was created and used for a holiday social media marketing campaign intended to sell spices. It serves as a fabulous lesson of how "social media is not real life," because I used tweezers, Q-tips, and fine-bristled paint brushes to achieve the delicate placement I envisioned. Delicious!
Worcestershire Sauce Powder + Roasted Garlic Sea Salt
Worcestershire sauce is a fermented combination of vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, onions, garlic, tamarind, and anchovies. This ingredient is typically used as a liquid, so its dehydrated form is more concentrated and potent in flavor. The powder finds its own place in the world, namely next to flavor-supporting roasted garlic sea salt.
Ground Oregano + Fenugreek Leaves
Oregano is a herb familiar to us all - its aromatic green flakes fill the glass shakers at pizza places. The choice to combine ground oregano with fenugreek leaves is natural because they match in earthy appeal, while the former is more savory and the latter is more sweet. Fenugreek's flavor is best described as a cross between celery and maple.
Crushed Aleppo Chile Flakes
These taste like spicy sundried tomatoes - fresh and fruity. They originate from the Syrian city of Aleppo. Due to the destabilizing conflict in the area, production of this chile has decreased significantly. Demand has been met through outsourcing from surrounding areas, therefore many marketed varieties are called "Aleppo-style" chile flakes.
Aji Amarillo Chile Powder
This egg is for your friend who is a little extra brave and reckless. Even a small pinch fills your mouth with burning singe. Have water within reach! This is a bright chile in both color and flavor, with hints of citrus to match its heat.
Ancho Chile Powder
Ancho chiles have a mild-medium heat, so anyone who likes a little kick every so often will enjoy the gentle sprinkle of this spice. The fruity tones of this chile are often compared to that of a raisin, and it also has a tart smokiness.
Celery Seeds
Celery is popping up all over as a new holistic health revelation - celery juice, celery sprouts, celery stalks, celery oil, and celery seeds. These seeds are small but mighty. They can regulate blood pressure, cure UTIs, alleviate menstrual cramps, fight harmful bacteria, control cholesterol levels, boost metabolism, and pay off student loans.
Cumin Seeds
Many people around the world love the strong flavor of this spice. It produces feelings of heartiness and warmth, because it's traditionally added to comfort foods like curries, soups, lamb, beef, vegetables, lentils, and rice dishes.
Daikon Radish Seeds
These taste exactly like what you'd assume a radish seed would - crunchy, grounded, with a subtle lingering heat. This spice first gained popularity in Japan, where it's been used medicinally for centuries to help regulate the process of digestion, reduce inflammation, and detoxify the body.
Dill Seeds
There's something fresh and uplifting about dill... it has a strong flavor, but it's also very soft and gentle. Dill is so comforting to smell that its essential oil is gaining popularity as a medicinal relief for anxiety and depression.
Dill Weed
This spice adds a handsome color to the platter. The dried stems and leaves of the dill plant are referred to as "dill weed." Dill plants have very thin leaves - they look more like lines than typical leaves, and they break apart easily when dried. Dill has a fresh and distinct flavor - it's commonly used to make pickles, ranch dressing, and salmon.
Red Hawaiian Sea Salt
How is this salt red? Red Hawaiian sea salt, also called Alaea salt, begins as classic white sea salt. From there, its mixed with red volcanic clay called "Alaea," which is rich with minerals like potassium, magnesium, and iron oxide.
Yellow Mustard Seeds
You already know this flavor profile. If you pop a few of these in your mouth and chew, you'll probably think, "wow, these taste like mustard." The mustard we buy at the store is a basic combination of ground mustard seeds, water, and vinegar, as well as other additions like salt, sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, and turmeric.
Sweet Hungarian Paprika
Sweet Hungarian effortlessly outcompetes all other forms of paprika on the market - hot, smoked, and plain are still lovely, but are far less in demand. All forms of paprika are grown from slight variations of the same chile species. Sweet Hungarian paprika is produced by excluding the seeds of the chile, making it less spicy, therefore able to be used in larger quantities to produce a more vibrant red.
Mild Chile Threads
These beauties are thin but sturdy. They're able to be pinched, bent, and manhandled without falling apart, then become soft and chewable upon consumption. They're very mild on the heat scale - about as spicy as a bell pepper. They have a deep smokey flavor and (not to mention) look absolutely stunning.
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