I like a good pen and some nice paper.  I also like writing people thank you notes when they get me things, even if it’s something little.  However, people lately have been telling me to just skip the thank you note, that saying thanks in person is enough.  One such person is my FSIL.

For Christmas she got me a bunch of different spices, one of which I’ve never had before: grains of paradise.  So, hopefully she’ll consider my new found love of this spice described in this post as my thank you to her.

Grains of Paradise

Many of you have probably never seen grains of paradise before, I know I never had, not in person at least.  These little guys remind me a lot of peppercorns in appearance and flavor.  Back when the spice trade was at its height, unscrupulous spice traders would sell these grains of paradise as black peppercorns because they were much less expensive and people were easily fooled. 

Grains of paradise are hard little seeds that are generally cracked or crushed before use.  I would describe as having two distinct lives the first is aromatic and lemony but that soon fades as a slight burn warms the back of the mouth.  It is a very unique taste and quite frankly I think it is much better than that of regular peppercorns.  While not as powerful in the mouth a regular pepper, their unique flavor nuances will have people asking you for your secret.

How to Use Grains of Paradise

As I mentioned, like black peppercorns grains of paradise require that you crack or crush them in order release their flavor.  This can be done with the back of a spoon, a mortar and pestle, as I prefer in a pepper mill.  I even picked one up just for these guys. 

While there are tons of recipes out there that call specifically for grains of paradise, I suggest replacing black pepper with them in any dish.  I even added some crushed grains of paradise to my now famous cheese crackers and they turned out great, much better than without them. 

Now I can’t guarantee that they will work everywhere, but give grains of paradise a try and I’m sure you’ll like them.

Since I’m gonna run out soon, anyone know where you can get grains of paradise in the Cleveland area?

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