In many, many, many cuisines it is common to leave even the large spice elements in whole. Partially for the aesthetic and partially as proof of ingredients.
Yeah it definitely depends. Personally I would cook with it then remove it, I’d do the same with bay leaves like someone else here compared the situation to. But it’s not like that’s the “right way” to do it. Depends on what you’re going for, not to mention cultural differences
Food keeps cooking in the latent heat of the cooking pot even after it’s been taken off the heat and so whole spices are not usually removed from food unless the spices are in a bouquet garni, in which case the spice bundle is removed just before serving.
Leaving the whole spice in also helps people who are allergic/ intolerant to a particular spice to avoid the dish.
It depends on the culture. In Thai cooking for example it is purposely left in. Generalizing all cultures based on your own limited experience is incredibly ignorant. People are telling you it’s common and instead of just looking it up and confirming it’s true, which it is, you’re digging your heels in to maintain your ignorance.
There’s an aesthetic quality to this. Some people (read: cultures) actually like the look of things like cinnamon sticks, etc. in their foods.
As someone else pointed out, the stick left in the food enhances the aroma which is a critical part of the food eating experience.
Having the whole ingredient right there is proof of what you’re using: it’s a form of chef flex. You can’t hide behind “cinnamon” that is largely artificial with a bit of wood pulp if the stick is staring the customer right in the face.
I’m sorry you’ve had such a narrow upbringing. I wish I could do something to undo that.
I said before that to Arrange plates that’s a different story, but that in the picture is takeout food.
And takeout food shouldn’t have aesthetics, of course. Who’d want that!?
As someone else pointed out, the stick left in the food enhances the AROMA which is a critical part of the food eating experience
Sorry but you can take the stick out before putting it on the plate, the few minutes more it gets in there won’t change the TASTE …
I highlighted your reading incomprehension so you can learn the difference between “aroma” and “taste”. No need to thank me. It’s all part of the service package.
I have no idea whats your problem, I have grown up in Germany and live here for the most part …
That would be your problem then, yes! We’re at the root of discovering the issue.
… we have Foreign (as in not from neighboring countries) Cuisine mostly From Greece, Turkey, Japan and “China” (Also includes Mongolia and partially Vietnamese here)
Trust me. As one German-born (Hemer) and partially German-raised (Mühlheim/M and Lahr) to another, what you have eaten as “foreign” food is so bowdlerized for German tastes that it is not even remotely similar to the places of origin. And the farther away the source culture, the less like the point of origin it will be.
Your “Chinese” food (whether including “Mongolian” and “Vietnamese” or not) will not even come close to anything I’ve eaten here in the past 20 years. Not a single Chinese-in-China person would look at what’s sold as “Chinese” food in Germany and recognize it as coming from their homeland. Even the basic, most fundamental techniques of cooking will be different to comply with German tastes (and likely laws).
You have a narrow upbringing. It’s not your fault, I want to be clear: most people have extremely narrow upbringings. (It’s the human condition!) What absolutely is your fault, however, is your persistent denial in the face of those with far more experience and knowledge than you.
But that’s the Internet for you I guess. That, too, is the human condition.
I have a Thai uncle and I’ve never heard of this -but to be fair he is only an uncle. I have had his cooking though and never encountered any inedible spices.
For me, it’s more of cultural difference. For Indian cuisine catered for Indian people, they will leave the spices in. But I imagine, in the western world, they will pull them out when served to the westerners, because the westerners are not used to them in their dishes.
For context, consider the inclusion (small) bone in dishes, especially fish. If you go to South East Asian countries, they’ll serve fish with bones intact. But generally westerners are not used to that and will get annoyed and encounter difficulties by small fishbones in their meal. One of the quite possible reason is for the fact that the food will be cooked over a long period of time over heat. Without the bones, the flesh will likely got disintegrated into smaller pieces. And local people in SEA like in Malaysia and Indonesia use their hand when eating rice. So, it’s easier to get rid of the bones compared to those using fork and knife. So having bones in their food is no big deal.
So… it depends on culture. The more you get used to them, the more you understand them.
Maybe it differs from dish to dish? Not that I have any experience with cinnamon sticks other than making a candle with them years ago. I wonder if that was ever lit
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Chefs
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In many, many, many cuisines it is common to leave even the large spice elements in whole. Partially for the aesthetic and partially as proof of ingredients.
When the food is served hot/warm, then the aroma from the whole spices is an important element of the dining experience.
Sometimes it’s also possible to just miss some, especially if you’re pre-making giant portions of bases in a restaurant.
I’ve been served meals with the stick left in there. It depends how strong you want the cinnamon flavour to be.
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Sure*
Sorry it’s driving me nuts.
Maybe they’re a musician. Shure is a brand of AV equipment.
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Yeah it definitely depends. Personally I would cook with it then remove it, I’d do the same with bay leaves like someone else here compared the situation to. But it’s not like that’s the “right way” to do it. Depends on what you’re going for, not to mention cultural differences
It’s a spice. Where else should it be?
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It’s more common to leave it in in indian cooking. I personally would take it out.
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Food keeps cooking in the latent heat of the cooking pot even after it’s been taken off the heat and so whole spices are not usually removed from food unless the spices are in a bouquet garni, in which case the spice bundle is removed just before serving.
Leaving the whole spice in also helps people who are allergic/ intolerant to a particular spice to avoid the dish.
I don’t think allergies are a reason cited for leaving them in … but maybe they should be. That’s a brilliant observation.
It depends on the culture. In Thai cooking for example it is purposely left in. Generalizing all cultures based on your own limited experience is incredibly ignorant. People are telling you it’s common and instead of just looking it up and confirming it’s true, which it is, you’re digging your heels in to maintain your ignorance.
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As I pointed out above:
I’m sorry you’ve had such a narrow upbringing. I wish I could do something to undo that.
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And takeout food shouldn’t have aesthetics, of course. Who’d want that!?
I highlighted your reading incomprehension so you can learn the difference between “aroma” and “taste”. No need to thank me. It’s all part of the service package.
That would be your problem then, yes! We’re at the root of discovering the issue.
Trust me. As one German-born (Hemer) and partially German-raised (Mühlheim/M and Lahr) to another, what you have eaten as “foreign” food is so bowdlerized for German tastes that it is not even remotely similar to the places of origin. And the farther away the source culture, the less like the point of origin it will be.
Your “Chinese” food (whether including “Mongolian” and “Vietnamese” or not) will not even come close to anything I’ve eaten here in the past 20 years. Not a single Chinese-in-China person would look at what’s sold as “Chinese” food in Germany and recognize it as coming from their homeland. Even the basic, most fundamental techniques of cooking will be different to comply with German tastes (and likely laws).
You have a narrow upbringing. It’s not your fault, I want to be clear: most people have extremely narrow upbringings. (It’s the human condition!) What absolutely is your fault, however, is your persistent denial in the face of those with far more experience and knowledge than you.
But that’s the Internet for you I guess. That, too, is the human condition.
I have a Thai uncle and I’ve never heard of this -but to be fair he is only an uncle. I have had his cooking though and never encountered any inedible spices.
First, which part of the world do you work?
For me, it’s more of cultural difference. For Indian cuisine catered for Indian people, they will leave the spices in. But I imagine, in the western world, they will pull them out when served to the westerners, because the westerners are not used to them in their dishes.
For context, consider the inclusion (small) bone in dishes, especially fish. If you go to South East Asian countries, they’ll serve fish with bones intact. But generally westerners are not used to that and will get annoyed and encounter difficulties by small fishbones in their meal. One of the quite possible reason is for the fact that the food will be cooked over a long period of time over heat. Without the bones, the flesh will likely got disintegrated into smaller pieces. And local people in SEA like in Malaysia and Indonesia use their hand when eating rice. So, it’s easier to get rid of the bones compared to those using fork and knife. So having bones in their food is no big deal.
So… it depends on culture. The more you get used to them, the more you understand them.
I have to admit the small bones in fish, despite 20 years here, still get to me. Which is why I don’t eat much fish here.
But I don’t take pictures of the fish and try to shame on antisocial media either, so there’s that.
Maybe it differs from dish to dish? Not that I have any experience with cinnamon sticks other than making a candle with them years ago. I wonder if that was ever lit
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Your own experience isn’t the only valid one.
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Get some culture. It’s incredibly common to add whole spices to dishes in many cuisines.
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And it’s also very common to leave them in, especially in eastern cuisine.