Journal

Are the whole spices in the starter spices meant to be eaten?

September 7, 2021

A customer sent us this question.

“Are you supposed to eat the spices in the starter spice bag - the one with the whole spices - in the Spice Curry spice pack?”

It struck me as one of the questions that occurs to a lot of people making spice curry for the first time, so I am taking it up here.

The answer: all of them can be eaten, but there are some you would not normally eat.

Inspice's spice packs with recipes, for enjoying proper spice curry at home,

are designed, as far as we can manage, so that mid-meal you do not

bite down hard on a spice and go “whoa”

😨💦

and get a fright. We look at the shape and the character of each spice used in the starter, adjust its form, and work out the amounts precisely.

So we do try to keep that sudden crunch 😨 from happening. But there are spices, green cardamom among them, that we want to use whole no matter what.

So for SN1 and SN2 respectively, let me go through

the ones you are better off leaving out when you serve
the ones that are fine on the plate but need not be eaten

Here they are.

SN1: whole spices you need not eat

1. Cassia (cinnamon)

2. Cardamom (green)

SN2: whole spices you need not eat

Zero. There are none.

SN2 also blends in cassia, clove and star anise, the classic examples of spices you would not eat. But they go into Inspice's own BASE MASARA, and grinding them there leaves them coarsely ground, so

that crunch 😨

is not something you need to worry about. You get to eat well and take in the spices without leaving any behind.

We have more releases planned, and for the SN3 lineup onwards we will keep passing on this “crunchy spice” information, so do check when a new one comes out.