Grinder12000
Well-Known Member
In a 1554 clone people are talking about Grains of Paradise - what are these and where can I get them???
Grains of Paradise ????? What??
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rsmith179
Well-Known Member
Grains of Paradise can be ordered through any online homebrew shop and can also be found at most LHBSs. They are small seeds that you'll need to crack in order to get their flavor. I chewed up one last time I used them in a brew and it reminded me of black pepper really.
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Grinder12000
Well-Known Member
Oh - no wonder I could not find them - "Grains" through me off!
PseudoChef
Well-Known Member
As it's a spice, you can also get top quality product through online (or local) spice houses. Whole Foods also sells it.
It tastes like black pepper and coconut, but more complex.
It tastes like black pepper and coconut, but more complex.
To my palate, they're almost a fruity, citrus-ey pepper; really, quite wonderful, particularly in a light wheat beer. You need VERY little, far fewer of the cracked seeds than you would possibly think could be noticed.
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Grinder12000
Well-Known Member
Thank you PseudoChef - I was hoping someone would take it upon themselves to do my work for me.
Can you also correct my spelling and tell me when I should use the search? I did that bit most threads HAVE the word grain in it somewhere.
Can you also correct my spelling and tell me when I should use the search? I did that bit most threads HAVE the word grain in it somewhere.
But very few have the word, "paradise." Even fewer have "paradise" in the title. Just a bit of strategery.
Here you go;
The brand most of us get from homebrew shops is called, "Brewer's Garden Paradise seeds."
http://www.store.homebrew4less.com/prodinfo.asp?number=LD2411&variation=
The 2 gram package usually runs between 2 and 3 bucks.
Grains of Paradise come from West Africa, where they grow on a leafy plant and are easily harvested. The name comes from Medieval spice traders looking for a way to inflate the price - it was claimed that these peppery seeds grew only in Eden, and had to be collected as they floated down the rivers out of paradise. Although Grains of Paradise are now rare and expensive, they used to be used as a cheaper substitute for black pepper. They have a zesty flavor reminiscent of pepper, with hints of flowers, coriander and cardamom.
Alton Brown seems to favor these for Okra, as seen on his recent show "Okraphobia", where he makes okra and tomatoes with grains of paradise. We LOVE them mixed with Tellicherry black pepper, put in a pepper grinder and then used to encrust steaks as slight variation on steak au poivre. Grind over any dish where you would normally just grind straight black pepper to add a wonderful shake-up-your-table-condiments twist!
A New York Times article written by Amanda Hesser has popularized grains of paradise. She wrote, "I put a few between my teeth and crunched. They cracked like coriander releasing a billowing aroma, and then a slowly intensifying heat, like pepper at the back of my mouth. The taste changes in a second. The heat lingered. But the spice flavor was pleasantly tempered, ripe with flavors reminiscent of jasmine, hazelnut, butter and citrus, and with the kind of oiliness you get from nuts. They were entirely different from black peppercorns and in my mind, incomparably better."
Order Grains of Paradise here.
The brand most of us get from homebrew shops is called, "Brewer's Garden Paradise seeds."
http://www.store.homebrew4less.com/prodinfo.asp?number=LD2411&variation=
The 2 gram package usually runs between 2 and 3 bucks.
dwarven_stout
Well-Known Member
Look for them at natural foods stores and coops. I got 2 ounces for 6 bucks when I was up in Seattle last weekend. That's 1/15 the price of buying at a homebrew shop.
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Grinder12000
Well-Known Member
Thanks - it was just something I read and after obsessing of 1 year and a have had never come across the additive in my reading. It was something someone said MIGHT be added in the 1554 brew by New Belgium
It's a pretty standard ingredient in Belgian Wits (along with coriander and orange peel) and even in a few saisons. I gotta tell you, when I made my wit, I crushed my coriander and Paradise seeds together and it smelled heavenly. I think I might try some in the next FOOD recipe that calls for coriander.
