A culinary question.

[Walden]

What is the spice, found in salami and some other sausages, that looks like a striped beetle? My mother used to call it bug spice, but I think it has another name.

[MTGuru]

Cardamom?

[fearfaoin]

Anise?

[tansy]

Fennel

[dwest]

Potato beetle elytra, it's always amazing how much terrestrial arthropod parts end up in food, or it's fennel.

[Wanderer]

Fennel is a pretty common salami spice.

[Nanohedron]

I don't know from making sausage, but how about caraway? That's a "bug spice" too.

[dwest]

Black Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars like fennel, they're striped. I'll bet a dollar that it is some seed of an Apiaceae other than hemlock.

[tansy]

I don't know from making sausage, but how about caraway? That's a "bug spice" too.

I think I can taste caraway in the salmi, I gave up such "sin" foods years ago but this conversation is making me wish for a salmi sandwich
omm

[dwest]

I have to stay away from most traditionally made sausages, so I make my own by modifying recipes from here:http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/ I make about four different Kielbasas as an example. If you look-up salami you will find "just a few" recipes including a number that do not use any spices from the Apiaceae/Umbelliferae/parsley/carrot/whatever family.

[Denny]

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/