Shelf · Fire & pan · High heat
Blooming spices
Frying ground spices briefly in hot fat before liquids go in.
- The temperature band
- The pan · 140 to 180 °C
- The time
- About 1 min
Why it works
Most spice aromatics are fat-soluble and volatile — hot oil releases and carries them through the whole dish.
The tell
Fragrant within thirty seconds, and the oil takes on the spice's color.
No ladder here: this one is read by nose, and the window is seconds wide. A drawing of the pan would put a number on something you have to smell.
How it fails
A few seconds too long scorches them bitter — have the next ingredient ready to drop in and cool the pan.
Open the card in Rikaido
In the app, the card opens on the recipe step that names it, with the tell drawn.
Learning is free on every plan.