Most cooks understand the seasoning is the key to a dish shining or falling short. Spices are products of nature. Every spice is derived from nature, from the bark, roots, flowers, leaves, fruits and seeds of plants. Naturally some spices are far more commonly used than others. For instance, many more cooks are putting red pepper flakes in their pasta than are cooking with fresh dill pollen.
However certain types of spices are more prevalent in certain regions, as different populations interact with different spices in different ways over time. In Italy, for example, fennel pollen is used by many cooks as a way to flavor pesto and breads, as well as salads, roasted meats and fish. This trend is especially prevalent in the Tuscany region of Italy.
Cooking with fresh dill pollen, like cooking with fennel pollen, is one new trend that is yet to catch on globally, but is quickly becoming a cooking trend in parts of the United States. Cooking with fresh dill pollen can add a unique herbal flavor to many kinds of dishes, but perhaps is best when added along with oil or butter to a fresh fish like salmon.
Imagine the flavor you’ve probably tasted from adding dill leaves to your salads, vegetables or meat dishes. Then imagine that flavor being turned up to 11, as they say. That’s what cooking with fresh dill pollen is like.
Cooking with any kinds of plant pollen could be a new idea to many cooks. But it’s a natural spice that can help take your cooking up a notch. But to some degree, pollen spices are not to trifled with, as they can be extremely potent.
The most potent and strongest tasting form of an already strong tasting herb like fennel, for instance, is the fennel pollen, which can taste extremely strong, and maybe too strong if over used.