Spices and nickel: 69 foods rated

Curry powder is a blend of dried, ground plants, and grinding dried plant material concentrates whatever the plants took from the soil. A blend averages across several of them, which is why it lands above a single spice. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Balsamic vinegar is grape must cooked down and aged for years in wooden casks. Wood contributes nothing metallic; the cooking is what concentrates the little the grape held. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Black pepper is a dried berry, ground - and grinding dried plant material concentrates whatever the vine took from the soil. It is low only because a grind is a fraction of a gram. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Capers are flower buds preserved in brine or salt. The bud itself is low; what it has been sitting in for months is the more relevant question. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Garam masala averages several ground spices, so no single one dominates. Blends are more predictable than their parts on this axis, for the same reason an average is steadier than a sample. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Garlic powder is dehydrated garlic ground fine, so a teaspoon stands for a whole clove or more. Garlic itself takes up very little nickel, which is what keeps the powder here. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Garlic salt is garlic powder cut with salt, so it is more dilute than the powder alone. The salt fraction contributes only whatever its anti-caking agent brings. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Green pepper is the same berry picked unripe and preserved rather than dried, so it is less concentrated than black pepper - water is still in it. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Licorice is a root, and roots take up more than the parts above ground - but licorice is a legume root, and the legume nickel route runs through the seed, not the root. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Mustard is ground seed mixed with vinegar, and the vinegar is the part worth noting - acid stored in a metal container draws a little metal out over time. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Onion powder is dehydrated onion, and onion is one of the lower vegetables on this axis. Drying concentrates it, but there was little to concentrate. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Pink pepper is not pepper at all but the berry of a Peruvian shrub. Different plant, same principle: a dried berry ground fine, used in pinches. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Ras el hanout blends a dozen or more spices, sometimes many more. Its level is an average of theirs, and the recipe varies from one shop to the next. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Saffron is dried flower stigmas, hand-picked - the most expensive spice by weight and the one used in the smallest quantity. A few threads carry almost nothing of anything. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Sichuan pepper is a citrus-family husk, and it is the husk rather than the seed that is used. Husks sit on the outside of a fruit, which is where dust and soil residue collect. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Smoked paprika is dried pepper, smoked over oak and ground. The smoking adds aroma compounds; the grinding is what concentrates the mineral content of the fruit. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS

Star anise is a dried seed pod used whole and then removed - it flavours a broth without being eaten. Very little of what it holds transfers to the liquid. The nickel here follows a study of SPICES that analysed the powder directly instead of digesting it first.

• Virgilio A. et al., J Braz Chem Soc 26:10 (2015) 1988-1993, Cd, Ni and V in spices by solid-sampling HR-CS GF-AAS