HERBS AND SPICES 1

HERBS AND SPICES 1

Herb or Spice	Source	Flavor	Best Used	Cooking Use
ALLSPICE	Berries of the allspice tree Pimenta dioica	Like a mix of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon	Freshly ground	Virtually anything, from salads to desserts
ANISE	Seeds of the anise plant Pimpinella anisum	Sweet, similar to licorice	Dried seeds	As flavoring in cookies, candies and pastries; also in poultry dishes
BASIL	Leaves and stems of the basil plant Ocimum basilicum vars	Pungent, somewhat sweet	Fresh	Tomato dishes, with eggplant, for pesto, in Thai and Vietnamese foods, addition to salads and many cooked vegetables
BAY	Leaves of the sweet bay tree Laurus nobilis	Mild	Dried	In soups, stews and tomato sauces, and in shellfish boils. Remove leaf before serving
BLACK PEPPER	Berries of the pepper tree Piper nigrum. Not related to the species of plants that include bell or other types of peppers.	Pungent, somewhat hot	Dried, freshly ground	As condiment, in any dish you wish to make mildly hot
Herb or Spice	Source	Flavor	Best Used	Cooking Use
BORAGE	Leaves and flowers of the borage plant Borago officinalis	Mild	Fresh	Flowers as garnish or in salads; leaves in salads or in herbal tea mixtures. Either can be candied.
CAPERS	Unopened flower buds from the caperbush Capparis spinosa	Pungent	Pickled in brine	In sauces, as a garnish, and as a flavoring when pickling other foods
CARAWAY	Seeds of the caraway plant Carum carvi	Sweet, nutty	Whole	Hungarian goulash, cookies and cakes, apple sauce, herbal vinegars
CARDAMOM	Seeds from the cardamom tree Elettaria cardamomum, a member of the ginger family	Sweetly spicy	Whole or ground	Stews, curries. Use sparingly, as it has a strong taste.
CAYENNE PEPPER	Ground dried fruit or seeds of the cayenne pepper plant Capiscum annum	Fiery hot	Dried and ground or fresh and finely chopped	Use sparingly -- it's very hot -- in anything you want to taste hot. Warning: as in all hot peppers, the seeds are extremely hot, so wash your hands thoroughly after handling.
CELERY SEED	Seeds of the celery plant Apium graveolens	Strong, pungent celery flavor	Dried whole seed	As a replacement for celery stalks in cooking; as a flavoring in tomato juice, sauces and soups
CHERVIL	Leaves and stems of the chervil plant Anthriscus cerefolium	Light, similar to parsley	Fresh or frozen	Flavoring in soups, casseroles, salads, and in omelettes.
Herb or Spice	Source	Flavor	Best Used	Cooking Use
CHILE POWDER	Dried, ground chili peppers Capiscum annum	Spicy, hot (heat depends on variety of chili pepper used)	Ground	In chili or other spicy dishes
CHIVES	Leaves of the chive plant, a member of the Allium family	Sharp, onion or garlic flavor	Fresh; frozen if fresh not available	Garnish, blended with soft cheeses, added to salads
CILANTRO	Leaves of the coriander plant Coriandrum sativum	Spicy, sweet or hot	Fresh	In Middle Eastern, southeast Asian, Chines, Latin American and Spanish cuisines; common ingredient in Mexican salsas.
CINNAMON	Dried bark of the cinnamon tree Cinnamomum zeylanicum	Pungently sweet	As dried sticks or ground powder	In sweet dishes or in curries and stews
CLOVES	Dried flower bud of the clove tree Syzygium aromaticum	Sweet or bittersweet	Dried and ground	Add to sweet dishes or as a contrast in stews and curries.
CORIANDER	Seeds of the coriander plant Coriandrum sativum	Spicy, sweet or hot	Ground or whole	In cakes, cookies, breads, as a pickling spice or in curry mixtures
Herb or Spice	Source	Flavor	Best Used	Cooking Use
CUMIN	Seed of the cumin plant Cuminum cyminum	Peppery	Whole or ground	Soups, stews, sauces. Use sparingly.
CURRY POWDER	Combination of several ground spices	Hot	Sparingly -- taste the dish in which you're using to gauge heat level	Curries

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