LIST OF HERBS AND SPICES, USES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Name Image Description Flavor Uses

Pungent, sweet
It is a dark-brown, pea-
mixture of
size berry. Comes from Breads, cakes, cookies,
Allspice cinnamon, clove
the evergreen pimento fruit sauce recipes.
and nutmeg
tree.
flavors

Mostly used in Italian

Member of the mint and Mediteranean
Sweet clove-like
Basil family. It has green cuisine. Best with
flavor, pungent
leaves. chicken, eggs, fish,
pasta, tomatoes.

Leaves from the

Meats, pickling, sauces,
evergreen bay laurel Woodsy,
Bay Leaf soups, stews,
tree. Also called laurel pungent
vegetables.
leaf.

Small bundle of herbs

wrapped in a cheesecloth
bag or tied together and
Bouket
added in soups to add Herb blend Soups, stews
Garni
flavor (parsley, thyme,
and bay leaves is the
classic combination).

A mixture of seasoning
made from different
tropical chiles, including
Cayenne red cayenne peppers. It Eggs, cheese, Cajun
Hot, pungent
Pepper is very hot and spicy, so recipes.
use in moderation if you
don't like spicy foods.
Also called red pepper.

For pickling, salads

Celery Comes from wild Indian celery flavor,
(potato and cole slaw),
Seed celery called lovage. slightly bitter
soups.

A mixture of different
seasonings (ground dried
Chili Chili, eggs and cheese,
chiles, coriander, cumin, Mild to hot
Powder soups, stews.
garlic, oregano and other
herbs and spices).

Belongs to the onion and Appetizers, shellfish,

Onion or garlic
Chives leek family. Source of cream soups, salads,
flavor
vitamin A. sauces.

Very popular in Italian,

Bright-green stems and
Pungent, soapy Latin American and
Cilantro leaves from the
fragrance Mexican recipes (Fish,
coriander plant.
rice, salsas, salads).
 LIST OF HERBS AND SPICES, USES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Cinnamon sticks
are added to
Bark from the Ceylon or dishes during Sweets, hot drinks,
Cassia tree Comes in the cooking vegetables (carrots,
Cinnamon
buff color or dark reddish process to add winter squash, sweet
color. flavor. It is very potatoes).
aromatic and
sweet.

Aromatic,
pungent and
Reddish-brown budds spice cakes and cookies
sweet. They give
Clove from the tropical baked beans, pickling,
a very strong
evergreen clove tree. sauces.
flavor so use
with care.

Related to the parsley Mixture of Mostly in Mexican and

Coriander family. Seeds from the lemon, sage and Spanish recipes,
coriander plant. caraway flavors. pickling, sausages

Middle Eastern, Asian

and Mediterranean
Dried fruit from a plant Slightly bitter,
Cumin cuisine (Chili and curry
in the parsley family. pungent, hot
powder blends, fish,
lamb, pickling).

Dried seed from the dill Tangy and salads,meats, sauces,

Dill Seed
plant pungent flavor vegetables

fish, pickling, salads,

Green leaves from the
Dill Weed Pungent, tangy sauces, eggs,
dill plant
vegetables, breads.

Oval, greenish-brown Breads, fish, sauces,

Fennel Aromatic, slight
seeds from the fennel sausage, soups, Italian
Seeds licorice flavor
plant recipes.

slightly sweet, Chinese, Jamaican and

The root from the ginger
Ginger slightly pungent German recipes, (cakes,
plant
and spicy aroma cookies, marinades).

Member of the mint and Aromatic, Fish, meat, poultry,

Marjoram oregano family. Oval, slightly bitter sausages, stuffing,
pale green leaves. and pungent vegetables
 LIST OF HERBS AND SPICES, USES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Refreshing beverages,
One of the most popular Strong, sweet,
Mint desserts, lamb, sauces,
spice used. cool
soups

Meats, pickling, relishes.

Mustard Comes in white, yellow, Powdered mustard
Hot, pungent
Seed and brown seeds. (finely ground) is used in
sauces.

Oval seeds from the

nutmeg tree. Dark grey Beverages, cakes,
Nutty, warm,
Nutmeg color. Mace is the spice cookies, white sauces,
spicy
obtained from the sweet potatoes
membrane of the seeds.

Member of the mint Strong, aromatic Fish, meat, poultry,

Oregano family, related to with a pungent tomatoes; Greek, Italian
marjoram and thyme marjoram flavor and Mexican recipes

Dips, fish, poultry,

Powdered dried red Slightly bitter, salads (potato and egg),
Paprika
peppers sweet to hot soups; important
ingredient in goulash

Curly leaf and Italian

Sprigs used as garnish,
(flat-leaf) parsley are
Parsley Slightly peppery herb mixtures, sauces,
two of the more popular
soups, stews
spices that exist.

Berries from the pepper

plant. Black, white and
Enhances flavor of most
Peppercorn green peppercorns are Hot, peppery
meats, eggs and poultry
three kinds processed
from the this plant.

Very small gray, white Deep nutty pastries, breads, cakes,

Poppy
seeds from the poppy flavor with salad dressings,
Seeds
plant crunchy texture vegetables, meat

Silver-green leaves; Casseroles, fish, fruit

Sweet, hint of
Rosemary member of the mint salads, lamb, soups,
lemon
family stuffing, potatoes
 LIST OF HERBS AND SPICES, USES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Rice, poultry, sauces,

Dried yellow-orange stews (bouillabaisse),
Pungent,
Saffron stigmas from the crocus Spanish recipes (paella),
aromatic
plant. Swedish cakes and
breads

Narrow, oval, gray-green Musty, minty, Chicken, duck, goose,

Sage
leaves. slightly bitter pork, sausages, stuffing

Sesame Tiny, flat seeds, brown, Nutty, slightly Breads, cakes, cookies,
Seed red or black sweet salad dressings, seafood

Narrow, pointed, dark- Slightly licorice Eggs, meats, pickling,

Tarragon
green leaves flavor poultry, salads, sauces

Member of the mint Fish, meats, poultry,

Thyme family. It is a bush with Pungent, tea-like soups, vegetables,
gray-green leaves. potatoes

Yellow-orange root of a Curries, East Indian

Pungent, earthy,
plant related to ginger; cuisine, primary
Turmeric slightly bitter
used to flavor and color ingredient in American-
flavor
food. style mustard

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