Other Names:
carvies (Scottish), wild cumin, Roman cumin, Persian caraway
Description:
Caraway or Persian cumin (Carum carvi) is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to Europe and western Asia and Northern Africa, the Mediterranean and much of Europe. It falls into both categories of herb and spice, as it is the seeds that are used primarily, [...]
Other Names:
French: macis
German: Muskatlute
Italian: mace, macis
Spanish: macÃa
Indian: jaffatry, javatri, jawatrie
Mace is the aril (the bright red, lacy covering) of the nutmeg seed shell. The mace is removed from the shell and its broken parts are known as blades.
The history of mace is closely tied to the history of nutmeg for obvious reasons, though the two [...]
Genus Species: Cassia senna or Cinnamonum cassia
Family: Lauraceae
Origin:Burma
Cultivated: Hot wet tropics of China, Indochina, East and West Indies, and Central America
Description :
Cassia is an aromatic bark, similar to cinnamon, but differing in strength and quality. Cassia bark is darker, thicker and coarser, and the corky outer bark is often left on. The outer surface is [...]
Scientific Name(S): Although a variety of members of the genus Papaver are called poppies, P. somniferum L. and p. bracteatum Lindl. are important commercially and medicinally. Family: Papaveraceae
Common Name(S): P. somniferum: Opium poppy, poppyseed poppy. P. bracteatum: Thebaine poppy, great scarlet poppy.
General Description
Poppy Seeds are tiny nuttytasting, bluegray seeds inside capsules on [...]
The bay tree is indigenous to Asia Minor, from where it spread to the Mediterranean and then to other countries with similar climates. According to legend the Delphi oracle chewed bay leaves, or sniffed the smoke of burning leaves to promote her visionary trances. Bay, or laurel, was famed in ancient Greece and Rome. Emperors, [...]
Genus Species:VANILLA PLANIFOLIA Family:ORCHIDACEAE
Origin:Central America, West Indies, Northern South America
Mostly Cultivated In:Madagascar, Comoros Islands, Reunion, French Polynesia, Tahiti, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mozambique, Seychelles, Uganda, Guatemala, Mexico.
Description:
For many people in countries where quality ice cream is readily available, vanilla is the most popular of the non-pungent spices. It has been regarded [...]
Allspice takes its name from its aroma, which smells like a combination of spices, especially cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. In much of the world, allspice is called pimento because the Spanish mistook the fruit for black pepper, which the Spanish called pimienta. This is especially confusing since the Spanish had already called chillies pimientos. [...]
Genus Species: Myristica fragrans
Family : Myristicaceae
Origin : Moluccas, especially the Banda Islands
Cultivated :Indonesia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and other Leeward Islands,
Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad
Description :
The quintessential spice is nutmeg: it was a highly valued exotic flavor source that grew only in the remote Spice [...]
Genus Species:RHUS CORIARA
Family: ANACARDIACEAE
Origin :Middle East and Mediterranean countries
Cultivated:Southern Italy, Sicily, Near East
Description:
The sumac bush, Rhus coriara, has sour, astringent, red-colored berries that are regarded as a spice flavor, being similar to tamarind. The plant is a member of the cashew family; it grows in Mediterranean countries, and the [...]
Asafoetida gets its name from the Persian aza, for mastic or resin, and the Latin foetidus, for stinking. It is a gum that is from the sap of the roots and stem of the ferula species, a giant fennel that exudes a vile odour. Early records mention that Alexander the Great carried this “stink finger†[...]
Image by Pabo76 via Flickr
Scientific name: Sesamum Indicum, Sesamum Orientale. Other names: Benne, Bene, Oil Plant, Vangloe, Tilseed, Teel, Teel-seed, gingili.
African slaves brought sesame seeds, which they called benné seeds, to America, where they became a popular ingredient in Southern dishes.
Sesame seeds can be sprinkled on breads or on main dishes and vegetables to [...]
Saffron : is a spice derived from the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus), a species of crocus in the family Iridaceae. The flower has three stigmas, which are the distal ends of the plant’s carpels. Together with its style, the stalk connecting the stigmas to the rest of the plant, these components [...]
Family : Umbelliferae; Apiaceae
Other names: .
Carom, omoum,Ajowan, Bishop’s Weed , Seeds Of Bishop’s Weed,Wishep’s weed or Ajova Seed, is an uncommon spice except in certain areas of Asia. It is the small seed-like fruit of the Bishop’s Weed plant, (Trachyspermum ammi syn. Carum copticum), egg-shaped and grayish in colour. The plant has a similarity to [...]
Historical Clove:
Clove: clove.jpg historical_clove.jpg
Click to learn more about clove
The Latin name for cloves is Eugenia caryophyllus.
Cloves are native to the Moluccas, formerly known as the Spice Islands of Indonesia. They have been consumed in Asia for more than 2,000 years. Owing to their sweet and fragrant taste, Chinese courtiers dating back to 200 BC [...]
Black Pepper is one of the earliest known spices ever discovered, pepper is used worldwide in almost every household.
Black pepper : Popularly known as “kali mirch” and a native of the western ghats in India , it is endowed with anti-coagulant properties. It is one of the few herbs which ayurveda describes as helping to [...]
Botanical Name:Curcuma longa L. (Zingiberaceae)
Syn : Curcuma domestica Val.
English name: Turmeric.
Sanskrit name: Haridra.
Vernacular names: Asm : Holodhi; Ben: Halud; Guj : Halada; Hin : Haldi; Kan : Arisina; Kon : Holldi, Ghor hollad; Mal: Manjella-kua; Mar: Halede; Mun : Hatu sasang, Sasang; Orn: Balka; Ori : Haladi; Sad: Haldi; San: Oerel sasan; Tam: Manjal; Tel: [...]
Image via Wikipedia
History
Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known on earth.
The use of cinnamon can be traced back to Egypt around 3000 B.C., where it was used as an embalming agent, to China around 2700 B.C., where it was used medicinally by herbalists. In traditional Asian medicine, cinnamon has long been used to [...]
Large cardamom blooms
Cardamom (large) tastes sharp, is an appetizer, light, dry and hot. It has curative effects in excessive phlegm, excessive [...]
Latin Name: Zingiber officinale.
Ginger: When fresh it is called “ardraka”, and in the dried form it is referred to as “shunthi”
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Ginger is a herb that is indigenous to the South West coast of India. It is also known in the East as a hot or yang herb, and has a long history of [...]
Family: Ranunculaceae
Other Names
Black Caraway, Black Cumin, Black Seed, Damascena, Devil in-the-bush, Fennel flower, Melanthion, Nutmeg Flower, Roman Coriander, Wild Onion Seed
French: cheveux de Venus, nigell, poivrette
German: Scharzkummel (black caraway)
Italian: nigella
Spanish: neguilla
Indian: kala zeera (lit, ‘black cumin’), kalonji, krishnajiraka
Spice Description:
Nigella seeds are small, matte-black grains with a rough surface and an oily white interior. They [...]
