Common Herbs & Spices

A life without spice means nothing would taste nice!! It’s true, with no flavor in our favorite dishes there would be nothing to love about food. But seasoning with herbs and spices means complimenting your dishes and creating a masterpiece. 

Allspice: 

Description
Allspice is the dried, unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, an evergreen tree in the myrtle family. After drying, the berries are small, dark brown balls just a little larger than peppercorns.
Comes From: Allspice comes from Jamaica, Mexico, and Honduras.

Anise Seed

Description
Anise Seed is a graybrown oval seed from Pimpinella anisum, a plant in the parsley family. It is related to caraway, dill, cumin, and fennel.
Comes From: Spain and Mexico.

Arrowroot

Description
Arrowroot is a white powder extracted from the root of a West Indian plant, Marantha arundinacea. It looks and feels like cornstarch.
Comes From: Arrowroot is grown in Brazil and Thailand

Basil

Description
Basil is a bright green, leafy plant, Ocimum basilicum, which is in the mint family.
Comes From:  Basil is grown primarily in the United States, France, and the Mediterranean region.

Bay Leaves

Description
Bay Leaves come from the sweet bay or laurel tree, known botanically as Laurus nobilis. The elliptical leaves of both trees are green, glossy, and grow up to 3 inches long.
Comes From: Bay Leaves are grown in the Mediterranean region.

Black Pepper

Description
Black pepper is basically unripe berry of the pepper plant. White pepper on the other hand, is obtained by removing the skin of the berry.
Comes From : Black pepper is the native of south India and is usually cultivated in tropical regions.

Caraway Seed

Description
Caraway Seed is actually the fruit of a biennial herb in the parsley family, known as Carum carvi. The seed is about 1/5inch long and tapered at the ends. The hard seed shells have five pale ridges.
Comes From:Holland is the world's largest Caraway producer. It is also grown in Germany, Russia, Morocco, parts of Scandanavia, Canada, and the United States.

Cardamom

Description
Cardamom is the ground seed of a tropical fruit in the ginger family known as Elettaria cardamomum. The seeds are found in ovalshaped fruit pods that are between 1/4 and 1inch long.
Comes From : Cardamom comes from India, Guatemala, and Ceylon.

Cayenne Pepper

Description
Cayenne Pepper is made from the dried pods of pungent chili peppers. This fiery spice adds flair to dishes from Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East.
Comes From: Cayenne Pepper comes from Central and South America and the West Indies.

Celery Seed

 Description
Celery Seed is the dried fruit of Apium graviolens, a biennial in the parsley family. This is the same genus and species used for growing table celery, although there are particular varieties that are used for the vegetable.
Comes From:  Celery Seed is grown in France and India.

Chervil

Description
Chervil is a lightgreen, lacey, fernlike leaf of Annthriscus cerefolium, a low growing member of the parsley family.
Comes From: Chervil is grown in California and New Mexico.

Chili Powder

Description: Chili powders typically are made of ground chilies, cumin, garlic, oregano, and other spices.
Comes From: The origin of chili power is believed to be as old as 7000 B.C. used in Mexico and India.

Chives

Description
Chives are the bright green, long, hollow, thin leaves of Allium schoenoprasum, an onionlike member of the lily family.
Comes From: California

Cilantro

Description
Cilantro is the leaf of the young coriander plant, Coriandrum sativum, an herb in the parsley family, similar to anise.
Comes From: Cilantro is grown in California.

Cinnamon

Description
Cinnamon is the dried bark of various laurel trees in the cinnamomun family. One of the more common trees from which Cinnamon is derived is the cassia. Ground cinnamon is perhaps the most common baking spice. Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark that are rolled, pressed, and dried.
Comes From: True Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. The Cinnamon used in North America is from the cassia tree which is grown in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and Central America.

Cloves

Description
Cloves are the rich, brown, dried, unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree in the myrtle family. The name comes from the French "clou" meaning nail.
Comes From: Cloves come from Madagascar, Brazil, Panang, and Ceylon

Coriander

Description
Coriander is the seed of Coriandrum sativum, a plant in the parsley family. The seed is globular and almost round, brown to yellow red, and 1/5 inch in diameter with alternating straight and wavy ridges.
Comes From: Coriander comes from Morocco and Romania.

Cumin

 Description
Cumin (pronounced "comein") is the pale green seed of Cuminum cyminum, a small herb in the parsley family. The seed is uniformly eliptical and deeply furrowed.
Comes From: Iran and India

Curry Powder
 Description
Curry Powder is a blend of many spices and is used widely in savory dishes throughout India and Southeast Asia.
Comes From:  India

Dill Seed and Weed

Description
Dill is a tall, feathery annual, Anethum graveolens, in the parsley family. Both Dill Seed and Weed (dried leaves) come from the same plant.
Comes From: United States and India

Fennel Seed

 Description
Fennel Seed is the oval, green or yellowishbrown dried fruit of Foeniculum vulgare, a member of the parsley family.
Comes From : India and Egypt

Garlic

 Description
Garlic is the dried root of Allium sativum, a member of the lily family. Garlic grows in a bulb that consists of a number of cloves. Each clove is protected by a layer of skin, but all are held together in one larger unit by additional layers of skin.
Comes From: California

Ginger

 Description
Ginger is a flavoring from a tuberous root of Zingiber officinale, a plantin the Ginger family. The root is often dried and ground or "crystallized" with sugar.
Comes From: India and Jamaica

Horseradish

Description
Horseradish is a hot, pungent condiment made from a plant in the mustard family. The powdered form of Horseradish is made by grinding the root and drying in a gentle heat. Horseradish vinegar is the root combined with shallots, onions, garlic, and red pepper in vinegar
Comes From: Oregon

Juniper Berries

 Description
Juniper Berries come from the juniper shrub, an evergreen in the genus juniperus, which grows in the Northern Hemisphere.
Comes From:  Europe and North America


Lemon Balm

Description
Lemon balm is a herb from the mint family. It is usually used in ice creams, herbal teas, candies and fruit dishes.

Lemon Grass

Description
It is so named because of its lemony flavor, and adds a wonderful citrus scent to everything. Thai cultures use lemon grass as Western cultures do parsley, and it is seen in nearly every kind of soup in Thailand.

Mace

 Description
The nutmeg tree, Myristica fragrans, is special in that it produces two seperate spices, nutmeg and Mace. Mace is the ground outer covering (aril) of the nutmeg seed. A piece of unground Mace is called a blade.
Comes From : Indonesia, Grenada

Marjoram

Description
Marjoram is the graygreen leaf of Majorana hortensis, a low growing member of the mint family. It is often mistaken for oregano, although they are not the same plant.
Comes From United States and France

Mint

 Description
Mint is the dried leaf of a perennial herb. There are two important species, Mentha spicata L. (spearmint) and Mentha piperita L. (peppermint).
Comes From United States

Mustard Seed

Description
Mustard Seed comes from two large shrubs, Brassica juncea (brown mustard) and Brassica hirta (white mustard), native to Asia. Both plants produce bright yellow flowers that contain small round seeds; brown mustard is more pungent than white.
Comes From: Canada

Nutmeg

Description
Nutmeg is the seed of Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree native to the Molucca Islands. Interestingly, the tree produces both Nutmeg and mace, and grows up to 60 feet tall. Although the tree takes seven years to bear fruit, it may produce until the 90th year. Both spices come from the tree’s fruit, which splits into a scarlet outer membrane, mace, and an inner brown seed, Nutmeg.
 Comes From: Nutmeg is grown in Indonesia and Grenada.

Onion

 Description
The familiar and popular onion is a bulb of Allium cepa, a low growing plant. Botanists classify it in either the lily family or the amaryllis family
Comes From: Onions are grown worldwide, including the United States.

Orange Peel

Description
Orange peel is the same thing as the zest of an orange, without the pith (the white covering around the flesh of an orange). Usually, this is added to give a citrus flavor to a dish, and is quickly becoming very popular.

Oregano

Description
Mediterranean Oregano is the dried leaf of Origanum vulgare L., a perennial herb in the mint family. Mexican Oregano is the dried leaf of one of several plants of the Lippia genus.
Comes From: Oregano is grown in California and New Mexico, as well as the Mediterranean region.

Paprika

 Description
Paprika is a spice which comes from a mild red pepper in the family Capsicum annum. It is a brilliant red powder and often used as a garnish
Comes From: The peppers used in Paprika are grown in Hungary, Spain, South America, and California.

Parsley

Description
Parsley is the dried leaf of Petroselinum crispum, a biennial in the parsley family.
Comes From: Parsley is grown in California

Peppercorns

 Description
The most common variety of peppercorn is the black peppercorn, taken from the Malabar coast of India. These peppercorns are picked from their plants just before the peppercorns turn red, and as they dry, the berries turn black.

Poppy Seeds

Description
Poppy Seeds are tiny nutty tasting, bluegray seeds inside capsules on Papaver somniferum, a yellowishbrown opium plant indigenous to the Mediterranean
Comes From: Poppies are native to Mediterranean regions, India, China, Turkey, and Iran. Today, Holland and Canada are the main producers of poppy seeds

Red Pepper

Description
Red Pepper is made from the ground fruit of a plant in the Capsicum family. The fruits, commonly known as "chilies" or "chili peppers," are fiery red or orange pods which rarely grow to more than 4 inches in length. The ground product ranges from orangered, to deep, dark red. According to the American Spice Trade Association, "Red Pepper" is the preferred name for all hot red pepper spices. Cayenne Pepper is another name for the same type of product. Some manufacturers use the term Cayenne Pepper to refer to a hotter version of Red Pepper.
Comes From: China, Japan, India, Mexico, Africa, and Louisiana

Rosemary

Description
Rosemary is an herb in the mint family. It is a small evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, whose 1inch leaves resemble curved pine needles.

Comes From: Rosemary is native to the Mediterranean. Today it is widely produced in France, Spain, and Portugal.

Saffron

Description
Saffron is the stigma of Crocus sativus, a flowering plant in the crocus family. Saffron, the world's most expensive spice, is costly because more than 225,000 stigmas must be hand picked to produce one pound. In its pure form, saffron is a mass of compressed, threadlike, dark orange strands.
Comes From: Saffron is native to the Mediterranean. Today it is cultivated primarily in Spain.

Sage

Description
Sage is an herb from an evergreen shrub, Salvia officinalis, in the mint family. Its long, grayishgreen leaves take on a velvety, cottonlike texture when rubbed (meaning ground lightly and passed through a coarse sieve).

Comes From: Sage is grown in the United States. It also is grown in Dalmatia and Albania

Sesame Seed

Description
Sesame Seed is the seed of an annual herb, Sesamum indicum, which grows well in hot climates. Sesame Seed is the most commonly produced seed. The yellowish, red, or black seeds are used in bread products, stir-fries, Jewish and Chinese confectionaries, and Middle Eastern dishes.
Comes From: Africa and Indonesia

Savory

Description
Savory is an annual herb, Satureja hotenis, belonging to the mint family. Its dark-green, narrow leaves are dried and crushed.

Comes From: United States and Yugoslavia


Tarragon

Description
Tarragon is a small, shrubby herb, Artemisia dracunculus, in the sunflower family. Two species are cultivated, Russian and French. Leaves of the French variety are glossier and more pungent. Most commercial Tarragon comes from dried leaves of the French Tarragon plant.
Comes From: Tarragon is native to southern Russia and western Asia. Today, its primary producer is France

Thyme

Description
Thyme is the leaf of a low-growing shrub in the mint family called Thymus vulgaris. Its tiny grayish-green leaves rarely are greater than one-fourth inch long. For use as a condiment, Thyme leaves are dried then chopped, or ground.

Comes From: Thyme is grown in southern Europe, inlcuding France, Spain, and Portugal. It is also indigineous to the Mediterranean.

Turmeric

Description
Turmeric comes from the root of Curcuma longa, a leafy plant in the ginger family. The root, or rhizome, has a tough brown skin and bright orange flesh. Ground Tumeric comes from fingers which extend from the root. It is boiled or steamed and then dried, and ground.

Comes From: India is the world's primary producer of Turmeric. It is also grown in China and Indonesia.

Vanilla

Description
Vanilla Beans are the long, greenish-yellow seed pods of the tropical orchid plant, Vanilla planifolia. Before the plant flowers, the pods are picked, unripe, and cured until they're dark brown. The process takes up to six months. To obtain Pure Vanilla Extract, cured Vanilla Beans are steeped in alcohol. According to law, Pure Vanilla Extract must be 35 percent alcohol by volume.
Comes From: Vanilla beans are grown in Madagascar, Mexico, Indonesia, and Tahiti.

Herbs and spice materiel brought to by 1001recipe.com and culinarycafe.com