SPICE RACK
Anise or aniseed is a small plant related to fennel and celery. It is grown for its seeds, which have a similar taste to liquorice. It is a different plant to star anise.
Basil is
a herb that is often used in Italian or Thai food. Sweet basil is used in
Italian food and Thai basil is used in Asian food. Basil has a sweet, strong
smell.
Basil likes to grow in hot, dry conditions and does not tolerate frost
at all. Basil stops producing the oil that gives it its flavour once it starts
to flower, so you should pick off the flowers as they develop.
Bay leaves are dried
leaves from the bay laurel tree. Bay leaves are used to flavour soups
and stews.
The flavour of the leaves gets stronger when they are dried.
Bay trees like a
frost-free area.
Cardamom refers to a
group of related spices in the same family as ginger.
Most commercial growing of cardamom is done in India,
and cardamom is a common ingredient in Indian food. Cardamom has a strong
flavor, and you don't need to add much to your food.
Chili Pepper, also spelt chilli,
is a small fruit that ranges in colour from green
to yellow
to red,
the most common. The chili is very hot,
and when you eat one it feels like your mouth is burning. Chilis are in the
same family as the capsicum (bell pepper).
Chives are a member
of the onion family. Chives grow in clumps from a bulb
under the ground. You can use the leaves cut up on salads
or on potato or pasta
dishes. You can use the flowers in salads too. There are different varieties of
chives, one of the most useful being garlic
chives, which have leaves and flowers with a strong garlic flavour.
Cinnamon is made from
the bark
of a small tree native to Sri Lanka. The smell and taste comes from oil that
the plant makes. Cinnamon is usually sold as a powder in shops and is simply
the bark of the tree ground into powder.
Cloves are the dried
flower of a large evergreen tree native to Indonesia and India.
They are used whole or ground up in baking, for making cakes,
puddings
and a lot of Mexican and Indian food. Cloves are very strong, and you don't
need much of them to flavour food.
Coriander also called Chinese Parsley, is a soft, fast-growing annual herb.
Coriander leaves are used fresh in a lot of Asian - particularly Thai, Middle
Eastern and African cooking. It is also used in some South American dishes.
Both the fresh leaves and the dried seed, powdered or whole, are used in
cooking. Ground coriander seed is one of the main ingredients in curry
powders and mixed spice.
Cress is a herb with
a very sharp, peppery
taste that is very easy to grow. It is related to mustard.
Cumin is a plant
native to the Mediterranean and India, and is related to parsley.
It is grown for its seeds, which are ground into a powder.
Cumin is one of the main ingredients of a curry.
Dill is a feathery
herb and can be used in lots of different types of cooking but goes best with fish
and potatoes. The fresh leaves are usually used,
cut up finely and sprinkled over food.
Fennel is a plant
related to dill and anise.
It has a flavour similar to anise but not as strong. The leaves and seeds can
be used in cooking as a garnish or flavour, and the bulb at the base of the
plant can be cooked as a vegetable.
Garlic is a member of
the onion
family. Garlic is used as a seasoning in many different varieties of food.
Garlic is very strong.
Ginger is a root,
which is used in cooking. It is used in stir-fries, curries
and has a strong, sharp taste.
Mint is a family of
small plants with a strong taste and smell.
Fresh mint can be added to drinks, salads
or as a garnish on many meals. The leaves of the mint are used for their
flavour, either fresh or dried. The flavour is carried in oil
in the leaves, and the very strongly flavoured oil can be extracted and stored
for later use.
Mustard Plant there are
several different kinds of mustard plant. They are in the same family as canola,
turnips
and cabbages. Mustard is grown mainly for its
seeds, although the leaves can be eaten too. Mustard seeds are ground up and
mixed with vinegar and some times other spices to make the
mustard you can buy in shops. Depending on the type of mustard used, mustard
paste can be very sharp or very mild. Sometimes mustard, called wholegrain
mustard is made from the whole seeds of the mustard plant and a little oil
instead of crushing the seeds to a paste.
Nutmeg comes from an
evergreen tropical tree native to Indonesia. Nutmeg comes from the nut at the
center of the fruit, while mace
is made from the red coating that is found around the outside of the seed.
Nutmeg
has a strong, warm taste and is used as a spice by many different cultures, in
both sweet and savory dishes.
Oragano is a herb
often used in Greek, Spanish and Italian cooking. It comes from the
Mediterranean region.
Paprika is a spice,
usually found as a powder, made from dried and ground up bell
peppers (capsicums). Paprika is often smoked to
add to the flavour.
Paprika is used to flavour or colour many dishes, and is
often sprinkled on meat before it is fried.
Parsley is a herb,
which means it is not eaten as a food on its own, but it is added to other
dishes for flavour. Parsley is used mostly as a garnish,
cut up and sprinkled onto food to make it look nicer.
Pepper is usually
sold in white and black.
White pepper is made from just the
seeds of the pepper fruit, and black
pepper is made from the whole fruit, seed and all.
Peppercorns are the fruit
and seeds of a vine native to India. The fruit is very small and only has one
seed, and a thin layer of flesh around the outside. Peppercorns are dried and
sold as pepper, either whole or ground up into small flakes or a powder.
Rosemary is a woody evergreen
herb, which has very strong smelling narrow leaves and purple flowers.
Rosemary
goes very well with lamb dishes, but can be used to flavor
a variety of other foods too.
Saffron is a spice
made from the dried stigma of the saffron crocus.
Saffron gives a strong golden yellow
color to food.
Sage is a shrub
originally from the Mediterranean region. It has pale greyish furry leaves, and
grows all year around. It is used to flavour fatty meat dishes, and as an
ingredient in sausages in some countries. It is very commonly
used with onions as stuffing for chicken or pork.
Salt is a mineral
that is essential to all animal life, but is toxic to most land plants.
It can be used as a preservative as well as adding flavor to dishes.
Sesame Seeds are the seeds
of a plant from Africa and India. The seeds can be pressed to extract the oil
but are used most often sprinkled on other foods as a flavour and garnish.
Soy Sauce also called soya sauce, is a sauce
made from fermented soybeans, water and salt.
Soy sauce has a distinctive savory flavor, and is an ingredient in many Asian
dishes.
Star Anise is the fruit
of a small evergreen tree from China. It has a very
similar taste to anise
and both are used to give food a liquorice
flavor.
Tarragon, or dragon's wort, is a soft, green
plant used mainly in French cooking. Tarragon has an interesting flavour that
is a little like anise.
Thyme is a small,
woody plant with lots of tiny leaves. It grows all year around, and gets tiny
pink flowers in the spring. It has a very strong smell, and is used to flavour
meat, soups and stews.
Some varieties of thyme are lemon scented and can be used in dishes that
need a hint of lemon.
Turmeric is a spice
made from the root of a plant related to ginger.
It is usually sold dried and powdered.
It has a slightly peppery flavor, but is mainly used for its bright yellow
color.
Vanilla Beans are the seedpods
of a kind of orchid. Vanilla has a strong, aromatic smell
and is used in many different sweets, particularly ice cream.
Vinegar is made from wine,
in a process that turns the alcohol in the wine into acetic acid.
Vinegar has a different flavour depending on what kind of wine was used to make
it. Balsamic vinegar is very dark, rice wine vinegar is very light and apple cider
vinegar is yellow.
Vinegar is used to make sauces like ketchup,
to preserve fruits and vegetables
by pickling,
and to dress salads.