Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use

ALLSPICE
(cuisoare englezesti)
Berries of
the allspice
tree Pimenta
dioica
Like a mix of
nutmeg(nucsoara),
cloves(cuisoare) and
cinnamon(scortisoar
a)
Freshly
ground(macina
t)
Virtually
anything, from
salads to desserts
ANISE
(anason)
Seeds of the
anise plant
Pimpinella
anisum
Sweet, similar to
licorice
(lemn dulce pop in
SUA)
Dried seeds
(seminte
uscate)
As flavoring in
cookies, candies
and pastries; also
in poultry dishes
BASIL
(busuioc)
Leaves and
stems of the
basil plant
Ocimum
basilicum
vars
Pungent(picant),
somewhat sweet

Fresh Tomato dishes,
with eggplant, for
pesto(green
Italian sauce
(made with
ground basil
leaves, pine nuts,
garlic, Parmesan
cheese and olive
oil), in Thai and
Vietnamese foods,
addition to salads
and many cooked
vegetables
BAY
(dafin)
Leaves of
the sweet
bay tree
Laurus
nobilis
Mild
(bland)
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
Mild Fresh Flowers as garnish
or in salads; leaves
(limba mielului)
the borage
plant Borago
officinalis
in salads or in
herbal tea
mixtures. Either
can be candied.
CAPERS
(capere)
Unopened
flower buds
from the
caperbush
Capparis
spinosa
Pungent Pickled in brine
(murat in
saramura)
In sauces, as a
garnish, and as a
flavoring when
pickling other
foods
CARAWAY
(chimen)
Seeds of the
caraway
plant Carum
carvi
Sweet, nutty Whole Hungarian
goulash, cookies
and cakes, apple
sauce, herbal
vinegars
CARDAMOM
(cardamom)
Seeds from
the
cardamom
tree
Elettaria
cardamomu
m, a member
of the ginger
family
Sweetly spicy Whole or
ground
Stews, curries.
Use
sparingly(modera
t), 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
(telina)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
(asmatui)
Leaves and
stems of the
Light, similar to
parsley
Fresh or frozen Flavoring in
soups, casseroles,
chervil plant
Anthriscus
cerefolium
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
(arpagic)
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
(coriandru)
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
Cinnamomu
m
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
(~cilantro=coriandr
u)
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
(chimen)
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

Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use
DILL Leaves and seeds of
the dill plant
Anethum graveolens,
Anethum sowa
Mild,
somewhat
sour
Leaves best
fresh; seeds
used whole
Fish, eggs, potatoes,
meats, breads, salads,
sauces; dill seed used
in pickling and to make
dill-flavored vinegar.
Seeds of sowa, or
Indian dill, used in
curry
FENNEL
(anason)
Leaves and stems of
the fennel plant
Foeniculum vulgare
var.
Like anise,
but sweeter
and lighter
Raw or
cooked
In salads (raw), in
soups or stews
(cooked)
FENUGREEK Seeds from the
fenugreek plant
Trigonella
foenumgraecum
Sweet,
somewhat
like burnt
honey
Whole or
ground seed
In pastries, as a
flavoring for meat
dishes and beverages,
and to make syrups
Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use
GARLIC Bulbs of the garlic
plant, a member of
the Allium family
Pungent,
onion-like,
mildly hot to
very hot
Fresh;
granulated
acceptable
substitute
Roasted, or flavoring
for pasta sauces, pork
roasts, herb butter,
stuffing, and marinades
GINGER
(ghimbir)
Roots of the ginger
plant Zingiber
officinale
Mix of
pepper and
sweetness
Dried
powder or
freshly
grated from
root
Cakes, breads, cookies,
as well as Asian dishes
Immature berries of Mild, Preserved in In herbal vinegars, in
GREEN
PEPPERCORNS
(Boabe verzi de
piper)
the pepper tree Piper
nigrum
slightly
sweet
brine or
water-
packed
sauces
HORSERADISH Roots of the
horseradish plant
Armoracia
lapathifolia
Very sharp,
similar to
mustard
Fresh or
jarred
As condiment, or to
flavor fish, beef,
sausages, and potato
salads
LOVAGE Leaves of the lovage
plant Levisticum
officinale
Similar to
celery, but
stronger
Fresh Use as you would
celery, in soups, stews,
sauces, meat or fish
salads
Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use
MACE Outer covering of
the nutmeg seed
Similar to
nutmeg, but
stronger
Dried or
ground
Custards, spice cakes,
fruit desserts
MARJORAM Leaves of the
marjoram plant
Origanum majorana
Delicate Fresh or
dried
Soups, stews,
marinades. Add at end
of cooking to conserve
flavor
MINT Leaves of the mint
plant Menthe spp.
Various --
there are
more than 30
species of
mint
Fresh In salads, with
vegetables
MUSTARD,
BROWN
Seeds of the mustard
plant Brassica
juncea; also known
as Oriental mustard
Pungent,
biting, hotter
than yellow
mustard
Whole seed In pickling, as a
seasoning, or in
preparing Oriental
mustard sauces
MUSTARD,
YELLOW
Seeds of the mustard
plant Brassica hirta
Hot, tangy,
less of a bite
than brown
mustard
Powdered or
whole seeds
Ground, is primary
ingredient in
American-style
prepared mustard; the
whole seeds may be
used boiled with
cabbage, or as a
garnish for salads.
NUTMEG Seeds of the nutmeg
tree Myristica
fragans
Warm, spicy,
sweet
Freshly
ground
In cakes and cookies,
in sweet potatoes

Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use
OREGANO Leaves of the
oregano plant
Origanum vulgare
Similar to
marjoram, but
not as sweet
Fresh or dried In Italian dishes, in
chili, with
vegetables, soups
PAPRIKA Fruit from a sweet
pepper plant
Capiscum annum
Sweet to hot,
somewhat bitter
Dried and
ground
In Hungarian dishes
including goulash, in
soups, in potato or
egg salad
PARSLEY Leaves of the
parsley plant
Petroselinum
crispum
Mildly peppery Fresh; dried a
very poor
substitute
As a garnish, in
sauces, soups and
salads
POPPY
SEED
Seeds from the
poppy flower
Papaver
somniferum
Nutty Dried, whole In muffins and cakes,
salad dressings.
ROSEMARY Leaves of the
rosemary plant
Rosmarinus
officinalis
Very aromatic,
faintly lemony
and piney
Fresh or dried In meat (especially
lamb) or fish dishes
and sauces
SAFFRON Dried stigmas and
upper styles of the
saffron crocus
Crocus sativus
Pungent,
aromatic
Dried Flavoring and
coloring in rice,
stews, curries and
fish. This is the
world's most
expensive spice
Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use
SAGE Leaves of the sage
plant Salvia
officinalis
Musty, slightly
bitter
Fresh or dried Beef, fish dishes,
stews, stuffings;
common sausage
flavoring
SALT Salt mines,
seawater
Salty Granular Baking, preserving,
curing, as a
condiment
SESAME
SEED
Seeds of the
sesame plant
Sesamum indicum
Nutty Whole In breads and
cookies, in salad
dressings
STAR ANISE Star-shaped fruit of
a tree native to
China Illicium
Very similar to
anise
Whole In herbal tea
mixtures, in chicken
or casserole dishes,
verum or use as you would
anise
SUMMER
SAVORY
Leaves of the
summer savory
plant Satureja
hortensis
Cross between
thyme and mint,
a bit milder than
winter savory
Fresh or dried Pates, soups, meat,
fish and bean dishes.
Use sparingly due to
strong taste.
Herb or Spice Source Flavor Best Used Cooking Use
TARRAGON Leaves of the
French tarragon
plant Artemisia
dracunculus cv.
'Sativa'
Anise-like Fresh or frozen.
Russian
tarragon is not
considered of
culinary value.
In tartar sauce, as
flavoring for cream
sauces, in egg dishes
and seafood salads
THYME Leaves of the
thyme plant
Thymus vulgaris
Minty, lemony Fresh or dried In omelettes, stews,
bland soups, and
stuffing for chicken,
or as flavoring for
green salads and
cooked vegetables
TURMERIC Root of the
turmeric plant
Curcuma
domestica, a
tropical plant
related to ginger
Pungent,
somewhat bitter
Dried and
ground
Curries, East Indian
recipes. This is also
the primary
ingredient in
American-style
("ballpark") mustard.
VANILLA Beans from the
vanilla orchid
Vanilla planifolia
Sweet, highly
aromatic
Remove seeds
from whole,
dried beans; or,
in extract
With coffee, in
desserts including ice
cream, puddings and
cakes
WHITE
PEPPER
Peeled and dried
green peppercorns
from the pepper
tree, Piper nigrum
Similar to black
peppercorn, but
milder
Freshly ground As a condiment
WINTER
SAVORY
Leaves of the
winter savory plant
Satureja montana
Combination of
thyme and mint
Dried or fresh Pates, soups, meat,
fish and bean dishes.
Use sparingly due to
strong taste.
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/indepth.food/herbs/chart3.html