Spices, Herbs, Blends

Shiso

A member of the mint family, this herb is used extensively in Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian cooking as a wrap for steaming fish and vegetables, in soups, and as a general seasoning.

Shichimi Togarashi

Although the ingredients vary, they typically include sansho or Sichuan pepper, dried citrus peel, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, hemp seeds, ginger, garlic, shiso, and nori. Used on noodles and grilled meats. (Japanese)

Fenugreek

Although this herb smells like maple syrup while cooking, it has a rather bitter, burnt sugar flavor. Found in a lot of Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.

Parsley

Available in flat-leaf (Italian) or curly varieties, this very popular herb is light and grassy in flavor.

Abodo Sauce

Frequently used to preserve chipotles, adobo sauce is a smoky chili-based sauce made with tomatoes, onions, garlic and other spices. It's a tad on the hot side and may be used in place of chili powder in many dishes to provide an additional kick. It also makes for a great meat marinade.

Cilantro

From the coriander plant, cilantro leaves and stems have a pungent, herbaceous flavor. Used in Caribbean, Latin American, and Asian cooking.

Mace

From the same plant as nutmeg, but tastes more subtle and delicate. Great in savory dishes, especially stews and homemade sausages.

Garlic Powder

Garlic powder is made from dehydrated garlic cloves and can be used to give dishes a sweeter, softer garlic flavor.

Mahlab

Ground from sour cherry pits, this spice has a nutty and somewhat sour flavor. It's used in a lot of sweet breads throughout the Middle East.

Ginger

Ground ginger is made from dehydrated fresh ginger and has a spicy, zesty bite.

Basil

Highly aromatic with a robust licorice flavor. Excellent in pestos, as a finishing touch on pasta dishes, or stuffed into sandwiches.

Bebere

Hot peppers, black pepper, fenugreek, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, and cloves. Other ingredients may include ajwain, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, paprika, onion, or garlic. Used to flavor slow-cooked stews. (African)

Dukkah

Includes nuts (most often hazelnuts), sesame seeds, coriander, and cumin. Great spice rub for lamb, chicken, and fish. (Egyptian)

Dill

Light and feathery herb with a pungent herb flavor. Use it for pickling, with fish, and over potatoes.

Fennel Seed

Lightly sweet and licorice flavored. It's excellent with meat dishes, or even chewed on its own as a breath freshener and digestion aid!

Cayenne Pepper

Made from dried and ground red chili peppers. Adds a sweet heat to soups, braises, and spice mixes.

Picking Spice

Most often includes bay leaf, yellow mustard seeds, black peppercorns, allspice, and coriander. Used for pickling vegetables in vinegar.

Mexican Oregano

Native to the Southern United States, Mexico, and Central America. It has a pungent flavor with hints of licorice and citrus. It pairs well with paprika, cumin, and chile peppers. In Mexican cuisine, it is used to flavor beans, soups, and stews. It's stronger and more bitter than Mediterranean oregano, so be careful with the amounts you use.

Chia Seeds

Nearly flavorless, they can be ground into smoothies, cereals, and baked goods for extra nutrition and texture, or even used as a vegan egg substitute.

Papalo

Papalo is similar to cilantro, but much more bold and complex. It's kinda considered to be an acquired taste, and packs more heat than cilantro, but it is often eaten raw with tacos, and in cemitas, guacamole and salads.

Peppercorns

Peppercorns come in a variety of colors (black, white, pink, and green being the most popular). These are pungent and pack a mild heat.

Summer Savory

Peppery green flavor similar to thyme. Mostly used in roasted meat dishes and stuffing, but also goes well with beans.

Sage

Pine-like flavor, with more lemony and eucalyptus notes than rosemary. Found in a lot of northern Italian cooking.

Romerito

Romerito (also known as seepweed) looks a bit like rosemary, but it's flavor profile is closer to spinach. Romerito is always cooked and almost never eaten raw and is most often used in traditional holiday dishes, mixed with nopales (cactus), potatoes or molé sauce. You can also saute Romerito and add to savory cakes or rice and bean dishes.

Saffron

Saffron has a subtle but distinct floral flavor and aroma, and it also gives foods a bright yellow color.

Garam Masala

Typically includes cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, and pepper. Sweeter than curry powder. Also used to season curry sauces. (Indian)

Curry Powder

Typically includes turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, and red pepper, but mixes can vary. Used primarily to quickly flavor curry sauces. (Indian)

Thyme

Adds a pungent, woodsy flavor. Great as an all-purpose seasoning.

Paprika

Adds a sweet note and a red color. Used in stews and spice blends. There is also a spicy version labeled hot paprika.

Bay Leaf

Adds a woodsy background note to soups and sauces.

Smoked Paprika

Adds sweet smokiness to dishes, as well as a red color

Loomi

Also called black lime, this is ground from dried limes. Adds a sour kick to many Middle Eastern dishes.

Lovage

Tastes like a cross between celery and parsley. Great with seafood or to flavor stocks and soups.

Za'atar Seasoning Blend

Thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. All-purpose seasoning for many Middle Eastern dishes, like grilled meats, grilled vegetables, flatbread, and hummus. (Middle Eastern)

Chili Powder

A mixture of dried ground chiles. In Mexico, chile powder is used as a condiment to flavor fruits and vegetables, or as an ingredient in candy. It is different than the chili powder commonly used to make chili in the US and Canada. To make savory dishes, whole dried chiles are used instead. You could use chile powder as a quick substitute for dry chiles, but make sure to buy the powders made from one variety of chile. For example, if the recipe calls for chipotle chiles, use chipotle chile powder.

Thai Basil

A spicy, edgier cousin to sweet Italian basil. A must-have for Thai stir-fries, Vietnamese pho, spring rolls, and other South Asian dishes.

Baharat

Black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Used to flavor soups, tomato sauces, lentils, rice pilafs, and couscous, and can be a rub for meats. (Middle Eastern)

Ras el Hanout

Cardamom, clove, cinnamon, paprika, coriander, cumin, mace, nutmeg, peppercorn, and turmeric. Use as a spice rub on meat or as a simple condiment. (North African/Moroccan)

Old Bay

Celery salt, mustard, red and black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice, ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, and paprika. Created in the Chesapeake Bay area of Maryland, it is traditionally used for shrimp and crab.

Chipotle

Chipotle is actually a dried jalapeño, and it has a distinctive smoked flavor that complements many sauces, salsas and marinades. You can get it dried or preserved in adobo sauce.

Pumpkin Spice Mix

Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Used for seasoning pumpkin pie, but also great in other spiced baked goods.

Achiote Paste

Commonly made form annatto seeds, coriander, oregano, cumin, cloves, garlic, and more. Used in a variety of dishes, especially marinades.

Chervil

Delicate anise flavor. Great raw in salads or as a finishing garnish.

Chives

Delicate onion flavor, great as a garnish.

Marjoram

Floral and woodsy. Try it in sauces, vinaigrettes, and marinades.

Cinnamon

Found in almost every world cuisine, cinnamon serves double duty as spice in both sweet and savory dishes.

Pink Pepper

Small and sweet, these berries are fantastic when marinated with olives or simply sprinkled on shortbread.

Turmeric

Sometimes used more for its yellow color than its flavor, turmeric has a mild woodsy flavor. Can be used in place of saffron in a pinch or for those of us on a budget.

Chinese Five-Spice Powder

Star anise, Szechuan peppercorns, fennel, cassia, and clove. Adds sweetness and depth to savory dishes, especially beef, duck, and pork. (Chinese)

Rosemary

Strong and piney. Great with eggs, beans, and potatoes, as well as grilled meats.

Tarragon

Strong anise flavor. Can be eaten raw in salads or used to flavor tomato dishes, chicken, seafood, or eggs.

Mint

Surprisingly versatile for such an intensely flavored herb. Try it paired with lamb, peas, potatoes, and of course, with chocolate!

Nutmeg

Sweet and pungent. Great in baked goods, but also adds a warm note to savory dishes.

Lemon Thyme

Sweet lemon aroma and a fresh lemony-herbal flavor. This is excellent with poultry and in vinaigrettes.

Mexican Cinnamon

The dried inner bark of evergreen trees native to Sri Lanka. In Mexico, only Ceylon cinnamon or true cinnamon is used, which is different from Cassia cinnamon (what is most readily available in the United States and Canada). Its flavor is hot and aromatic. It is used in a variety of baked goods and desserts, to make café de olla, to candy sweet potato, and in mole among other things. Many Mexican households boil water and cinnamon to mask unwanted odors in the kitchen.

Mexican Bay Leaf

The dried leaves of an evergreen shrub native to Mexico. Its flavor is slightly floral, herbal, and a bit bitter, similar to oregano and marjoram. In Mexico, it is used extensively in soups, stews, broths, and rice. It is also used for medicinal and religious purposes.

Allspice

The dried unripe fruit of the pimento dioica tree, native to Southern Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. It has the flavor of cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg combined, thus the name allspice, and it can be paired with those same spices. It is used mainly in central and Southern Mexico in adobos and pipianes (seed-based sauces). It is thought that the Mayans used it for embalming due to its fragrant aroma.

Clove (Clavo de Olor)

The flower buds of an evergreen tree native to Indonesia. Its flavor is intense yet sweet, and even a little bitter. In Mexican cuisine, you will most likely see it paired with cumin and cinnamon in savory dishes. You can also find it used in baked goods, and to flavor moles and pipians.

Avocado Leaves

The fresh or dried leaves of the Mexican avocado trees. Their flavor is reminiscent of anise and hazelnut. It is used in Southern and Central Mexico to flavor bean tamales. Make sure your avocado leaves are from Mexican trees - the trees of other countries have been known to be toxic!

Hoja Santa

The heart-shaped leaves of hoja santa are used frequently in yellow molés, or as a wrapper or seasoning for meat, fish, mushrooms and tamales. It's got a strong and rather unexpected flavor (which has been described by various people as similar to mint, eucalyptus, peppercorn, allspice or anise) and should be used sparingly.

Achiote/Annatto

The orange-red seeds of the annatto tree, native to the tropical areas of the Americas. The seeds are dried and ground to a powder, or made into a paste. Its flavor is sweet and earthy, and it pairs well with citrus. It is a primary spice in the cuisine of Yucatan, Mexico, used in savory dishes and stews.

Vanilla

The pod of a flowering vine in the orchid family native to Mexico and South America. Its flavor is sweet, yet smoky. It is often paired with cinnamon and clove. In Mexico, it is used extensively in desserts like flan, ice cream, cake, and to make hot chocolate. You can also find it in savory dishes, especially in the Veracruz region.

Cumin (Comino)

The seed of a flowering plant native to the East Mediterranean and South Asia. It has a strong distinctive earthy flavor with bitter undertones, and it pairs well with coriander and dried chiles. In Mexico, it is used in sauce and stews. Can also be used with almost any meat, or heartier vegetables and legumes.

Anise

The seed of a flowering plant native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southeast Asia. Its flavor can be compared to licorice, fennel or tarragon. It pairs well with cinnamon and vanilla. In Mexico, it is used mainly in cakes, cookies and sweet breads, like the famous pan de muerto, and the unforgettable anise cookies. It is also one of the ingredients of mole. In the past, babies were given anise tea to calm their colic.

Coriander (Semilla de Cilantro)

The whole dried seeds of the cilantro plant native to various regions from southern Europe, northern Africa, and southwestern Asia. Coriander has a floral, citrusy, and sweet flavor, and it pairs well with cumin, thyme, and black pepper. In Mexican cuisine, it is used to flavor chorizo and it can also be found in soups and stews.

Caraway Seed

These anise-tasting seeds are essential for soda bread, sauerkraut, and potato salad.

Curry Leaves

These pungent leaves are not related to curry powder but impart a similar flavor. Used in Indian, Malaysian, Sri Lankan, Singaporean, and Pakistani cuisine. Used to flavor curries, soups, stews, and chutneys.

Grains of Paradise

These taste like a cross between cardamom, citrus, and black pepper. They add a warming note to many North African dishes.

Gochugaru

This Korean red pepper spice is hot, sweet, and ever-so-slightly smoky.

Ancho Chili Powder

This is different than regular chili powder. It's sweet and rich with a bit of a fruit flavor.

Cardamom

This warm, aromatic spice is widely used in Indian cuisine. It's also great in baked goods when used in combination with spices like clove and cinnamon.

Bouquet Garni

Thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Used to flavor broths and soups. (Classic French)

Asafoetida/Asafetida

Used as a digestive aid in Indian cooking, asafoetida has a strong odor that mellows out into a garlic-onion flavor.

Kaffir Lime Leaves

Used to flavor curries and many Thai dishes. Can be sold fresh, dry, or frozen.

Herbes de Provence

Usually savory; contains rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and sometimes lavender. Use as a marinade or dry rub for roast chicken, fish, and vegetables. (French)

Nutritional Yeast

Very different from bread yeast, this can be sprinkled onto or into sauces, pastas, and other dishes to add a nutty, cheesy, savory flavor.

Epazote

While technically an herb, epazote in its dry form is used as a spice. The plant is native to Mexico and Central and South America. Its flavor is pungent with notes of anise, oregano, citrus, and mint. It is used primarily to flavor black beans in most of Mexico, but it can also be used in sauces. It is thought that cooking beans with epazote aids in their digestion (aka reducing the gas they often cause).

Star Anise

Whole star anise can be used to add a sweet licorice flavor to sauces and soups.

Sumac

Zingy and lemony, sumac is a Middle Eastern spice that's great in marinades and spice rubs.