Herbs, Spices and

Sugars Culinary Foundations

Basil

Delicate pointed green leaf

Sweet aromatic flavor

Used for pesto, tomato sauces and popular Mediterranean foods

Bay Leaf

Stiff, green oval leaf

Stocks, soups, and stews

Cilantro (Coriander)

Flat green lead with serrated edges

Strong flavor

Citrus tones

Uses: Salsa

Important to Latin America/ Asian cuisine

Dill

Dark, green, feathery leaves

Uses: pickling, excellent with fish

Important in Scandinavian and Eastern European cuisines

Mint

Pointed leaves with serrated edges

Peppermint and spearmint

Uses: garnish

Important to Middle Eastern cuisine

Oregano

Small oval leaf

Uses: tomato sauces

Popular in Italian, Greek and Mexican

Parsley

Flat or curly, jagged edges

Uses: Southern European cuisine

Rosemary

Stiff needles and a woody stem

Pinelake aroma

Excellent with poultry, lamb, pork and game

Sage

Oval leaves, dusty velvety texture

Popular in stuffing and sausages

Goes well with poultry, pork and game

Tarragon

Long stem, with long narrow leaves

Slight licorice flavor

Uses: fish, chicken, eggs, salad dressing, essential for bearnaise sauce

Thyme

Very small oval leaves on a thin fibrous stems

Savory flavor

Uses: stocks, soups and sauces

Spices

Allspice

Dried berries of a Caribbean tree

Known as Jamaican pepper

Flavor of nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves

Uses: pickling and baking

Anise

Seeds of a small annual plant, originated in Egypt

strong licorice flavor

Uses: liquor and baking

Chile Powder

Ground of red Chile peppers

Popular ingredient in Mexican and Southwestern cooking

Cinnamon

Bark of a tropical tree

Sweet flavor

Extremely popular in pastries and fruit dishes

Cloves

Sun-dried buds of a tropical tree

Strong sweet aroma

Uses: pickling, marinades, and baked goods

Cumin

Slender brown seed of an annual plant

Originated in the middle East

Chili and Curry

Popular in Mexican, Indian and Middle Eastern Cookery

Curry Powder

Mixture of a dozen or more spices

Used in curries and stews

Indian and Southern Asian Cuisine

Dill Seed

Light, brown oval seeds from dill plant

Popular for pickling

Fennel Seed

Greenish, brown pointed seed of the fennel plant whose bulb is used as a vegetable

Licorice flavor

Used in sausages and pork dishes

Popular in Italian cuisine

Ginger

Root of a tropical plant grown in Asia and the Caribbean

Available as fresh, dried, or preserved with sugar

Uses: baking and pastries

Widely used in Asian cuisines

Nutmeg

Woody inner seed of the same tropical plant

Produces mace

Uses: pastry, baking, vegetable and potatoes

Sweet Flavor

Paprika

Powder ground from a variety of different red Child peppers

Sweet or hot

Used in a wide variety of soups, stews, and sauces for color and flavor

Popular in Hungarian and Spanish cuisines

Poppy Seeds

Small, black seeds of the poppy flower

Slightly nutty flavor

Uses: breads and pastries

Saffron

Stigma or center of the crocus flower

Expensive because it is handpicked

Gives food a bright yellow color and subtle flavor

Uses: rice dishes, sauces, seafood

Important in Mediterranean cuisines

Sesame Seeds

Pale- colored seeds of an annual plant native to India

Seeds are ground to a paste (tahini) or can be made into oil

Uses: breads, pasties, and vegetable dishes

Middle Eastern, Asian, and African cuisines

Turmeric

Root of a lily native to Southeast Asia

Bright yellow color it fives dishes

Uses: rice dishes, curries, pickling, and prepared mustard

Sugars

Sugar

Scientific name “sucrose”

Refined from either sugarcane plant or sugar beets

Granulated sugar used most often

Add sweet flavor to dishes

Molasses

Liquid that is leftover after refined sugar is extracted from sugarcane juice

Less sweet than sugar

Can come in light and dark

More it is processed the darker it gets

Brown Sugar

Originally partially refined sugar

Made by adding molasses back into refined sugar

Comes in light and dark as a result of quantity and intensity of molasses

Honey

Formed from flower necter gathered by bees

Clover, alfalfa, and orange blossom

Can be made from different flowers: wildflowers, lavender, and buckwheat

Sweeter than sugar, but can be substituted equally

Maple and Corn Syrup

Maple

Traditional American staple from the maple tree

Due to cost many maple syrups are made from corn syrup with artificial maple flavor

Corn

Starchy part of the corn

Referred to as “glucose”

Two different kinds- Light and Dark

Versatile