Ingredients

Herb or Spice	Source	Flavor	Best Used	Cooking Use
ALLSPICE	Berries of the allspice tree Pimenta dioica	Like a mix of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon	Freshly ground	Virtually anything, from salads to desserts
ANISE	Seeds of the anise plant Pimpinella anisum	Sweet, similar to licorice	Dried seeds	As flavoring in cookies, candies and pastries; also in poultry dishes
BASIL	Leaves and stems of the basil plant Ocimum basilicum vars	Pungent, somewhat sweet	Fresh	Tomato dishes, with eggplant, for pesto, in Thai and Vietnamese foods, addition to salads and many cooked vegetables
BAY	Leaves of the sweet bay tree Laurus nobilis	Mild	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 the borage plant Borago officinalis	Mild	Fresh	Flowers as garnish or in salads; leaves in salads or in herbal tea mixtures. Either can be candied.
CAPERS	Unopened flower buds from the caperbush Capparis spinosa	Pungent	Pickled in brine	In sauces, as a garnish, and as a flavoring when pickling other foods
CARAWAY	Seeds of the caraway plant Carum carvi	Sweet, nutty	Whole	Hungarian goulash, cookies and cakes, apple sauce, herbal vinegars
CARDAMOM	Seeds from the cardamom tree Elettaria cardamomum, a member of the ginger family	Sweetly spicy	Whole or ground	Stews, curries. Use sparingly, 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 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	Leaves and stems of the chervil plant Anthriscus cerefolium	Light, similar to parsley	Fresh or frozen	Flavoring in soups, casseroles, 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	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	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 Cinnamomum 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	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	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	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	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
GREEN PEPPERCORNS	Immature berries of the pepper tree Piper nigrum	Mild, slightly sweet	Preserved in brine or water-packed	In herbal vinegars, in 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 verum	Very similar to anise	Whole	In herbal tea mixtures, in chicken or casserole dishes, 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.