Herb and Spice Chart
lynnescountrykitchen.net

ALLSPICE - Whole or ground.  Culinary Use: Fruit dishes, stews, pumpkin pie, spicy baked goods.

ANISE SEED - Whole or ground.   Culinary Use: Used in cakes, cookies, and sweet breads. In Middle East and India, it is used in soups and stews. It has a licoricelike flavor.

ARROWROOT - Ground  Culinary Use: Used as a thickening agent for sauces, fruit pie fillings and glazes, and puddings.

BASIL - Fresh, dried, ground.  Culinary Use: Italian dishes, pesto, salads, soups, stews, tomatoes.

BAY LEAF - Whole dried.   Culinary Use: Sauces, casseroles, meat dishes.

CARAWAY SEED - Whole or ground.   Culinary Use: A common flavoring for many kinds of rye bread. It is also used to flavor sauerkraut, sausage, cheese, cabbage, and soups.

CARDAMOM - Whole or ground  Culinary Use: In India is traditionally used in curry blends, and in Scandanavian countries it is commonly added to breads; however, most of the world’s Cardamom crop is used in Arabic countries as a flavoring for coffee.

CAYENNE PEPPER - Ground  Culinary Use: Cayenne pepper is traditionally used in Mexican and Italian cooking.

CELERY SEED - Whole or ground  Culinary Use: Useful for adding a celery flavor to foods when the “crunch” of celery is not desired, and in pickling ecipes.

CHERVIL - Fresh or dried  Culinary Use: One of the classic components of the popular French herb blend, fines herbes.

CHIVES - Fresh or dried  Culinary Use: One of the herbs used in fines herbes, also great as a garnish.

CILANTRO - Fresh or dried  Culinary Use: Traditionally used in Middle Eastern, Mexican and Asian cooking.

CINNAMON - Dried  Culinary Use: Possibly the most common baking spice. Cinnamon is used in cakes, cookies, and desserts throughout the world. It is also used in savory chicken and lamb dishes from the Middle East. Stick cinnamon is used in pickling and for flavoring hot dishes.

CLOVES - Dried  Culinary Use: Cloves are used in spice cookies and cakes.

CORIANDER - Whole or ground  Culinary Use: Used in Indian curries, gin, and sausages. Also used in pickling.

CREAM OF TARTAR - Ground  Culinary Use: Used to stabilize egg white foams. It is also a major ingredient in baking powder.

CUMIN - Ground or whole  Culinary Use: Frequently used in Mexican dishes such as chili con carne and hot tamales.

CURRY POWDER - Ground  Culinary Use: Curry Powder is a blend of many spices and is used widely in savory dishes throughout India and Southeast Asia.

DILL SEED AND WEED - Ground, whole, or weed  Culinary Use: Dill seed and weed are widely used in pickling as well as in German, Russian, and Scandanavian dishes.

FENNEL SEED:  Fennel is a member of the parsley family and is grown for its sweet seeds which have a flavor similar to licorice or anise. - Culinary Use: Used in breads, cakes, cookies, pizza and spaghetti sauces, and pickles.

GARLIC:   Garlic is an herb related to the onion and is cultivated for its bulb, which is composed of several small cloves. Garlic can be used fresh or dried. It is a key ingredients to many cuisines including Italian, Chinese and Middle Eastern. Garlic is not only used in cooking, but it also has many medicinal uses.

GINGER:  Ginger is the spice made from the root of a tropical plant, native to Asia. The roots can be used whole, fresh or dried, ground, or cracked. Ginger has a hot, spicy-sweet flavor. - Culinary Use: Oriental dishes, meat, poultry, seafood, winter squash, cookies, cakes and breads.

MACE:   Mace is a spice made from the fibrous red coating of the nutmeg seed, so it is no surprise that is has a flavor similar to that of nutmeg, but with a hint of cinnamon. It is used both whole and ground. - Culinary Use: Cakes and baked goods, doughnuts, fish, meat stuffings, and pickling.

MARJORAM:  Marjoram, or sweet marjoram is a member of the mint family. This herb is cultivated for its leaves, which have a sweet, minty flavor. The leaves are used either whole or ground. - Culinary Use: Seasoning for beans and other vegetables, lamb, soups, stews, fish, poultry stuffing, sausages, beverages, and jellies.

MINT:    Mint leaves have a distinctive flavor that can only be found in mint plants. The leaves can be used fresh or dried, whole or chopped. - Culinary Use: Fruits, desserts, jellies, candies, beverages, and as a garnish.

MUSTARD:   Mustard refers to the mustard seed, which can be purchased either in whole form or as a finely ground yellow powder. Mustard has a strong, hot flavor that comes out when the powder is moistened, but the flavor weakens with time, so for best results, the mustard should not be moistened until it is ready for use. - Culinary Use: Ground mustard can be used in salad dressings, sauces, cheese and egg dishes. Seeds are commonly used in pickles, relishes, salads, beets, cabbage, and sauerkraut.

NUTMEG:   Nutmeg refers to the seed of the nutmeg tree, which is native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. Either ground or whole seed, nutmeg has a sweet, aromatic flavor. Mace, another spice, is made from the outer coating of the nutmeg seed. Although unlikely, when consumed in excess, both nutmeg and mace are considered toxic because they contain myristicin, a hallucinogen. - Culinary Use: Breads, cookies, cakes, custard, pies, desserts, vegetables.

OREGANO:  The oregano leaf is an essential ingredient for many types of Italian cuisine. It has a flavor and aroma similar to marjoram, only stronger. - Culinary Use: Tomato dishes, pizza, spaghetti sauce, Greek, Italian, and Mexican dishes.

PAPRIKA:   Paprika is a mild red spice made from the fruit of the bonnet pepper. Paprika is used not only for its flavor, but for its bright red color. Paprika is always purchased in the ground form. - Culinary Use: Paprika makes a lovely garnish for pale foods, potatoes, potato salad, eggs, deviled eggs, beef, poultry, Hungarian goulash, salads, and salad dressings.

PARSLEY:   Parsley is a member of the carrot family, and its sprigs are used mainly as a garnish for foods. Although often left untouched on most dinner plates, it is said to be an excellent breath freshener, with the power to destroy garlic and onion scent. It is also very popular in French cooking. Parsley can be purchased either fresh or dried. - Culinary Use: Goes very well with almost any meat, soup, or salad as a seasoning or garnish.

PEPPER:   Pepper (Black Pepper) can be purchased as the well known ground pepper, or as whole peppercorns. It is best when fresh ground. Pepper has the ability to strengthen the flavor of foods, without completely masking them as other spices can do. - Culinary Use: Meats, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese and vegetables.

POPPY SEED:   The poppy seed used in cooking comes from a different plant than the seeds used to make opium. This seed has a crunchy nut-like flavor. Poppy seeds are purchased as whole seeds, but can be ground or crushed before use, to release the full flavor. - Culinary Use: Topping for rolls, breads, cookies, butters, and pasta.

ROSEMARY:   Rosemary is an herb native to the Mediterranean with small needle-like leaves. The leaves, which impart a sweet, bold aroma and flavor, are used dried or fresh, whole or ground. - Culinary Use: Lamb, beef, veal, poultry, soups and stews, potatoes, breads (rosemary focaccia).

SAFFRON:   Saffron is collected from the stigmas of the Crocus sativus flower, native to Anatolia. This seasoning is extremely expensive because it takes almost one-quarter million stigmas (hand-picked and dried) to make one pound of saffron. Saffron has a yellow color and a slightly bitter flavor. Saffron is purchased as a ground powder. - Culinary Use: Paella, bouillabaisse, rice dishes, and other Mediterranean cuisine.

SAGE:    Sage is an herb, native to the Mediterranean, grown for its leaves. The flavor has been described as camphoraccous and minty or lemony. Sage is purchased either as rubbed or ground. - Culinary Use: Veal, pork, sausage, poultry stuffings, meat loaf, stews, and salads.

SAVORY:   Savory is a member of the mint family. Its leaves are used fresh or dried and sold in leaf form or ground. It has a flavor similar to thyme. - Culinary Use: Beef, poultry, egg dishes, lamb, lentils, squash, beans.

SESAME SEED:   Sesame seeds are oil rich seeds, recognized by most people for their popularity on hamburger buns. They are always purchased as a whole. - Culinary Use: Breads, rolls, bagels, salads, and stir fry.

TARRAGON:   Tarragon is an herb native to Asia, has a strong spicy flavor and aroma, similar to anise. The leaves are purchased either fresh or dried, whole or ground, but much of the flavor is lost in the drying process. When using dried leaves, be sure to remove the leaves after cooking, because drying makes the leaves tough, and they will not soften again. - Culinary Use: Veal, lamb, beef, poultry, fish, crab, shrimp, eggs, salads and dressings, mushrooms, and asparagus.

THYME:   Thyme, native to southern Europe, has a strong, yet pleasant flavor, which resembles a blend of cloves and sage. This herb is used both fresh and dried, whole or ground. - Culinary Use: Poultry, poultry stuffing, pork, beef, tomatoes, tomato-based soups and sauces, and clams.

TUMERIC:   Tumeric, a member of the ginger family, is native to Asia and has been cultivated since ancient times. Tumeric has a mild flavor which resembles ginger and pepper and is purchased as an orange-yellow powder. - Culinary Use: Curries, poultry, relishes, pickles, eggs and rice.