Anise
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: pimpinella anisum
Anise or aniseed is a small plant related to fenneland celery. It is grown for its seeds, which have a
similar taste to liquorice. It is a different plant tostar anise.
Basil
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: ocimum basilicum
Basil is a herb that is often used in Italian or Thai food. Sweet basil is used in Italian food and Thai basil
is used in Asian food. Basil has a sweet, strong smell.
Basil likes to grow in hot, dry conditions and does not tolerate frost at all. Basil stops producing the oil
that gives it its flavour once it starts to flower, so you should pick off the flowers as they develop. You
can leave one or two stems to flower without affecting the rest of the plant, so you have some seeds
for next year.
Bay laurel
● Words that start with B
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: laurus nobilis
Bay leaves are dried leaves from the bay laurel tree. Bay leaves are used to flavour soups and stews.
The flavour of the leaves gets stronger when they are dried.
The bay laurel itself can grow into a large tree, but is usually kept in a container and clipped into
shapes by topiary. Bay trees like a frost-free area.
Chili
● Words that start with C
● Fruit
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: capsicum annuum
The chili pepper, also spelt chilli, is a small fruit that ranges in colour from green to yellow to red, the
most common. The chili is very hot, and when you eat one it feels like your mouth is burning. Chilis are
in the same family as the capsicum (bell pepper).
Chives
● Words that start with C
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
allium schoenoprasum
Chives are a member of the onion family. Chives grow in clumps from a bulb under the ground. You
can use the leaves cut up on salads or on potato orpasta dishes. You can use the flowers in salads too.
Chives are very easy to grow from seed, and they can also grow new chives by digging up a clump and
splitting off the smaller side bulbs.
There are different varieties of chives, one of the most useful being garlic chives, which have leaves
and flowers with a strong garlic flavour.
Cinnamon
● Words that start with C
● Herbs and Spices
Scientific name: cinnamomum aromaticum
Cinnamon is made from the bark of a small tree native to Sri Lanka. The smell and taste comes from an
oil that the plant makes. Cinnamon is usually sold as a powder in shops, and is simply the bark of the
tree ground into powder.
Cinnamon is used in a lot of cooking, mostly in sweet desserts like chocolate dishes, apple pie and
manycakes and cookies. Cinnamon is used with sugar on cinnamon donuts.
Cloves
● Words that start with C
● Herbs and Spices
Scientific name:
syzygium aromaticum
Cloves are the dried flower of a large evergreen tree native to Indonesia and India. They are used
whole or ground up in baking, for making cakes, puddingsand a lot of Mexican and Indian food. Cloves
are very strong, and you don't need much of them to flavour food.
Clove oil can be used to stop sore teeth from hurting.
Photo by Exceptinsects
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Coriander
● Words that start with C
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
coriandrum sativum
Coriander, also called Chinese Parsley, is a soft, fast-growing annual herb - it lives for a year or less. It
is very easy to grow from its big, round seeds. It is best planted in early Spring, and again in Autumn in
warmer areas. In warm weather it will go to seed very fast so it is best to plant it in a cool, sheltered
spot.
Coriander leaves are is used fresh in a lot of Asian - particularly Thai, Middle Eastern and African
cooking. It is also used in some South American dishes. Both the fresh leaves and the dried seed,
powdered or whole, are used in cooking. Ground coriander seed is one of the main ingredients
incurry powders and mixed spice. Coriander is also used to flavour cakes, cooked fruits and cookies and
goes very well with chicken, fish and vegetable dishes. Coriander is though to help digestion and is
useful in treating colic.
Cress
● Words that start with C
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: lepidium sativum
Cress is a herb with a very sharp, peppery taste that is very easy to grow. It is related to mustard.
Cress can be grown inside by sprinkling the seeds over some damp potting soil and left on a window
ledge. Cress can be harvested simply by cutting the plants off with scissors when they have a few
leaves.
Cress is very tasty on salads, or in egg and cress and wiches.
Cumin
● Words that start with C
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
cuminum cyminum
Cumin is a plant native to the Mediterranean and India, and is related to parsley. It is grown for its
seeds, which are ground into a powder. Cumin is one of the main ingredients of curry.
Dill
● Words that start with D
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: anethum graveolens
Dill is a feathery herb that can grow up to a metre tall. It can be grown easily from seed
in spring andsummer. It grows so easily from seed that once you have a dill plant go to seed once you
will have dill everywhere!
Dill can be used in lots of different types of cooking but goes best with fish and potatoes. The fresh
leaves are usually used, cut up finely and sprinkled over food.
Fennel
● Words that start with F
● Food
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
● Vegetables
Scientific name: foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is a plant related to dill and anise. It has a flavour similar to anise but not as strong. The leaves
and seeds can be used in cooking as a garnish or flavour, and the bulb at the base of the plant can be
cooked as a vegetable.
Garlic
● Words that start with G
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
allium sativum
Garlic is a member of the onion family. Garlic is used as a seasoning in many different varieties of
food. Garlic is very strong and can make your breath smell bad the day after you eat it. The bulb of
the garlic is usually made of several different sections calledcloves that can be pulled apart and peeled
individually.
It was once thought that garlic warded off vampires.
Ginger
● Words that start with G
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
zingiber officinale
Ginger is a root which is used in cooking. It is used to make gingerbread men, in gravies, stirfries,
curries and cakes. It has a strong, sharp taste.
It can be used as a medicine too, particularly for easing morning sickness, or to aid digestion.
Mint
● Words that start with M
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: mentha family
Mint is a family of small plants with a strong taste and smell. It is used most often to make tea, jellies
and sweets or candy. Most chewing gums,toothpastes and breath fresheners are mint flavoured. Fresh
mint can be added to drinks, saladsor as a garnish on many meals. Mint is often used in sweets, biscuits
or cookies along with chocolate. The leaves of the mint are used for their flavour, either fresh or dried.
The flavour is carried in oil in the leaves, and the very strongly flavoured oil can be extracted and
stored for later use.
Mint is an easy plant to grow. It prefers a lightly shaded spot with good, moist soil but will grow almost
anywhere under almost any conditions. It grows a vigorous root system that can spread very fast.
Mint is best grown in a pot so it doesn't invade the rest of the garden. You can grow new mint plants
by taking a cutting of a mint runner. Just digging down a little at the edge of a clump of mint should
loosen up a runner that already has roots, and can be clipped off and used to grow a new plant.
Mustard
● Words that start with M
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific names: sinapis hirta and brassica juncea
There are several different kinds of mustard plant. They are in the same family
as canola, turnips andcabbages. A field of mustard flowering looks very much like a field of canola
flowering.
Mustard is grown mainly for its seeds, although the leaves can be eaten too. Mustard seeds are ground
up and mixed with vinegar and sometimes other spices to make the mustard you can buy in shops.
Depending on the type of mustard used, mustard paste can be very sharp or very mild. Sometimes
mustard, called wholegrain mustard, is made from the whole seeds of the mustard plant and a
little oilinstead of crushing the seeds to a paste.
Oregano
● Words that start with O
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
origanum vulgare
Oragano is a herb often used in Greek, Spanish and Italian cooking. It comes from the Mediterranean
region. Oregano is very commonly used on pizza.
Paprika
● Words that start with P
● Herbs and Spices
Paprika is a spice, usually found as a powder, made from dried and ground up bell peppers (capsicums).
Paprika is often smoked to add to the flavour.
Paprika is used to flavour or colour many dishes, and is often sprinkled on meat before it is fried.
Parsley
● Words that start with P
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Curly leaf parsley scientific name: petroselinum crispum
Flat leaf parsley scientific name: petroselinum neapolitanum
Parsley is a herb, which means it is not eaten as a food on its own, but it is added to other dishes for
flavour. Parsley is used mostly as a garnish, cut up and sprinkled onto food to make it look nicer. You
often find a sprig of parsley being used to decorate food from a restaurant.
Pepper
● Words that start with P
● Herbs and Spices
Scientific name: piper nigrum
Peppercorns are the fruit and seeds of a vine native to India. The fruit is very small and only has one
seed, and a thin layer of flesh around the outside. Peppercorns are dried and sold as pepper, either
whole or ground up into small flakes or a powder. Pepper is usually sold in white and black. White
pepper is made from just the seeds of the pepper fruit, and black pepper is made from the whole fruit,
seed and all.
Rosemary
● Words that start with R
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: rosmarinus officinalis
Rosemary is a woody evergreen herb that grows into a shrub up to about a metre and a half tall and
much wider again. It can be clipped into a hedge or othertopiary shapes. It has very strong smelling
narrow leaves and purple flowers. It grows well in hot, dry conditions and most varieties tolerate heavy
frosts. It does not like being overwatered.
Rosemary goes very well with lamb dishes, but can be used to flavour a variety of other foods too.
Saffron
● Words that start with S
● Herbs and Spices
Scientific name: crocus sativus
Saffron is a spice made from the dried stigma of the saffron crocus. Saffron gives a strong
golden yellowcolour to food.
Sage
● Words that start with S
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: salvia officinalis
Sage is a shrub originally from the Mediterranean region. It has pale greyish furry leaves, and grows all
year around. Is used to flavour fatty meat dishes, and as an ingredient in sausages in some countries. It
is very commonly used with onions as stuffing for chicken or pork.
Salt
● Words that start with S
● Herbs and Spices
Salt is a mineral that is essential to all animal life, but is toxic to most land plants. Salt is found in
the sea, in your blood and sweat and in solid form as rock saltaway from the sea.
Salt is collected to use for making food either by mining a deposit of rock salt, or by evaporating salty
water until only the salt is left behind.
The photo is of the surface of a salt lake with piles of salt scraped into mounds, ready to take away.
Sesame seeds
● Words that start with S
● Herbs and Spices
● Nuts
Scientific name:
sesamum indicum
Sesame seeds are the seeds of a plant from Africa and India that grows to about a metre high. The
seeds can be pressed to extract the oil but are used most often sprinkled on other foods as a flavour
andgarnish. You often see them stuck to the top of loaves of bread.
The sesame seeds in the picture are on top of some cooked spinach.
Star anise
● Words that start with S
● Herbs and Spices
Scientific name: illicium verum
Star anise is the fruit of a small evergreen tree from China. It has a very similar taste to anise and both
are used to give food a liquorice flavour.
Tarragon
● Words that start with T
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name:
artemisia dracunculus
Tarragon, or dragon's wort, is a soft, green plant used mainly in French cooking. Tarragon has an
interesting flavour that is a little like anise.
Thyme
● Words that start with T
● Herbs and Spices
● Plants
Scientific name: thymus vulgaris
Thyme (said like "time") is a small, woody plant with lots of tiny leaves. It grows all year
around, and gets tiny pink flowers in the spring. It has a very strong smell, and is used to flavour
meat, soups and stews. Some varieties of thyme are lemon scented and can be used in dishes that need
a hint of lemon.
Thyme can be grown from seed, cuttings, or just digging up parts of the plant that have already grown
roots. When thyme spreads, branches that touch the ground grow roots at that point and are easy to
separate. It likes to grow in a hot sunny spot, and can tolerate very heavy frosts and drought. It is a
perfect rockery plant.
Vanilla
● Words that start with V
● Herbs and Spices
Scientific name:
vanilla planifolia
Vanilla beans are the seed pods of a kind of orchid. When they are grown outside Mexico, they need
to be pollinated by hand. Vanilla has a strong, aromatic smell and is used in many different sweets,
particularly icecream. The part of vanilla that makes the flavour can also be made artificially, and is a
lot cheaper than natural vanilla essense.
Vinegar
● Words that start with V
● Herbs and Spices
Vinegar is a liquid made from wine, in a process that turns the alcohol in the wine into acetic acid.
Vinegar has a different flavour depending on what kind of wine was used to make it. Balsamic vinegar
is very dark, rice wine vinegar is very light and applecider vinegar is yellow.
Vinegar is used to make sauces like ketchup, to preserve fruits and vegetables by pickling, and to
dress salads.
Zest
● Words that start with Z
● Herbs and Spices
● Food preparation
Zest is the outside, coloured layer of citrus fruit likelemons and oranges. It is used to add flavour to
many different kinds of food. Zest is removed from citrus fruit using a special tool called a zester, or
just with a regular grater.
