Poppy Seeds
Poppy seeds have a sweet nutty flavor and are delicious in baked goods and salad dressings. They also add a nice bit on crunchy texture.
Rosemary
Rosemary has a piney almost gingery taste and is delicious in a variety of dishes, especially pork and poultry dishes.
Saffron
Saffron is the world’s most expensive spice. Saffron threads are the stigma of the purple crocus and it takes 75,000 hand picked flowers to make a pound of saffron. Saffron is most commonly used to flavor rice, paella and Indian dishes.
Sage
Sage with its beautiful grey green leaves has a slightly bitter lemony flavor. It is the defining herb in Thanksgiving turkey stuffing in America and is used in a variety of other savory dishes and is especially nice with pork.
Salt
Salt was once very important for preserving food before modern refrigeration. All manner of meats and fish were salted for storage and when you see the term salt cured, that is what that means. Salt slows the growth of bacteria by draining the cells of water. Salt is also used to remove excess water from vegetables such as eggplant and cucumber before use in recipes, this way the vegetables don’t shed their water later in the cooking process, making the recipe runny or soggy. Table salt has iodine added to prevent hyperthyroidism. Kosher salt meets Jewish dietary restrictions. Sea salt is harvested from sea water and is a favorite for cooking. Grey salt is a favorite finishing salt for chefs. When cooking with salt it is important to consider when to add it. For example, when cooking rice, salt added at the beginning of the process is absorbed into the grain as it cooks. Salt added at the end of the cooking sits on top of the grain and is not diluted by the water. This is an important factor when deciding how much to add.
Savory
Savory has a peppery flavor similar to thyme yet milder. It is used in beans, soups, stews, vegetables and stuffing.
Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds have a sweet, nutty flavor and are used in a variety of foods from baked goods to sushi. Sesame seeds taste better when toasted and when ground make halvah or tahini. Sesame oil is a defining flavor in Asian recipes.
Sorrel
Sorrel is a distinctive yet underused herb with its arrow shaped leaves and lemon flavor. Sorrel is used to flavor white sauces, seafood and meat. Sorrel is also nice in sandwiches and salads.
Star Anise
Star anise is a beautiful start shaped pod with seeds. It has a distinctive, strong licorice taste, is popular in Asian cooking and one one of the ingredients in 5 spice powder.
Tamarind
Tamarind is a brownish, fruity pulp popular in African, Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. It is a key component of worcestershire sauce.
Tarragon
Tarragon has a slightly peppery licorice and mustard flavor and should be used sparingly. It is a popular flavoring for chicken and fish and is used in a wide variety of recipes.
Thyme
Thyme is minty lemony herb used to flavor soups, stews, meats, beans and a variety of other dishes.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a root like ginger, but is pungent and peppery, slightly musty. Turmeric has a bright yellow color and is used both to flavor and color foods like curry
Vanilla
Vanilla has a sweet and aromatic taste and is used extensively in baking and to flavor dessert, particularly custards and ice cream. Vanilla beans are split and the seeds scraped out and used or distilled with alcohol to become vanilla extract which keeps indefinately. Vanilla sugar is sugar that has been store with a vanilla bean until if flavored and perfumed it.
Cooking With Herbs And Spices
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