556 THE MEAT MARKET

SEASON TO TASTE: HERB AND SPICE CHART

perfect tomato can taste of France, Italy, India, South America, or the American Southwest with just the right combination of fresh

HERB OR SPICE
ALLSPICE

Dried spice berries,

slightly larger than
peppercorns. Allspice
tastes of cinnamon,
cloves, and nutmeg
therefore, the name.

ANISE

Small, licorice-flavored
seeds.

BASIL

Herb with sweet

clove-like taste. Varieties
include sweet basil,
small-leaved bush basil,
dark opal, and lemon
basil.

BAY LEAF

Pungent, woodsy herb

with sturdy leaves and
faint cinnamon taste.

BORAGE

Leafy herb tasting faintly

of cucumbers.

herbs and spices. Like a magic palette, they color the

simplest of foods and turn ordinary dishes into
extraordinary ones. They are the key to New Basics.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Excellent in spice cakes

and cookies; plum,
peach, and apple pies;
breads; steamed
puddings; and barbecue
sauce, ketchup, pickles,
sausages, pates, and
corned beef.

Dried whole berries and

ground

No

Use in cookies, breads,

and cakes.

Dried whole seeds and

ground

No

Essential herb for Italian

food, especially with
eggs, tomatoes, pasta,
chicken, fish, and
shellfish.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried

Indoors and out

Essential for bouquet

garni. Good with meat
and/or bean stews,
game, pot roasts; adds
unusual note to rice
pudding and custards.

Dried whole leaves

Indoors and out Bay is a

perennial herb but will
not overwinter in harsh
climates.

Young leaves are

wonderful in
saladsboth green and
fruitwith string beans,
in fruit drinks and teas.
Blue flowers are sweet
tasting and a very pretty
garnish.

In some vegetable
markets

Indoors and out. Pick

leaves when small and
young; older leaves are
tougher and hairy.

SEASON TO TASTE 557

HERB OR SPICE
CARAWAY

Nutty, licorice-flavored
seeds.

CARDAMOM

Fragrant cinnamon-like
seed popular in baked
goods and Indian
cuisine.

CAYENNE

Red pepper of the

capsicum family most
often used dried.

CELERY SEEDS

Dried seed tasting

strongly of celery.

CHERVIL

Delicate herb with subtle

celery-licorice taste.

CHILI POWDER

Commercial mix of
ground chile peppers,
cumin, oregano, and
other herbs and spices.

CHIVES

Delicate herb with light

onion or garlic taste.
Decorative as well as
useful garden herb.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Use with eggs, cheese

spreads, and dips; with
noodles; in rye bread,
cole slaw, and
sauerbraten; and with
cooked vegetables
potatoes, beets, carrots,
cabbage, turnips, and
winter squash.

Dried whole seeds

Outdoors

Use in spice cakes and

cookies, apple and
pumpkin pies, curries;
with winter squash and
sweet potatoes.

Dried whole seeds and

ground

No

Use in any dish for a

little heat, especially with
eggs and cheese. Add
cayenne by the pinch.

Dried whole pods, but

more usually ground
(also labeled simply
"ground red pepper")

Outdoors

Excellent in
saladspotato, cole slaw,
and vegetable.

Dried whole seeds

No

Excellent in green salads;

with fish, shellfish,
chicken, eggs, cream,
peas, string beans, and
tomatoes. Essential for
fines herbes.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried

Indoors and out

Use in bean and meat

stews and soups; with
eggs and cheese.

Ground

No

Excellent in cream soups

and sauces; with fish and
shellfish, cheese, and
eggs.

Fresh stalks; frozen and

freeze-dried, minced, or
chopped

Indoors and out

558 THE MEAT MARKET

HERB OR SPICE
CINNAMON

Spice bark of the cassia

tree, sweet hot flavor.

CLOVE

Spice of winter holidays,

pungent and sweet

CORIANDER/CILANTRO

Nutty-tasting seeds are

called coriander. Cilantro
is the herb and tastes
refreshingly soapy.

CUMIN

Small, hot, bitter seed.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Use in spice cakes,

cookies, fruit and squash
pies, custards; with fruit
for sauce and conserves;
carrots, winter squash,
and sweet potatoes.

Dried whole sticks and

ground

No

A few whole cloves stuck

in an onion flavor stocks,
and more are pressed
into the scored fat of a
ham, but most are added
ground to spice cakes
and cookies, quick
breads, fruit pies, and
sauces. Use judiciously
with sweet potatoes,
winter squash, carrots,
and pates.

Dried whole buds and

ground

No

Use whole seeds for

pickles and ground for
baking. Cilantro is an
essential herb for
Mexican, Latin
American, and Asian
cooking. Use with rice,
dried beans, fish,
shellfish, poultry,
vegetables, salsas, and
salads. Add the fresh
herb at the last minute
before serving.

Seeds: dried whole and

ground
Leaves: fresh

Outdoors. Hang cilantro

flowers upside down over
paper to gather seeds.

Essential spice for curry

and chili powder
mixtures. Good with
curried vegetables,
beans, fish, lamb, and
poultry, as well as with
cheese, sausages,
chutney, and yogurt dip.

Dried whole seeds and

ground

No

SEASON TO TASTE 559

HERB OR SPICE
DILL

Seeds and herb have

delicate caraway taste.
Seeds are the more
pungent.

FENNEL SEEDS

Slight licorice flavor,

similar to dill and anise.

FILE POWDER

Herb ground from

sassafras leaves, tasting
like sassafras or root
beer.

FINES HERBES

French herb blend of

parsley, chives, tarragon,
and chervil.

GINGER

Versatile spice with bite

and aroma. Important to
dozens of cuisines from
Jamaica to Germany to
China.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Both seeds and herb are

used for pickles. Use
seeds with rice and fish
dishes and fresh dill
leaves with eggs, fresh
cheeses, yogurt, seafood,
chicken, cucumbers,
green beans, potatoes,
tomatoes, and beets.

Seeds: dried whole

Leaves: fresh and
crumbled dried (dried
leaves are sometimes
labeled "dillweed")

Outdoors

Favorite for
Scandinavian breads,
cakes, cookies. Also good
with oily fish (it cuts the
oil), especially fish soup,
and with vegetables, in
salads and salad
dressing.

Dried whole seeds

Outdoors

Essential for gumbo.

Ground dried

No

Good with fish, poultry,

eggs, and cheese.

Crumbled dried leaves

Herbs grow well indoors

and out. They can be
dried and blended or
combined fresh.

Use ground dried

judiciously in cakes,
cookies, fruit and squash
pies, custard, rice, and
marinades. Use
crystallized and
preserved ginger in cakes
and cookies. Use fresh
sliced or grated in
marinades and with fish,
poultry, pork, and
vegetables.

Dried ground, dried

whole, crystallized,
preserved, and fresh

No

560 THE MEAT MARKET

HERB OR SPICE
HYSSOP

Pungent herb with minty

taste. Decorative garden
plant.

JUNIPER

Strong spice berries the

size of small blueberries.
Most are used in the
making of gin.

LAVENDER

Herb with fresh clean

scent.

LEMON GRASS

Straw-like stalk has

woodsy, lemony flavor.

LEMON BALM

Herb with sweet lemon

flavor and citrusy scent.

LOVAGE

Herb with sharp celery

taste.

MACE

Lacy outer covering of

nutmeg; flavor is similar
to but slightly milder
than nutmeg.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Use flowers for garnish

and young leaves in
salads both green and
fruit.

Fresh sprigs in specialty

markets

Outdoors

Use in marinades for

fish, game, poultry, pork
and beef, and in
sauerkraut and
choucroute.

Dried whole berries

No

Excellent for sachets and

potpourris but also good
added judiciously to
herbes de Provence, fruit,
and iced tea.

Fresh sprigs and dried

whole leaves in specialty
markets

Best outdoors but will

grow indoors

Essential herb of
Indonesian and Near
Eastern cooking. Use in
fish, shellfish, chicken
soup, salsas, and
vinaigrettes. Low heat
brings out the flavor.

Fresh and dried stalks in

specialty markets

No

Excellent in summer
soups, salads, jellies and
jams, and with fruit.

Fresh sprigs in specialty

markets

Indoors and out

Use judiciously in salads

and stock or soup.

Fresh sprigs in specialty

markets

Outdoors

Good in spice cakes and

cookies, custards, fruit
dessertsespecially
plums, peaches, and
applesas well as with
carrots, broccoli,
Brussels sprouts, and
cauliflower.

Dried blades and ground

No

SEASON TO TASTE 561

HERB OR SPICE
MARJORAM

Herb that is first cousin

to oregano with similar
but more delicate taste.

MINT

Herb with refreshing

scent and cool taste. Of
more than 30 varieties,
peppermint and
spearmint are best
known. Lemon, orange,
and apple mint have
distinct fruit taste.

NUTMEG

Sweet, nutty spice seed

of the nutmeg tree, the
size of an olive.

OREGANO

Herb with pungent

marjoram taste.

PAPRIKA

Ground spice of dried

capsicum peppers.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (im average garen)

Use in almost any fish,

meat, poultry, egg, or
vegetable dish, and in
tomato sauce.

Fresh sprigs, dried whole

leaves, and crumbled
dried

Indoors and out

Use in Middle Eastern

yogurt and grain dishes
(tabbouleh), salads; with
peas, beans, corn, and
potatoes; in jellies, fruit
salads, desserts, and iced
tea.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried

Indoon and out

Best in cream sauces and

soups, with vegetables
beans, broccoli, carrots,
cauliflower, spinach,
Brussels sprouts, onions
but especially for
cakes, cookies, pies,
pastries, custard, and of
course, eggnog.

Whole seeds and ground

Ground nutmeg quickly
loses its flavor; buy
whole nutmeg and grate
as needed.

No

Use with fish, meat,

poultry, dried beans,
cheese, eggs; in vegetable
soup; with tomatoes,
mushrooms, peppers,
summer squash, and
eggplant. Essential herb
for Italian, Greek, and
Mexican cooking.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried

Indoors and out

Good in cooked
saladsespecially potato
and eggsalad dressing,
dips; with fish, shellfish,
and poultry. Essential for
goulash and paprikash.

Ground dried
Hungarian paprika is
most flavorful and
available sweet or hot.

No

562 THE MEAT MARKET

HERB OR SPICE
PARSLEY

Crisp herb with celery

flavor. Of two common
varietiesItalian flat leaf
and curly leafflat leaf
has the stronger flavor.
Use curly parsley for
garnishing.

POPPY SEEDS

Tiny blue-black seeds of

the poppy flower.
900,000 make a pound.

ROSEMARY

Needle-like leaves with

strong piny scent and

flavor.

SAFFRON

Fragrant spice that is the

dried stigmas of crocus.
Expensive because they
are handpicked (about
250,000 make a pound),
but a little goes a long
way. Too much saffron
lends an unpleasant
medicinal flavor.

SAGE

Herb with musky flavor.

Silver-green leaves make
sage a decorative garden
plant.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Excellent in soups,
stocks, cream and tomato
sauces, salads and salad
dressings; with poultry,
game, meats, fish, and
shellfish, dried beans,
and vegetablesfrom
artichokes to zucchini.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried. Fresh
parsley is readily
available; dried parsley is
pale and dusty in
comparison.

Indoors and out

Use for cakes, pastries,

cookies, breads, with
noodles and fresh fruit.

Whole seeds and ground

paste

No

Best with game, poultry,

and meats, especially
grilled. Add judiciously
to mushrooms, roasted
potatoes, stuffing, olive
oil breads and buns, and
ripe melon.

Fresh sprigs and whole

dried

Best outdoors but will

grow indoors

Use in paella,
bouillabaisse, risotto,
tomato and cream soups,
couscous; with seafood;
in Swedish cakes and
breads.

Dried whole stigmas and

ground. Dried whole
saffron threads are of
better quality.

No

Excellent and best known

for poultry stuffing. Use
judiciously with chicken,
duck, goose, pork,
sausages, cheese,
eggplant, and dried bean
stews and soups.

Fresh sprigs, dried whole

leaves, crumbled dried,
and ground

Best outdoors but will

grow indoors

SEASON TO TASTE 563

HERB OR SPICE
SALAD BURNET

Lacy-leaved herb with a

cucumber taste.

SAVORY

This peppery herb has

two varietiessummer
and winter. Summer
savory is the more
delicate and best suited
for cooking.

TARRAGON

Herb with mild licorice

flavor. French tarragon
has subtlest flavor.

THYME

Herb with tiny leaves

and minty, tea-like
flavor. Many varieties
include lemon, orange,
English, and French
thyme.

TURMERIC

Brilliant yellow ground

spice.

BEST USE

AVAILABLE

GROW (in average garden)

Use young small leaves

in salads and with fresh
cheeses.

Fresh sprigs in specialty

markets

Outdoors

Europeans call savory the

bean herb for its special
affinity for limas, string
beans, lentils, and dried
beans. Also excellent in
meatloaf and meatballs,
sausages; with poultry,
cheese, eggs, cauliflower,
tomatoes, and onions.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried

Summer savory: indoors

and out Winter savory:
outdoors

Best with chicken, veal,

fish, shellfish, eggs; in
mayonnaise and salad
dressings; with tomatoes,
mushrooms, and carrots.

Fresh sprigs, dried whole

leaves, and crumbled
dried

Indoors
and out

Essential herb of the

bouquet garni as well as
fish and clam chowder,
sausages, pates, and
stuffing. Excellent with
fish and shellfish,
poultry, tomatoes, beans,
eggplant, mushrooms,
potatoes, and summer
squash.

Fresh sprigs and

crumbled dried

Indoors and out

Essential to mustard,
curry powder, pickles,
and relishes; also used in
moderation for its yellow
color in rice dishes.

Ground dried

No