Berbere (
Oromo: ''Barbaree'', am, በርበሬ ''bärbäre'', ti, በርበረ ''bärbärä'') is a
spice mixture whose constituent elements usually include
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s,
,
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...
,
ginger
Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...
, Ethiopian
holy basil (besobela) seeds, ''
korarima'',
rue,
ajwain
Ajwain, ajowan (), or ''Trachyspermum ammi''—also known as ajowancaraway, omam (in Tamil), thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit (often mistakenly called ...
or
radhuni,
nigella, and
fenugreek
Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredients ...
.
[Debrawork Abate (1995 EC) EC.html" ;"title="993 EC">993 EC የባህላዌ መግቦች አዘገጃጀት raditional Food Preparation(in Amharic) (2nd ed.). Addis Ababa: Mega Asatame Derjet (Mega Publisher Enterprise). pp. 22–23. ] It is a key ingredient in the cuisines of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...
. Berbere also refers to chili pepper itself.
Berbere sometimes encompasses herbs and spices that are less well known internationally. These include both cultivated plants and those that grow wild in Ethiopia, such as korarima (''
Aframomum corrorima'').
See also
*
Mitmita, another Ethiopian spice mixture
*
Piri piri
( , often hyphenated or as one word, and with variant spellings , ''piripiri'' or ) is a cultivar of ''Capsicum frutescens'' from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced by Portuguese explorers in Portugal's former Southern African te ...
*
List of Ethiopian dishes and foods
*
Seasoning
Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour.
General meaning
Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". ...
References
External links
Berbere recipe from RecipeLand.comImage of packaged berbere
Eritrean cuisine
Ethiopian cuisine
Herb and spice mixtures
{{Ethiopia-cuisine-stub