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Ras El Hanout
''Ras el hanout'' or ''rass el hanout'' ( , ) is a spice mix found in varying forms in Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. The name means "head of the shop" in Arabic and implies a mixture of the best spices the seller has to offer. at bbc.com (retrieved 3 August 2016) Ras el hanout is used in many savoury dishes, sometimes rubbed on meat or fish, or stirred into , or . No definitive composition of spices makes up ''ras el ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spice Mix
Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, and other seasoned salts are traditionally sold pre-made by grocers, and sometimes baking blends such as pumpkin pie spice are also available. These spice mixes are also easily made by the home cook for later use. Masala Masala (from Hindi language, Hindi/Urdu language, Urdu ''masalah'', based on Arabic language, Arabic ''masalih'') is a term from the Indian subcontinent for a spice mix. A masala can be either a combination of dried (and usually Dry roasting, dry-roasted) spices, or a paste (food), paste (such as vindaloo masala) made from a mixture of spices and other ingredients—often garlic, ginger, onions, chilli paste and tomato. Masalas are used extensively in Indian cuisine to add spice and flavour, most familiarly to Western cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peppercorn (fruit)
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as ''pepper'', or more precisely as ''black pepper'' (cooked and dried unripe fruit), ''green pepper'' (dried unripe fruit), or ''white pepper'' (ripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India, and the Malabar pepper is extensively cultivated there and in other tropical regions. Ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavour and as a traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world's most traded spice, and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the chemical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galangal
Galangal () is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater galangal (''Alpinia galanga'') is most commonly used, and is similar to ginger and turmeric. It is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Lesser galangal (''Alpinia officinarum'') and other types are also used, though less frequently. In traditional medicine, galangal is used to treat various ailments. It is a common ingredient in Thai, Indonesian, and Malaysian cuisine, and is also used in some traditional Chinese medicine. Differentiation The word ''galangal'', or its variant ''galanga'' or archaically ''galingale'', can refer in common usage to the aromatic rhizome of any of four plant species in the Zingiberaceae (ginger) family, namely: * ''Alpinia galanga'', also called ''greater galangal'', ''lengkuas'', ''Siamese ginger'' or ''laos' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aniseed
Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, liquorice, and tarragon. It is widely cultivated and used to flavor food, candy, and alcoholic drinks, especially around the Mediterranean. Etymology The name "anise" is derived via Old French from the Latin words or from Greek ''ánēthon'' referring to dill. An obsolete English word for anise is ''anet'', also coming from ''anīsum''. Botany Anise is an herbaceous annual plant growing to or more. The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery or lacy, pinnate, divided into numerous small leaflets. Both leaves and flowers are produced in large, loose clusters. The flowers are either white or yellow, approximately in diameter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fennel
Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea coast and on riverbanks. It is a highly flavorful herb used in cooking and, along with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe. Florence fennel or finocchio (, , ) is a selection with a swollen, bulb-like stem base (sometimes called ''bulb fennel'') that is used as a vegetable. Description ''Foeniculum vulgare'' is a perennial herb. The stem is hollow, erect, and glaucous green, and it can grow up to tall. The leaves grow up to long; they are finely dissected, with the ultimate segments filiform (threadlike), about wide. Its leaves are similar to those of dill, but thinner. The flowers are produced in terminal compound umbels wid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp Thorns, spines, and prickles, prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through pinks, reds, oranges and yellows. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and Northwest Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrid (biology), hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cubeb
''Piper cubeba'', cubeb or tailed pepper is a plant in genus ''Piper (plant), Piper'', cultivated for its fruit and essential oil. It is mostly grown in Java (island), Java and Sumatra, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried. Commercial cubeb consists of the dried berries, similar in appearance to black pepper, but with stalks attached – the "tails" in "tailed pepper". The dried pericarp is wrinkled, and its color ranges from grayish brown to black. The seed is hard, white and oily. The odor of cubeb is described as agreeable and aromatic and the taste as pungent, acrid, slightly bitter and persistent. It has been described as tasting like allspice, or like a cross between allspice and black pepper. Cubeb came to Europe via India through the trade with the Arabs. The name ''cubeb'' comes from Arabic language, Arabic ' () by way of Old French ''quibibes''. Cubeb is mentioned in alchemy, alchemical writings by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monk's Pepper
''Vitex agnus-castus'' (also called vitex, chaste tree / chastetree, chasteberry, Abraham's balm, lilac chastetree, or monk's pepper) is a plant native of the Mediterranean region. It is one of the few temperate-zone species of ''Vitex'', which is on the whole a genus of tropical and subtropical flowering plants.David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University Press: UK. Vitex is a cross-pollinating plant, but its self-pollination has been recorded.Verein für Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzen Saluplanta. 2013. ''Handbuch des Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzenbaus'' volume 5 Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzen L–Z, pages 192–199. Verein für Arznei- und Gewürzpflanzen Saluplanta: Bernburg, Germany. (set). Theophrastus mentioned the shrub several times, as ''agnos'' (ἄγνος) in ''Enquiry into Plants''. It has been long believed to be an anaphrodisiac – leading to its name as "chaste tree" – but its effectiveness for such action rem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orris Root
Orris root (''Rhizoma iridis''; etymology possibly an alteration of ''iris (plant), iris'') is the root of ''Iris germanica'' and ''Iris pallida''. It had the common name of Queen Elizabeth Root. It is commonly used as a fixative (perfumery), fixative and note (perfumery), base note in perfumery and as a botanical in gin. Constituent chemicals The most valued component of orris root is orris oil, oil of orris (0.1–0.2%), a yellow-white mass containing myristic acid. Oil of orris is sometimes sold as orris butter. Other components include fat, resin, starch, mucilage, bitter extractive, and a glucoside called iridin or irisin. Uses Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative (perfumery), fixative and note (perfumery), base note in perfumery; it is the most widely used fixative for potpourri. Orris is also an ingredient in many brands of gin,T. K. Lim including Bombay Sapphire. Fabienne Pavia, in her book ''L'univers des Parfums'' (1995, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grains Of Paradise
Grains of paradise (''Aframomum melegueta'') is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice (ground or whole); it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is also known as melegueta pepper, Guinea grains, ''ossame'', or ''fom wisa'', and is sometimes confused with alligator pepper. The terms '' African pepper'' and '' Guinea pepper'' have also been used, but are ambiguous as they can apply to other spices such as grains of Selim (''Xylopia aethiopica''). It is native to West Africa, which is sometimes named the Pepper Coast (or Grain Coast) because of this commodity. It is also an important cash crop in the Basketo district of southern Ethiopia. Characteristics ''Aframomum melegueta'' is an herbaceous perennial plant native to swampy habitats along the West African coast. Its trumpet-shaped, purple flowers develop into pods long, containing numerous small, reddish-brown seeds. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chufa
''Cyperus esculentus'' (also called chufa, tiger nut, atadwe, yellow nutsedge, earth almond, and in Chishona, pfende) is a species of plant in the sedge family widespread across much of the world. It is found in most of the Eastern Hemisphere, including Southern Europe, Africa and Madagascar, as well as the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. ''C. esculentus'' is cultivated for its edible tubers, called earth almonds or tiger nuts (due to the stripes on their tubers and their hard shell), as a snack food and for the preparation of '' horchata de chufa'', a sweet, milk-like beverage. ''Cyperus esculentus'' can be found wild, as a weed, or as a crop. It is an invasive species outside its native range, and is readily transported accidentally to become invasive. In many countries, ''C. esculentus'' is considered a weed. It is often found in wet soils such as rice paddies and peanut farms as well as well-irrigated lawns and golf courses during warm weather. Description ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya, southern Tibet and parts of western China, where numerous apomictic microspecies occur.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins . The name ''rowan'' was originally applied to the species ''Sorbus aucuparia'' and is also used for other species in the genus ''Sorbus''. Natural hybrids, often including ''S. aucuparia'' and the whitebeam, '' Aria edulis'' (syn. '' Sorbus aria''), give rise to many endemic variants in the UK. Names The Latin name ''sorbus'' was borrowed into Old English as ''syrfe''. The Latin name ''sorbus'' is from a root for "red, reddish-brown" ( PIE ''*sor-/*ser-''); English ''sorb'' is attested from the 1520s in the sense "fruit of the service tree", adopted via French ''sorbe'' from Latin ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
