The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World - Padma Lakshmi (2016)

SPICES, HERBS, AND BLENDS FROM A TO Z

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PREVIOUS SPREAD, LEFT PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: pickling spices, parsley, panch phoron, and sliced pandan leaves; RIGHT PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: black, white, and brown poppy seeds; piri piri; and paprika

PANCH PHORON

OTHER NAMES: panch phora, panch puran, Bengali five-spice mix

Panch phoron is an essential seasoning in Bengali cooking and is used in some other northern Indian cuisines as well. Panch means “five,” and phoron means “seeds,” and the mix consists of cumin, fenugreek, mustard, nigella, and fennel seeds. The proportions vary—some mixes include equal parts of all five seeds, others are made with different amounts to taste. Panch phoron is sold as whole seeds or ground; some cooks like to use crushed whole seeds. The whole-seed blend is an attractive, colorful mix, with its black nigella, yellow fenugreek, black or brown mustard, greenish-gray cumin, and pale green fennel seeds. Whether it is whole or ground, the mix is intensely aromatic and the flavor pungent.

Panch phoron is often fried in oil or ghee at the beginning of a recipe for a flavoring base, but it is also used as a finishing touch, heated in ghee that is then poured over the dish just before serving. It complements lentils and other legumes and is a seasoning in many dals, as well as in fish, meat, and vegetable curries and other dishes. Panch phoron can be used as a pickling spice, and some chutneys include it. It pairs particularly well with starches such as potatoes. Sometimes the coarsely cracked spices are sprinkled over a flatbread or other bread dough before baking.

PANDAN LEAVES

BOTANICAL NAME: Pandanus amaryllifolius

OTHER NAMES: screwpine, pandanus, daun pandan, bai toey, rampe

FORMS: fresh and sliced or ground dried leaves

PANDAN TEA Pour 1 cup boiling water over 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped dried pandan leaves and steep for 3 to 5 minutes, then strain.

Pandan leaves come from the screwpine tree, a tall ancient tree that is native to Southeast Asia and Madagascar (despite its name, it is not a pine tree). The leaves are long and sword shaped and have a variety of traditional uses beyond the kitchen, from thatching roofs to being woven into sails or mats. The small woven baskets in which sticky rice is served in many Asian restaurants are often made with pandan leaves. The leaves are also used to wrap rice before steaming it or cooking it on a grill.

Pandan leaves are called daun pandan in Indonesia and Malaysia, bai toey or bai toey hom in Thailand, and rampe in Sri Lanka and India. The large leaves are carefully dried to preserve their color and then sliced or chopped into large pieces or ground to a fine powder. The leaves have a sweet, grassy, slightly nutty aroma and a subtly floral, sweetish taste. The fragrant powder should be a striking green color; paler powders are older and should be avoided.

Pandan leaves are used in both sweet and savory dishes in Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Indonesian, and other Southeast Asian cuisines. They flavor many rice dishes, soups, and stews; if added as large pieces, they are removed before serving. A popular sponge cake is flavored with pandan, giving it a shocking green color that looks artificial but is in fact natural, and pandan is sometimes added to rice pudding. It can also be infused into a tea (see sidebar, opposite). Kewra, an essence derived from the flowers of the screwpine tree, has a delicate floral flavor and is an ingredient in Indian sweets and drinks, as well as in some savory dishes, including pulaos.

PAPRIKA

BOTANICAL NAME: Capsicum annum

OTHER NAMES: pimentón

FORMS: ground

Although Hungarian paprika is more familiar to most people, it was actually the Spanish who first produced the powder, after Columbus and other explorers brought chile peppers back to Spain from Mexico. Paprika is in the nightshade family, and there are many different varieties of the plant, bearing fruits of different shapes and sizes. Some of them look like small bell peppers, others are heart shaped, and still others look like long thin chiles; most are low on the Scoville heat scale. The main sources of paprika today are Hungary and Spain, but Israel, Portugal, Morocco, and the United States are also notable producers.

Paprika peppers are always harvested when ripe and red. They are dried and cured, then ground. Hotter paprikas usually include varying amounts of the seeds and ribs, while some of the best sweet paprikas contain none of these at all. Paprika is graded according to the proportions of seeds, ribs, and/or stems it contains, as well as the fineness of the grind and the quality of the final product.

Most Hungarian paprika is either hot or sweet. Sweet paprikas are bright red; hotter ones tend to have a slightly darker color. Paprika gives Hungarian goulash its signature flavor, and it is used in many other dishes, including chicken paprikash. It is an amalgamating spice and complements most other spices and many herbs, from allspice and cloves to rosemary and sage. It is an ingredient in numerous spice blends and commercial seasoning blends, including chili powders and dry rubs for grilled meat and chicken. Of course, classic deviled eggs are always finished with a sprinkling of paprika.

Pimentón is the Spanish word for “paprika,” and although Spain does produce “regular” paprika, of more culinary interest is smoked pimentón, made from peppers that have been slowly smoked over wood fires, giving it a distinctive aroma and flavor. The best pimentón comes from La Vera in Extremadura, and it has been awarded DOP status and labeled accordingly with “Denominación de Origen Protegida”; any pimentón from La Vera will include that on the label as well. There are three types of pimentón: picante (hot), dulce (sweet), and agridulce (bittersweet). Pimentón is added to many soups and stews and is used in patatas bravas, a favorite tapa of fried potatoes, where it can season both the potatoes themselves and the accompanying tomato sauce (other versions of patatas bravas are served with allioli, the garlicky mayonnaise, and it too can be seasoned with pimentón). A similar Middle Eastern dish is batata harra. Pimentón is an essential ingredient in Spanish chorizo, and it can be added to a spice rub to season grilled meat, especially pork, or poultry.

PARSLEY

BOTANICAL NAMES: Petroselinum crispum (curly); P. crispum neapolitanum (flat-leaf)

OTHER NAMES: Italian parsley (flat-leaf)

FORMS: fresh and dried or freeze-dried leaves

Parsley grows abundantly in so many regions that its origins have become blurred, but most sources describe it as indigenous to southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. Its botanical name, Petroselinum, is derived from the Greek word for stone, petro, because it could often be seen growing on the rocky hillsides of that country. There are two main types of parsley, curly and flat-leaf, and many subspecies. The leaves of curly parsley are tightly furled; those of flat-leaf are darker green and look somewhat like celery leaves. Curly parsley was originally the type found in most markets in the United States, but now flat-leaf, which has a slightly stronger and more appealing flavor, is commonly available as well. Dried parsley, which is usually curly parsley, retains its flavor surprisingly well; it should be deep green, without noticeable bits of stalk.

Because of the herb’s ubiquitous use as a garnish, the versatility of parsley, one of the most important members of the Apiaceae (formerly Umbelliferae) family, is sometimes taken for granted. It has a clean green flavor and complements a wide variety of other herbs, both pungent and mild. It is used in cuisines around the world, wherever the climate is temperate. (Parsley is a perennial and can winter over, but it is often treated as an annual because the taste of the leaves from the second season can be a bit harsher.) Fresh parsley is part of persillade, a classic French seasoning mixture of finely chopped parsley and garlic, and of Italy’s gremolata, a combination of minced parsley, garlic, and lemon zest that is the traditional garnish for osso buco. It is one of the three herbs in any bouquet garni, and it is part of many herb blends. It is an essential ingredient in tabbouleh, the Middle Eastern herb salad made with bulgur wheat; the authentic version is really a parsley salad, not a grain salad, as so often seems to be the case.

Parsley seasons many stews, braises, soups, and other long-cooked dishes. It complements most vegetables, including root vegetables, and pommes de terre persillées, boiled new potatoes with parsley and butter, are traditionally served with simple fish dishes in France. Parsley is added to many sauces for seafood, chicken, or meats. It is also good with both egg and cheese dishes. In short, it is widely used for good reason.

PEPPER

BOTANICAL NAME: Piper nigrum

FORMS: whole peppercorns and ground

Black, white, green, and true pink peppercorns are all the fruits of a climbing vine that is native to southern India. Several relatives and one “imposter” are described in detail on the following pages, along with two types of Asian pepper. Pepper is often called the king of spices, and it dominated and determined the history of the spice trade for centuries. Pepper, specifically long pepper, was mentioned in Sanskrit writings as early as 1000 BC. Black pepper eventually gained ascendancy over long pepper—at one time, it was actually worth its weight in gold. During the Middle Ages, salaries and rents were sometimes paid in peppercorns. Today, India remains one of the major sources of pepper, along with Malaysia and Indonesia; Brazil is also a major producer.

Piper nigrum is a perennial vine that can grow to as high as 30 feet, though the plants on spice plantations are generally much shorter. In India, the plants are trained to grow up trees; elsewhere, they may be grown on trellises. The vines, which can take eight years to reach maturity, will bear fruit for up to twenty years after that. They have large, shiny, dark green leaves, and the peppercorns, also called berries, grow in long clusters, or spikes, of up to fifty fruits. Peppercorns are always harvested by hand, and the clusters of berries on each plant do not all reach maturity at once, so harvesting is repeated over time until all the clusters have been picked.

Black peppercorns are harvested when they have reached their full size but are still green and are dried in the sun for days, until they turn black and wrinkled. Green peppercorns are usually picked earlier than the berries destined for black pepper and treated in various ways to preserve their color; see here. White peppercorns, which are picked when slightly riper than those for black pepper, are traditionally produced by removing the outer husks (the pericarp) before drying the berries. A more modern technique removes the husks from dried black peppercorns mechanically, but the results are not as good as with the older methods, which are still used by better producers. Real pink peppercorns (see Pink Pepper) are berries that have been allowed to ripen fully and then preserved in brine. The ripe berries do not stand up to other methods of preservation, including freeze-drying, and true pink pepper is rarely seen in the market.

TOP ROW: Tellicherry, green, Penja, and Sarawak; MIDDLE ROW: Szechuan (crushed), pink, and cubeb; BOTTOM ROW: Wynad, Szechuan (whole berries), Muntok, and long

Black peppercorns have a warm, pungent fragrance and equally pungent flavor and heat. White pepper tastes hotter and sharper than black, and the less mature green pepper berries have a fresher taste and less heat. Pepper is always best when freshly ground; preground pepper has far less pungency and flavor. Good pepper mills are not expensive and are well worth the investment. Or, if you need a large amount of freshly ground black pepper, use a spice grinder.

BLACK AND WHITE PEPPER

LAMPONG: Lampong pepper comes from the Lampung province of Sumatra in Indonesia (the name of the province is properly spelled Lampung, but for some reason, the peppercorns are usually referred to as “Lampong”). The berries are smaller than many other peppercorns and intensely aromatic, with a slight citrusy perfume and notes of pine. Their fragrance is stronger than their flavor, which is mildly pungent, with lingering heat.

MALABAR: Malabar pepper comes from India’s Malabar Coast (as does Tellicherry pepper; see here) and is considered of very high quality. It is sometimes called Alleppey pepper, after the region that is the source of much of the pepper. Malabar peppercorns have a rich, woodsy aroma and a pungent flavor, with a good amount of heat; they are used in many spice mixes, as well as for everyday cooking.

MUNTOK: Muntok is an Indonesian pepper from the island of Bangka; the vines grow on the hills above the village of Muntok. Most white peppercorns in the market are of the Muntok variety. To make Muntok white pepper, the berries are soaked in water to remove their dark outer layer; once it has been removed, some of the peppercorns remain mottled or darker than others in the batch. Traditionally, the spikes of the plant were packed into empty rice sacks and soaked in a stream to loosen the outer shells, then mounded into piles for the nari mereca (pepper dance), wherein the villagers would tramp on them to remove the berries from the spikes before the peppers were dried and bleached in the sun. Muntok pepper has a winy, somewhat creamy flavor and complements fish and seafood well.

PENJA: Penja pepper is a rare variety that comes from the Penja Valley in Cameroon, where the vines thrive in the region’s rich volcanic soil. The black peppercorns are actually a very dark brown, fragrant, and quite spicy, with a heat that builds and lingers on the tongue. The white peppercorns have a warm, bold flavor, stronger than that of most other white peppers, and many chefs and other connoisseurs prefer Penja white pepper. It is especially good with fish and seafood, eggs, and creamy sauces.

SARAWAK: This Malaysian pepper, from Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, is considered one of the best, especially since its quality has improved in recent years. It has a fruity aroma and a slight sweetness. Its mild heat makes it suited to a variety of uses, even sweet dishes such as custards and fruit desserts. Many spice merchants find this to be their most popular peppercorn.

Sarawak is also sold as white pepper. The berries are soaked in running mountain streams to remove the dark outer layer, and the resulting peppercorns have a uniform creamy white color.

TELLICHERRY: Tellicherry is a very high-quality Malabar pepper, from India’s southwestern coast (see Malabar). The berries are larger than most, and they have a robust, almost fruity aroma. Tellicherry peppercorns have only moderate heat, but the flavor is intense, with lovely citrus notes. It is the favorite peppercorn of many spice lovers.

VIETNAMESE: Few people are familiar with Vietnamese pepper, though they may indeed have tasted it, since in the last decade or so, Vietnam has become the world’s largest producer and exporter of the spice. Its aroma is quite pungent and its flavor is complex, even exotic, with citrusy, fruity notes and undertones of smokiness, or of smoky tea. Its heat is fairly moderate.

WYNAD: This is a specialty pepper produced at the Parameswaran plantation on the Wynad Plateau in Kerala, India, a region that has long been known for the quality of its peppercorns. Unlike other berries, which are harvested when green and unripe, these are left on the vine until red and fully ripened, which results in an intense and unique flavor (and it also makes the harvest more difficult, since green peppercorns can be picked all at once, while waiting for the peppercorns to fully ripen results in several harvests over a period of time). The peppercorns are then sun-dried and packaged. The Parameswaran plantation is the only one currently producing and exporting this pepper (they also produce white pepper); it’s not surprising that it is more expensive than most, but chefs and pepper lovers rave about it. The flavor is complex and the heat level fairly subtle. Coarsely grind or crush it and use it for steak au poivre, or add a little of it to regular pepper for cacio e pepe, the Roman pasta dish made with sheep’s-milk cheese and lots of black pepper.

GREEN PEPPER

Green peppercorns are unripe pepper berries that are treated in one of several different ways to preserve their green color; if they were simply air-dried or dried in the sun, they would turn black. Depending on the producer, they may be picked a few weeks or so before pepper berries that will be dried to black pepper are; in any case, the berries have reached full size but have not begun to ripen. Traditionally, green peppercorns were pickled in brine or vinegar to preserve the color, and brine- or vinegar-packed green peppercorns are readily available today. They are of good quality but usually need to be rinsed before using. A more modern preservation technique is freeze-drying (keep in mind that freeze-dried peppercorns are very light in weight, so they may seem much more expensive than other dried peppercorns, but you are getting more peppercorns ounce per ounce); these reconstitute quickly in liquid. And more recently, some producers have found it possible to successfully air-dry (or sun-dry) green peppercorns by first blanching or soaking them briefly in brine or vinegar, which preserves their color.

Green peppercorns are mildly piquant and have an appealing fresh flavor. They are used in dishes such as steak au poivre vert, with its delicious cream sauce, and in terrines, pâtés, and other charcuterie. Crush or grind the dried peppercorns just before using them, to preserve their fragrance and flavor. Green pepper is part of most peppercorn mixes.

PINK PEPPER

So-called pink peppercorns are not actually related to true peppercorns at all; they are a member of the Schinus terebinthifolius or S. mole family, rather than Piper nigrum. (Real peppercorns do turn red when fully ripened, but these are rarely seen.) The berries come from a tree, sometimes called the pepper tree or the Christmas berry tree, that is native to the Andes; it is in the same family as the mastic tree. Most of the pink pepper on the market today comes from the French island of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. The peppercorns are sold dried, in brine, or freeze-dried, and they are included in many peppercorn blends. They have a peppery fragrance but a somewhat sweet flavor. Their papery outer husks are brittle and flake off easily, revealing the hard seed within. The flavor is somewhat fleeting, and they are sometimes used as a garnish rather than a seasoning. They add both visual appeal and a delicate taste to fish dishes, and they complement game such as venison.

CUBEB PEPPER

Cubeb pepper comes from another vine in the pepper family, Piper cubeb. It is native to Indonesia, and although it was used in European kitchens in the Middle Ages, it is little known in the West today. It has been used in China and other parts of Asia for medicinal as well as culinary purposes since ancient times. The berries are harvested when still green and dried in the sun. The dried berries have little “tails,” and tailed pepper is another name for cubeb. The dried peppercorns are dark brown, with some tails still intact. When cracked open, the berries have a distinct aroma of turpentine. The flavor, though, is warm and pungent, with notes of ginger and allspice; in fact, some people find the flavor closer to allspice than to pepper. Cubeb pepper is used mostly in the cooking of Indonesia (though it remains important in Eastern medicine). It is also an ingredient in many versions of ras el hanout, the Moroccan seasoning blend.

LONG PEPPER

Long pepper, Piper longum, is native to India. It is sometimes called Indian pepper, and its Sanskrit name, pippali, is the origin of both the Latin (piper) and English words for pepper. Long pepper was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans before black pepper, and it has a long history in Asia. Long pepper berries, or buds, are harvested when still green and dried in the sun. They are usually 1 to 1½ inches long and resemble small grayish-brown pinecones (one of their other names is peppercones) or tiny cattails. The dried peppercorns have a strong aroma of ginger and the taste is peppery and slightly sweet; when chewed, long pepper has a numbing effect. Today, long pepper is used primarily in India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, where it seasons curries, soups, and a variety of other dishes and is often added to pickles or preserves. It is also an ingredient in some versions of ras el hanout.

SZECHUAN PEPPER

Szechuan peppercorns are the berries of a small prickly ash tree (Zanthoxylum simulans) native to China; Szechuan pepper is not related to black pepper. Its Chinese name is fagara, and it is also sometimes called Chinese pepper or anise pepper. The berries are harvested when ripe, dried in the sun until they split open, and cleaned or sifted. They are very aromatic, warm and peppery, with a pronounced citrus fragrance (the prickly ash tree is a member of the citrus family). The taste is spicy, peppery, and sharp. Culinary authority Harold McGee writes that sanshools, the pungent compounds found in both Szechuan and sansho pepper (see here), are in the same family as capsaicin, which gives chiles their heat, and piperine, found in black pepper. “But,” he says, “the sanshools aren’t simply pungent. They produce a strange tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks or a mild electrical current!”

The prickly ash tree has sharp thorns, and sometimes a few of these will be found in the package, as will some longer stems, so be sure to pick over the peppercorns before using them. The inner seeds are gritty when ground and can be bitter; discard any that have collected at the bottom of the package, and, if you desire, shake more of them out of the split berries. The berries are often toasted before using; they can be added whole to a dish or crushed or ground. The ground pepper loses its fragrance quickly, so it’s best to buy whole peppercorns and crush or grind them yourself before use. Szechuan pepper is one of the ingredients in Chinese five-spice powder, and it pairs well with ginger and star anise. It is an essential seasoning in Szechuan cooking and in other regional cuisines, used in dishes from mapo tofu to roast chicken. It can also be part of a spice rub for grilled or roasted meats and fish. Coarse sea salt ground with toasted Szechuan pepper is a popular seasoning in China, and Szechuan pepper oil, made by heating oil with peppercorns to infuse it with their flavor and then straining it, is used as a cooking oil or to dress salads and vegetables.

Sansho pepper comes from a prickly ash that is cultivated in Japan, Zanthoxylum piperitum, and is a close relative of Z. simulans. The berries are dried and cleaned in a similar way, but sansho pepper is more likely to be sold ground to a greenish-yellow powder. It is milder than Szechuan pepper, with pronounced notes of citrus, but it produces the same tingling, numbing sensation. In Japan, sansho is used to season fatty foods like eel and duck; it may also be sprinkled over a dish before serving (the tins or jars of pepper usually have shaker tops). It is one of the ingredients in shichimi togarashi, the Japanese spice blend.

PICKLING SPICES

OTHER NAMES: pickling spice

Pickling spices are used in many cuisines, and the blends vary widely, from simple to complex. The spices, which are usually left whole but are sometimes coarsely ground, may include mustard seeds, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, celery seeds, dill seeds, bay leaves, ginger, and/or cinnamon. Some blends also include dried chiles or cayenne. A general guideline is to use 1 tablespoon of the spice mix per 1 quart brine. Pickling spices are also used in chutneys and, ground or left whole, to season various dishes or infusions. A version made with chiles can be used as the spice for a crab or other seafood boil.

PIGWEED

See Epazote.

PIMENTÓN

See Paprika.

PIRI PIRI

OTHER SPELLINGS: piri piri, peri peri, pili pili

The term piri piri has several different spellings and several different meanings. Piri piri chiles are small, very hot bird peppers grown in Mozambique, but piri piri can also refer to a very hot African spice blend (as here) or a hot sauce or paste. A basic dried blend is made with ground dried chiles, paprika, and sometimes dried lemon peel; some blends may also include oregano or other herbs, as well as dried garlic and onion. The spice mix can be combined with oil, garlic, and lemon juice to make a marinade for grilled chicken, considered by some to be the national dish of Mozambique; the same marinade is also used for meat or seafood. (Piri piri chiles are much loved in Portugal—brought there from Mozambique and Angola by Portuguese explorers—and frango com piri piri, grilled chicken with hot sauce, is sold at roadside stands and street stalls all over the country.) The spice blend can also be used as a dry rub for grilled meat, poultry, or shrimp or other seafood or mixed with olive oil for a seasoning for grilled vegetables.

POPPY SEEDS

BOTANICAL NAME: Papaver somniferum

OTHER NAMES: maw

FORMS: whole and ground

The poppy plant is an annual native to the Middle East, grown for culinary and medicinal purposes since ancient times. It was used by the early Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans (it was mentioned by Homer), and it has been cultivated in India and China for thousands of years. Major producers today include Holland, France, Canada, India, China, Turkey, and Iran; the plants are also grown in Australia, particularly on the island of Tasmania, and in Southeast Asia.

The plant’s botanical name means “sleep-inducing” (remember the poppy-field scene in The Wizard of Oz?), because it is the source of opium, as well as of morphine and codeine, but the seeds have no traces of those alkaloids. Opium comes from the latex, or sap, of the unripe seedpods. As the plants mature, the large oval pods become filled with thousands of tiny seeds, contained within several chambers. Once the seed capsules are ripe and have turned yellowish-brown, the plants are harvested and dried before they are cracked and the seeds retrieved.

The more familiar blue, or black, poppy seeds are tiny and hard, and they weigh almost nothing—a pound contains more than a half million seeds. Yellow, or white, poppy seeds, which are common in India, are even smaller. The lesser-known brown seeds come primarily from Turkey. Poppy seeds have a slight nutty fragrance—the blue seeds tend to be slightly more aromatic than the white—that is stronger if they are toasted or otherwise heated and/or ground. The seeds have a high oil content and can turn rancid quickly; store them tightly sealed in a cool place or in the freezer. Poppy seed oil has a variety of uses. The oil from the first cold pressing is a mild oil that can be used in salads and other dishes (later pressings yield an oil that can be further processed and used in artists’ paints).

In Europe and North America, poppy seeds are most often used in baking—for cakes, cookies, and crackers—and in confectionery. The seeds pair well with lemon and other citrus fruits, and lemon poppy seed cake is a favorite. And, of course, they are a popular bagel topping. They are also added to coleslaw, as well as to potatoes, vegetables, and pasta and noodle dishes, either as an ingredient or a final garnish. In India (where the seeds are known as khas-khas or kus-kus) and the Middle East, the seeds are sprinkled over naan and other flatbreads. They are also ground with other spices to flavor and thicken Indian meat, fish, and shellfish curries and other preparations. In Turkey, they are ground into a paste with poppy seed oil to fill or flavor pastries; they are also used there to make halvah.

MEDICINAL USES: In ancient times, poppy seeds were considered a curative for cholera, among other diseases, and they have traditionally been prescribed for dysentery. They are also recommended for other types of intestinal ills. The seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and relatively high in calcium; they are also high in oleic and linoleic fatty acids.

POUDRE DE COLOMBO

See Colombo.