Sassy Saffron

Did you know that saffron is the stigma of the crocus plant and the most expensive edible spice in the world by weight? It not only has the most intense colour of all spices but also a most delicate yet distinctive flavour.

Cruisy Cinnamon

Wow! Cinnamon is known for being a memory enhancer. How exotic! So eat lots of it. It is sweet, warm and tingly when eaten. It smells delicious and is great when eaten with apple or made into cinnamon scrolls. You can also mix a teaspoon of cinnamon with one part honey to two parts warm water to make a paste that can be massaged into those nasty insect bites. Try it. It’s all natural.

Beautiful Blue Poppy Seeds

These are tiny tiny seeds that when roasted taste and smell nutty. You often find poppy seeds on the top of beautiful bread from the bakery. Ancient cultures used poppy seeds for medicines and today poppy seeds are often fed to parrots. Try putting some in a dish outside to attract your local native birds. Blue poppy seeds are the colour of denim, like the jeans you wear.

 

Tango Turmeric

Turmeric is the most amazing colour, very bright and yellow, with a woody taste. It has been used in cooking, dying fabric and as beauty therapy for thousands of years. You can combine a quarter of a teaspoon of turmeric with two teaspoons of all-purpose flour and a drop of honey and milk to mix and use as a face mask. It makes your face feel so soft and smooth afterwards.

 

Cute Coriander

The refreshing colour of coriander makes you want to eat it immediately. It has a mild sweet taste and belongs to the parsley family. You can easily grow your own coriander in a container on a sunny windowsill or balcony. Don’t forget to water the plant though, as containers can dry out quickly. When you have successfully grown coriander, just pick some and add to your favourite salad dish.

 

Cool Chilli

Chillis are bright red like fire and are the hottest spices of all. They are very strong in taste and you should probably wear rubber gloves when handling them. Never get chilli near your eyes. There are green chillis too. Chillis are used with bean and meat dishes in Mexico and are commonly used in Asian dishes. A great way to eat chilli is by making a mix called Sambal. It can then be added to food so that you can have your meal as hot as you wish. Contact us for a great Sambal recipe.

 

Perfect Pink Peppercorn

Pink peppercorns have a delicate, fragrant, sweet and spicy flavour. They are actually berries but are commonly called peppercorns and go especially well in fruit sauces and salad dressings. Pink peppercorns are a rich rose colour that makes any recipe look quite elegant. You could research pink peppercorns to see how they are used in recipes.

 

Cheeky Cardamom

Cardamom is also an expensive spice, second only to saffron and comes from the seeds of a ginger-like plant. This spice is used in lots in Indian food and has a very distinctive taste. Its most common use is in the Dutch ‘windmill’ biscuits which are delightfully yummy. You can buy then all over the world.

 

Very Vanilla

Vanilla has a delicious sweet smell and is used widely in baking, perfume manufacturing and aromatherapy. It is expensive to buy in its natural form so most people buy vanilla essence. Try making your own custard and adding a few drops of vanilla essence. Our favourite vanilla food is vanilla ice-cream. Mmmm!

 

Amazing Mace

Mace is a purple red colour that surrounds and protects the nutmeg seed, which is the inner kernel of the apricot-type fruit of this tree. It’s sometimes called the flower of nutmeg because it is the lacy covering that surrounds the seed. It’s a spice used in savoury foods like sauces and pickles and it is sometimes used in mulled wine.

 

Super Star Anise

Star anise is the unusual fruit of a small oriental tree, mostly grown in China. As the name suggests the seed is star shaped with between five and ten boat shaped sections. The hard sections are seedpods. Star anise has a powerful liquorice and aniseed- like bouquet and smell. The fruit is picked before it can ripen and then dried out. It’s used a lot in Asian food. It’s also nice to put in your cupboards to make your clothes smell nice.

 

Crazy Cayenne

This is a powerful, hot pepper and belongs to the chilli family. It is often called the King of Medicinal Spices as it is so good for your health. It has been used as a preventative of heart attacks and is able to heal stomach ulcers. What an incredible spice! It is usually included in sauces for meat dishes and adds a nice hot spicy flavour particularly to Mexican dishes. It was used in ancient cultures like the Mayans and Aztecs of Central and South America.