Herb Guide and Definitions

This is a listing of many but not all of the popular herbs and spices used in culinary preparations. Use this as a guide to seasoning and a quick reference for plant information. I hope it will make you a better cook. For the chef who is also a gardener, much joy and the reward of having "fresh" ingredients to cook with can be attained by having a garden growing with some of your favorites. An herb garden can very easily be grown in several flower pots on a window sill as easily as it can in the expanse of a country garden.

Note * In the type column (a) means annual, (b) means bi-annual and (p) means perennial.

Name	Bot. Name	Type	How to Use	Available
Allspice	pimenta	tree	cakes, cookies, stews of beef, pork and game	d
Angelica	angelica archangelica	a	confectioneries	candied
Anise	pimpinella anisum	a	soups, sauces, cookies(licorice flavor) use mostly the seeds	d
Annatto	bixa orellana	tree	sauces, coloring foods, especially cheese	dried seeds
Balm, Lemon	melissa officinalis	p	tea, drinks, salads, fish, chicken	f, d
Basil	ocimum baslicum	a	breads, pasta, salads, all meats, vegetables, eggs	f, d, frozen
Basil, Lemon	ocimum citriodora	a	breads, pasta, salads, all meats, vegetables, eggs	f, d, frozen
Basil, Ruffled	ocimum crispum	a	breads, pasta, salads, all meats, vegetables, eggs	f, d, frozen
Bay Leaf	laurus nobilis	p	soups, stews, sauces, rice dishes (evergreen tree)	f, d frozen
Borage	borage officinalis	a	salads, soups, drinks (cucumber like flavor) blossoms as garnish	f
Burnet	sanguisorba minor	p	cool flavor similar to a cucumber, salads and drinks	f
Chamomile	anthemis nobilis	p	tea, sauces	f, d
Camphor Tree	cinnamomum camphora	tree	tea, bark used for smoking foods, (camphor smoked duck) in Chinese cuisine	d
Capers	unopened buds of the caper bush	bush	sauces, cold roast meat, condiment, smoked seafood	f, d, pickled
Caraway	carum carvi	b	salads, soups, sauces, stews, roasts, breads, kummel and aquavit liqueur (used seeds and fresh green leaves) usually not with fish	f, d
Cardamom	elettaria cardamomum	p	other spice blends, cookies, coffee, candies, (use seeds)	d
Catnip	nepeta cataria	p	tea	f, d
Cayenne	capsicum minimum	a	all dishes, a dried powder of ground hot peppers	d
Celery	apium graveolens dulce	a	vegetable, salads, soups, sauces, roasts, stews, all meats and fish	f, canned
Celery Seed	apium graveolens	a	seeds taste like fresh celery, does not come from regular celery but from cultivated "wild celery" soups, sauces, dressings	D
Chervil	anthriscus cerefolium	a	slight licorice flavor; salads, soups, fish dishes	f, d
Chili Powder	spice blend		a blend of dried ancho chile, oregano, cumin, and cloves or allspice; soups, salads, all meats, fish, vegetables, eggs, cheese, sauces	d
Chives	allium schoenoprasum	bulb	soups, salads, meats, fish, condiments, eggs, cheese, blossoms as a garnish	f, d, freeze-dried
Chives, Garlic	allium tuberosom	bulb	soups, salads, meats, fish, condiments, eggs, cheese, blossoms as a garnish, (stronger in flavor than regular chives)	f, d
Cicely. Sweet	myrrhis odorata	p	licorice taste, salads, liqueurs (use seeds and leaves), desserts	f, d
Cilantro, Chinese Parsley, Fresh Coriander	coriandrum sativum	a	soups, chutney, fish, chicken, used in curry, Middle Eastern, Spanish, Southwestern, and Oriental cooking	f, d
Cinnamon	cinnamomum cassia	tree	baking, stews, other spice blends, court bouillon, pickling, chutney, relishes (powdered or sticks), drinks (spiced cider)	d
Clary	salvia sclarea	b	type of sage, salads, fritters, beer, eggs, stuffing	f, d
Clove	eugenia caryophyllata	tree	baking, desserts, sauces, soups, stews, meats, court bouillon, pickles, spice blends, (unopened bud of the evergreen clove tree)	d
Coriander	coriandrum sativum	a	salads, sauces, fish dishes, chicken dishes, oriental, South western, Spanish and middle eastern cuisine	f, d
Costmary	chrysanthemum balsamita	p	teas; camphor, mint-like fragrance, poultry, baking	f, d
Crocus, Saffron	crocus sativus	p	soups, sauces, fish and chicken dishes	d
Cumin	cuminum cyminum	a	other spice blends, (dried seeds)	d
Curry Powder	spice blend		a blend of cloves, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, fenugreek, coriander, mace, white pepper	d
Dandelion	taraxacum officinale	p	salads, wine, cooked as a vegetable	f
Dill	anethum graveolens	a	salads, sauces, soups, pickles, dips, use with fish and vegetables	f, d
Dill Seed	anethum graveolens	a	use like dill leaves, the blossoms may be used as a garnish	f, d
Fennel Flower	nigella sativa	a	desserts, fritters, garnish	f
Fennel Seeds	foeniculum vulgare	a	sauces, sausage, pork roasts	d
Fennel, Common	foeniculum vulgare	a	soups, salads, sauces, (seeds are used most often, see above)	f
Fennel, Italian	foeniculum vulgare piperitum	a	salads	f
Fennel, Sweet	foeniculum vulgare dulce	a	seeds used in sauces, soups, pasta (cooked vegetable)	d
Fenugreek	trigonella foenumgraecum	a	member of the pea family, burnt sugar taste, used in spice blends, curry powder, pickling spice, chutney	d
Filé	sassafras	tree	powdered leaves used to thicken gumbo's	d
Garlic	allium sativum	bulb	used in everything except desserts	f, d, frozen, pickled
Geraniums Rose	pelargonium graveolens	p	desserts, jellies, oils (leaves have a rose-like aroma) leaves as a garnish	f
Ginger	zingiber officinale	root	baking, desserts, soups, salads, vegetables, meats, poultry, fish; just about everything	f, d, preserved, powdered
Ginger, Wild	asarum canadense	root	grows throughout the Northeast, not as flavorful as cultivated ginger, leaves are different as well	f
Horehound	marrubium vulgare	p	tea, candy, in beer makes horehound ale	f, d
Horseradish	armoracia apathifolia	root	sauces, salads, sandwiches, condiment	f, d
Hyssop	hyssopus officinalis	p	liqueurs, ice cream; tarragon/rosemary/mint-like flavor, fish, duck	f
Juniper Berries	juniperus communis	tree	flavoring of gin, sauces, stews, fish; particularly gravlax	f, d
Lavender	lavandula officinalis	p	soups, baking, vegetables, oils	f, d
Leek	allium porrum	p	soups, sauces, vegetables, roasts, fish, chicken, veal, beef	f
Lemon Verbena	lippia citriodora	p	tea, fruit salads, jelly	f, d
Lovage	levisticum officinale	p	used as a confectionery like angelica (root may be powdered)	f, d
Mace	myristica fragrans	tree	the outer web of the nutmeg berry, soups, sauces, stews, spice blends, desserts, vegetables	d
Marigold, Pot	calendula officinalis	a	leaves can be eaten in salads and flowers as a garnish, also edible. Adds a yellow color to cooked foods	f, d
Marjoram, Pot	majorana onites	p	fresh leaves in salads soups, sauces, dried in chicken and beef dishes, sometimes fish, eggs	f, d
Marjoram, Sweet	majorana hortensis	p	has a slightly sweeter aroma than the pot variety	f, d
Mint, Apple	mentha gentilis	p	sauces, teas, jellies, candies, drinks,	f, d
Mint, Corsican	mentha requieni	p	sauces, teas, jellies, candies, drinks, (a creeping mint, almost moss-like)	f, d
Mint, Orange or Lemon	mentha citrata	p	sauces, teas, jellies, candies, drinks, (a.k.a. Bergamot mint)	f, d
Mint, Peppermint	mentha piperita	p	sauces, teas, jellies, candies, drinks,	f, d
Mint, Pineapple	mentha variegata	p	sauces, teas, jellies, candies, drinks,	f, d
Mint, Spearmint	mentha spicata	p	sauces, teas, jellies, candies, drinks,	f, d
MSG	from glutamic acid		flavor enhancer	powder
Mustard, Black	brassica nigra	a	sauces, eggs, roasts, vegetables, pickles, (use seeds)	f, d
Mustard, White	brassica alba	a	leaves in soup, (use seeds)	f, d
Nasturtium	tropaeolum majus	a	watercress -like flavor, salads and leaves and blossoms as a garnish	f
Nutmeg	myristica fragrans	tree	desserts, spice blends, sauces, pasta, vegetables, potatoes, relishes, (use grated)	d
Onion	allium cepa	bulb	use in everything except desserts	f, d, frozen
Orange Blossoms	citrus sinensis	tree	flavors water then used in desserts and sauces, petals in salads, eggs and garnish	f
Oregano	origanum vulgare	a	soups, sauces, stews, roasts, meat, fish, pasta, breads, eggs (blossoms as a garnish)	f, d
Paprika, Hot	capsicum frutescens	a	soups, sauces, stews, meats, fish, vegetables	d
Paprika, Sweet	capsicum annuum	a	soups, sauces, stews, meats, fish, vegetables	d
Parsley, Curly	petroselinum crispum	b	salads, soups, stews all meats and fish	f, d
Parsley, Italian	petroselinum crispum neapolitanum	b	salads, soups, stews all meats and fish	f
Pennyroyal	mentha pulegium	p	teas, (peppermint-like scent) use caution as it may be poisonous to some people	f
Pepper Flakes	capsicum frutescens	a	soups, sauces, stews, meats, fish, vegetables, pasta, pizza	d
Pepper, Black	piper nigrum	bush	all foods except dessert, maybe black pepper ice cream	d
Pepper, White	piper nigrum	bush	all foods except dessert, maybe black pepper ice cream, (white pepper comes from the same berry with the outer coating of the berry removed)	d
Poppy Seeds	papaver somniferum	p	breads, pastry, desserts, vegetables	d
Pot Marigold	calendula officinalis	a	salads	f
Pumpkin, Seeds	cucurbitaceae	a	sauces, condiment, garnish, bread	d
Rocambole	allium scorodoprasum	p	soups, sauces, roasts, stews, all meats, fish, game	f
Rocket	eruca sativa	a	salads, fresh sauces	f
Rose	rosa	p	jams, jellies, desserts, tea as rose hip tea (petals as a garnish) rose water; chicken, eggs, sauces, game	f, d
Rose Geranium	pelargonium graeolens	a	teas, desserts	f
Rosemary	rosmarinus officinalis	p	roasts, stews, all meats, some fish, breads, sauces, oils	f, d
Rue	ruta graveolens	p	musty taste, use with caution as some people may be sensitive and develop a rash or blisters (used in tea sandwiches), soups, chicken, eggs, vegetables	f
Sage	salvia officinalis	p	most dishes, bread (fried as a garnish)	f, d
Savory, Summer	satureia hortensis	a	soups, meats, fish, cheese, eggs, sauces	f, d
Savory, Winter	satreia montana	p	soups, meats, fish, cheese, eggs, sauces	f, d
Scallions	allium cepa	a	use like onions or chives	d
Sesame	sesamum indicum	a	sauces, oil, desserts, baking, meats, fish, candy	d
Sesame, Black	sesamum nigrum	a	sauces, oil, desserts, baking, meats, fish, candy	d
Shallot	allium ascalonicum	p	use like onions, has a fuller richer flavor; pickles, sauces, condiments as additional use	f, d
Sorrel	rumex scutatus	p	sour lemon-like flavor use in salads, sauces; particularly good with fish	f
Southernwood	artemisia abrotanum	p	teas	f
Sumac	rhus coriaria	tree	salad dressing, marinades, sauces	d
Tansy	tanacetum vulgare	p	flowers as a garnish, yet may be poisonous to young children	f
Tarragon	artemisia dracunculus	p	salads, soups, sauces, desserts, fish, chicken, veal,, butters, vinegar; even tarragon ice cream	f, d
Thyme, Common	thymus vulgaris	p	soups, sauces, roasts, stews, meats, fish, vegetables, game	f, d
Thyme, Lemon	thymus citriodorus	p	soups, sauces, roasts, stews, meats, fish, vegetables, game, even lemon thyme jelly	f, d
Thyme, Orange	thymus fragrantissimus	p	soups, sauces, roasts, stews, meats, fish, vegetables, game	f, d
Tumeric	curcuma domestica	root	spice blends, sauces, dressings, pickles, fish, poultry, eggs (looks like ginger root)	d
Vanilla	vanilla planifolia	bulb	an orchid; baked goods, ice cream, candy, sauces , desserts, sometimes fish like lobster in vanilla sauce	d, extract
Violet, Sweet	viola odorata	p	salads, candy	f
Watercress	nasturtium officinale	a	salad, cooked as a vegetable, sauces, cheese, eggs	f
Wintergreen	gaultheria procumbens	bush	wintergreen oil, candies, gum, soft drinks; (birch beer)	f, bark
Woodruff	asperula odorata	p	used to flavor German May-wine and other drinks	f, d
Wormwood	artemisia absinthium	p	most famous as an ingredient of the liqueur absinthe	f, d

When you combine colors such as yellow and green you get you get blue, likewise it is bright, clean and well balanced. If you blend yellow, green, red, blue and black you get a gray purple mess. The resulting color is not pleasant to look at, it's not clean or well balanced. The same applies to seasoning foods with herbs and spices. Too many of the wrong combinations will produce a mixed bag of tastes. What was a perfect piece of fish becomes a disaster when incorrectly seasoned. '97

Adelma Grenier Simmons, Herb Gardening in Five Seasons, Middlesex, England, Penguin

Norman Taylor, Herbs in the Garden, New York, Toronto, London, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.

John E. Brown & Coralie Castle, The Edible Ornamental Garden London, Pitman Publishing

GOOD COOKING'S HERB AND SPICE GUIDE