name	form	flavor	where used	notes
ALLSPICE	Whole dried berry; ground	Complex, with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves	Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Middle East	Essential in Jamaican jerk seasoning
ANISE	Whole fruit (seed); ground	Sweet and very aromatic; similar to licorice	Mexico, Italy
ANNATTO	Whole seed; paste	Slightly sweet and peppery	Latin and Central America, Mexico	A.k.a. achiote; often used as a coloring, as well as a flavoring
CARAWAY	Whole fruit (seed); ground	Warm and strongly aromatic	Turkey, India, North Africa	Indispensable in harissa
CARDAMOM	Whole pod; ground	Aromatic, sweet, spicy	Mexico, Central America, India	Member of the ginger family
CINNAMON	Stripped dried bark (sticks); ground	Mild to bittersweet	Caribbean, Mexico, India, Middle East	Cassia, native to Southern China and Indochina, is a close relative of cinnamon
CLOVES	Whole dried bud; ground	Strong, but sweet, aromatic	Caribbean, India, North Africa, Middle East
CORIANDER	Whole fruit (seed); ground	Warm, mild, sweetish, with lemony undertones	Latin America, India, SE Asia, China, Middle East, North Africa	The leaves of coriander are called cilantro
CUMIN	Whole fruit (seed); ground	Spicy and lemony	Latin America, Mexico, India, SE Asia, Middle East, North Africa
CURRY	Blend of dried ground spices	Spicy and complex; often includes fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, coriander, etc.	Caribbean, India	Although curry powder is associated with Indian food, it is an American invention
FENNEL POLLEN	Plant pollen	Subtle fennel flavor, somewhat piney	Italy
FENNEL SEED	Whole fruit (seed); cracked, ground	Aromatic and sweet, similar to anise but less pungent	India, Italy, Portugal, Turkey
FIVE SPICE	Blend of dried ground spices	Can include cinnamon or cassia, star anise, clove, Sichuan peppercorn, and/or fennel	China
GALANGAL	Whole fresh or dried rhizome or pieces; ground	Similar to ginger, with a somewhat piney flavor	SE Asia
GARAM MASALA	Blend of dried ground spcies	May include cinnamon, toasted cumin, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.	India	Garam masala means "warm spices"; there are many variations
GINGER	Whole fresh or dried rhizome or pieces; ground	Fresh ginger is juicy, spicy and aromatic, with lemony undertones	Caribbean, Latin America, India, China, Japan, SE Asia, North Africa	Dried ground ginger is much more mild in flavor
JUNIPER	Dried whole berry	Aromatic, bittersweet, piney	France, Italy, Spain	Gin gets its characteristic flavor from juniper berries
MACE	Flat, branchlike pieces; ground	Warm and intensely aromatic, somewhat resinous	Caribbean, India, Tunisia, Morocco, Italy, France	Mace is the outer covering of a nutmeg kernel
MUSTARD SEED	Whole seed, ground	Pungent and spicy	India, France, Middle East	Seeds can come from 3 different plants, affecting the color
NUTMEG	Whole kernel (seed); ground	Aromatic, earthy, nutty	Caribbean, India, SE Asia, Middle East, Italy, France
PAPRIKA	Dried, ground capsicum (pepper)	Ranges from sweet and mild to fiery hot	Spain, Portugal, Turkey
PIMENTON	Smoked, ground capsicum (pepper)	Three varieties: sweet, bittersweet, hot	Spain
RAS AL HANOUT	Blend of dried ground spices	Complex; can contain as many as 30 different spices, such as cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, etc.	Morocco	The name translates to "top of the shop"—the spice shope
SAFFRON	Dried stigma (style) of a crocus-like flower; ground	Fragrant, warm, slightly bitter	Caribbean, South America, India, Spain, Greece, Morocco	Usually steeped in warm liquid before being added to a recipe, to release its flavor
SICHUAN PEPPERCORNS	Whole outer pod of a fruit; ground	Aromatic, lemony, tingly-hot	China, Japan	Despite its name, Sichuan peppercorn is not related to either pepper or chiles
STAR ANISE	Dried star-shaped fruit	Reminiscent of anise, but a little less harsh	China, India, Vietnam	A major component of both 5-spice powder and garam masala
SUMAC	Whole dried berry; ground	Sour, fruity and astringent	Turkey, Lebanon
TURMERIC	Ground rhizome	Warm and aromatic, with a slight bitterness	SE Asia, India, Middle East
VANILLA BEAN	Whole fruit or seed pod (bean) or an orchid	Rich, full, aromatic and powerful	Mexico	Other forms include powder (blended with sugar or starch); extract

Spices