Concepts and words
221 spice words explained in plain language: techniques such as tadka and bloom, tools such as the mortar, measures such as Scoville, and the names that change from kitchen to kitchen.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for cooks, growers and the curious.
A
- Achar masala
- Coarse spice mixes for pickles: mustard, fenugreek, fennel, nigella and chilli, in mustard oil.
- Adobo
- A word for several seasoned marinades: Spanish and Mexican chilli adobo, Latin American dry mix and Filipino vinegar adobo.
- Adrak and sonth
- Adrak is fresh ginger root; sonth is the same rhizome dried and ground, with a sharper, warmer bite.
- Adulteration
- Deliberately adding cheap or harmful material to spice, from brick dust to banned dyes.
- Advieh
- Persian spice blends, with rose petals, cardamom and cinnamon, for rice and stews.
- Aflatoxin
- A toxin from moulds that can grow on poorly dried chillies, nutmeg and other spices.
- Airtight
- Sealed containers slow the loss of aroma and the creep of moisture into spices.
- Ajwain
- Carom seed, a small ridged seed with a sharp, thyme-like flavour used in breads and fried snacks.
- Aleppo pepper
- A mild, fruity, slightly oily chilli flake from Syria and Turkey, used as a table seasoning.
- Allspice
- The dried berry of a Caribbean tree that tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and pepper at once.
- Allyl isothiocyanate
- The volatile compound that gives mustard, horseradish and wasabi their nose-clearing sharpness.
- Amchur
- Dried green mango powder, a sour, tangy seasoning that does not add liquid.
- Anardana
- Dried sour pomegranate seed, a tart, chewy spice used in North Indian and Persian cooking.
- Anethole
- The sweet, licorice-like compound of anise, fennel and star anise, much sweeter than sugar to the nose.
- Annatto
- Orange-red seeds of a tropical shrub, used as colour and mild earthy flavour in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Aroma vs heat
- Spice has two separate layers: what you smell, and what you feel as bite, and both are worth balancing.
- ASTA colour
- A standard measure of the red pigment in paprika and chilli, set by the American Spice Trade Association.
- Astringency
- A puckering, drying feel in the mouth, from tannins in spices like sumac, clove and tamarind skins.
B
- Badi elaichi
- Black cardamom: the big, dark, smoke-dried pod used in savoury North Indian and Chinese cooking.
- Baharat
- A warm Middle Eastern blend, the Arabic word for spices, based on pepper, cinnamon and cloves.
- Banda Islands
- A small Indonesian island group that was once the world's only source of nutmeg and mace.
- Berbere
- An Ethiopian and Eritrean chilli-based blend with fenugreek and warm spices, the base of many stews.
- Besamim
- The fragrant spices smelled at Havdalah, the ceremony that ends the Jewish Sabbath.
- Bhuna
- Frying a spice and onion paste slowly until the oil separates, to build a deep, concentrated flavour base.
- Biryani layering
- How biryani builds flavour in layers: whole spices, marinade, fried onion, saffron milk and sealed cooking.
- Bitterness
- A taste found in fenugreek, turmeric and burnt spice, useful in small amounts and unpleasant in large ones.
- Blooming in oil
- Frying ground or whole spices briefly in fat to release their fat-soluble flavour and colour.
- Breakfast spices
- The spices of the first meal: cumin in eggs, cardamom in porridge, za'atar on flatbread, ginger in tea.
- Buying spices
- Choose whole spices, small quantities, high turnover shops and clear origin.
C
- Capsaicin
- The compound that makes chillies hot, concentrated in the white pith around the seeds.
- Caraway
- A crescent-shaped seed with a sharp, rye-bread flavour, central in Central European cooking.
- Carvone
- A terpene that smells of caraway in one form and spearmint in its mirror image.
- Cassia and cinnamon
- Two related barks sold under one name: true Ceylon cinnamon and the stronger, cheaper cassia.
- Cayenne
- A thin, hot red chilli powder named after the city of Cayenne in French Guiana.
- Chaat
- India's tangy street snacks of crisp, chutney, yoghurt and spice, built on sweet, sour and hot.
- Chaat masala
- A tangy, salty North Indian blend with black salt and amchur, sprinkled on fruit and street snacks.
- Chai masala
- A tea spice blend of cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and pepper, boiled with milk and tea.
- Chakri phool
- Star anise, the eight-pointed seed pod that gives a licorice scent to biryani, pho and five-spice.
- Chipotle
- A ripe jalapeño dried over wood smoke, giving a deep, sweet smoke and slow heat.
- Cinnamaldehyde
- The compound that gives cinnamon and cassia their sweet, warm scent and a mild tingle.
- Cleaning and grading
- Removing dust, stems and stones and sorting spice by size, colour and quality before sale.
- Coconut and spice
- Coconut as the partner of spice along the tropical coasts, as milk, paste or oil.
- Cold infusion
- Steeping spices in cool water, milk or oil to draw out gentle flavour without heat.
- Cuminaldehyde
- The chief aroma molecule of cumin, responsible for its earthy, warm, slightly sour smell.
- Curcumin
- The yellow pigment of turmeric, a dye and food colourant, soluble in oil but not in water.
- Curing
- Controlled sweating and drying that develops flavour in vanilla, pepper, cardamom and other spices.
- Curry powder
- A British-era spice blend that packaged Indian flavour for export, not a traditional Indian product.
D
- Dalchini
- The Hindi word for cinnamon, a sweet bark that in India usually means the stronger cassia kind.
- Dhaniya
- The Hindi name for coriander, both the dry round seed and the fresh green leaf.
- Dhoop
- Indian incense: sticks, cones and resin blends burned at home altars and in temples.
- Doshas
- Three humours of Ayurvedic tradition, vata, pitta and kapha, used to talk about food and temperament.
- Dry rub
- A dry spice and salt mix rubbed on meat or vegetables before grilling or smoking.
- Dry toasting
- Heating whole spices in a dry pan until fragrant, to deepen flavour before grinding.
- Drying spices
- Removing moisture from harvested spice, by sun, shade, kiln or machine, to stop rot and fix flavour.
- Dukkah
- An Egyptian dry dip of crushed nuts, sesame and spices, eaten with bread dipped in olive oil.
- Dum
- Slow cooking in a sealed pot over low heat, so spices and steam perfume the food.
E
- Elaichi
- The Hindi and Urdu word for cardamom, the small green pod prized across South Asia and the Gulf.
- Essential oil
- The fragrant, volatile oil within a spice, the source of most of its aroma and flavour.
- Eugenol
- The main aroma compound of clove, also found in allspice, basil and cinnamon leaf.
F
- Fair trade
- Certification and sourcing schemes that pay spice growers a stable price and a community premium.
- Fermented chilli
- Chillies preserved by salt and fermentation, the base of gochujang, sriracha and many hot sauces.
- Festival sweets
- Sweets made with cardamom, saffron, nutmeg and cinnamon for festivals around the world.
- Five-spice powder
- A Chinese blend of five warming spices, anchored by star anise and cassia, balancing the five tastes.
- Flavour pairing
- Spices that go well together, often because they share aroma compounds or contrast in taste.
- Frankincense
- A white-yellow resin of Boswellia trees from Oman, Yemen and the Horn of Africa, burned in sacred settings.
- Freshness test
- A quick check: crush a pinch and smell it; a weak scent means a spent spice.
- Fumigation
- Treating spices with gas or steam to kill insects and microbes before shipping, now closely regulated.
G
- Galangal
- A pale, firm rhizome related to ginger, sharper and more piney, vital to Thai and Indonesian pastes.
- Garam masala
- A North Indian blend of warming ground spices, added toward the end of cooking.
- Ghee and spice
- Clarified butter as a spice carrier, used in India, Ethiopia and the Middle East.
- Ghost pepper
- A very hot chilli from northeast India, once the world's hottest at over a million Scoville units.
- GI tags
- Legal marks that tie a food or spice name to a region where it is traditionally produced.
- Gingerol
- The compounds behind ginger's heat, which change into milder or sharper forms when ginger is cooked or dried.
- Gochugaru
- Korean red pepper flakes, sun-dried and slightly sweet, the heart of kimchi and gochujang.
- Goda masala
- A dark, sweet-spiced Maharashtrian blend with dagad phool, coconut and sesame.
- Grades of pepper
- Pepper is sold in grades by berry size and density, from Tellicherry extra bold to garbled mixtures.
- Grains of paradise
- Small West African seeds with a peppery, citrus and cardamom flavour once a European pepper substitute.
- Grinding
- Reducing whole spices to powder by stone, blade or mortar; the finer the grind, the faster flavour fades.
H
- Haft-sin
- The Nowruz table of seven items starting with the Persian letter sin, including sumac, garlic and vinegar.
- Haldi
- The Hindi word for turmeric, the golden rhizome that colours curry and marks every Indian ritual.
- Haldi ceremony
- The pre-wedding rite in which turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groom.
- Hari mirch
- Fresh green chilli, sliced, slit or pounded into Indian food for heat and a grassy bite.
- Harissa
- A North African chilli paste of peppers, garlic, caraway, coriander and olive oil.
- Harvest timing
- When a spice is picked decides its character: green, ripe or dried peppercorn, bud or open clove.
- Hawaij
- Yemeni spice blends: one for soups and stews, built on cumin, pepper and turmeric, and one sweet for coffee.
- Heat tolerance
- The way regular chilli eaters become less sensitive to burn over time.
- Hing
- Asafoetida, a pungent resin that smells strongly raw and turns savoury, onion-like once fried.
- Hot and cold foods
- A worldwide folk idea that foods and spices are warming or cooling, regardless of their actual temperature.
- Hot infusion
- Simmering or steeping spices in hot liquid, as in chai, mulled wine and broths.
I
- Iftar
- The sunset meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, often with dates, soups and spiced dishes.
- Imli
- Tamarind: the sticky, sour pod pulp that gives sourness to chutneys, sambar and street food.
- Incense resin
- Hardened tree sap burned for scent in worship and homes, including frankincense, myrrh, benzoin and copal.
J
- Jaiphal
- Nutmeg, the hard brown seed of a tropical tree, grated fresh into sweet and savoury dishes.
- Javitri
- Mace: the lacy red covering of the nutmeg seed, finer and more floral than nutmeg itself.
- Jeera
- The Hindi word for cumin, the small ridged seed that anchors dry-spice cooking from India to Mexico.
- Jerk seasoning
- A Jamaican blend of allspice, scotch bonnet chilli and thyme for slow-grilled meat.
- Juniper
- A resinous blue-black cone berry that flavours gin, game and Scandinavian and German stews.
K
- Kabab chini
- Cubeb, a tailed pepper with a piney, allspice-like taste once a staple of medieval European kitchens.
- Kadi patta
- Curry leaf, a glossy aromatic leaf popped in oil at the start of South Indian dishes.
- Kaiseki
- Japan's formal seasonal meal, where spice is restrained and used as an accent: sansho, wasabi, yuzu, ginger.
- Kali mirch
- The Hindi name for black pepper, the dried berry of Piper nigrum and the most traded spice in history.
- Kalonji
- Nigella seed: tiny black teardrop seeds with an oregano and onion tang, sprinkled on breads and pickles.
- Kapoor
- Camphor, a crystalline aromatic burned in Hindu aarti, from the camphor laurel tree.
- Kashmiri chilli
- A mild, deep-red Indian chilli grown for colour more than for heat.
- Kasuri methi
- Dried fenugreek leaves, crushed over North Indian curries at the end of cooking.
- Kesar
- Saffron, the crimson threads of the crocus flower and the world's most expensive spice by weight.
- Kewra
- A sweet floral water from screwpine flowers, sprinkled on biryani, kheer and Mughal sweets.
- Khalbatta
- A small metal mortar and pestle used in Indian homes to crush ginger, garlic, cardamom and whole spices.
- Khus khus
- Poppy seed, a creamy, nutty white or blue-grey seed used to thicken curries and top breads.
- Kimchi seasoning
- The red paste of gochugaru, garlic, ginger and fish sauce rubbed into cabbage for kimchi.
- Kokum
- A dried purple-black fruit rind from the Konkan coast that gives mild sourness and a pink tint.
- Kumkum
- The red powder of Hindu ritual, applied as a mark on the forehead and offered to deities.
L
- Lal mirch
- Red chilli, whole or ground, the main source of heat in Indian cooking since the sixteenth century.
- Laung
- The Hindi word for clove, a dried flower bud with a strong, sweet, numbing scent.
- Layering spices
- Adding spices at different stages of cooking so each contributes a different note.
- Lemongrass
- A tall tropical grass whose pale lower stalk gives lemon-like freshness to Southeast Asian food.
- Lent and fasting spices
- Spices tied to fasting seasons: mahleb and mastic in Greek Easter bread, rock salt and cumin in Hindu vrat food.
- Light and heat
- Light fades colour and heat drives off aroma, so spices belong in the dark and cool.
- Linalool
- A floral, citrus-like terpene that dominates coriander seed oil and appears in many spices.
- Loomi
- Whole limes boiled in brine and sun-dried until hard and black, giving a sour, musky depth to Gulf and Iraqi dishes.
M
- Ma la
- The Sichuan taste pairing of tingling numbness (ma) and chilli heat (la).
- Mahleb
- The kernel of a wild cherry stone, giving a floral, almond-and-cherry scent to breads and pastries.
- Maillard reaction
- The browning chemistry between sugars and amino acids that makes toasted spices and seared food taste rich.
- Malabar Coast
- The southwest coast of India, home of black pepper, cardamom and the ancient port of Muziris.
- Marinade
- A seasoned liquid or paste in which meat or vegetables rest before cooking.
- Masala
- A Hindi and Urdu word for a spice or a blend of spices, and by extension the dish made with it.
- Masala base
- The cooked foundation of onion, ginger, garlic, tomato and spice that most Indian gravies are built on.
- Mastic
- A pale resin from mastic trees on the Greek island of Chios, used in sweets, drinks and breads.
- Methi
- Fenugreek seed and leaf: bitter, maple-scented and used in curries, pickles and spice blends.
- Mezze
- A spread of small dishes across the Levant, Turkey and Greece, flavoured with sumac, za'atar and cumin.
- Mole
- Mexico's great sauces of dried chillies, spices, nuts, seeds and sometimes chocolate.
- Monsoon trade
- Trade timed to the seasonal reversal of Indian Ocean winds, which carried ships to India and back.
- Mortar and pestle
- A bowl and a heavy stick, the oldest spice tool, used worldwide for crushing and blending.
- Mulling
- Warming wine, cider or ale with spices such as cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and star anise.
- Myrrh
- A reddish aromatic resin from Commiphora trees, used in incense, anointing oil and perfume since antiquity.
N
O
- Oil-soluble flavour
- Most spice flavour and colour molecules dissolve in fat, which is why oil is the best carrier.
- Old Bay
- A celery-salt based American seasoning of paprika, pepper and bay for seafood, born in Baltimore.
- Oleoresin
- A solvent extract of a spice that carries both its aroma oil and its resins, used by food manufacturers.
- Order of addition
- The sequence in which spices enter the pan, set by how fast each burns and how fragile its aroma is.
- Organic spice
- Spice grown without synthetic pesticides or fertiliser under a certified standard.
P
- Panch phoron
- A Bengali mix of five whole seeds, cumin, nigella, fennel, fenugreek and mustard, fried in oil.
- Panchamrit
- A sacred mix of milk, curd, honey, sugar and ghee, offered to deities and shared as prasad.
- Pandan
- A long green leaf of Southeast Asia that perfumes rice, cakes and coconut desserts.
- Paprika
- Ground dried red pepper, from sweet and mild to hot, the red of Hungarian goulash.
- Penang
- A Malaysian island port where the British planted nutmeg and clove to break the Dutch monopoly.
- Pepper as currency
- The long history of pepper used for rent, tribute, dowry and ransom.
- Pepper wars
- The sixteenth and seventeenth century struggles by Portugal, the Netherlands and England to control the spice trade.
- Pho spices
- The toasted star anise, cinnamon, clove, cardamom and ginger that scent Vietnamese pho broth.
- Pimentón
- Smoked Spanish paprika from La Vera, dried over oak fires and ground to a deep red powder.
- Piperine
- The alkaloid that gives black pepper its bite, less fierce and shorter-lasting than capsaicin.
- Pippali
- Long pepper: a fruiting catkin hotter and sweeter than black pepper, the pepper of the ancient world.
- Podi
- A dry South Indian condiment of roasted lentils, chilli and spices, eaten with idli, dosa and rice.
- Pounding
- Crushing spices with force in a mortar, which releases oils and mixes ingredients into a paste.
- Prasad
- Food first offered to a deity and then shared among devotees, often spiced with cardamom, ghee and cumin.
- Puja spices
- The turmeric, cloves, cardamom, camphor and saffron set out in Hindu household worship.
- Pumpkin spice
- An American autumn blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove and allspice, sold ready mixed.
- Pungency
- The biting, burning or tingling sensation spices cause, which is felt as pain-adjacent touch rather than taste.
Q
- Quatre épices
- A French blend of ground pepper, nutmeg, clove and ginger or cinnamon, used in charcuterie.
R
- Rai
- Mustard seed, popped in hot oil in southern and eastern India for a nutty, sharp flavour.
- Ras el hanout
- A Moroccan blend whose name means head of the shop, the best the spice seller can mix.
- Rasa
- In Ayurvedic tradition, rasa is taste, and each taste is tied to qualities and effects on the body's balance.
- Retronasal smell
- How aroma released while chewing travels up the back of the throat to the nose and makes up most of flavour.
S
- Sadya
- The Kerala vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf, with up to two dozen dishes in a set order.
- Saffron in ritual
- Saffron's place in Hindu offerings, Kashmiri Pandit customs and Persian celebration and hospitality.
- Salt and spice
- How salt works with spice, and the spiced and mineral salts of the world.
- Sambar powder
- A South Indian dry blend of roasted lentils, chillies and seeds that gives sambar its flavour.
- Sanshool
- The molecule behind the numbing buzz of Sichuan pepper, felt as a vibration on lips and tongue.
- Sarson ka tel
- Pungent mustard seed oil, the cooking fat of Bengal, Punjab and Kashmir, usually heated until smoking.
- Saunf
- Fennel seed, sweet and anise-like, chewed after meals and used in pickles, fish and sweet drinks.
- Sazón
- A Latin American seasoning of annatto, cumin, coriander, garlic and salt, which tints rice orange.
- Scoville scale
- The standard measure of chilli pungency, devised in 1912 and now based on chemical measurement.
- Shahi jeera
- The thin, dark, sweeter cousin of cumin, used in Mughal-style rice and meat dishes.
- Shelf life
- How long a spice keeps its flavour: years for whole, months for ground, weeks for fragile blends.
- Shichimi togarashi
- A Japanese table blend of chilli, sansho, sesame, orange peel, nori and other seven ingredients.
- Sichuan pepper
- A citrusy, tingling, numbing husk from the Sichuan region of China, unrelated to true pepper.
- Sil batta
- The flat stone slab and rolling stone used across South Asia for grinding wet and dry spice pastes.
- Single origin
- Spice from one named region or farm, sold with its origin as a mark of quality.
- Smoke flavour
- The taste of spices dried or finished over fire: smoked paprika, black cardamom, chipotle and dhungar.
- Snack masalas
- The dry spice mixes sprinkled on snacks, from chaat masala on fruit to chilli-lime on corn.
- Sofrito
- A slow-cooked aromatic base of onion, pepper, garlic and herbs, spiced with cumin, paprika or annatto.
- Sourness
- Acidity in the spice kitchen: amchur, tamarind, kokum, sumac, anardana and dried lime.
- Spice auctions
- Regulated marketplaces where growers and traders sell cardamom, pepper and other spice by lot.
- Spice bazaar
- A market of spice sellers, from Delhi's Khari Baoli to Istanbul's Egyptian Bazaar and Marrakech's souks.
- Spice box
- A round tin with seven small bowls, the working spice kit of an Indian kitchen.
- Spice grinder
- An electric blade or burr mill for powdering spices at home, best used in short bursts.
- Spice oil
- Oil infused with chilli, spices or aromatics, used as a condiment or cooking fat.
- Spice route
- The sea and land networks that carried spices from Asia to Africa and Europe for over four thousand years.
- Steam sterilisation
- Short, high-heat steam that cuts microbes on spice without chemical residues.
- Street food
- Cooked-to-order food sold in markets and on roadsides, where spice is the main attraction.
- Sudan dye
- A banned industrial red dye that has been found in chilli powder and other spices.
- Sulphur compounds
- The pungent sulphur molecules in hing, garlic and onion that turn sweet and savoury with heat.
- Sumac
- A tart, dark-red ground berry of the Middle East, used to sour salads, kebabs and rice.
- Supper
- The light, late meal, where spice tends toward the gentle: milk, soups, dals and warm drinks.
T
- Tabil
- A Tunisian blend built on coriander seed, caraway, garlic and chilli, used to season stews and fish.
- Tadka
- Whole spices crackled in hot fat, then poured over a dish; the signature finishing step of Indian cooking.
- Tajín
- A Mexican dusting of mild chilli, dried lime and salt, sprinkled on fruit, cucumber and corn.
- Taming heat
- Ways cooks soften chilli burn with fat, dairy, sugar, acid or starch.
- Tej patta
- The leaf of a cinnamon-family tree, used whole in Indian rice and curry bases.
- Tempering
- The English word for tadka: heating whole spices in fat so their flavour passes into the oil.
- Terroir of spice
- The way soil, altitude, climate and curing shape a spice, so the same plant tastes different by origin.
- Thali
- A round platter of small bowls that offers a full meal: dal, vegetables, bread, rice, pickle and sweet.
- The six tastes
- Sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent: the Ayurvedic frame for a balanced meal.
- Thymol
- A sharp, herbal phenol in thyme, ajwain and oregano, giving them a medicinal, tingling scent.
- Til
- Sesame seed, one of the oldest oil crops, toasted for sweets, spice mixes and ritual offerings.
U
V
- Vadouvan
- A French-Indian blend from Pondicherry, with fried shallots, garlic, cumin, mustard and fenugreek.
- Vanilla
- The cured seed pod of an orchid, second most expensive spice, native to Mexico.
- Venetian spice trade
- How Venice grew rich as the main European buyer of spices from Egypt and the Levant.
- Volatile oils
- The light, easily evaporating molecules that carry most of the scent of spices and fade fastest.
W
- Warming spices in TCM
- In traditional Chinese thinking, ginger, cinnamon, pepper and fennel are classed as warming foods.
- Wasabi
- A green Japanese root whose nasal-clearing heat is a short, sharp vapour rather than a lasting burn.
- Water-soluble flavour
- The sugars, acids, tannins and some pigments of spices that dissolve into water, stock and tea.
- Wedding feast
- The large celebratory meal, where costly spices such as saffron, cardamom and mace mark generosity.
- Wet masala
- A paste of fresh and dry spices ground with water, oil or aromatics, the base of many curries.
- Whole spice storage
- Keep whole spices cool, dark and dry, in sealed jars, away from the stove.
- Whole vs ground
- Whole spices keep their flavour for years; ground spices start losing it within weeks.