Individual Spices
Spice Flavor Profiles: Warm, Earthy, Floral, and Pungent
Sixteen spices are grouped here by the note each one adds to a dish: warm, earthy, floral or hot. Sorting by flavor helps when a dish tastes flat, because you can start from the missing note and find the jar that supplies it. The guide to balancing flavors covers what to do when one note takes over.
Browse by group
Each group narrows the section to one kind of decision.
- Warm & Sweet SpicesWarm spices taste sweet without containing any sugar, which is why they work in a braise as readily as in a… 4 guidesBrowse
- Hot & Pungent SpicesHot spices do not all burn the same way. Capsaicin in chiles builds and lingers, while the compounds in… 7 guidesBrowse
- Earthy & Savory SpicesEarthy spices build the base of a dish more than its top notes. Paprika and smoked paprika both bring red… 2 guidesBrowse
- Floral & Aromatic SpicesFloral and aromatic spices can turn soapy, piney or medicinal when too much goes in. These three profiles… 3 guidesBrowse
In this collection 16 profiles
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Black PepperBlack pepper gives food two separate things…
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CayenneCayenne pepper is a fine red chile powder…
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CinnamonMost jars sold as cinnamon in the US hold…
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Fennel SeedsFennel seed is the dried, ribbed fruit of the…
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GingerGinger is a hot, lemony rhizome that cooks…
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HorseradishHorseradish is the pale root of a…
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LavenderCooking with lavender works when the buds…
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MaceMace is the dried, lacy aril that wraps the…
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NutmegNutmeg is a warm, sweet, woody spice grated…
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PaprikaPaprika is ground dried red pepper, and most…
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Smoked PaprikaSmoked paprika tastes of a wood fire because…
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WasabiReal wasabi is a pale green paste grated from…
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White PepperWhite pepper is the seed of ripe Piper nigrum…
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ClovesCloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of…
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Juniper BerriesJuniper berries are the dried seed cones of…
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Chili FlakesChili flakes, also sold as crushed red…
Nothing at this heat level yet.