Individual Spices

Spices by Region: South Asia, the Mediterranean, and More

Twenty-three spices are grouped here by the region whose cooking made them familiar. The region often explains how a spice gets used, such as frying whole seeds in hot fat in South Asia or soaking dried chiles in Mexico. Each region page lists its profiles along with the blends built from them.

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Each group narrows the section to one kind of decision.

South Asian SpicesSouth Asian cooking often starts by frying whole spices in hot fat, a step called tadka, so the same seed can… 8 guidesBrowse
Mediterranean SpicesSpices from the Mediterranean and the Middle East often add sourness, fruit or fragrance rather than strong… 5 guidesBrowse
East Asian SpicesMuch East and Southeast Asian cooking uses aromatics that flavor a broth or paste rather than the surface of… 4 guidesBrowse
Americas SpicesChiles, vanilla, allspice and annatto all come from the Americas, and each is sold in several forms. These… 5 guidesBrowse
African SpicesMuch of Africa's spice cooking reaches a kitchen through blends: berbere in Ethiopia, harissa in Tunisia, ras… 1 guideBrowse

Spices by Region: South Asia, the Mediterranean, and More

Browse by group

In this collection 23 profiles