Spices & Herbs

The black peppercorn is native to southern India but is now cultivated in various parts of the world. These are little black pellets that are produced from unripe berries of the pepper vine that are harvested, cooked and dried. The black peppercorn is native to southern India but is now cultivated in various parts of the world. Tellicherry is the best-known variety and has a very strong flavour. The flavours of the black peppercorn vary according to the tropics they are grown in and the harvesting practices that are employed in their cultivation.

The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine, not to be confused with the capsaicin that gives fleshy peppers theirs. It is ubiquitous in the modern world as a seasoning, and is often paired with salt. They should be stored in a dark, dry, and cool environment inside an air-tight container.

Black pepper is a valuable additive to your tea as you can extract the antioxidant properties in the leaves and peppercorns.

Cinnamon is a favourite household spice, and has been used around the world for centuries. Once traded as currency, this spice has a pleasant flavour and warm smell that has made it popular in cooking, particularly in baking and curries.

The spice comes from the inner bark of a small evergreen tree. The bark is peeled and laid in the sun to dry, where it curls up into rolls known as cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon is also available in powdered form.

Cinnamon is a spice made from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree.The inner bark is then extracted and the woody parts removed. When it dries, it forms strips that curl into rolls, called cinnamon sticks. Cinnamon needs to be kept in an airtight container in a dark place. Cinnamon sticks are commonly used in biriyanis, chicken stew and vegetable stew. The inner red-colored bark gets the rough exterior scraped off, then the remaining bark curls naturally as it dries. The long pieces are cut into small sections and sold as cinnamon sticks, and the remaining bits are ground to make the all-familiar ground cinnamon most of have on our spice rack.

In terms of flavour, coriander seeds have a more robust, woody flavour with a strong citrusy note when compared with the more mellow flavour of coriander powder. Sometimes coriander whole is roasted and used in Indian cooking. They are harvested when the plant turns brown and its leaves start to dry and fall. Coriander is most often used in Latin-American and Mexican cuisines because its spicy, citrus flavor pairs well with this style of cooking.

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Fenugreek, known as venthiyam in Tamil and methi in Hindi, is one of the oldest cultivated plants. This native of South Eastern Europe and West Asia is now extensively cultivated in India where its seeds and leaves are an important flavouring ingredient in many regional cuisines. Methi seeds are used for pickling and are a component of the Bengali spice blend called panch phoron. They are also used in various curries.

Flaxseed, also called linseed, edible seeds harvested from flax (Linum usitatissimum) plants, used as a health food and as a source of linseed, or flaxseed, oil. Flax plants grown for their seeds are generally shorter, have more branches, and produce more seeds than those that are grown primarily for linen fibre. They are usually brown and are smooth and shiny, with a mucilaginous substance in their outer layer that makes them sticky when wet.

A kadha is made with dry ingredients that cannot be juiced, hence these ingredients are added to water and boiled to extract the nutrients within. According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine, herbal teas like the kadha are a rich source of natural bioactive compounds or antioxidants like carotenoids, phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, terpenoids, polyacetylenes, coumarins and many others.