Herbs and spices help

pinkcherrychef

pinkcherrychef

Senior Member
Joined
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Location
Egypt
Well, here in Egypt it's kind o hard to find some things that I could find so easily in America.
There are some herbs and spices here I don't even recognize either.
That's normal though when living in a different country other than your homeland.

It's rather hard to find a good resource to figure out what is what to. I've looked online but
I've haven't had much luck. Sometimes I wish I knew British English because some herbs and spices have only the British English translation, not the American.

For instance, this isn't a herb or a spice but it still is a good example. For the longest time, I thought Egypt didn't have baking soda. I asked everywhere I could and they all said no they just had baking powder. Well after like 1 yr and a half I found it when I saw it in a container and asked the store owner what it was.

They said it was carbonate soda and I knew I heard that name for baking soda before so I looked it up and sure enough, it was baking soda. So if I had just said I wanted carbonate soda I wouldn't have waited for 1 yr in a half to get it.

So if any of you have a site that has all of the herbs and spices from all around the world I would really appreciate it if you would share. Or if you have any tips or advice please do share thank you.
 
pinkcherrychef said:
So if any of you have a site that has all of the herbs and spices from all around the world I would really appreciate it if you would share. Or if you have any tips or advice please do share thank you.
Click to expand...

I'm not convinced that the herbs and spices definitions on this page are entirely accurate - if any other members can suggest meaningful amendments please let me know.

http://freebeerforyorky.com/spicesentry.html
 
The one that once caused the greatest confusion here was coriander:

In British English, this is coriander:

coriander-benefits2.jpg


To me, the above is clearly cilantro. I have to think that proximity to Mexico is the reason for this usage.

But, on my side of the pond, this is what I think of when I hear coriander:

th?id=OIP.jpg


These are coriander seeds. We're both right, but you can see how mixing them up could be a disaster, depending on the recipe!
 
Yorky said:
I'm not convinced that the herbs and spices definitions on this page are entirely accurate - if any other members can suggest meaningful amendments please let me know.

http://freebeerforyorky.com/spicesentry.html
Click to expand...
I like how you handle coriander on your page: you distinguish between seeds and leaves.

By the way, your page is an excellent resource...pictures and descriptions!! :okay:

The only additions I might make would be:

pink peppercorns
ras el hanout
Thai basil (as opposed to the sweet or Italian basil you mention, which is quite different)
 
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The Late Night Gourmet said:
I like how you handle coriander on your page: you distinguish between seeds and leaves.

By the way, your page is an excellent resource...pictures and descriptions!! :okay:

The only additions I might make would be:

pink peppercorns
ras el hanout
Thai basil (as opposed to the sweet or Italian basil you mention, which is quite different)
Click to expand...

It's not easy to add more spices as those currently included are in alphabetical order (it took me a while to organise).

Also, finding pink peppercorns in my neck of the woods will be decidedly difficult. I've never used or made "ras el hanout" and it looks like there are a few hundred ways to make it. Admittedly, I've included garam masala which is of a similar ilk but I actually make and use that recipe myself (it's Madhur's).

Your point about basil is valid. I could treat Thai basil like I treated "young ginger" under "ginger". (Which reminds me - I must address the entry for parsley).

Cheers.
 
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The Late Night Gourmet said:
ras el hanout
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ras el hanout is not a single spice as aforementioned. There are quite a few mixed spice blends around the world so if you start including them on a spice list, where do you stop? For example:

Baharat
Berbere
Chat masala
Dukkha
Khmeli-Suneli
La kama

I could go on! Best to compile these as a separate list for clarity. But its a lot of work...
 
morning glory said:
ras el hanout is not a single spice as aforementioned. There are quite a few mixed spice blends around the world so if you start including them on a spice list, where do you stop? For example:

Baharat
Berbere
Chat masala
Dukkha
Khmeli-Suneli
La kama

I could go on! Best to compile these as a separate list for clarity. But its a lot of work...
Click to expand...
The list already has Garam Masala, Curry Powder, and Five Spice, so Ras El Hanout certainly belongs as one of the major spice blends. I don't recognize all the ones you've listed (which means I, of course, will look them up as soon as I press the Post Reply button).
 
morning glory said:
Are they more expensive? I don't buy them very often so hadn't noticed.
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There was a Brazil nut shortage last year and hazelnuts and cashews gave gone up in price too. I find the price varies a lot from brand to brand and if the nuts are whole etc. Cheaper in the Asian section of supermarkets.

I bought some almonds yesterday to make some dukkha.
 
morning glory said:
ras el hanout is not a single spice as aforementioned. There are quite a few mixed spice blends around the world so if you start including them on a spice list, where do you stop? For example:

Baharat
Berbere
Chat masala
Dukkha
Khmeli-Suneli
La kama

I could go on! Best to compile these as a separate list for clarity. But its a lot of work...
Click to expand...
Where do I stop? Do you mean shop?:scratchhead:Or perhaps you mean what is the stopping point of what I requested? It's simple really I want to know abut every herb,spice,mixed spiced all of that. As much as you information you can give me with pictures if you could. The problem is Egypt has a lot of the stuff I normally use but it has a different name because it's either the Arabic name or the British name instead of the American name I'm use to. So if you know a site that teaches me names of this stuff in Arabic or in British English that would be awesome.
 
Herbie said:
There was a Brazil nut shortage last year and hazelnuts and cashews gave gone up in price too. I find the price varies a lot from brand to brand and if the nuts are whole etc. Cheaper in the Asian section of supermarkets.

I bought some almonds yesterday to make some dukkha.
Click to expand...
Brazil nuts :cry:that's my favorite nut but Egypt doesn't have them sadly. I'm hoping one day I can find them in a special shop. I found pecans once so I won't loose hope abut finding Brazil nuts!
 
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