Spices

🇦🇿Absheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan

Absheron Saffron

Zəfəran

Saffron grown on the Absheron peninsula near Bilgah, the only place in the region where it is cultivated at scale.

🇧🇴Bolivia

Aji Amarillo

The bright yellow-orange chili pepper central to Peruvian cooking. Fruity, medium-hot and used in sauces, stews and marinades.

🇻🇪Venezuela

Ají Dulce

Small wrinkled chilli that looks like a habanero and smells like one but carries almost no heat, the aromatic base of every sofrito.

🇵🇪Peru

Ají Limo

A fragrant Peruvian chili with citrusy heat, especially associated with ceviche and seafood.

🇵🇪Peru

Ají Mirasol

Sun-dried ají amarillo with a sweet-fruity flavor used in Peruvian sauces and stews.

🇵🇪Peru

Ají Panca

A dark, sweet-fruited Peruvian chili used dried and ground in marinades, adobos and stews.

🇩🇴Dominican Republic

Ajíes Dulces

Dominican sweet chili peppers (ají dulce), small, round, and mild, used in sofritos and stews. A key aromatic ingredient in Dominican cooking, sweet and fruity.

🇸🇾Aleppo, Syria

Aleppo Pepper

فلفل حلبي

Halaby chilli sun-dried, deseeded and crushed with salt and a little oil into moist, deep red flakes with a slow, fruity heat.

🇸🇻El Salvador

Alguashte

A Salvadoran seasoning of ground roasted squash or pepita seeds, salt, and spices, sprinkled on fruit and snacks.

🇨🇮Côte d'Ivoire

Alligator Pepper

A pungent West African spice sold as whole scaly pods and seeds, used sparingly to perfume Liberian soups, stews, rice, and ceremonial food.

🇲🇶Martinique

Allspice

Bois d'Inde

Allspice, known locally as bois d'Inde; a key aromatic in Martinican cuisine; leaves and seeds used in court-bouillon, matoutou, and blaff; the bois d'Inde that flavors Martinican cooking.

🇬🇺Guam

Annatto

Roucou

The red seeds of the Bixa orellana shrub (lipstick tree); used as a condiment and natural food coloring; gives dishes a deep orange-red colour; a staple ingredient in French Guianese and Amazonian cuisine.

🇲🇷Mauritania

Baobab Leaf Powder

Lalo

Powdered dried baobab leaves used as a thickening agent in Mauritanian and Senegalese sauces; gives ngomou and other couscous dishes their characteristic dark green colour and slightly mucilaginous texture; a staple ingredient in Pulaar cooking.

🇮🇩North Sumatra, Indonesia

Batak Pepper

Andaliman

Batak Szechuan pepper spice with tingling sensation and citrusy aroma, essential for Batak dishes.

🇧🇹Bhutan

Bhutanese Chilli

ཨེ་མ།

Long, thick-walled chillies eaten as a vegetable, sold fresh and green in summer and dried scarlet on farmhouse roofs for winter.

🇬🇪Georgia

Blue Fenugreek

Უცხო სუნელი

Ground blue fenugreek, the herb that gives Georgian food its characteristic warm, hay-like smell; not the same as Indian fenugreek.

🇲🇶Martinique

Bondamanjak Chili

Piment Bondamanjak

The hot pepper of Martinique; named after Bondamanjak; served alongside ti nain lan mori; a key ingredient in Creole cooking; the piment Bondamanjak that fires Martinican cuisine.

🇾🇹Mayotte

Bourbon Vanilla

Vanille de Bourbon

Bourbon vanilla from Reunion Island; known as the best money can buy; carefully ripened on the island; used in pastries, dishes like vanilla duck, punches, rums, and coffee; the island's former name was Bourbon; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try; the vanilla that is Reunion's treasure.

🇦🇺Australia

Bush Tomato

Akudjura

Bush tomato is a small arid-zone fruit dried or ground into a concentrated spice with tamarillo-like savoury sweetness.

🇲🇱Mali

Calabash Nutmeg

Muscade de calebasse

Calabash nutmeg (Monodora myristica), a West African spice; listed in What The World Eats as a core spice of Mali; the seeds are grated and used to season soups, stews, and sauces; has a nutmeg-like flavor but more pungent; a traditional West African spice; used in soumbala-based sauces; the nutmeg of West Africa.

🇱🇰Central Highlands, Sri Lanka

Ceylon Black Pepper

ගම්මිරිස්

Peppercorns grown on the hill slopes, high in piperine and noticeably more pungent than most commercial pepper.

🇱🇰Sri Lanka

Ceylon Cinnamon

කුරුඳු

The paper-thin inner bark of the cinnamon tree, rolled by hand into layered quills, delicate and sweet rather than hot.

🇬🇺Guam

Chamorro Chili Pepper

Donni' Såli

Donni' såli is a small hot Chamorro chili pepper used to bring heat and colour to fina'denne', kelaguen, and stews.

🇰🇷South Korea

Cheongyang Chili Pepper

청양고추

A very hot Korean chili pepper variety from Cheongyang, used fresh or dried for extreme heat in stews and sauces.

🇬🇷North Aegean, Greece

Chios Mastic

Μαστίχα Χίου

A resin hand-scored from mastic trees in the 24 Mastichochoria villages of southern Chios, the only place it is harvested.

🇧🇩Khulna Division, Bangladesh

Chui Jhal

চুই ঝাল

Woody stem of a pepper vine, cut into chunks and cooked into beef and mutton curries in the south-west, giving a sharp warm heat.

🇰🇲Comoros

Comorian Cloves

Girofle

Dried flower buds of the clove tree; Comoros is the world's fourth-largest exporter of cloves, which make up a major share of export revenues; used extensively in pilau, curries, and spice blends

🇰🇲Comoros

Comorian Vanilla

Vanille Bourbon

Bourbon vanilla from the Comoros, a major export crop prized for its quality; used in langouste à la vanille, desserts, and aromatic dishes; a defining 'Perfume Islands' spice.

🇰🇲Comoros

Comorian Ylang-Ylang

The flowers of the Cananga odorata tree; Comoros is the world's leading producer (around 70% of global supply) of ylang-ylang essential oil; used in perfumery and occasionally as a food flavoring; an iconic 'Perfume Islands' product.

🇨🇲Cameroon

Country Onion

A hard, aromatic forest seed grated into achu soup and other western-highland dishes, tasting of nothing else in the pantry.

🇮🇶Basra, Iraq

Dried Lime

نومي بصرة

Limes boiled in brine and sun-dried until they turn brown and hollow, then pierced and dropped whole into stews.

🇮🇷Iran

Dried Limes

لیمو عمانی

Limes boiled in brine and dried in the sun until hollow and near-black, pierced and dropped whole into stews for a sour, faintly bitter depth.

🇪🇬Egypt

Duqqa

دقة

An Egyptian condiment of ground nuts, sesame, coriander, cumin, and salt, eaten with bread and olive oil.

🇫🇷Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France

Espelette Pepper

Piment d'Espelette

Basque chili pepper with AOC protection, mild heat and sweet-smoky flavor.

🇬🇼Guinea-Bissau

Fermented Locust Bean

Nététu

Fermented seeds of the African locust tree (Parkia biglobosa); a traditional condiment adding umami flavour to sauces and soups; used in caldo de citi and futi; a Slow Food-recognized product; threatened by industrial stock cubes that are replacing traditional seasonings.

🇨🇳China

Five Spice Powder

五香粉

A ground blend built on star anise, fennel, cassia, clove and Sichuan pepper, used in braises, cures and roast meats.