Spices

🇷🇪Reunion

Réunion Turmeric

Safran Péi

Safran péi is Réunion’s local name for turmeric, whose roots are dried and ground into a vivid yellow spice used in cari and other Creole cooking; it is not culinary saffron.

🇨🇭Valais, Switzerland

Safran de Mund

Saffron grown on a few terraced plots in a single mountain village, harvested by hand each October and sold almost entirely locally.

🇻🇳Central Vietnam, Vietnam

Saigon Cinnamon

Quế Sài Gòn

Saigon cinnamon is Vietnamese cassia valued for its warm aroma and strong flavour, sold as quills or ground spice.

🇱🇦Luang Prabang, Laos

Sakhaan

ສະຄ້ານ

Woody pepper vine cut into short lengths and simmered in stews, giving a numbing, resinous heat; the pieces are chewed and spat out.

🇯🇵Japan

Sansho Pepper

山椒

Sansho is a Japanese pepper whose leaves and husks add bright citrus tingling heat, especially with grilled eel.

🇯🇲Jamaica

Scotch Bonnet

Small crumpled chilli, red or yellow, extremely hot but distinctly fruity, used whole in pots and pulled out before serving.

🇸🇨Seychelles

Seychelles Cinnamon

Cinnamon grown wild in Seychelles; both the bark and leaves are used in cooking; curry-pili (curry leaves) and cinnamon still grow wild — you can stop alongside the road and find it easily; a key spice in Seychellois curries and stews; the islands' cinnamon is prized for its quality.

🇸🇨Seychelles

Seychelles Vanilla

Vanilla grown in Seychelles; used in ladob, daube, and other desserts; the vanilla pod is simmered in coconut milk to infuse its flavour; a key flavouring in Seychellois sweet dishes; the islands' tropical climate is ideal for vanilla cultivation.

🇯🇵Japan

Shichimi Togarashi

七味唐辛子

Shichimi tōgarashi is a Japanese seven-spice blend combining chilli with citrus peel, sesame, sanshō, and other aromatic seeds.

🇨🇳Sichuan, China

Sichuan Peppercorn

花椒

The dried husk of the prickly ash berry, which produces a citrus aroma and a tingling numbness rather than heat; the ma in mala.

🇪🇸Extremadura, Spain

Smoked Paprika from La Vera

Pimenton de la Vera

Smoked paprika produced in the La Vera valley, Caceres, since the 16th century, with three types: dulce, agridulce, and picante, an essential Spanish ingredient.

🇦🇹Styria, Austria

Styrian Horseradish

Steirischer Kren

Protected Styrian horseradish is a fresh root with a sharp aroma, grated at the table rather than treated as a generic sauce.

🇱🇧Lebanon

Sumac

سماق

The dried and ground berry of the sumac shrub, deep red-purple and sharply sour, dusted over salads, onions and grilled meat.

🇭🇺Szeged, Hungary

Szeged Paprika

Szegedi paprika

Szeged paprika is a protected Hungarian spice from the Szeged region, valued for vivid colour and sweet pepper flavour.

🇹🇳Tunisia

Tabil

تابل

Ground blend of coriander seed, caraway, garlic and chilli that goes into most Tunisian stews — the word once meant coriander alone.

🇹🇬Togo

Togolese Chilli Pepper

Piment

Fresh and dried chillies are indispensable in Togolese cooking; used raw in yébésséssi, dried in sauces, and as a table condiment; the heat level varies from mild to very hot Scotch bonnet.

🇲🇾Sabah, Malaysia

Tuhau

Wild ginger stems, fresh crunchy stems with distinctive aroma and properly prepared.

🇹🇷Şanlıurfa, Turkey

Urfa biber

Urfa biber (isot), the darkened, oil-slicked chilli flake of Sanliurfa, is bought as itself and is a distinct product from Antep/pul biber.

🇧🇹Trashi Yangtse, Bhutan

Urka Bangala Chilies

ཨུར་ཀ་བང་ག་ལ་ཚིལ་ལི

Small, fiercely hot chillies grown in Bhutan, a signature of the national cuisine.

🇲🇽Veracruz, Mexico

Vainilla de Papantla

Whole cured vanilla pods and extract from the Papantla region of Veracruz and Puebla, protected by Denominación de Origen.

🇵🇫French Polynesia

Vanille de Tahiti

Vanira Tahiti

Vanille de Tahiti refers to fragrant Tahitian vanilla beans, especially associated with Taha'a, used to perfume desserts, sauces, and other island dishes.

🇲🇬Madagascar

Voatsiperifery Pepper

Voatsiperifery

A wild forest pepper harvested from vines in the eastern rainforest, with a floral, resinous heat unlike ordinary black pepper.

🇦🇹Lower Austria, Austria

Waldviertel Grey Poppy Seed

Waldviertler Graumohn

Protected Waldviertel grey poppy seed has high oil content and a mild, nutty flavour, sold as seed or used in named pastries.

🇦🇺Australia

Wattleseed

Roasted wattleseed is ground into a nutty, coffee-and-cocoa flavoured ingredient used in Australian breads, desserts, and sauces.

🇬🇾Guyana

Wiri Wiri Pepper

Wiri wiri

A cherry-sized round red chilli grown almost only in Guyana, aromatic and very hot, used whole in souse, pepper sauce and curry.

🇳🇪Niger

Yaji

Ground roasted groundnut mixed with chilli, ginger, garlic, cloves and dried onion — the rub that makes suya what it is.

🇹🇿Zanzibar City, Tanzania

Zanzibar Cloves

Karafuu

Unopened flower buds of the clove tree picked by hand and sun-dried on mats until dark brown and oily.

🇹🇿Zanzibar City, Tanzania

Zanzibar Curry Spice

Bizari

House blend of clove, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric and black pepper ground at the market.

🇸🇰Western Slovakia, Slovakia

Žitava Paprika

Žitavská paprika

Ground sweet red paprika from the Žitava valley, protected by origin, milled fine and deep red with a slight sweetness.