Other foods: pancakes/battercakes, broths, wafers, pastries and confectionery, custard creams, maple syrup, candies, butter, honey, ice cream, drinks (especially hot: tea, cocoa, coffee, mulled wine), biscuits, cakes, sugar, juice and peel (lemon, orange), dough, chocolate.

Seasonings and spices: anise, star anise, vanilla, cloves, mustard, cumin, ginger, cardamom, coriander, sesame, turmeric, bay leaf, onion, nutmeg, paprika, allspice, Szechuan pepper, black pepper, chili, celery, caraway, dill, fennel, garlic, saffron.

Cuisines and dishes: Middle Eastern cuisine, curry dishes, Indian cuisine, Indonesian cuisine, Spanish cuisine, Chinese cuisine, couscous, Moroccan cuisine, Mexican cuisine, mole sauces, Mediterranean cuisine, tajines, chutneys.

CHILI PEPPER

Chili is an essential part of most spice mixes. There is no other spice that has such an abundance of species and varieties. Whether it's a bird's eye or cayenne pepper, any species of this spice family will find a worthy use in any cuisine. Chili is added at the very end of cooking process except, perhaps, for marinades and sauces. Later in this book, you will learn about some varieties of chili peppers.

Chili pepper pairing:

Fruits and vegetables: avocado, pineapple, banana, green peas, potatoes, corn, lemongrass, shallots, mangoes, carrots, cucumbers, olives, tomato, radish, beetroot, pumpkin, citrus, apple.

Protein product: lamb, beef, legumes (peas, buckwheat, beans, semolina, oats, wheat, rice, lentils), yogurt, coconut milk, seafood, nuts (including peanuts), poultry (chicken), fish, pork, cheeses (goat cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, fontina), eggs.

Other foods: mushrooms, pasta, vegetable oil (olive, sesame), fish sauce, soy sauce, juice (lemon, lime), tomato sauces, vinegar, chocolate.

Seasonings and spices: basil, mustard, cumin, ginger, cilantro, coriander, cinnamon, sesame, bay leaf, onion, marjoram, mint, oregano, paprika, black pepper, parsley, rosemary, thyme, caraway, fennel, garlic, saffron.

Cuisines and dishes: curry dishes, Cajun cuisine, Caribbean cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Latin American cuisine, Pakistani cuisine, mole sauces, salsa sauces, Thai cuisine, Tex-Mex cuisine.

CLOVES

Cloves is not just a strong but a very powerful spice. Its flavour is warm, fruity and at the same time sharp and bitter. Only a few cloves are enough to raise a dish sky high and overdoing it will make the whole dish bitter. The whole cloves complement masterpieces of stews and sauces; ground cloves are good for baking. It emphasizes greatly other spices and pairs perfectly with cinnamon and cardamom and creates a balance in such mixtures as garam masala, baharat, berbere, Chinese five-spice powder and many others. Clove is added in the early stages of cooking process.

Cloves pairing:

Fruits and vegetables: pineapple, green peas, pears, zucchini, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, bell pepper, peach, tomato, radish, beetroot, pumpkin, citrus, apple.

Protein product: lamb, beef and veal, game, legumes (especially buckwheat, oats, pearl barley, millet, rice, beans, tamarind), sausages, milk, nuts (especially almonds, walnuts), poultry (especially chicken, duck), fish (stewed/boiled), pork, cheese, minced meat and meatballs, eggs.

Other foods: broths (especially beef), Worcester sauce, pastries, lemon juice, honey, beverages (especially tea, wine), biscuits, chocolate.

Seasonings and spices: star anise, basil, vanilla, mustard, cumin, ginger, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, bay leaf, onion, nutmeg, allspice, Szechuan pepper, black pepper, chili, caraway, dill, fennel, garlic.

Cuisines and dishes: English cuisine, curries, Indian cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Mexican cuisine, German cuisine.

CORIANDER

It is better to use coriander whole seeds rather than have them ground. Ripe coriander grains have a warm, nutty, slightly woody aroma and a sweet, slightly tart flavor, with a hint of citrus. The whole coriander seeds are usually slightly roasted in a dry frying pan before it is added to the dish. The only exception is when baking and making desserts. In this case they do not need a warm-up. Coriander is an excellent single spice that pairs with many spices and therefore it is one of the most popular ingredients for spicy blends. This spice is the main component of all kinds of curry powder. Virtuallym all the Middle Eastern and African blends are also based on this spice (dukkah, harissa, ras-el-hanout and others). The top picture displays European coriander, the one on the bottom is Indian one.