This document provides information about various condiments, herbs, and spices. It discusses what condiments, herbs, and spices are and provides examples of each. For condiments, it lists aioli, barbecue sauce, chili sauce, chutney, cocktail sauce, fish sauce, fruit preserves, guacamole, horseradish, mayonnaise, and mustard. For herbs it discusses basil, caraway, chervil, parsley, dill, cilantro, fennel, lemon grass, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, sorrel, tarragon and thyme. For spices it covers cardamom, cinnamon, clove, cumin, mace, nut
2. Introduction
A condiment is a spice, sauce or other food
preparation that is added to food to impart
a particular flavor, to enhance its flavor.
Herbs are any plants used for food,
flavoring, medicine, or perfume. Culinary
use typically distinguishes herbs
from spices. Herbs refer to the leafy green
parts of a plant.
A Spice is a product from another part of
the plant (usually dried), including seeds,
berries, bark, roots and fruits.
3. Condiments
Aioli: is sauce made
of garlic, olive oil, usually egg
yolks, and seasonings. There
are many variations, such as
the addition of mustard. Aioli
is, like mayonnaise,
an emulsion.
Barbecue sauce: is a
flavoring sauce used as
a marinade, basting or
topping for meat cooked in
the barbecue cooking style,
including pork or
beef ribs and chicken.
4. Chili sauce: is a condiment prepared
with chili peppers and red tomato as
primary ingredients. Chili sauce may
be hot, sweet.
Chutney: is a family
of condiments associated with South Asian
cuisine made from a highly variable
mixture of spices, vegetables, or fruit. They
can range from a wet to dry, or coarse to
fine.
Cocktail sauce: originally known as Marie
Rose sauce is one of several types of cold
or room temperature sauces often served
as part of the dish referred to as seafood
5. Fish sauce: is an amber-colored liquid
extracted from the fermentation of fish with
sea salt. It is used as a condiment in various
cuisines. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in
numerous cultures in Southeast Asia.
Fruit preserves :are preparations
of fruits, vegetables and sugar,
often canned or sealed for long-term
storage. The preparation of fruit preserves
today often involves adding commercial or
natural pectin as a gelling agent.
6. Guacamole: is an avocado-
based dip or salad. It is traditionally
made by mashing ripe avocados and
sea salt with a molcajete.
Horseradish: is a perennial plant of
the Brassicaceae family (which also
includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli,
and cabbage).
Mayonnaise: is a thick,
creamy sauce often used as
a condiment. It is a
stable emulsion of oil, egg yolks and
7. Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of
a mustard plant The whole, ground, cracked, or
bruised mustard seeds are mixed
with water, salt, lemon juice, or other liquids,
and sometimes other flavorings and spices, to
create a paste or sauce.
Aioli
Horseradish
Cocktail Sauce
9. Herbs
Basil: It is used to flavor
soups, stews, tomato dishes,
meat, game, fish, egg dishes,
herb butters and herb
vinegars.
Caraway: Roots of caraway
can be boiled and used like
parsnips or carrot. Fresh
leaves can be harvested as
needed and used in salads,
soups, and stews or eaten
like spinach. Seeds are
used in baking, slaws,
cheese, and potato dishes.
10. Chervil: Leaves are used much the
same way parsley is used in soups,
salads, sauces and cheese and egg
dishes. It is also used as a garnish.
Parsley: Parsley is often seen used as a
garnish. It also has the unique ability
to blend with the flavors of other
herbs. It is used to flavor stews, soups
and other vegetables.
Dill: Used to flavor fish, lamb, egg
dishes, soups and potato salad. Seeds
are used in pickling recipes and
vinegar.
11. Cilantro: Cilantro is most often associated
with Mexican or Asian foods. It is used in
salsa, fish and chicken dishes.
Fennel: Herb fennel is used in fish dishes,
soup and stews and fennel seed is used in
sausage. Fennel bulbs are used raw in
salads or steamed.
Lemon Grass: Leaves are used to flavor
fish, soups, curries, sauces, and teas. The
stems and leaves are used in Vietnamese
and Thai dishes. Larger parts of the stalk
can be added to stews or soup and removed
12. Marjoram: Marjoram is used in soups, egg
dishes, beef, and chicken dishes, sausages,
cheese and tomato dishes.
Mint: Mint is often used with veal, lamb
and pork dishes as well as beverages and
jellies.
Oregano: Oregano is used in sauces, tomato
dishes, pizza, Mexican dishes salads and
soups.
Rosemary: Use rosemary sparingly as an
accent to food as the flavor can be
somewhat pungent and resinous. Use with
13. Sage: Leaves are used in fish, pork and
poultry dishes. Also with vegetables and in
sausages.
Sorrel: Used in mixed salads, sauces, soups,
cheese dishes and pork and fish dishes.
Tarragon: Use in vinegars, oils, marinades
and salads.
Thyme: Thyme can be used either fresh or
dry. It is widely used in soups, stews,
casseroles, stuffing and poultry dishes. Its
flavor and fragrance is not adversely
affected by long, slow cooking.
16. Spices
Cardamom: The seeds of a plant used for
giving a particular flavor to food.
Cinnamon: a brown powder or small stick
made from the bark of a tree and used for
giving a special taste to food, especially
sweet food.
Clove: a brown dried flower bud used as a
spice for adding flavor to food.
Cumin: seeds used for adding a special
flavor to food, or the plant that produces
them.
17. Mace: the crushed shell of nutmeg, used for
adding flavor to food.
Nutmeg: a brown powder used as a spice to
give flavor to food. It comes from the hard
seed of a tropical tree.
Allspice: is ground from the immature
berry of a tropical tree native to Jamaica.
Historically, it was named “allspice”
because it contained the flavor nuances of
several other popular spices, including
cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Due to its
full and slightly sweet flavor, allspice is
found in many baking recipes though also
used in savory dishes.
18. Annatto seeds :are collected from a small
tropical tree native to South America.
Typically heated in oil, which retains the
flavor, the taste is rather earthy and
peppery. Annatto is used primarily in
Latin and Caribbean cooking and as a
natural coloring agent for cheese, rice, and
vegetable dishes.
Bay Leaf: bay tree leaves add a tangy,
earthy flavor to a recipe. Bay leaves are
wonderful in soups, sauces, or cooked with
meats and fish. They are usually added
whole during cooking and then removed
before serving.
19. Black Peppercorn: Left on the vine until about
half ripe and just before they turn red, the
peppercorns are then picked and allowed to
dry. It is at this stage that they turn black in
color and develop a deep robust flavor with
hints of fruit and spiciness. Grind fresh on top
of grilled meats, vegetables, salsas, etc.
Cardamom - Brown Pod: Its strong, smoky
(with a hint of mint) flavor and aroma are
derived from the open-flamed traditional
drying procedure. Typically associated with
Indo-Asian and African cooking, brown
cardamom adds a wonderfully unusual flavor
to hearty dishes such as stews, soups, and
20. Cinnamon Stick: Cinnamon is a spice
consisting of dried, cured tree bark.
Korintje cinnamon (a cassia) comes
primarily from Indonesia and is known for
its slightly sweet flavor. It is notably fresh
and the “sticks” are great for beverages;
mulled wine, coffee, tea, cocoa, or ground
for baking.
Star Anise: is a spice that closely
resembles anise in flavor, obtained from, a
medium-sized native evergreen tree of
northeast Vietnam and southwest China.
The star-shaped fruits are harvested just
before ripening. Star anise oil is a highly
