Whole Spice

Ajowan has a distinct "thyme-like" flavour and is good in slow-cooked dishes.

Caraway tastes like a mixture of aniseed and fennel, so goes well with cheese or baked into bread.

Brown cardamom has a smoky taste which is great in marinades. It is very different to green cardamom and they should not be interchanged.

Green cardamom is most commonly used in Middle-Eastern desserts and sweets, but it also complements curries and rice dishes.

Often confused with cinnamon, cassia has a stronger aroma and flavour and is often used in baking and sweets.

Cayenne is actually a blend of chilli powders that produces a uniform colour and heat. It is very hot and a little bitter.

Our whole dried chillies are quite hot, so use sparingly. They carry a delicious fruity chilli taste along with the heat.

Cinnamon quills have a sweet, warm fragrance and should be used by roasting slightly before grinding.

Cloves are a true international spice found in Asian, Middle Eastern, African and Mediterranean cooking.

The most useful spice to have in your kitchen as it mixes well with any combination of spices, sweet or savoury.

Cumin, with its distinctive flavour, is important in Mediterranean, Moroccan, Indian and Mexican cooking.

Fennel has an "anise" flavour and, like coriander, is an amalgamating spice able to bring other spice flavours together.

Fenugreek is often added to hot curries to provide a sharp, bitter taste. They also go well with potatoes.

Versatile ginger can be added to sweet or savoury dishes; giving a lifting warmth.

The essential ingredient in gin, it is also great with game meat.

A popular Indian chilli that makes dishes a glorious red colour.

A native New Zealand plant that has a fresh "minty" taste to it.

From the same plant as nutmeg, mace is usually used for savoury dishes.

Nutmeg is usually used with sweet dishes but also goes well with pumpkin and carrots.

This oregano is picked wild from the mountains in Sicily. It has a strong flavour, perfect in pizzas.

Paprika has only a little heat but a full-bodied flavour. Use it in European and Middle-Eastern recipes.

Black peppercorns have a warm, lingering heat and full-bodied flavour. A versatile spice that can be used with everything to pep it up.

Pimento is another name for allspice (so named because the flavour of this dry berry is like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves mixed together).

Blue poppy seeds have a nice nutty taste that makes them ideal for breads and biscuits.

Suitable for use in all salt grinders, a natural coarse sea salt that is very "salty".

When dry-roasted, sesame seeds release their wonderful, nutty aroma.

Star anise is more pungent than anise seed. It is used in Chinese cooking, with meats or when stewing fruits.

Sumac has a fruity, lemon-like taste and is ideal with tomatoes.

Thyme is used in many cultures in many different dishes. A distinct savoury taste traditionally used in bouquet garni.

Turmeric is used as much for colouring as flavouring in cooking, but the flavour is fantastic, especially in curries.