Despite its secondary name of “Indian date,” the tamarind is not a date. Nor is it native to India. It originated in tropical Africa, but due to the fact that it was adopted by the Indians with gusto when it reached their shores, when it boomeranged back west, the Persians assumed the Indians were the [...]
Cumin is that unmistakable flavor in Indian curries and many Mexican dishes, from the Americanized faijita to the more-traditional enchiladas. Specifically, it is the seed of the flowering Cuminum cyminum plant. You’ll also find it in the Indian tandoori (a tandoori is a type of oven; hence, tandoori refers to any dish cooked in it), [...]
Though little-known in American cuisine today, coriander has enjoyed a rich past. It was named as an aphrodisiac in 1,001 Arabian Nights, it was treasured in China during the Han dynasty (207 B.C.E.-220 A.C.E.), and it is one of the bitter herbs of Passover. Coriander seeds have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Romans used [...]
This false relative of parsley–sometimes called Chinese parsley–is the world’s most-widely consumed fresh herb. Cilantro is used extensively in Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern cooking. Culantro, a closely-related plant, is native to Latin American and the Caribbean and is used often in Puerto Rican and Cuban cuisine. Traditional salsa, salsa verde, the [...]
The “real” cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. Cinnamomum zeylanicum is much milder than Cinnamomum cassia, the hotter variety to which we are accustomed. Both, however, are the bark of an evergreen tree. The distinction is of legal importance in England and Australia, however–there, it is illegal to pass off cassia as being cinnamon. The [...]
Ah, one of the world’s most celebrated herbs! The French call it herbe royale, it’s considered sacred in India (and is often planted around temples and shrines), and it’s a sign of love in Italy. There are more than fifty species of basil; their various iterations are ubiquitous in cuisines ranging from Thailand to the [...]
