Leonardo da Vinci Partnership: “Kitchen and Restaurant
Guide for Starters”
Herbs
• Herbs refer to leaves from plants that are used
when cooking.
• The leaves can either be used freshly plucked
from a plant or they can be dried for later use.
• Oil from the leaves create an odor which in turn
is transferred the food.
• Herbs stimulate gastric juices that are part of the
digestive process.
Basil
• Basil is known for its
pungent taste and
sweet smell. It goes
well with tomatoes. It
is an important of
pesto sauce and can
be found in some
salads.
Bay Leaf
• Bay leaves are large
leaves by herbal
standards. They are
not chopped in to
small pieces like other
herbs often are when
dried. The leaf is used
in many sauces, soups
and stews as well as
with fish and
vegetable dishes.
Chive
• Chives belong to the
onion family and they
look like thin reeds.
They are commonly
used for an onion
flavour in hors
d’oeuvre and salads.
Additionally, they are
used in fish, meat and
poultry dishes and as
garnish with soups.
Coriander
• Coriander leaves look a
lot like parsley and have
a very recognizable
pungent taste.
Coriander is also a
spice, but that comes
from another part of
the plant.
Dill
• Dill leaves are
numerous and thin
and so it resembles a
green-grey feather.
Dill is used for pickles
as well as in fish and
seafood dishes.
Fennel
• Fennel, like dill, looks
like a feather, but is
fuller and greener.
Fennel is also used in
fish dishes; however,
fennel can be found in
meat dishes and
salads too.
Marjoram
• Marjoram is sweet and
versatile. In its dried
state, it is used most
often in sauces, soups
and stews. Fresh, it is
used with cheese,
fish, pork, poultry and
vegetable dishes.
Oregano
• Oregano has a strong
and distinctive aroma.
The flavour is tangy.
Oregano is used
heavily in Greek and
Italian cooking. In
addition, it is used in
meat, pasta and
vegetable dishes as
well as in salads,
suaces and soups.
Parsley
• Parsley is widely used
as garnish, but is also
used to flavour a large
assortment of dishes.
Rosemary
• Because rosemary has
a strong fragance, it is
used in smaller
quantities. It is often
put on grilled or
roasted dishes while
the dishes are being
cooked. It can also be
found in salads,
sauces and stews.
Sage
• Since sage helps the
digestive system
handle rich fatty
meat, it is a wellknown ingredient in
stuffings for pork and
poultry. Sage has an
intense, pungent
flavour.
Tarragon
• Best used fresh,
tarragon is used in
sauces, such as
béarnaise sauce.
Tarragon can be found
in omlettes and salads
as well as fish and
meat dishes.
Thyme
• Thyme is another
versatile herb and
blends well with other
herbs since it does not
have an overpowering
flavour. Thyme is
used in salads,
sauces, soups, stews
and stuffings. It is
also sometimes mixed
with vegetables.
Spices
• Spices, like herbs, have oils that help the
digestive system since the oils stimulate the
production of gastric juices.
• Spices come from
– Bark: cinnamon
– Flowers: cloves, saffron
– Fruits: chillis, paprika, peppercorn
– Roots: ginger, turmeric
– Seeds: cardamom, coriander, cumin, nutmeg
• Well-known powders are made from a mix of
spices
Spices from Bark
Cinnamon
• Cinnamon is most often
used in a powdered
form in baked goods.
Cinnamon sticks, rolled
pieces of dried bark, are
also used at times to
add the distinctive taste
to other dishes
Spices from Flowers
Cloves
Saffron
• Cloves are actually
unopened flower buds.
The buds are used to add
flavour to sauces and
stocks as well as mulled
wine. Cloves are also used
as studs in roasting ham.
• The stigmas from the crocus
flower are dried to produce
saffron. Saffron does not
only add flavour, but also
colour, a distinctive yellow.
Rice dishes sometimes have
saffron, which is also used
sauces and soup.
Spices from Fruits
Chilli peppers
Pepper(corn)
• Chilli peppers come in many
different colours, sizes and
heat. The spice paprika
comes from the chilli,
capsicum. Chillis are used
heavily in Indian, Mexican
and Thai cooking. Pasta
dishes and pizza often make
use of chillis too.
• Pepper is a strong spice
that comes from the dried
fruits of pepper plants.
There are different kinds of
pepper like black pepper
and white pepper. They all
come from different plants.
Pepper is also used to
enhance the taste of food.
Spices from Roots
Ginger
Turmeric
• Ginger is from a tropical
lily. Ginger has a strong,
slightly pungent, sweet,
aromatic flavour. As a
powder, it is used for
bakery items and also
mixed with other spices.
The root can be cut up and
used in stir-fry dishes and
sauces.
• Turmeric is used mainly as
a colouring agent in curry
since turmeric does not
have much flavour on its
own. In other words, the
root is ground into a
powder and mixed with
other spices or used to
colour dishes yellow.
Spices from Seeds
Cardamom
Coriander
• In cooking, cardamon is
most often ground into a
powder and used in sweets
or baked goods. It has a
unique, strong taste which
comes from its intense
aroma. It is often found in
curry.
• The seeds are crushed into
a powder which has a
citrus-like taste. The
powder is blended with
other spices, such as curry.
It is also used in sauces.
Spices from Seeds
Cumin
Nutmeg
• Cumin is the second most
used spice in the world
after pepper. It is used in
curry mixtures, Mexican
cuisine and many other
cultures. It has a powerful
taste, oily, warm and
sweet.
• Nutmeg is used in ground
or grated form. It has a
sweet flavour and is used
in sauces and soups. It
can be found in cheese
and vegetable dishes as
well. Like many other
spices, it can be blended
with other spices.
Spices that are blended
Curry
•
Curry actually comes in many
different blends with different
colours; however, curry
powder typically contains
coriander, cumin, fenugreek,
turmeric and paprika.
Cardamom, fennel and
cinnamon are often mixed in
as well. It’s not unheard of to
find curry powders with
nutmeg or cayenne pepper.
Chilli Powder
• Chilli powder is another
often used mixture of
spices. It is used commonly
in Thai and Tex-Mex. The
mixture typcially contains
dried and crushed chilli
peppers, cumin, garlic
powder and oregano.
SALT
• Salt is a kind of mineral
composed of sodium
chloride. Salt is a
seasoning that is in the
form of powders and
are used to enhance the
flavour of food.
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