Apiaceae or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus Apium and commonly known as the celery, carrot or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering plants, with more than 3,800 species in about 446 genera, including such well-known and economically important plants as ajwain, angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, cow parsley, parsley, parsnip and sea holly, as well as silphium, a plant whose exact identity is unclear and which may be extinct.
Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin, is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa.
Fennel is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea coast and on riverbanks.
Ajwain or ajowan —also known as ajowan caraway, omam , thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit of the plant are consumed by humans. The name "bishop's weed" also is a common name for other plants. The "seed" is often confused with lovage seed.
Black cumin can refer to the seeds of either of two quite different plants, both of which are used as spices:
Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, and other seasoned salts are traditionally sold pre-made by grocers, and sometimes baking blends such as pumpkin pie spice are also available. These spice mixes are also easily made by the home cook for later use.
Nigella is a genus of 18 species of annual plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Southern Europe, North Africa, South Asia, Southwest Asia and Middle East. Common names applied to members of this genus are nigella, devil-in-a-bush or love-in-a-mist.
Nigella damascena, love-in-a-mist, or devil in the bush, is an annual garden flowering plant, belonging to the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to southern Europe, north Africa and southwest Asia, where it is found on neglected, damp patches of land.
A carminative, known in Latin as carminativum, is a herb or preparation intended to either prevent formation of gas in the gastrointestinal tract or facilitate the expulsion of gas from the gastrointestinal tract, thereby combatting flatulence.
Trachyspermum roxburghianum is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is grown extensively in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. Its aromatic dried fruits, like those of its close relative ajwain, are often used in Bengali cuisine but are rarely used in the rest of India. The fresh leaves are used as an herb in Thailand and it is used medicinally in Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
Nigella sativa is an annual flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, native to eastern Europe and western Asia, but naturalized over a much wider area, including parts of Europe, northern Africa and east to Myanmar. It is used as a spice in many cuisines.
Sativa, sativus, and sativum are Latin botanical adjectives meaning cultivated. It is often associated botanically with plants that promote good health and used to designate certain seed-grown domestic crops.
South Asian pickle is a pickled food made from a variety of vegetables and fruits preserved in brine, vinegar, edible oils, and various South Asian spices. The pickles are popular across South Asia, with many regional variants, natively known as lonache, avalehikā, uppinakaayi, pachadi or noncha, achaar, athāṇu or athāṇo or athāna, khaṭāī or khaṭāin, sandhan or sendhan or sāṇdhāṇo, kasundi, or urugaai.
Bhojpuri cuisine is a style of food preparation common among the Bhojpuri people of Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh in India, and also the Terai region of Nepal. Bhojpuri foods are mostly mild and tend to be less hot in terms of spices used. The cuisine consists of both vegetable and meat dishes.
Aframomum corrorima is a species of flowering plant in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It's a herbaceous perennial that produces leafy stems 1–2 meters tall from rhizomatous roots. The alternately-arranged leaves are dark green, 10–30 cm long and 2.5–6 cm across, elliptical to oblong in shape. Pink flowers are borne near the ground and give way to red, fleshy fruits containing shiny brown seeds, which are typically 3–5 mm in diameter.
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole and ground form. Although cumin is used in traditional medicine, there is no high-quality evidence that it is safe or effective as a therapeutic agent.
The history of spices reach back thousands of years, dating back to the 8th century B.C. Spices are widely known to be developed and discovered in Asian civilizations. Spices have been used in a variety of antique developments for their unique qualities. There were a variety of spices that were used for common purposes across the ancient world. Different spices hold a value that can create a variety of products designed to enhance or suppress certain taste and/or sensations. Spices were also associated with certain rituals to perpetuate a superstition or fulfill a religious obligation, among other things.
