Getting to know your spices:

Allspice: This purple-black berry is the fruit of an evergreen tree native to the Southern hemisphere. It is named “allspice” because it tastes like a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, with a touch of brown sugar and dried fruit.

Caraway Seeds: Similar in shape and color to cumin seeds and also from a plant in the parsley family, caraway seeds are warm and floral, with just a hint of licorice.

Cardamom: Each of these football0shaped pods contains about 20 small seeds that possess a pungent, floral aroma and a sweet, citrusy flavor.

Cinnamon: This sweet-hot spice is the bark of a species of evergreen tree. Cinnamon comes in two types: Ceylon, which is light brown and sweet, and cassia, which is much darker and slightly bitter. Most U.S. markets sell cassia.

Cloves: One of the most distinctive and powerful spices, cloves are unopened flower buds from a species of evergreen. Once dried, these tiny reddish-brown spices have a sweet, peppery flavor. Use sparingly.

Coriander: This light brown spherical seed is the dried fruit of the herb cilantro, a member of the parsley family. Coriander possesses a sweet, almost fruity flavor with just a hint of the soapy-metallic character of mature cilantro.

Cumin Seeds: Like caraway seeds and coriander these tiny, elongated seeds belong to a plant in the parsley family. Their flavor is earthy and warm, but it’s their pungent, almost musty aroma that sets them apart from other warm spices.

Fennel Seed: Fennel seeds come from a bulbless variety of the fennel plant. They exhibit a heavy anise flavor reminiscent of black jelly beans and an earthy, butterscotch-like aroma.

Juniper Berries: These dark purple berries come from the Juniper shrub, native to both North America and Northern Europe. They are best known as the primary flavoring agent in gin, but their clean, sweet, piney aroma also enhances various meats and cabbage dishes.

Mace: This spice begins as the bright red membrane covering the nutmeg seed. Most often founds in its ground form, mace tastes similar to nutmeg but is slightly more astringent and has just a touch of sweetness. Mace can be substituted for nutmeg in most cases.

Mustard Seed: These acrid seeds are typically yellow, brown, or black, the brown and black varieties being prized for their stronger flavor. Mustard seeds have almost no aroma, but their flavor is earthy and sharp, with a strong peppery kick.

Nutmeg: This large, oval spice is the seed of a tree. Nutmeg’s flavor is warm and woodsy but assertively spicy. Nutmeg loses its aroma quickly, so it’s best to grate whole nutmeg for recipes in which it’s the star, such as eggnog.

Peppercorns: Green peppercorns possess a mild herbal flavor. They are soft, underripe, and typically sold pickled in brine. Piquant black peppercorns are slightly underripe but dried. White peppercorns are fully ripe, but their skin is removed before drying, making them less pungent than black peppercorns.

Pink Peppercorns: Not a true peppercorn, this spice is the dried berry from the Baies rose plant. These berries hail from Madagascar and are pungent and floral in flavor, with a distinctly sweet aftertaste. Although they are typically sold whole, they can be ground and used in much the same way as true peppercorns.

Saffron: Pound for pound the most expensive spice in the world, saffron is the stigma from a variety of crocus flower. Just the slightest pinch lends a raisin-like flavor and a vibrant orange hue to many dishes. When buying saffron, look for dark red threads devoid of yellow or orange.

Star Anise: This star-shaped staple of Asian cookery is harvested in China from a variety of evergreen tree. Though it’s best known for its role in Chinese five-spice powder, its warm licorice flavor also lends itself to various soups, teas, jams, jellies, cookies and liqueurs.