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Herbs and spices

Herb market in Pertuis

Les herbes aromatique (herbs) and les épices (spices) play as fundamental a role in French cuisine as elsewhere.

In the old days, any vegetable that grew above ground was called a herbe, while anything that grew below ground was a racine or a légume-racine. Herbes à soupe, used for flavourings, would include things like radish leaves, carrot tops, celery leaves, etc.

Herbes potagères are common garden greens used as vegetables, salads or flavourings: blette, épinards, pourpier, arroche des jardins and oseille.

Les pluches are the green and tender sprigs of celery, dill, fennel, chervil, parsley etc, crying out to be snipped (ciselé) with a pair of scissors, to garnish a soup, raw vegetables or a sauce instead of being cooked in a pot.

aneth

dill

angélique

angelica

anis

aniseed

armoise

artemisia

badiane

star anise

basilic

basil

bouquet garni

a bouquet of herbs

bourrache

borage

cannelle

cinnamon

cardamome

cardamom

carvi

caraway

cary

curry powder

cerfeuil

chervil

ciboulette

chives

cinq parfums

five Chinese spices

citronelle

lemon grass

clous de girofle

cloves

coriandre

coriander or cilantro

curcuma

turmeric

Épices Rabelais

spices for charcuterie

estragon

tarragon

fines herbes

delicate herbs

gentiane

gentian

genévrier

juniper

gingembre

ginger

herbes de Provence

dried herbs from the south

hysope

hyssop

kaloupilé

curry leaves

laurier

bay

lavande

lavender

livèche

lovage

macis

mace

marjolaine

marjoram

mélisse

lemon balm

menthe

mint

muscade

nutmeg

origan

oregano

oseille

sorrel

peigne de Venus

Venus’s comb

persicaire odorante

Vietnamese coriander

persil

parsley

piment

chili

piment d’Espelette

Basque red pepper

piment de Bresse

recently rediscovered chilis

piment de la Jamaïque

allspice

pimprenelle

burnet

poivre

pepper

quatre épices

the big four, or sometimes five

réglisse

liquorice

reine des prés

meadowsweet

romarin

rosemary

roucou

anchiote

safran

saffron

sarriette

savory

sauge

sage

serpolet

wild thyme

thym

thyme

tilleul

linden or lime tree flowers

vanille

vanilla

vervaine

verbena

violette

violet

Text © Dana Facaros

Image by Blue moon in her eyes, Creative Commons License