Mint – An Aromatic Perennial Herb
Mint, a plant which is part of the Mentha genus and a close relative of basil and rosemary, belongs to a large family of herbs with hundreds of varieties. For the purposes of this culinary discussion we will be...
Garlic – A Potent and Pungent Aroma
Garlic, or Allium sativum, is a perennial plant in the Alliaceae (or lily) family and is closely related to the onion. It has been regarded as an invaluable kitchen and medicinal plant for thousands of years, and is one...
Cumin – Used for Millennia as a Medicinal Plant
Cumin, also known as cumin seed or cummin, is the dried, tiny seed of the Cuminum cyminum (a member of the carrot family), and is related to parsley. Native to Egypt and the warmer regions of the Mediterranean, cumin...
Basil – An Aromatic Herb in the Mint Family
Basil, part of the Ocimum genus, is an aromatic herb in the mint family. Native to warm climates like Africa and India, basils are a large group of herbs in and of themselves – there are over 150 species...
Chili Powder – Adding Heat and Flavor to your Food
Chili powder, made from the roasted and/or dried fruit of dozens of species in the Capsicum grouping, is a potent dust useful to many world cuisines. While chilies are native to South America, it is difficult to classify the...
Nutmeg – Myristica fragrans
Nutmeg, or Myristica fragrans, is an evergreen tree in the Myristicaceae family. The tree actually produces two spices used in the culinary world: mace and nutmeg, nutmeg being the seed of the tree (which is found at the center...
Cooking with Spices – Trivia and Information
The right combination of spices can add serious flavor to a dish just as fast as the wrong combination of spices can destroy a dish. Cooking with spices doesn’t have to be a scientific dissertation, but a few general...
Dill – Trivia and Information
Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a small, delicate, annual herb native to warm climates like Asia and India. A member of the carrot family and closely related to fennel, dill is the only member of the Anethum genus (a little-known...
Allspice – Pimento dioic
Allspice, or Pimento dioica, is a surprisingly fragrant spice native to the Western Hemisphere. Closely associated with Caribbean and island cookery, it has the distinctive aroma of blended spices though it is actually a single ground spice. Originally grown...
Cinnamon – A Distinctively Fragrant Spice
Cinnamon, a distinctively fragrant spice associated with warm baked goods and holiday cheer in the West, has the honor of being one of the most expensive and sought after spices in history. The bark of a pretty evergreen tree...
The Scoop on Unoaked Chardonnay
For hundreds of years, winemakers worldwide have aged their wines in oak barrels, usually French Oak, to manipulate the true flavors of the fruit, believing the oak to enhance the enjoyment of the wine. It is what one expects when tasting a new wine, and usually the question will...
Wine Etiquette – The Proper way to Serve and Drink Wine
Aside from eating, sharing wine is one of our oldest social customs. It probably started soon after wine was invented. It's almost like wine was made specifically to be shared with family and friends. There are few other beverages that have evolved an entire ecosystem around themselves like wine...
Types of Pasta – Facts and Trivia
As anyone cruising down the spaghetti aisle in a supermarket can attest to, pasta comes in a large variety of shapes and sizes. The Italian word pasta comes from ‘paste,’ which is what the mixture of wheat flour, egg, and water looks like before it is kneaded into different...
