10 magical spices

Fat-burning, anti-ageing, breath freshening, antiseptic… many spices have surprising and truly magical virtues...

But do be careful not to get too much of a good thing and overdoing it, as some of them are very powerful… they are to be used in medicinal doses.

Take a little tour on our culinary spice route and learn how to spice up your life!

Fat-burning spice: chilli

• Virtues: Chillies (like pepper and mustard) sting and burn the mouth, but not only. Chillies contain enzymes (capsaicin, notably found in the chilli’s seeds), which work on the metabolism of fats and increase the burning of energy. If eating along with a meal, chillies will help to burn a portion of the food’s calories. Note that often the smaller a chilli is, the hotter it will be.

• Origins: Principally from the Americas, fat-burning chillies include the Cayenne pepper, the jalapeno from Mexico or the Espelette chilli from Spain.

• Preparation: The capsaicin enzyme, responsible for the strongest heat is highly concentrated in the seeds, so you need to remove the chill seeds to avoid ending up with a totally burnt mouth. In all cases, chillies should be used with moderation.

• Cooking: Chillies are obviously a great addition to Indian, Mexican and Creole food. They can equally spice up a lentil curry or a bowl of guacamole, and are great to flavour oil. And if you can get your hands on it, a square of dark chocolate with a spot of red chilli is an absolute delight.  Recipe suggestion:  Tiger prawns with chilli and cheese

Soothing spice: vanilla

• Virtue: Vanilla is known for both its soothing and stimulating virtues. As paradoxical as this can seem, vanilla relaxes and de-contracts, as well as stimulating the nervous system.

• Origin: Vanilla is the fruit of a vanilla tree (from the orchid family) originally from Mexico. Today, vanilla is also cultivated in the Indian Ocean islands, such as Tahiti. It’s the spice of evasion and travel, par excellence.

• Preparation: Split lengthwise, it is steeped in liquid to release all its wonder. Vanilla can also be used in a pure liquid extract form.

• Cooking: Vanilla is great in cakes, stewed fruits, cream desserts, and equally in homemade mashed potato or beaten into butter then will then be melted onto grilled fish. Recipe suggestion: Vanilla cupcakes

Anti-ageing spice: turmeric

• Virtues: Generally, all spices contain high quantities of anti-oxidants, but turmeric’s power is even higher. Turmeric helps smooth operation of the cardio-vascular system and neutralises free radicals, which are responsible for premature cell ageing (the skin in particular). A teaspoon of turmeric par day will cover the majority of your daily antioxidant needs. In addition, scientists are now seriously looking into its anti-cancer effects.

• Origin: The tropical zone, regrouping India, China, Japan and Africa.

• Preparation: Turmeric is used in most Indian cuisine, giving the food its lovely golden hue. It is also used in numerous spice mixes, such as curry and Colombo powder and ras-el-hanout.

• Cooking: Turmeric, used in very small quantities (otherwise it gives a bitter taste) can be sprinkled on sautéed vegetables, into lamb dishes (it removes the lambs somewhat unpleasant odour while cooking), or even in stewed fruit. It can also be mixed with rice or bulgur. Recipe suggestion: Vegetable biryani

Anti-bloating spice: aniseed

• Virtues: The star aniseed helps to fight against bloating, and facilitates digestion. How? By reducing the length of the intestinal transit. Aniseed also eases stomach aches.

• Origin: Far East – China and Tonkin.

• Preparation: Aniseed can be infused as an herbal tea or ground and used as a powder. It can also be kept whole in its star form, which makes for nice decoration in your plate...

• Cooking: Used in both sweet and savoury dishes, aniseed can be used in both sweet and savoury rice, with fish and of course in many desserts. Recipe suggestion: Portuguese apple fritters

Anti-cold spice: cinnamon

• Virtues: Cinnamon has many qualities, in particular anti-viral and antiseptic virtues. For colds, cinnamon helps clear the airways. It is also known to stimulate blood circulation and help to find against thermal shock.

• Origin: Sri Lanka and China.

• Preparation: Extremely aromatic, cinnamon should be used carefully. A pinch is usually enough to perfume both sweet and savoury dishes. Cinnamon can also be used in its stick form infused into saucy dishes. For the best result, grind your own cinnamon powder at home, just before using it.

• Cooking: Cinnamon is principally used in desserts, but you shouldn’t hesitate to get adventurous with it. Cinnamon is wonderful to flavour tagines and other sauce dishes, and of course is an essential ingredient to mulled wine. Recipe suggestion: Baked figs with cinnamon and honey

Anti-inflammatory spice: liquorice

• Virtues: Certain medications contain liquorice, which is known for its anti-inflammatory virtues, notably for the stomach and digestive tract. Liquorice helps calm a couch, which is why it’s often found in cough drops.

• Origin: The Eastern side of the Mediterranean basin and Central Asia.

• Preparation: The roots of the tree are used in cooking. You can even simply chew a liquorice root stick all day long, or they are can be steeped to extract their goodness.

• Cooking: Liquorice is a star ingredient in candy-making and it can also be used to complement stewed or roasted meat.  

Fresh breath spice: coriander

• Virtues: With its purifying qualities, coriander is a great friend of fresh breath. It rids the mouth of the toxins responsible for bad breath and purifies the mouth. To refresh the mouth, you need only to chew a couple of coriander seeds, pleasantly flavoured liked citrus fruit and pepper.

• Origin: Not clear – they can be found in numerous temperate zones across the world.

• Preparation: Ground, coriander is used in most curry preparations. Coriander leaves garnish many dishes, notably those from Asia and the Mediterranean region.

• Cooking: In stewed dishes, such as tagines, in spice cake or with white meat (once the seeds have been roasted and ground). Recipe suggestion: Grilled courgette and pepper salad with coriander

Flat tummy spice: cumin

• Virtues: Cumin possesses purifying qualities. It combats gas and intestinal bloating and facilitates digestion. For a flat tummy, don’t hesitate to sprinkle cumin seeds with glee.

• Origin: Egypt.

• Preparation: Grains can be dropped into a spoon of very hot oil to release all their flavour, before adding onions, garlic etc. The grains are also roasted and ground to be used in vegetable, rice and meat dishes.

• Cooking: Used in most Indian recipes, cumin is great in stewed meat dishes and is also used to flavour some varieties of cheese (Edam for instance). Recipe suggestion: Carrot and orange soup

Toothache relief spice: cloves

• Virtues: Cloves contain eugenol, an aroma with bactericide, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic virtues. For toothache, the clove acts as a local anaesthetic – you can crush it and put it on the painful gum… A sure-fire remedy!

• Origin: Tropical zones such as Asia, Africa and the Antilles.

• Preparation: Generally used whole, and if ground, only the head is used.

• Cooking: Plant cloves in an onion to perfume home-made stock or in an orange to steep in liquor. Cloves are also used in pains d’épices. Recipe suggestion: Vegetable curry

Antiseptic spice: mustard

• Virtues: Mustard was often used in poultices for its antiseptic qualities, and it is good for treating colds… However, mustard poultices are rarely used these days, as it can irritate the skin.

• Origin: More than 3,000 years ago, mustard was cultivated by the Chinese.

• Preparation: Mustard seeds are of course used to produce the famous yellow mustard paste. They need to be crushed to reveal their spicy personalities! For this reason, mustard powder is extremely hot on the tongue.

• Cooking: Fish simmered in coconut milk and mustard is a delight and a few grains thrown onto steamed fish works too. Mustard seeds can also be used to flavour vinegar. 

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