All About Holiday Spices

Allspice (Pimenta dioica)

Allspice grows primarily in Jamaica, where it is simply called "pepper" and featured prominently in jerk seasoning paste. As the name suggests, its flavor and aroma are a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg with a touch of clove. In addition to adding deep, warm flavor to savory dishes, use ground allspice in gingerbread and other cakes and cookies. Buy whole rather than ground. Whole allspice stores almost indefinitely in an airtight jar and will grind in a peppermill.

Recipe: Caribbean Pork and Plantain Hash

Star Anise (Illicium verum)

Star anise, probably the world's prettiest spice, is used widely in Asian cuisine. It also makes an unusual but delicious flavoring for poached fruits such as pears and plums.

Buy star anise whole. One or two "stars" usually impart sufficient flavor to infuse an entire dish. To substitute star anise for anise seed in a recipe, reduce the quantity to one-half or one-third of the recipe's recommendation.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zelanicum)

Cinnamon comes from the aromatic bark of a tree native to Sri Linka, India, and Burma. Buy it as sticks (or quills) or ground. Cinnamon is traditional in gingerbread, mulled wine, and chocolate cakes and desserts. Cinnamon is also good with apples and pears, and tempers savory dishes like lamb tagine. Cinnamon sticks have a sweeter, subtler flavor and a longer shelf life than ground. Whole cinnamon is best ground in a clean coffee mill.

Recipe: Lamb Tagine with Cinnamon, Saffron, and Dried Fruit

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)

Cardamom comes from the same family as ginger and turmeric. The best pods will be pale, sage green and have sticky black seeds inside. They are intensely aromatic and have an orangey flavor that works well in sweet and savory dishes.

Cardamom's essential oils are volatile, so ground cardamom's flavor dissipates quickly. Bruise whole pods before using to allow the flavor to escape–press down on them with the blade of a knife until the pod opens. If the seeds are dry and light brown, they are old and have lost their flavor and aroma. Discard those pods.

Cloves (Syzyium aromaticum)

Cloves are an ancient spice, used for millennia in China and imported by the Romans. Cloves are the dried flower buds of a tree with an intensely sharp, slightly bitter taste. Use sparingly as they can overpower other flavors. In holiday cooking, cloves traditionally appear ground in gingerbread and fruitcake, and whole in mulled wine or studding baked and glazed hams.

Use cloves whole or ground. If you use whole cloves to flavor a dish, make sure to remove them before serving, as in our fresh ham. Cloves don't need toasting before use.

Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

Nutmeg is the kernel of the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree. Each kernel comes wrapped in a lacy covering that we use separately as the spice mace. Nutmeg and mace share a warm, sweet, musky flavor suited to cakes, cookies, and other desserts. Nutmeg has an affinity with dairy, too–it is excellent in milky desserts and drinks.

Use nutmeg freshly grated or milled. Nutmeg mills pass the spice over a sharp blade, shaving off minute amounts. Except in cakes, add nutmeg toward the end of cooking to retain its evanescent aroma and warm, spicy flavor.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

Ginger's warm, slightly woody flavor makes it one of the world's favorite spices. By and large, fresh ginger is used in savory cooking, while dried or ground ginger is favored for sweet dishes.

Choose the freshest, youngest-looking ginger you can find–old rhizomes tend to be fibrous, tough, and not so flavorsome. It will keep two to three weeks in the refrigerator. Or store whole fresh ginger in a refrigerated jar of sherry, and use both ginger and sherry in Asian dishes. Ground ginger loses its aroma and flavor quickly, and it should be used within two or three months. .

Recipe: Pear and Ginger Crisp

Saffron (Crocus sativus)

Saffron has always been the world's most expensive spice, but you need only a few dried stigmas to color a dish and impart an aromatic and slightly bitter quality. Best known for its use with rice, saffron also combines well with honey, pears, rosemary, garlic and onions, and ginger and cardamom.

For most dishes, saffron is best soaked in a few tablespoons of warm liquid to allow the color and flavor to develop fully before adding to the rest of the ingredients. It is easy to use too much, which gives an unpleasant medicinal tang to the dish.