How to use it
Ideal match for tomato-based sauces, pizza and tomatoes. Toss with green and yellow beans, grilled peppers and eggplant. Whisk into vinaigrettes and quiches.
Recipes
• Basil chèvre swirls
• Basil hamburgers
• Basil ‘n’ sun-dried tomato dressing
How to use it
Heats up stir-fries, curries, meatloaf, savoury biscuits, marinades, sweet potatoes, corn, pork, steak, poultry and shellfish. Aztec brownie pie with a hint of cayenne.
Recipes
• Crab cakes with cayenne mayonnaise
How to use it
Adds zip to Tex-Mex chilies, fajitas and tacos. Stir into eggs and guacamole. Livens up corn, zucchini, potatoes and black beans.
Recipes
• Big-batch baked chicken in chili sauce
• Chili-rubbed ribs
• Pork ‘n’ bean chili
How to use it
Perfect in fruit desserts, cakes, cookies, sweet breads, puddings and pancakes. Complements pork, poultry, stews, punches and mulled drinks.
Recipes
• Cinnamon oatmeal muffins
• Poached peaches in cinnamon-ginger syrup
How to use it
Gives punch to chicken, ground lamb and pork, game, shrimp, curries, lentils, chickpeas, barbecue sauces, spice rubs, yogurt dips and chutney.
Recipes
• Cumin-scented Cornish hens with jalapeño-rice stuffing
• Chili-cumin rice and bean skillet supper
• Cumin lentil salad
How to use it
Adds pizzazz to potatoes, chicken, tuna and egg salads. Marries well with pasta, rice, legumes, soups and cream sauces.
Recipes
• Classy curried chicken with many fruits
• Curried apples and chicken
• Curried pears
How to use it
Adds pizzazz to potatoes, chicken, tuna and egg salads. Marries well with pasta, rice, legumes, soups and cream sauces.
Recipes
• Classy curried chicken with many fruits
• Curried apples and chicken
• Curried pears
How to use it
Delicious in potato, cucumber and carrot salads. Great on fresh and smoked fish and seafood. Use for pickling and in veggie dips.
Recipes
• Chicken with lemon, dill and capers
• Dilled salmon stroganoff
• Maple dill chicken breasts
How to use it
Injects oomph to pasta sauces, stuffings, chilies and salad dressings. Use in spice rubs for chicken, fish and beef, add to butter for garlic bread, sprinkle in soups or mix with mayonnaise, and use as a spread.
Recipes
• Garlic-lemon lamb
• Green beans in garlic oil
• Honey-garlic chicken pieces
How to use it
Perks up fruit, lemon and chocolate desserts. Great for seasoning stir-fries, curries, duck, glazed hams and seafood. Use in muffins, crisps, cookies, tea and lemonade.
Recipes
• Baked ginger apples
• Coconut-ginger oyster bisque sips
• Ginger-glazed rack of pork
How to use it
Excellent with potatoes, spinach, rhubarb, pears and apples. Use in gratins, white sauces, cheese dishes, fruitcakes, gingerbread, sugar cookies and cheesecakes.
Recipes
• Apple pie with nutmeg-scented crust
• Festive Chelsea buns
How to use it
Indispensable in Italian, Greek and Mexican cooking. Ideal for grilled fish and meats, pork stews, slow-cooked vegetables, omelettes, scrambled eggs and soufflés.
Recipes
• Tomato-feta phyllo kisses with oregano and chives
• Juicy Greek lamb chops
How to use it
Sprinkle on scalloped potatoes, mac ’n’ cheese, potato salad, devilled eggs and hors d’oeuvres. Rub into chicken and pork before cooking.
Recipes
• Cheater chicken paprikash
• Speedy stroganoff burgers
How to use it
Crush and sprinkle on grilled vegetables and meats, particularly roast lamb, chicken and game. Livens up marinades, potatoes, onions, stuffed veggies and savoury jellies.
Recipes
• Carrot-and-rosemary golden couscous
• Italian chicken with fennel and rosemary
• Lemon and rosemary Cornish hens
How to use it
Takes well to meat, poultry and vegetable stuffings. Sprinkle over roast pork and veal. Complements squash, zucchini and cream- and tomato-based sauces.
Recipes
• Grilled sage chops à deux
• Onion and sage bread
• Sage and garlic mashed potatoes
How to use it
Pairs with chicken, fish, potatoes, raw vegetable salads, salad dressings, cream sauces, mayonnaise, mustard and dips.
Recipes
• Dijon-and-tarragon roasted potato wedges
• Lemon-tarragon lamb chops
• Tarragon chicken burgers
How to use it
Best suited to stews, soups, pasta sauces, stocks, mussels, stuffings and dried beans. Stir into mushroom and pork marinades or mix with goat cheese.
Recipes
• Burger thyme
• Fresh zucchini-thyme sauce
• Mustard-and-thyme roast beef
