Caraway has been a staple spice in the European kitchen for several thousands of years, and with the new Nordic cuisine movement, this bittersweet spice has its renaissance. The closed-umbrella shaped, nutty seeds can be found growing wild in Denmark and are now immensely popular in bread, cheese, meat and vegetable dishes.
Chipotle is a smoked chilli from Chihuahua, Mexico.
Chipotle is made of medium-hot Jalapeno chillies that score between 2500 -10,000 on the Scoville scale.
These peppers are ripened on the bush until they get deep brown and wrinkled. The chilli is then dried for several days in burning fireplaces.
The resultant flavour is a combination of strong pepper fruit and smoke, which is typically used in sauces, salsas and marinades.
While black pepper is called the spice king, cardamom takes the title of the spice queen, partly because of the importance it has held in the spice trade, but also because it is the second most expensive spice in weight after saffron. Cardamom is expensive because it grows in remote places.
Coriander has a distinct, sweet aromatic flavour and a fine spicy scent prominent in its dried seeds. Coriander is a traditionally common ingredient in diverse Asian and Middle Eastern dishes, but has now made its way to be used both dried and fresh, in most cuisines.
Coriander can be used whole or crushed in a mortar, and mixed with other spices like cumin, cinnamon, pepper and fresh herbs.