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herbsandspices.food โ€บ ๐ŸŒณ Plant families

Piperaceae

The pepper family

Mostly tropical climbers and shrubs. Their pungency comes from piperine and its relatives.

Order Piperales ยท peppers and their relatives Early flowering plants 4 pages

๐Ÿซš Spices (4)

Black pepper
The king of spices, and the most traded spice in the world
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Heat Medium
Cubeb
The tailed pepper of Java: piney, bitter and nearly forgotten
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Heat Mild
Long pepper
The pepper that Rome prized above black, and that chillies all but erased
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Heat Medium
White pepper
Black pepper without its jacket: hotter, earthier and invisible in pale food
๐ŸŒถ๏ธ Heat Medium

Related families

Others in Early flowering plants.

Schisandraceae ยท star anise family Lauraceae ยท laurel family Myristicaceae ยท nutmeg family

โ† All plant families

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herbsandspices.food The reference guide to herbs and spices

312 pages on herbs, chillies, spices, blends and pastes: how they taste, how to cook with them, where they came from and why they work.

Herbs and spices shape the food we eat every day. They add aroma, heat, freshness, bitterness and warmth, transforming simple ingredients and giving many of the world's cuisines their distinctive character.

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