Spices Coriander, Kaffir Lime, Long Pepper And Clove

Summary: Coriander Scientific name:Coriandrum sativum L. Vernacular name:Phak chi All parts of the plant, that is, tender stem, leaves, flowers and fruits have a pleasant aromatic odour. It is a popular flavouring herb and spice. An annual coriander grows from 30-80 cm tall and bears small clusters of tiny white or pink flowers. The seeds are spherical, ribbed, and 3-4 mm in diameter. The plant grows best in sunny situations. Whole seeds are brittle and easy to grind to a fine po...

Coriander Scientific name:Coriandrum sativum L. Vernacular name:Phak chi All parts of the plant, that is, tender stem, leaves, flowers and fruits have a pleasant aromatic odour. It is a popular flavouring herb and spice. An annual coriander grows from 30-80 cm tall and bears small clusters of tiny white or pink flowers. The seeds are spherical, ribbed, and 3-4 mm in diameter. The plant grows best in sunny situations. Whole seeds are brittle and easy to grind to a fine powder. Coriander fruits are usually dry roasted before grinding to enhance flavour. It is actually the housewife's secret of tasty dishes, it is used almost essential ingredient in curry powder. Coriander fruits are used to be carminative, diuretic, tonic, stomachic, antibilions refrigerant and aphrodisiac. Thai dishes are flavoured with fresh leaves of coriander. Kaffir Lime Scientific name:Citrua hystrix DC. Vernacular name:Ma krood The rind of the fruit and the leaves are used in Thai cooking. The Kaffir lime is a small tree with double leaves and a clean lemon taste. It gives a distinctive taste to chicken and fish dishes. They are used with fruit peel in Thai cooking and medicine. Long Pepper Scientific name:Piper longum Linn. P. retrofractum Vahl Family:PIPERACEAE Vernacular name:Dee-plee Long pepper is the entire spike of immature fruits derived from either of the above species. It resembles black pepper in taste and odour but is quite distinctive and is less strong. It contains about 1 percent of volatile oil, 6 percent of piperine and a pungent resin, chavicin. In traditional Thai medicine, long pepper is used as a carminative and an expectorant. It is also used as a spice in pickling. Clove Scientific name:Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merr.& L.M. Perry Vernacular name:Kan phlu Cloves are the unopened flower buds of a small evergreen tree to a height of 10-12 metres. Cloves are picked when the buds are then dried over several days in the sun. cloves are very aromatic that is warm and rich. The taste of alcove is bitingly sharp, hot and bitter and it leaves a lasting numb sensation in the mouth. To have a few cloves in the mouths keep the breath sweet. Clove has stimulating properties and is one of the ingredients of betelnut chew. Cloves go well with sweet or savoury foods. It is used for flavouring curries, spice mixtures and pickling spice. It is highly valued in medicine as carminative, aromatic and stimulant. The essential oil is used in medicine as an aid to digestion and for its antiseptic and antibiotic properties in tooth-ache. The essence is a food preservative.