Green peppercorns are the immature berries of the same vine that produces black and white peppercorns. INDIA TREE Green Peppercorns are flown from Madagascar to the USA for freeze drying, which explains their plumpness and natural color. They boast a fresh, piquant flavor with a lively aroma.

Use INDIA TREE Green Peppercorns whole in a traditional sauce for steak; coat a log of fresh goat's cheese with crushed green peppercorns; add them to Thai stir-fries and curries; use them to season seafood and chicken dishes.

These glorious red berries are not a true pepper. They are the product of a tree native to Peru, but cultivated commercially on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean.

Use INDIA TREE Pink Peppercorns whole, crushed, or freshly ground, alone or with other peppers and spices; pair them with fresh thyme and sprinkle over warm goat cheese for a delicious spread; add them to your favorite vinaigrette with herbs like dill and chives to dress a green salad; at the table grind them over egg dishes, asparagus, and potatoes; add them to a delicate mignonette to serve with freshly shucked oysters; crush and sprinkle them over fruit salads; use them as a glaze for a fruit tart.

Referred to by the Cantonese as "flower pepper," Szechuan pepper is the dried reddish-brown berry of a prickly ash tree native to China. Szechuan pepper is not actually a pepper and does not pack the heat or pungency of a true pepper. It does have a slightly tingly, numbing effect on the tongue, leaving behind notes of lemon and anise. You can use these highly aromatic flower-berries whole, crushed, or ground.

To enhance their flavor and fragrance, we suggest lightly toasting them in a dry skillet prior to grinding or adding to your dish.

Toss INDIA TREE Szechuan Pepper into a vegetable stir-fry; grind and add it to a rub for chicken or duck; roast together with INDIA TREE Coarse Sea Salt, then grind this mixture to create a dipping salt for grilled prawns or roasted pork; crush to powder and sprinkle over buttered popcorn; include in a marinade for deep-fried squid.

Ground turmeric comes from the root of a perennial member of the ginger family. This earthy spice is easily recognizable by its vivid yellow-orange color and woodsy aroma. Turmeric lends a mildly bitter, musky flavor to Southeast Asian cuisine. You will find ground turmeric in most curry recipes, imparting warm flavor and rich golden color.

Blend INDIA TREE Turmeric with lemongrass, chiles, and other spices to create an Asian spice paste; mix with spices like cumin and coriander to create a rub for chicken, use to add color to rice and curries.

Smoked Paprika is made from pimiento peppers smoked over a wood fire and then ground into a fine powder. Used for its mild, sweet, smoky flavor, it goes well in chorizo sausage, in dry rubs for meat and in grilled dishes. It adds a touch of smoke to any recipe. Use it sparingly to enhance any food without overwhelming other flavors and without adding any heat.

Sumac is ground from a red berry that gives a distinctive, astringent flavor to dishes and a rusty, red color. It is used commonly in Middle Eastern dishes to flavor everything from yogurt to vegetables to meats.

The warm, rich flavor of Aleppo Pepper is unique and famous throughout the Middle East. Coarse, gritty, dark red, earthy, and robust, it contains oils that are released when it is heated or finely ground.

Cayenne Pepper is named for its reputed region of origin, the Cayenne region of French Guiana. Ground from the dried, ripened fruit of small-fruited capsicums, the powder is a rich red-brown in color. In flavor it is dusty, pungent and slightly aromatic, but not as powerful as the hotter chile peppers. A versatile spice, it is sprinkled over soups and hors d'oeuvres, used as a condiment on seafoods, and mixed into dry rubs, curries, casseroles and stews. It adds a welcome piquancy to any dish.

Allspice is the small, round berry of an evergreen tree indigenous to Central America and Jamaica. Introduced into Europe in the 16th century, allspice is known in most languages as "Jamaica Pepper," but because its flavor and fragrance resemble several other spices mixed together, the English preferred to call it "allspice." INDIA TREE brings you premium allspice from Jamaica. It is characterized by a sweet, pungent taste with notes of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper.

INDIA TREE Allspice makes a warm addition to foods and drinks such as pumpkin pie, scrambled eggs, chai tea, and mulled cider. Use it to round out the flavors in marinades and chutneys and as primary ingredient in Jamaican jerk seasoning.

Star Anise is used extensively in Asian cooking. It is the fruit of a small tree native to southern China and Southeast Asia. It tastes of licorice, but is more subtle, yet pungent, warm, and sweet. It is most often used to flavor pork and poultry dishes. One star will suffice for an entire duck or chicken. Star Anise is an essential ingredient of Chinese Five Spice and of Vietnam's classic beef noodle soup, pho.

Add INDIA TREE Star Anise to the liquid for poaching fruit such as cherries and pears; add to marinades for pork, beef, and chicken; include it in braising liquids for slow-cooking meats and stews; steep with other spices in apple cider or tea; simmer in slow cooking stocks and stews.

INDIA TREE Cinnamon is the sweet bark of the cassia tree, a native of Sri Lanka and the Seychelles. Today, cassia is grown in Indonesia and other regions of southeast Asia. Cinnamon was introduced to the West long ago by Arab traders.

Cinnamon is used extensively in the Middle East, India, and China, to flavor meat and rice dishes. In Europe and North America we use it primarily in cakes, pies, and other baked goods. Depending on the intensity of flavor desired in a dish, cinnamon may be used whole, crushed, or ground. The flavor of cinnamon is best preserved by storing it in sticks and grinding or crushing it only as needed.

Grind INDIA TREE Cinnamon and blend it with sugar to sprinkle over sugar cookies and toast; add it to a Moroccan tagine; mix ground cinnamon with cocoa powder and add to coffee for a delicious hot drink; marinade orange slices in their own juice spiked with a cinnamon stick to create a light, refreshing finish to a meal.

Canela, the Spanish word for "cinnamon," refers specifically to a variety of cinnamon grown in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan--or "Mexican" cinnamon--as it is often called, is lighter brown and has a softer texture and milder, sweeter flavor than does Indonesian cinnamon.

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of an evergreen tree of the myrtle family, originating in the Moluccas, the fabled Spice Islands. They derive their name from clavus, the Latin word for "nail."

Cloves are the most pungent of all spices. They add a pleasant flavor to stewed apples and peaches, pork and ham roasts, and soups. They enhance pumpkin pie, chocolate puddings, spiced drinks, stuffings and stews. INDIA TREE cloves are premium quality--hand-picked when still green, plump, whole and rich in volatile oils.

Add INDIA TREE Hand-picked Cloves to baked apples or peaches; use them in holiday recipes for pumpkin pie, glazed ham, and sweet potato dishes; try them with meats such as lamb and beef, as well as with vegetable dishes.

Ginger, the rhizome of a plant with a yellow orchid-like flower, has been cultivated for over 3,000 years in tropical Asia, and was one of the first spices to reach Europe over the caravan routes. Crystallized, or "candied" ginger, has been enjoyed by the Chinese for centuries as a sweet and spicy confection.

Eat INDIA TREE Thai Ginger like candy; sprinkle it over ice cream; "ginger" a fruit salad or a cup of tea; add it to your favorite chutney recipe. INGREDIENTS: Ginger, sugar.

Juniper berries are the blue-black fruits of an evergreen shrub that grows throughout the northern hemisphere. The further south the juniper grows, the more pungent the berries. Juniper smells of pine and camphor. It leaves a tingling sensation on the tongue.

INDIA TREE Juniper berries are gathered along Croatia's Dalmatian coast, where they add their fragrance to that of wild rosemary, lavender, and thyme. Use them lightly crushed, alone or with their companion herbs, in stuffings and marinades for pork, venison, quail, Cornish game hen, and other fowl or game. Crush them with salt and garlic for use in pâtés.

Nutmegs are the seed pits of a plum-like fruit growing on a large evergreen tree native to the Banda Islands. Nutmeg was the subject of the great spice wars of the 16th C. through the 18th C., which involved the major trading nations of Europe. Today the best quality nutmeg comes from the West Indies.

In colonial America, nutmeg was a favorite spice. Nutmegs were costly and often gilded and ribboned and given as gifts. Ladies and gentlemen carried them about in "snuff" boxes as a sign of luxury.

Use freshly ground INDIA TREE Nutmeg not only as a baking spice, but to flavor vegetables, meat, and cheese dishes; add it to mulled cider and eggnog; use it to top hot chocolate and espresso drinks; add a pinch of grated nutmeg to béchamel sauce for use in pasta dishes, gratins, and soufflès; use it to season potato soup; combine it with onion, ricotta cheese, and sage in a winter squash filling for tortellini; use it to flavor such desserts as pear and almond cake or fried bananas.

Saffron threads, the stigmas of an autumn crocus, add both fragrance and a characteristic golden color to paella, curries, rice, seafood dishes, desserts, and breads. They impart a subtle, earthy flavor heavenly to the taste, but almost impossible to describe.

Saffron was introduced into Spain by the Arabs in the 11th C. The best saffron still grows there today. For even coloring, soak a few threads of saffron in a little hot water or warm milk, and then add both saffron and liquid to your dish.

Use INDIA TREE Saffron to flavor: Valencia, Arborio and Basmati rices; paella and risotto; poached pears; coconut saffron ice cream, and bouillabaisse.

The Spanish conquered the Aztecs in the 16th C., and recturned to Europe with many New World treasures, among them vanilla, the aromatic dried fruit of a Mexican climbing orchid.

Its introduction met with immediate success. Today, it lends its delicate sweetness to most of our favorite desserts, but it has other uses as well. INDIA TREE offers you a premium Bourbon vanilla bean from Madagascar. It will supply your household with an almost inexhaustible source of vanilla. Use it to infuse the milk or sugar in your recipe, then rinse it, pat it dry, and store it in an airtight container for future use.

Use INDIA TREE Vanilla Bean to flavor: poached fruit, such as plums, apples, and pears; butter sauce for white fish, Fleur de Sel for finishing steamed vegetables, and sugar for coffee and baking.