BLCK PEPPER
BLACK PEPPER (PIPER NIGRUM) IS A FLOWERING VINE IN THE FAMILY PIPERACEAE, CULTIVATED FOR ITS FRUIT, KNOWN AS A PEPPERCORN, WHICH IS USUALLY DRIED AND USED AS A SPICE AND SEASONING. THE FRUIT IS DRUPE (STONEFRUIT) WHICH IS ABOUT 5 MM (0.20 IN) IN DIAMETER (FRESH AND FULLY MATURE), DARK RED AND CONTAINS A STONE THAT ENCLOSES A SINGLE PEPPER SEED. PEPPERCORNS AND THE GROUND PEPPER DERIVED FROM THEM MAY BE DESCRIBED SIMPLY AS PEPPER, OR MORE PRECISELY AS BLACK PEPPER (COOKED AND DRIED UNRIPE FRUIT), GREEN PEPPER (DRIED UNRIPE FRUIT), OR WHITE PEPPER (RIPE FRUIT SEEDS).
COFFEE
COFFEE IS A BREWED DRINK PREPARED FROM ROASTED COFFEE BEANS, THE SEEDS OF BERRIES FROM CERTAIN COFFEA SPECIES. FROM THE COFFEE FRUIT, THE SEEDS ARE SEPARATED TO PRODUCE A STABLE, RAW PRODUCT: UNROASTED GREEN COFFEE. THE SEEDS ARE THEN ROASTED, A PROCESS WHICH TRANSFORMS THEM INTO A CONSUMABLE PRODUCT: ROASTED COFFEE, WHICH IS GROUND INTO FINE PARTICLES THAT ARE TYPICALLY STEEPED IN HOT WATER BEFORE BEING FILTERED OUT, PRODUCING A CUP OF COFFEE.
CINNAMON
CINNAMON IS A SPICE OBTAINED FROM THE INNER BARK OF SEVERAL TREE SPECIES FROM THE GENUS CINNAMOMUM. CINNAMON IS USED MAINLY AS AN AROMATIC CONDIMENT AND FLAVOURING ADDITIVE IN A WIDE VARIETY OF CUISINES, SWEET AND SAVOURY DISHES, BREAKFAST CEREALS, SNACK FOODS, TEA AND TRADITIONAL FOODS. THE AROMA AND FLAVOUR OF CINNAMON DERIVE FROM ITS ESSENTIAL OIL AND PRINCIPAL COMPONENT, CINNAMALDEHYDE, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER CONSTITUENTS INCLUDING EUGENOL.
CLOVES
CLOVES ARE THE FLOWER BUDS OF THE CLOVE TREE, AN EVERGREEN ALSO KNOWN AS SYZYGIUM AROMATICUM. FOUND IN BOTH WHOLE AND GROUND FORMS, THIS VERSATILE SPICE CAN BE USED TO SEASON POT ROASTS, ADD FLAVOR TO HOT BEVERAGES, AND BRING SPICY WARMTH TO COOKIES AND CAKES.
AVACADO
THE AVOCADO (PERSEA AMERICANA), A TREE LIKELY ORIGINATING FROM SOUTH-CENTRAL MEXICO, IS CLASSIFIED AS A MEMBER OF THE FLOWERING PLANT FAMILY LAURACEAE. THE FRUIT OF THE PLANT, ALSO CALLED AN AVOCADO (OR AVOCADO PEAR OR ALLIGATOR PEAR), IS BOTANICALLY A LARGE BERRY CONTAINING A SINGLE LARGE SEED. AVOCADO TREES ARE PARTIALLY SELF-POLLINATING, AND ARE OFTEN PROPAGATED THROUGH GRAFTING TO MAINTAIN PREDICTABLE FRUIT QUALITY AND QUANTITY.
Mandarin
Mandarin (/ˈmændərɪn/ (
listen); simplified Chinese: 官话; traditional Chinese: 官話; pinyin: Guānhuà; lit. ‘speech of officials’) is a group of Sinitic (Chinese) languages natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese.
CARDAMOM
CARDAMOM IS A SPICE MADE FROM THE SEEDS OF SEVERAL PLANTS IN THE GENERA ELETTARIA AND AMOMUM IN THE FAMILY ZINGIBERACEAE. BOTH GENERA ARE NATIVE TO THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT AND INDONESIA. THEY ARE RECOGNIZED BY THEIR SMALL SEED PODS: TRIANGULAR IN CROSS-SECTION AND SPINDLE-SHAPED, WITH A THIN, PAPERY OUTER SHELL AND SMALL, BLACK SEEDS; ELETTARIA PODS ARE LIGHT GREEN AND SMALLER, WHILE AMOMUM PODS ARE LARGER AND DARK BROWN.
MAIZE
MAIZE, ZEA MAYS L. (CORN), IS THE MOST ABUNDANTLY PRODUCED CEREAL IN THE WORLD. IT IS GROWN IN EVERY CONTINENT EXCEPT ANTARCTICA. ABOUT 50 SPECIES EXIST AND CONSIST OF DIFFERENT COLORS, TEXTURES, AND GRAIN SHAPES AND SIZES. WHITE, YELLOW, AND RED ARE THE MOST COMMON CULTIVATED MAIZE TYPES.