Home of The Spice Rack Spice History Spice Book:   A to Z Which to Use Seasoning Mixes Storing Spices Shelf Life Preserving Herbs Spicy Tips & FAQs Spicy Wedding? Spice Links	Spice Book Here you will find information and descriptions on a large number of herbs and spices. You may even find some photos and recipes along the way. Click on the letter of the seasoning in which you are interested and enjoy your tour of the Spice Book. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z   Sources Much of the information in the SpiceRack section of our website has come from material provided by Penzeys Spices as well as a number of other resources around the Internet. Photos throughout these pages come from a variety of sources around the Internet. Many came from an excellent spice site, "Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages," while others came from Penzeys catalogues.
	P -- Crushed Red Peppers through Pumpkin Pie Spices Peppers, Crushed Red: Hot chile peppers are used whole in many Asian countries. The Crushed California (20,000 Scoville Heat Units) are found on the tables of Italian restaurants and pizzerias. Great for pizza, tacos, spaghetti, omelets and beans. The Pakistani peppers (40,000 Scoville Heat Units) are used the same way but are twice as hot. Peppers, Dundicut: The traditional hot pepper of Pakistan, similar in flavor and appearance to Scotch bonnet peppers. Because their cultivation has been widespread for many years, we can offer them at a much more reasonable price. These peppers are quite hot, with a full-bodied, complex flavor. A single pepper will add heat and flavor to a dish for two. From Pakistan. 55,000 - 65,000 Scoville Heat Units. Peppers, Green chile (Pasado): A staple in the Mexican diet. The green chile is very mild and flavorful. Use these to add great taste to your Mexican recipes. Peppers, Guajillo: The Guajillo Pepper is very tough and must be soaked longer than most dried chilies. The Guajillo is pointed, long and narrow. It can be quite hot; the Guajillo is also called the travieso ("mischievous") chile in reference to its not-so-playful sting. It's used in both sauces and cooked dishes. The Guajillo pepper rates 20,000 Scoville Heat Units.	Back to Index Paprika through Chipotle Peppers
	Peppers, Habanero: The Habanero pepper rates 200,000 Scoville Heat Units. It is the worlds hottest pepper. The Habanero is also known as Scotch Bonnet. Photo to the right. Peppers, Jalapeno: Jalapeno peppers have a bright green heat. Jalapeno powder can be added to virtually any dish to give it a peppery zing. A good addition to Mexican casseroles. Add toward the end of cooking. Sprinkle on pizza. 55,000 Scoville Heat Units. Peppers, Japones: A medium hot chile pepper. Wonderful flavor. Makes great chili or other Mexican dishes. Peppers, Morita: Morita's are used extensively in Mexican and Asian styles of cooking. They can be used to add heat to any dish. The chile can be used whole or it can be crushed and added as flakes which makes the dish much hotter. The Morita is rated 75,000 Scoville Heat Units. Peppers, Poblano chile: Fresh dark green chilies, often called pasillas; they’re mildly spicy, a few inches wide and about four inches long. Photo below. Dried Pasilla	Habaneros
	Peppers, Sanaam chile: Traditional for Indian cooking. Thin, flat 3 - 5" deep red pods. Photo to the left. Not too hot to handle, these peppers can be chopped and added to curry or other dishes. From India. To make chile vinegar, chop (or cut with scissors) 1 ounce peppers. Place in a 1 cup glass jar, fill with your favorite vinegar, add a pinch of salt, then tightly cap. Let stand one week, strain and refrigerate in a bottle that has a splash top (old soy sauce bottles work well). Thin with more vinegar if desired. Use in place of hot sauce. 40,000 Scoville Heat Units.
	Peppers, Tien Tsin chile: Traditional for Asian cooking. Very hot, bright red, 1 - 2" Chinese pods. Add whole to soup, stir-fry and other dishes. Remove before serving. Great for making chile Oil and then mixed with soy sauce for a hot dipping sauce, use 1/3 cup soy, 1 tablespoon chile oil, and a dash of ginger and garlic. Mix in 1 - 2 tablespoon in 1 cup ketchup for BBQ sauce. 60,000 Scoville Heat Units. Pickling Spice: A high-quality blend for all pickling and canning, and packed with flavorful spices for traditional recipes. Use 2 - 3 teaspoons per quart for bread and butter pickles, pickled eggs or onions, canned tomatoes and peppers. For dill pickles, add fresh dill sprigs and garlic cloves. Also nice for sauerbraten. Yellow and brown Canadian mustard seeds, Jamaican allspice, cracked China cassia, cracked Turkish bay leaves, dill seed, Zanzibar cloves, cracked China ginger, Tellicherry peppercorns, star anise, Moroccan coriander, juniper berries, West Indies mace, cardamom and medium hot crushed red peppers. Pine Nuts: Pine nuts are grown in Mediterranean regions and are also cultivated in California. Popularity of this product has grown rapidly over the past decade. Pine nuts have a variety of uses, including pesto, to add texture and flavor to fried rice, and in many Mediterranean dishes.	To make chile oil: (commonly used in small amounts for stir-frying) Heat 2 tablespoon peanut or sesame oil. When very hot, add 10 peppers, fry until brown (3 - 5 minutes). Remove from heat, add 1/2 cup peanut oil. Stir, pour into glass storage container, strain peppers out if desired. Serve table-side with a small spoon.
	Pizza Seasoning: This tasty Italian style mix is great for making homemade pizza sauce or pizza sausage, or simply sprinkle on a frozen pizza before cooking for extra flavor. Mix 1 tablespoon Pizza Seasoning in 1 - 2 cups tomato sauce for homemade pizza, depending on how spicy you like it. For sausage, use about 1 tablespoon per pound of ground pork or beef. Use with beef or pork patties and top with tomato sauce and mozzarella for a kid-pleasing pizza burger. Salt, cracked and ground Indian fennel seed, Turkish oregano leaf and powder, garlic, black pepper, sweet California basil, white onion, crushed red pepper and cayenne red pepper powder.	Pizza Seasoning is also great for pizza bread: brush cut French bread lightly with seasoned tomato sauce, then sprinkle with grated cheese and broil.
Poppy seeds (regular grey and Indian white types)	Poppy Seed (Papaver somniferum): Sweet blue or white poppy seeds are used in baking, on bread, rolls, muffins and cake. Also great for fruit salad dressing. Poppy seeds have a high, flavorful oil content. Photo to the left. Refrigerate or freeze during summer months. Holland blue poppy seed is the most famous poppy of all, with ‘A-1’ being the top grade seed. A smoky blue-gray seed with an unparalleled flavor and sweetness, it is prized by every Gramma who has ever baked a stollen. White poppy seeds are used in Indian cooking adding thickness, texture and flavor to sauces. Less sweet than blue poppy, they are added to lentil and rice dishes. Pork Chop Seasoning: A great blend for grilling. Pork Chop Seasoning is the best blend for pork -- from chops to roasts, baked, broiled or grilled. Pork Chop Seasoning is a robust, smoky blend with hickory, garlic, and pepper, bursting with flavor. Start with 1 teaspoon per pound, shake on before cooking. Pork Chop Seasoning is also a great blend for turkey, and really good for wings or drumsticks on the grill or in the broiler -- rub poultry with a bit of oil and shake Pork Chop Seasoning on heavily before cooking. Fine salt, hickory smoke, garlic, onion, white pepper and ginger.
	Poultry Seasoning: A traditional style seasoning for poultry and stuffing. To make stuffing, use 1/2 - 1 teaspoon per cup. Add a bit of onion and salt to taste, use to coat 2 cups turkey or chicken. Sage, white pepper, red and green bell peppers, lemon peel, savory, rosemary, dill, allspice, thyme, marjoram and ginger. Pumpkin Pie Spices: Use 2 - 3 teaspoons per 9" pumpkin pie, but don’t stop there. Pumpkin Pie Spice is an all-purpose baking spice, perfect for banana or zucchini bread, carrot cake, muffins of all kinds and coffee cake, use 1/2 teaspoon per cup of batter. Use in place of cinnamon to give traditional cinnamon rolls or morning buns rich flavor. China cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, mace, cloves.	Poultry Seasoning is great for making leftover turkey salad, just mix 1 - 2 teaspoon in 1/2 cup regular or low-fat mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar. Paprika through Chipotle Peppers
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