Origin: India, but nowadays crops are growing in Guatemala, too.
Cardamom belongs to the ginger family, it's taste is at the same time sweet-aromatic but also strong like eucalyptus

Habit:
Shrub of 2-3 m hight, blossoming 8-9 months. The flower stalk grows up to 1.50 m long! Harvesting of fruits is done before they are ripe (3/4 ripeness) and because the pods are very sensitive, the harvest has to be done by hand.
There are many types which also differ in price, e.g. Thai-cardamom is more round and smallish, but very aromatic.
In some Arab countries cardamom is said to have aphrodisiacal effects.

Effect:
- appetizing, antispasmodic, stomachic, flatulance alleviating
- against gastric spasms or lumbago
- against tooth ache (nevertheless you should consult a dentist)

Cardamom contains up to 8% essential oils.

Origin: Iran, India, Middle East, China
Cumin is not related to the caraway seeds used in European dishes and also tastes completely different. It's amember of the parsley family.

Habit:
Shrub with reptant stalks of up to 30 cm length. The blossoms of cumin can be either purplish or white and are arranged in umbles. It takes approx. 4 months until cumin can be harvested: As the plant is very frost-sensitive, it's not to be found in the northern hemisphere. The ripe pods are being dried after harvesting.

Effect:
- great spice for blending e.g. with curry, chilis or chutneys
- in the Middle Age it was common knowledge that cumin in the food kept the husband/lover true and that the chicken stayed in the yard when cumin was part of their fodder.

Origin: India, but can be found on Guatemala nowadays in cultivation. Curcuma belongs to the ginger family.

Plant:
Curcuma takes about 10 montsh to ripe. In India about 70.000 acres are planted with turmeric. One acre yields about 15.000 pound of curcuma. During the drying process the weight loss will be around 3/4 of the original weight. The curcuma plant is a shrub of about 2-3 m height and it's blossoming about 8 to 9 months a year. The stalk grows up to 1.50 m in length. Harvesting of the fruits is done while they are still unripe and has to be done manually because of the delicate built of the same.

Curcuma can be found in curry mixes. As the German name indicates (yellow root): curcuma dyes rice just about as efficiently as saffron and is what causes the intensive yellow of curry-blends as well as some noodles and mustard. There are many different types and the price range is accordingly.

Effect:
- production of gastric juice is intensified
- its yellow pigments act anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-carzinogenic (in the United States curcuma is currently being tested with animal experiments concerning it's help against liver damage and also is being used in cancer prevention)
- strengthening of the immune system
- prevention of infections and diseases of the pulmonary system

Use (in addition to cooking):
- Dissolve curcuma with milk and add some sugar - drink hot when having a cold
- curcuma should be kept in the dark in a glass jar, as its substance and essential oils will spoil plastic and dissolve when kept in the light.

Ayurveda counts curuma among the „hot“ spices.

When saying coriander in this article, we mean the coriander sees. The other herb called cilantro is something different! In German, unfortunately, it's the same word for both items so Germans have to be careful about the meaning!

Origin: Mediterrenean, in the ancient world alreay used as spice in India and the Middle East. Cultivation of cordiander nowadays is pratically the entier American continent, Northern Africa, Asia as well as part of Europe.

Habit:
Coriander is an annual shrub, which can grow up to +/- 50 cm, depending on the conditions. The blossom is white and bees love it. The plant smells unpleasently when seeds are not yet ripe -  in Gemany coriander was aptly named stink-bug caraway. With ripeness comes a very pleasant fragrance. In Europe coriander has been known since the 15th century and since the 17th it was used in the production of parfumes.

Effects:
Again we'll find a multitude of essential oils, to name a few: linalool, geraniol and borneol - but vitamine C can also be found
- appetizing, antispasmodic, eupeptic
- aleviating in case of gastro-intestine ailments (also for animals).

Use:
- as tea (the hot water dissolves the essential oils of the squashed seeds) to alleviate gastro-intestinal ailments
- Please note: if you are reacting allergic to mugwort, a reaction to coriander is possible, as well as skin reaction when exposed to sun.
Dishes: roast the seeds for a short time in a dry pan and grind in a mortar right away so as not to lose taste. Ideal for bread dough, baking, sauces, vegetable dishes - just about for everything -  but in moderate amount only.

Origin: South-China, Vietnam, nowadays also cultivated in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Harvest takes place form August throughout October

Habit:
A tree of 8-10 m, sometimes even higher if conditions are right. The star-anise tree can get 100 years old!
There are more than 40 kinds of star-anise! The blossoms are similar to magnolia, either redish or yellowish-white. Carpals are arranged in a starlike pattern and the aggregate fruit contains 8 small fruit capsules.
In spite of a similar taste star-anise is not related to regular anise!

Effect:
- relaxing, antibacterial, i.e. it's good to use in case of flatulance, gastrospasms or lumbago
- against tooth ache (nevertheless: you should go and see a dentist about it!)
- against bad breath
- to be used when suffering a cough, bronchitis or angina (antispasmodic)

The seeds contain not only essential oils but also tanning agents and anise oil, both in the fruits and the seeds. The agent shikinmi acid (no joke, that's really the regular name) is part of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu (swine-flue medication) - which raised the price for star anise on the world market. Furthermore star anise contains so-called phyto hormones, i.e. herbal hormones like: beta-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol… which are acting balancing with progesterone and estrogen defficiencies. So it's the ideal spice for women.

Use:
- internal and external use.
- when used internally you should dilute it, else you'll suffer cramps and start vomiting. Ratio e.g.: 150 ml boiling water on 1 teaspoon ground star-anise (please grind right before use, the essential oils will evaporate if you do it in advance)

Origin: the Molucca Islands (also called Spice Islands) like e.g. Pemba and Sansibar (offshore Tansania)

Cloves belong to the family of myrtle. The carnation is named in German after this spice because of the similar fragrance. The spice buds are being harvested by hand before blossoming. When dried the buds lose about 3/4 of their weight.
Cloves contain up to 15% essential oils like eugenol and acetyl eugenol. The numbing agent eugenol of course makes it the no. 1 help in case of tooth aches.

Effect:
- numbing, good against bad breath and tooth ache.

Origin: Sri Lanka, Thailand

Habit:
Ceylon-cinnamon belongs to the bay leave family. Cultivation nowadays takes plase all over the tropic areas in a variety of qualities and kinds.

During the past years the use of cinnamon has been much discussed, i.e. the quantity of cinnamon cookies that can be eaten per day without endangering the body. The reason for this heated discussion was the Cassia-cinnamon cultivated mainly in China. It's part of all convenience items that contain cinnamon (cassia is only rolled from the right side). It's cumarin content is 2 g/kg and therefore is considered carcinogene, i.e. causing cancer.

Whereas the top-quality Ceylon-cinnamon from SriLanka contains only 0,2 g/kg cumarin (by the way: Ceylon-cinnamon is rolled from both sides). The rolls are classified into quality standards 00000 (best) to 0 (least) and then even further broken down from I-VI. Ceylon-cinnamon that can be bought in our shops is not the premium quality, but once ground the taste is the same.

Effect:
- cinnamon has a warming effect - so it's ideal for spiced wine, Christmas cookies and meat sauces when you're someone who's feeling cold easily
- cinnamon lowers the blood sugar - at present further clinical studies are being conducted to have the proper proof. In naturopathy this has been known just about forever
- cinnamon can rise the blood pressure
- cinnamon improves the immune system
- other effects are e.g. antiviral and antibacterial, antispasmodic, analgesic, anti-rheumatic

Use:
internal as well as external - e.g. when suffering cold feet it helps to add a drop of cinnamon oil to a neutral massage oil - this mixture also helps in case of sore muscles after a long exercise session :-)
If you're pregnant: be careful using cinnamon oil, as this oil can cause contractions and therefore should be avoikded during pregnancies.