Paracress is not a relative of the real cresses despite its name; instead, it belongs to the Asteraceae family along with echinacea and dandelions. It has very different culinary qualities from watercress and its ilk. Unlike the pungency that cresses get from isothiocyanate, the sharpness of paracress centers around the …
Frankincense consists of dried sap from trees belonging to the Boswellia genus. Most frankincense comes from Boswellia sacra trees, but several species provide different grades of the resin. The highest grades are Silver and Hojari. Producers harvest frankincense by cutting the bark of the Boswellia trees and letting their sap …
Korean mint’s botanical name is Agastache rugosa. People have been eating it and using it as a medicine for a long time — the first recorded use of the herb was around 500 AD. It has several other names such as Chinese patchouli and blue licorice. Along with Agastache foeniculum, …
Houttuynia cordata is native to different parts of Asia, including China and Vietnam. It gets its botanical name from the name Houttuyn after Dutch naturalist Martin Houttuyn. The cordata part of the name comes from the Latin word for heart. The first Westerner to describe Houttuynia cordata was the Swedish …
Water hyssop is also called brahmi, but it sometimes goes by its botanical name: Bacopa monnieri. Note that in India, Centella asiatica (gotu kola) is also called brahmi. Brahmi translates to expands consciousness. While water hyssop is native to India and the surrounding region, it has become naturalized all over …
Moroccan mint is a variety of spearmint. Moroccan mint’s botanical name is Mentha spicata var. Crispa, which is the mint variety used in Morocco. Other names for Moroccan mint include curly mint because of the frilly shape of the leaves. You may also hear it called Maghrebi mint or nana mint. …
Historians believe that the practice of pickling food may have originated around 2400 BC. The Mesopotamians may have been the first to pickle foods but some sources claim that it actually began in one of the world’s earliest cities called Mohenjo Daro, located in present-day Pakistan. The original purpose of pickling was …
Mustard powder has other names like dry mustard and ground mustard. It is mustard seeds that have been ground to a fine powder. Mustard comes from the same family as horseradish and it is the compounds common to both spices that give them their heat. There are few savory foods that …