Spices - Affinities with meats and international cuisine

Caraway
Caraway is found whole or powdered. It is very aromatic and tastes of fennel. 
Perfume : pork, stewed and simmered meat dishes
Complements : Indian recipes

Cardamom
Cardamom comes in pods, seeds and powder. It has a spicy, lemon flavour. Green cardamom seeds are most fragrant; black cardamom seeds are bigger and very fragrant. White cardamom powder is blander as a result of industrial processing.It is best to buy cardamom seeds rather than powder.
Cardamom can replace ginger or cinnamon in most recipes.
Perfume : lamb, poultry, stewed meats, deli meats and marinades
Complements : Scandinavian recipes

Celery
Celery seeds are very aromatic and blend easily with most foods.

Chinese Five-spices
The composition varies according to the brand names.
1st blend: fennel seeds, clove, star anis, cinnamon, and black pepper.
2nd blend: cinnamon, clove, coriander, ginger, black pepper.
3rd blend: fennel seeds, clove, cinnamon, pepper, powdered star anis.
Complements : Asian recipes

Cinnamon (sticks or powder)
Fragrant, sweet and warm flavour. 
Perfume : duck, lamb and ham. 
Complements :  Mediterranean recipes

Clove
Whole or powdered, clove has a warm spicy flavour. Clove should not be mixed with herbs. 
Perfume : lamb, ham, pork, pheasant and guinea fowl as well as sausage

Coriander
Whole or powdered, coriander has a lemony flavour. 
Perfume : lamb, guinea fowl, pheasant, and poultry
Complements : Indian and Asian recipes.

Cumin
Whole or powdered; cumin seeds have a strong, spicy flavour. 
Perfume : stewed pork, beef, poultry, lamb, pheasant and guinea fowl 
Complements : Arabian, Mexican and Indian recipes.

Curry
Curry powder is a blend of approximately twenty spices that include turmeric and/or saffron, ginger, cumin, mustard, and bay leaf. Usually, curry consists of dry red hot peppers, coriander seeds, cumin, fenugreek, black mustard, black pepper, turmeric powder and ginger.

There are also sweet curries that contain coconut and almonds, as well as medium to spicy curries that contain black pepper and hot peppers.

There is a small tree (Murraya koenigii) that grows in India and produces spicy, curry leaves that are sold dried. 
Perfume : lamb, veal, pork, horse meat
Complements : Indian recipes

Fennel
Fennel seeds are very fragrant; there is sweet fennel and bitter fennel.
Perfume : pork, veal and stewed meats.

Five-Spices
This is a traditional Canton mixture consisting of fennel seeds, star anis, clove, Chinese cinnamon (cassia or fagara), and Sichuan pepper.
Perfume : duck and chicken
Complements : Oriental recipes

Four spices (Quatre-épices)
This is a mixture of black peppercorn, clove, nutmeg, ginger and, at times, a little Jamaican hot pepper. 
Perfume : lamb and stews
Complements : Mid-Eastern recipes

Garam masala
This is a mixture of cinnamon, clove, black pepper, black cardamom and bay leaves. It is always added at the end of cooking.
Complements : Indian flavour recipes.

Ginger
Fresh or powdered ginger root has a hot and spicy flavour.
Perfume : giblets, especially chicken livers, lamb, poultry, beef, veal, quail and duck
Complements : Asian recipes

Juniper-berry
The Juniper-berry has a spicy, balsamic and slightly bitter flavour.
Perfume : sauerkraut or pork, poultry, rabbit, and game meats

Mace
Small strips or powdered, mace is fragrant and sweet. It is a basic ingredient in the traditional béchamel sauce. More aromatic than the nutmeg it contains, mace can certainly replace nutmeg in most recipes.

Mace is the outer covering (the aril) of the nutmeg. The aril is dried in the sun and becomes yellowish brown. It is then flattened and turned into blades, small fragments or powder. To use mace fragments, they must be ground in a coffee grinder or mortar.
Perfume : salty dishes, sausages, curries and pork.

Mixed spices
This is a blend of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger that is often used in stews and meat pies (tourtière and cipaille).

Mustard
Mustard is available in seeds, oil, powder, and prepared; it has a spicy and very warm flavour. The edible parts of the mustard plant are the leaves and the seeds which are used as a spice.
Perfume : lamb, beef and the horse meat as well as veal, pork, poultry, rabbit, ostrich, emu, and kidneys.

Nutmeg
Whole or in powder; nutmeg is fragrant and sweet-flavoured. Nutmeg is the hard, dried, oval-shelled seed of which the outer covering is mace. It is the size of a quail egg. Whole and dried, nutmeg can be grated into recipes as needed. You can tell a good quality nutmeg when a drop of oil appears at the surface when pricked with a needle.
Perfume : pork, duck, chicken, certain stuffings and especially in sweet dishes

Paprika
Paprika is part of the hot pepper family. The flavour can vary from sweet to strong depending on variety.
Paprika is an indispensable ingredient in Hungarian goulash.
Perfume : poultry, pork and stews

Poppy
Poppy seeds are difficult to crush. Warm them in a frying pan for 3-4 minutes and grind them coarsely in a coffee grinder. A few drops of water can be added.
Complements : Indian recipes

Jamaican Hot Pepper (Allspice)
Jamaican pepper is also known as Allspice. It is a pea-sized green berry that tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves combined.
Perfume : simmered beef stews.

Cayenne pepper
A member of the hot pepper family, cayenne pepper is very strong.
Perfume : stews and spicy recipes.

Black pepper
Black pepper is a strong spice. Taste varies according to the origin. Use for grilling.

White pepper
Sweeter pepper.
Perfume : poultry and in sauces.

Green peppercorn
Green peppercorn is also known as Madagascar pepper, where it comes from. It has a sweet flavour. Green peppercorns are sold dried, in brine or in the vinegar.
Perfume : grilled steaks, pepper steak, sauces, game meats, duck and pork

Pink peppercorn
Pink peppercorn is known as false pepper because it is not part of the pepper family. It is a brittle-shelled berry enclosing a small seed that is pink, sweet and aromatic with a slightly peppery note. It is sold dried or marinated.

Szechuan pepper
From Szechuan Province in China, this is a dried, prickly, red berry with pronounced spicy aroma and taste. Complements : Chinese recipes

Long pepper
Grown only in India and Indonesia, this berry resembles a mild black pepper.
Complements : East Indian recipes

Five peppers
Five peppers is a mixture of pink, white, black, green peppercorns and Jamaican hot pepper.

Mignonnette
A mixture of coarsely ground white and black pepper used to make pepper steak.

Saffron
Saffron powder is slightly spicy and very aromatic. It is indispensable in the classic Bouillabaisse fish soup.
Saffron is also sold in strands which need to be infused in hot water prior to use. Saffron adds a beautiful brilliant gold colour to recipes.

Star anise
This star-shaped spice with slightly-tangy, licorice-like flavour is particularly good with meats, casseroles and duck. Star anise is available whole, chopped, in seeds or in powder form.
Complements : Indian recipes

Turmeric
Whole of powdered, turmeric is delicately flavoured. It can easily replace saffron for its colour but not its taste. Perfume : lamb
Complements : Indian recipes