At Fresh Spices®, we carefully source our cardamom pods then remove the outer hull and grind only the inner seeds where the intense flavor resides. Cardamom is a favorite ingredient in spice cookies, buns and stollen, a sweet holiday bread, where it imparts a light lemony note. But European bakers aren’t the only ones who love its spicy, floral flavor. Cardamom is popular in the Arab world in spice mixtures and as a flavoring for coffee. Try adding cardamom’s sweet-spicy taste to apple pie, sweet potatoes and rice pilaf.

This sweeter, gentler cousin of the hot chili pepper family is a mellow ingredient, bringing slightly fruity and toasty notes to chicken paprikash, stews, casseroles, roasted potatoes and more. Paprika’s bright red color makes it a pleasing garnish for egg and fish dishes, potato salad, and even mac and cheese.