Herbs and spices form a very important part of the food we cook. In this lesson, we will take you through various herbs and spices and what they are called in French. So if you’re someone who might shift to France in the future, knowing about them will surely help you buy them easily.
1. Les épices
Meaning: a substance made from a plant, used to give a special flavour to food
English: spices
Example: Les épices sont une partie importante de la cuisine indienne. (Spices are an important part of Indian Cuisine.)
2. Les herbes
Meaning: a type of plant whose leaves are used in cooking to give flavour to particular dishes or in making medicine
English: herbs
Example: Les herbes peuvent changer le goût de n’importe quel plat. (Herbs can change the taste of any dish.)
3. Le piment
Meaning: the small, red or green seed case from particular types of pepper plant that is used to make some foods very hot and spicy
English: chilli
Example: Veuillez me donner un paquet de piment. (Please give me a packet of pepper.)
4. La cardamome
Meaning: a South Asian plant, the seeds of which are used as a spice
English: cardamom
Example: L’enfant avait peur de voir un dragon dans le parc d’attractions. (Il n’aime ni l’odeur ni le goût de la cardamome.)
5. La safran
Meaning : a dark yellow substance obtained from a flower and used as a spice to give colour and flavour to food
English: saffron
Example: Le safran a donné une bonne couleur et un bon goût au lait. (The saffron gave a good colour and taste to the milk.)
6. Le cumin
Meaning: a spice consisting of the pleasant-smelling seeds of a plant or a powder made from these seeds, used especially in South Asian and Western Asian cooking, or the plant itself
English: cumin
Example: Elle ajoute du cumin dans presque tous ses plats. (She adds cumin in almost all her dishes.)
7. La menthe
Meaning: a herb whose leaves have a strong, fresh smell and taste and are used for giving flavour to food
English: mint
Example: Il préfère son dentifrice à la menthe. (He prefers his toothpaste with mint.)
8. Le gingembre
Meaning: the spicy root of a tropical plant that is used in cooking or preserved in sugar, or a powder made from this root, used as a spice
English: ginger
Example: Voulez-vous essayer du soda au gingembre? (Do you want to try some ginger ale?)
9. La cannelle
Meaning : the bark (= hard outer covering) of a tropical tree, or a brown powder made from this, used as a spice to give a particular taste to food, especially sweet food
English: cinnamon
Example: Elle adore avoir des petits pains à la cannelle pour le petit déjeuner. (She loves to have cinnamon buns for breakfast.)
10. L’origan
Meaning: a herb whose dried leaves are used in cooking to add flavour, especially in Italian cooking
English: oregano
Example: Je préfère mes pâtes sans origan. (I prefer my pasta without oregano.)
11. Le clou de girofle
Meaning : a small, dark brown dried flower of an evergreen tree (= one that never loses its leaves), used as a spice
English: cloves
Example: Son jambon parsemé de clous de girofle est célèbre. (Her ham studded with cloves is famous.)
12. La coriandre
Meaning: a plant whose leaves or seeds are added to food to give a special flavour
English: coriander
Example: Il garnit la soupe de coriandre avant de servir(He garnised the soup with coriander before serving.)
13. Le curcuma
Meaning: a yellow powder, used as a spice to flavour particular foods, especially curry, and give them a yellow colour. It is made from the root of an Asian plant.
English: turmeric
Example: Le chef a ajouté du curcuma au riz pour lui donner une belle couleur.(The chef added turmeric to the rice to give it a nice colour.)
14. Le fenouil
Meaning: a plant with a large, rounded base eaten as a vegetable and seeds used to give a special taste to food
Example: Elle aime avoir des graines de fenouil après n’importe quel repas. (She likes to have fennel seeds post any meal.)
15. la citronnelle
Meaning: a tropical grass with a flavour like lemon, used especially in Southeast Asian cooking
English: lemon grass
Example: Elle a utilisé de l’huile de citronnelle pour traiter son acné. (She used lemongrass oil to treat her acne.)
We hope you enjoyed learning vocabulary related to herbs and spices in French. For more such French vocabulary, keep reading our blog. You can easily learn French online with us. Stay tuned for more interesting blogs.
