
Highly aromatic & spicy, Allspice is an ideal appetizer that refreshes the mouth. It is a delicious addition to meats and desserts, where it doubles as a digestive aid. It's taste and astringency closely resembles cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and it...
Basil's warm and spicy aroma adds a passionate flare to any dish, bringing the heat of the Mediterranean sun to your table. Its bright green color and vigorous flavor is unmistakable in pesto. It adds verve to a home-made tomato sauce, and is a perky...
Love for cardamom resonates through history - for instance, ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom to whiten their teeth and sweeten their breath. Cardamom helps take the edge off of caffeine in the famous drink Turkish coffee. Cardamom is a member of the...
The word for celery comes from the Greek word selinon which translates to 'parsley,' a close relative of celery. Celery's powers have been known since antiquity. Leaves of it were found in the garlands surrounding King Tut's tomb, and Homer makes...
Berries arrive just in time for late spring, early summer. Berries are lymphatic movers that complete the spring process of cleansing your liver. They are also liver tonics to protect your liver during summer. Berries are rich in anti-oxidants that...
Cilantro is the leaf of the coriander seed. Both the leaves and the seeds have citrus overtones. Cilantro, as a cooling herb, pairs well with hot spicy dishes.
Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree in the Lauraceae family native to Sri Lanka. Other members of this family include sassafras, avocado, camphor, and spicebush. Trees of the laurel family, including cinnamon, predominate in the world's laurel forests....
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Its pleasantly fragrant aroma lifts the spirits and has a rustic feel.
Hot, pungent, antiemetic, appetizer, digestive, spleen tonic; stimulates saliva.
Dill seems to lighten the palate. It packs the taste of freshness with a little kick. Its Ayurvedic name, shatapushpa (100 flowers) points to the shape of the flower, an umbel like Queen Anne's Lace. Dill is a member of the carrot family...
Cool and soothing, verdant and fragrant, fennel is a member of the carrot family that includes other popular spices such as cumin, coriander, dill and celery. Fennel is used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes and mouth fresheners. Fennel seeds...
Cool and soothing, verdant and fragrant, fennel is a member of the carrot family that includes other popular spices such as cumin, coriander, dill and celery. Fennel is used as a flavoring in some natural toothpastes and mouth fresheners.
Ever reach for dried ginger as a quick replacement for the fresh root and assume it's an apt substitute? Ginger is ginger, right? Actually, not at all. Dried ginger packs a...
IntroductionA steaming hot mug of ginger tea on a damp day warms up your bones and burns away thick, heavy congestion. When the weather is soggy, you feel tired and groggy. You naturally crave sunlight and heat. Pungent and light,...
The origin of lemons are a mystery. Do they come from southern india? burma? or china? Speculation abounds. Genetic study reveals lemons are a hybrid of a sour orange and a citron.
Citrus zest is highly aromatic bitter, making it ideal for stimulating appetite and reducing upper GI food stagnation. A student reports, "The gentle pungency is digestive, and carries limonene which is well researched for anti cancer properties."
Limes are strongly sour, thus encouraging secretions in the digestive tract and salivary glands. These secretions improve taste, digestion, and regular elimination (functioning as a mild laxative) Limes and Cleansing Lime's sour...
From tingly shampoos to teas and flowerbeds, mint is an inspiring, popular worldwide herb whose medicinal qualities are also extensive. Varieties of mint grow in nearly every country and climate. In Central and South America mint is called hierbabuena,...
The zest is the orange skin of the orange. The rind is the white part of the orange beneath.
Parsley was revered for its medicinal potency long before it was eaten as a food. Native to the central Mediterranean region, the herb was sacred to the ancient Greeks. They used it to adorn victorious athletes and decorate the tombs of the dead.
Culinary sage, although a diaphoretic, has an anhidrotic action - it prevents excessive sweating. This is useful in night sweats of all kinds - from chronic febrile conditions to menopausal syndrome. Culinary sage stimulates the...
Opens Up the Lungs As an aromatic pungent, raw scallions opens up circulation to the lungs, chest, and skin. This quality is used to purge all cold related disorders from these organs. Scallions are helpful as both an expectorant...
The name tarragon is a corruption of the French esdragon, derived from the Latin dracunculus, which means a little dragon.
Thyme tea has been used to stop gastric fermentation. It may be mixed with honey for sore throats. It's diaphoretic properties make it useful to sweat out a fever.
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Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’