Flowers and buds
Cloves, capers, saffron's crocus, rose and lavender: picked as buds or blooms and dried.
Flower spices are buds or blossoms used for scent and flavour. Cloves are dried flower buds, and capers, saffron crocus, hibiscus, rose and lavender all belong to this wider group.
What they are
The clove is the unopened flower bud of a tropical tree. Other flower spices include dried rose buds, lavender, chamomile, hibiscus calyces and the bud of the caper bush. Their aroma is delicate and comes from volatile oils in the petals or bud.
How they are used
Cloves stud meats, rice and pickles and flavour baking. Rose petals are used in Persian and Indian sweets, hibiscus in drinks across Africa and the Caribbean, and lavender in the French herb mix called herbes de Provence. Flowers are often used whole and removed before eating.
Buying and keeping
Buy whole and keep them dry and dark. Cloves should be reddish brown, with a head intact. Delicate petals and buds should smell fresh, not dusty.
Flower on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇰🇷 South Korea and 5 moreKorean mint배초향
An anise-scented Asian mint leaf used in Korean stews and herbal traditionsLeaf · Anise and liquorice · Herbal and green
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMyoga茗荷
The edible flower buds and shoots of a woodland ginger native to East Asia.Flower · Sharp and pungent · Citrus and bright
🇩🇪 Germany and 4 moreHops
The green female flower cones of a climbing vine, used to bitter and flavour beer.Flower · Bitter · Sharp and pungent
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Myoga: Mariko GODA, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hops: LuckyStarr, CC BY 2.5, source
- Korean mint: Dalgial, CC BY-SA 3.0, source