Vegetarian vocabulary – herbs and spices

The paucity of labelling in France means that anyone serious about following a vegetarian or vegan diet will have to get to grips with reading and understanding the small print on product labels: the ingredients. With this in mind, I decided to compile a list of translations of common ingredients, cooking methods and those all-important additives and e-numbers to ease the identification process.

Recently, I’ve been reading Elizabeth David’s French Provincial Cooking. Not that it contains anything much in the way of vegetarian recipes, but it is interesting to see how French regional cuisine has developed, or rather not developed in the seventy years since the book was first published. Most of the common herbs and spices that I use do make an appearance, although the likes of cumin and coriander are deemed to be un-French and reserved just for north African cuisine. The only thing I have not been able to find in the shops locally is five-spice mix and its constituents like star anise, which rules out mixing your own, so this is one for an internet order.

 

 

French translations of common herbs and spices

Allspice	Le piment de la Jamaique (quatre-épices)
Basil	Le basilic
Bay leaf	Le laurier
Caraway seed	Le carvi
Cardamom	La cardamom
Cayenne pepper	Le poivre de Cayenne
Chilli	Le piment
Chives	La ciboulette
Cinnamon	La cannelle
Cloves	Le clou de girofle
Coriander	La coriandre
Cumin	Le cumin
Dill	L’aneth
Fennel	Le fenouil
Fenugreek	Le fenugrec
Garlic	L’ail
Ginger	Le gingembre
Lavender	La lavande
Liquorice	La réglisse
Marjoram	Le marjolaine
Mint	La menthe
Mustard	La moutarde
Nutmeg	La muscade
Oregano	Le origan
Paprika	Le paprika
Parsley	Le persil
Pepper	Le poivre
Rosemary	Le romarin
Saffron	Le saffron
Sage	La sauge
Salt	Le sel
Tarragon	L’estragon
Thyme	Le thym
Turmeric	Le curcuma