Anise (Pimpinella anisum) tastes like summer and the Mediterranean, like Pastis, Raki, Ouzo – and liquorice. The young leaves impart a slightly sweet aroma to leaf salads, the flowers are a pretty and edible garnish. The seeds are harvested when brown and are used – freshly ground or whole – for baking, soups and sauces and, above all, in curry dishes. But they also go splendidly with all legumes.

Hailed the "king of herbs", basil originated in the tropics of Africa and Asia, but long ago invaded and then shaped Mediterranean cooking.There are approximately 150 kinds of basil in the family of lamiaceae. Themost common in Europe is the annual "true" basil that thrives in pots and onsunny windowsills. The pleasant, sweet and spicy smelling leaves are apopular herb, especially on pizzas and with pasta. Mixed with mozzarella andtomatoes, it makes a classic Italian starter. Finely chopped, its fresh leaves are used to season sauces, salads, soups, meat, fish and vegetable dishes, but they can also be added to ice cream,sorbets and desserts, as well as to give extra flavour to strawberries and honeydew melons. Fresh basil loses much of its fragrance when cooked, which means eitherusing plentiful amounts during cooking, or adding it shortly before serving.The aroma of dried basil is less strong than that of fresh basil.

Its leathery, evergreen leaves adorned the heads of Greek Olympiads. Today their presence is felt predominantly in spicy, aromatic dishes.The shiny, dark green, tangy and aromatic leaves provide intense seasoning,but when fresh they are even stronger than when dried. Consequently fresh bay leaves should be used sparingly. Bay leaves are a staple component of the bouquet garni; they simmer instocks, soups and sauces, accompany roasts and casseroles (goulash) and go well with game and cabbage dishes (red cabbage, sauerkraut).The leaves should be removed before serving since their taste is not particularly pleasant. Of the approximately 2500 varieties within the bayfamily (Laurus), only a few are as flavour some as the nobilis, which growson bushes or trees around the Mediterranean. Because bay leaves are not frost resistant, they are best grown in big tubs and brought inside in winter.Tip: One bay leaf kept in rice, flour and grain supplies helps keep pests away.

Over the last few years bear's garlic ­ also known as ramson or wild garlic­ has even found its way into gourmet cooking, after years overshadowed byits more cultivated relative, common garlic. The plant can grow to a height of  35 cm and for thousands of years has thrived naturally in small streamsand the deciduous woodlands of Western and Central Europe. Depending on theweather, its leaves, buds and flowers are best picked between March andJune, where as the bulbs should be left until the plant has finished flowering. Its taste is mildly suggestive of garlic or of strongly tangy chives. Used sparingly, bear's garlic goes well raw or steamed with soups,salads and vegetables. But it can also be pickled in oil or vinegar and made into pesto.

Borage (Borago officinalis) tastes finely acidic and refreshingly similar to cucumber. The tender leaves taste the best. Older, bristly ones have a more tangy taste. Borage goes well with cream cheese and quark, egg dishes and (cucumber) salad, but also as a spice in spinach and cabbage vegetables. The small, edible violet-blue flowers can be used to beautifully decorate desserts, salads and soft drinks. But they are also good when frozen in ice cubes.

Caraway (Carum carvi) is a true Jack of all trades in the kitchen: In the first year its leaves and the tips of it young shoots are used in salads, soups and sauces, in the second year its flowers (as edible decoration and in salads) and its mature, dried seeds are used in fried potatoes, breads, meat and especially in cabbage dishes, making them more agreeable. Caraway seeds, like those of anise and fennel, can also be eaten as a snack. From the beginning of September the roots make a tasty spice in soups and stews.

There would be no curry without the spice belonging to the ginger family and so many a sweet dish would be flavourless without the lemon and lime aroma of cardamom. Cardamom was an expensive import item for the ancient Greeks and the Romans also appreciated the aroma of the plant native to South India and Sri Lanka. India is still the major producer of cardamom, yet relatively little of the Indian commodity is exported due to the high level of domestic consumption. The most significant exporter in terms of volume is currently Guatemala, where cardamom has been grown exclusively for export purposes for just under 100 years. While the black seeds in the three-sided pods are used for just about any kind of curry in the Far East, in Arab countries it is used to flavour coffee. In Scandinavia cardamom is used not only to flavour biscuits and sweetbreads, but also pastries and sausages.Before use, always roast cardamom in a coated pan without oil until it becomes fragrant and then grind in a mortar.

Whether in salads, soups, sauces, poultry or egg dishes, chives always add are freshing spiciness and provide decorative embellishment. Chives belong to the family of bulbous onion plants ­ which is evident to the taste buds too. Just one to five millimetres in diameter, the thin, hollow stems grow the whole year round in the garden or in pots on the balcony and windowsills. Their pom-pom like reddish violet flowers blossom between June and August. Chives should always be chopped just before use as they taste best of allwhen added fresh to green salads, egg dishes, soups and creamy sauces. Nevercook chives as they lose their aroma when heated. Their flowers can also be used for seasoning or garnishing. If their flower buds are removed regularly, the chives' tems will stay tender and juicy for a long time. But once chives are allowed to blossom,the stems assume a much stronger and sharper taste. Since chives lose their fragrance when dried it is better to chop them finely and freeze them.

Equally at home in Asian and Arabic cooking, coriander is also becoming increasingly popular in European dishes.Gourmets appreciate the fresh, spicy and mildly sweet flavour of coriandergreen and its unmistakable aroma, which is reminiscent of flat parsley, aniseed, mint and lemon peel. Coriander belongs to the family of umbelliferae and is an annual plant. Its aromatic fresh green leaves and young stems, as well as its whiteflowers and tiny, spicy-sweet fragrant fruit are an essential ingredient inmany curries, lending sauces and marinades an unmistakable character. It canalso be used for pickling gherkins and pumpkin. Coriander leaves are used like parsley and, if chopped finely, the plant¹s tender stems can also be added to a dish to intensify the aroma.Green coriander blends well with ginger, chilli and lemon grass, and helps to counteract the pungent smell of garlic.

Cumin is valued very much as a spice, especially in Latin America, North Africa and almost all of Asia, only in Europe is it used less often, although it was very popular among the ancient Romans. Cumin is the spice with character in Indian cuisine. Mostly prior to use the fruit is fried together with onions or dry-roasted. Many like to flavour pulses such as lentils with cumin fried in butterfat. The small, greenish grey fruits of the ground-elder plant are an essential component of curry mixtures, tandoori dishes and lassi, the Indian yoghurt drink. The smell of roasted cumin, often in combination with coriander, is perhaps one of the major characteristics of cuisine in Sri Lanka and South India. Cumin is also very frequently used in Arab cuisine. It is a typical spice for tagine or tajine meat stews. Cumin originated in West Asia, where it has been cultivated since biblical times. Today it is mainly grown in India, Indonesia, China, Iran and in the South Mediterranean area.

Although dill originated in Central Asia, it now plays an important part in North and East European cooking. Growing to a height of up to 1.25 metres, dill belongs to the family of umbellifers and is relatively easy to grow.The edible parts of the plant are its leaves, flowers and dried seeds, which are sweet and aromatic and taste a little like aniseed, but caraway too. Its leaves ("weed") and flowers should be used when fresh, for flavouring salads (cucumber!) and sauces, and they also go well with potatoes and fish. The seeds and unopened flower buds add extra flavour to pickled gherkins and vegetables, as well as to herb vinegar. They are also tasty when baked inbread and rolls.

Although fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce) is a typical summer plant, its dried seeds are inseparably associated with Christmas baking. The fresh green, slender, slightly sweet leaves go well with leaf salads, light sauces and especially fish. Harvested in September/October – used ground or whole – the seeds give a certain kick to breads, soups and especially stews and also act as a digestive aid.

Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is called Maggikraut in German and Maggiplant in Dutch (although not present in Maggi sauce) because its celery-like taste adds zest to any meat or vegetable broth. Its fresh leaves taste the most intensive. When dried they quickly lose their aroma, but can be frozen. Lovage goes best with hearty, warm (potato) soups and stews, but can also be used –discreetly – in salads.

Marjoram (Origanum majorana), although common up into the Himalayas, is a typical Mediterranean spice. Marjoram has an aromatic, resinous and a bit lemony-flowery odour and a warm, but not burning taste. The fresh or dried leaves are used to season potato dishes, soups, sauces, sausages (the reason why it’s also called “Wurstkraut” (sausage herb) in German) and legumes. Marjoram gets along well with pepper, nutmeg and (especially for game dishes) juniper berries.

Whether fresh or dried, no other seasoning is so closely associated with the food of the Mediterranean area as the wild marjoram. About 40 different subspecies of Origanum grow around the Mediterranean, but also in western Asia and Asia Minor, primarily on mountain slopes, explaining the origin of its name in Greek, origonos, meaning “born in the mountains”. The bushy shrubs from the mint family which grow up to 50 centimetres high bear white or pink flowers in the summer in the shape of cymes. Oregano is among the few herbs that often tastes more flavourful when dried than when freshly picked. The leaves and shoot tips as well as the flowers are edible and are suited for garnishing. Oregano adds flavour to tomato sauces, grilled vegetables and fish, but also belongs on every respectable pizza and in chili con carne. Oregano goes very well with pickled olives, lovage leaves and capers, olives and feta, but should always be used carefully because its intense aroma quickly masks the aromas of other ingredients.

Whether with fish, meat or poultry, parsley adds a fresh, aromatic character to every dish ­ it is an all-rounder in the true sense of the word. Parsley, like coriander, belongs to the umbelliferae ­ and is a biennial, whether it grows in the garden or in a pot on the balcony or the windowsill. However, in its second year the leaves taste bitter, so much so that only the roots should be used. Parsley¹s aromatic leaves are everywhere in the kitchen: you can season and garnish almost any dish with it, whether salads, soups and sauces or eggdishes, vegetables and casseroles. Chopped finely and stirred with a little salt into cream cheese or quark, parsley will make a spicy dip. The cooked stems add aroma to stocks and vegetable soups. When dried, parsley loses its fragrance. So it¹s preferable to keep parsley rolled loosely in moist paper towels and stored in the fridge, or to chop it finely and freeze in the ice cube tray.

With its refreshingly tangy aroma, peppermint complements sauces, salads, vegetable and lamb dishes, as well as numerous desserts.Like many plants in the lamiaceae family, peppermint is rich in essential oils ­ so it should be used sparingly. These resilient perennial shrubs willgrow into thick bushes, and its leaves can be plucked all year round. Serving English roast lamb without a zesty mint sauce is unthinkable, but also strawberries, fruit salads, ice cream, sorbets and granité desserts allgain an extra kick when garnished with finely chopped leaves of fresh peppermint. Peppermint goes particularly well with peas and potatoes; it enhances green salads and gives many a poultry dish a refreshing dimension, especially when they contain fruit. Mint tea tastes best when fresh leaves are used. If you want to dry the leaves, this should be done before it blossoms (between April and October) as in this period the plant contains considerably more refreshing menthol.

Rosemary is a typical Mediterranean herb that can now be found in almostevery kitchen in the west. Even the ancient Romans seasoned their meat dishes with the leaves of this evergreen bush from the family of lamiaceae. The tender tips of the brancheswith leaves resembling pine needles are extremely aromatic, slightly bitter,are reminiscent of eucalyptus and have an invigorating effect. Fresh rosemary can be used to flavour Mediterranean dishes, lamb, poultry, pork,fish and vegetable soups, added to fresh, grilled or marinated goat¹s or sheep¹s cheese, and baked in herbal breads. Whether meat, fish, vegetablesor potatoes, fresh rosemary gives grilled dishes an unmistakable, enticing fragrance. If you want to grow rosemary on your patio or balcony you should make surethe pots are big enough because rosemary grows large bulbous roots. The plants should also be brought indoors in winter as they are very sensitiveto frost. Always use fresh rosemary since, once dried, it quickly loses itsaroma.

Whether fresh or dried, sage should always be used sparingly to allow it toblend with the particular flavours of fish, meat and poultry. Form the earliest times onwards, the roundabout 900 known varieties of sage in the family of lamiaceae were considered to be ideal herbs both for healing and seasoning. The fresh leaves contain many essential oils and have a refreshing, mildly bitter and spicy taste with a hint of menthol. They can be used to flavour egg dishes, sausages, poultry, pork and lamb roasts, light soups and sauces, and are also suitable for stuffing fried fish. Dry sage has a very intense minty and metallic flavour and should also be used sparingly. Its blue to violet flowers make nice trimmings but do not have a particularly pleasant taste. Fresh sage can be stored in the fridge if loosely wrapped in a moist teatowel or chopped finely and stored in an ice cube tray in the freezer.

Tarragon is a herb frequently added to soups and sauces, but is also used toflavour pickled gherkins, salads and some types of mustard. Although tarragon originates from Siberia, it has been cultivated and usedin European cuisine for several centuries. It belongs to the family of asteraceae and is a perennial herbaceous shrub. The shoot apex and the narrow, lance-shaped leaves can be eaten when fresh between spring and autumn, and have an enchanting, mildly sweet and spicy hot flavour, reminiscent of aniseed. Dried tarragon, on the other hand, is dominated by nuances of sweetish liquorice. It is one of the four ingredients of the French herbal mixture fines herbes.Tarragon goes well with salads, soups and sauces such as Bearnaise sauce, fish, poultry and egg dishes, and is also used to make pickled gherkins and aromatic oils and vinegars. Fresh tarragon loses its aroma quickly, which is why it should be chopped finely and stored in an ice cube tray in the freezer.

Thyme is a true child of the Mediterranean, pampered by the sun and the perfect accompaniment to meat, chicken and pasta. Like sage and rosemary, thyme belongs to the family of lamiaceae. Thyme¹s tiny, evergreen leaves and tender shoots have a strongly fragrant, bitter and slightly smoky flavour. When dried shortly before flowering, between June and August, the herb tastes particularly intense. Thyme is a key ingredient in the French herbal mixture herbes de Provence.Thyme goes well with meat, poultry and vegetable dishes, and in combinationwith honey it lends fragrance to fresh sheep¹s and goat¹s cheese as well as desserts. The flowers can be used for garnishing besides also being edible. There are several hundred different varieties of thyme, all with very different flavours -  their fragrances can range from pineapple to lemon. Because thyme is very bushy and grows up to 30 cm in height, it is best kept in the garden or in pots with ample space. It should not be allowed to get too wet in winter.