Ingredients helps in adding taste and flavour to food. Herbs add flavour to a dish, either by infusion or as a last addition. Examples include basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, chervil, sorrel, oregano, dill, sage etc
I put this as a different group because there are millions of ingredients used in cooking in different parts of the world. These ingredients add aroma and taste to food. Even when you've lost appetite for food, there is an aroma that will totally push you to eat and that is thanks to some spices and herbs.
My grandmother would prefer cooking with natural herbs to using manufactured spices and that is why I crave her food most times. Each tribe, country, continents have their own spices which makes their food tribal. I am going to touch some of those ingredients below.
Natural ingredients
1. Pepper: They add a rich aroma and spice to food. There are two categories of pepper, the hot ones and the mild ones.
2. Spices: This is a non-sugar ingredient in form of a seed, fruit, root or bark used to colour or add flavour to a food. Examples; nutmegs, pepper, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, salt, thyme, curry etc
3. Alliums: This is an onion family, it includes all varieties of bulb onions like leeks, shallots, spring onions, garlic etc. they add rich flavour to foods.
4. Herbs: Add a deep savoury flavour to food. Examples; thyme, rosemary, mint, dill, chives, sage, basil, parsley etc.
5. Vegetable: They have nourishing benefits. Examples are Carrots, Tomatoes, Cabbage, Beetroot, Mushrooms, Potatoes, Corn etc.
6. Fruits: Some fruits are used as last-minute ingredients or for decorations, some are served as an appetizer before the main course.
7. Salt: Helps bring out the flavours from the ingredients added in the food. It is one of the most important food ingredients.
8. Sugar: Some use sugar to compliment the sourness or hotness of their food. Mostly in the Asian continent, they use sugar to prepare most of their food while in NIGERIA, we replace that with seasoning cubes.
9. Crayfish: This is a major ingredient we use in Nigeria to cook. We add this in most of our dishes.
10. Beef, Chicken, Sea foods: They are one of the basic ingredients needed in cooking. The stock is extracted and it adds rich flavour to the food and mostly serves as the base.
Manufactured ingredients
Nowadays, most of the natural ingredients are manufactured and packaged in zip locks and nylons. Dried onions, shallots, herbs, seasoned cubes etc.
Local food ingredients used in Nigeria
1. Palm Oil: This is a major ingredient in Nigeria used in preparing many dishes. It is extracted from palm fruits. It is used in preparing soups, rice, bread fruit, yam etc.
2. Seasoning Cubes: or stock cubes; This is made from chicken, beef or fish stock. It is added in food to increase the flavour, aroma and taste.
3. Crayfish\Dried Fish: This is added to food to increase the aroma and add rich flavour to it, most especially in soup.
4. Cocoyam: This is a root family vegetable that can be used in thickening soups or eaten with palm oil sauce.
5. Palm fruit: A very important fruit used in cooking. In Nigeria, it is used to prepare soups, stews and many other dishes.
6. Local ingredients: Ehuru, Uda, Ehu, locust bean etc. are Nigerian local ingredient used to increase flavours and taste in food.
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