Recipes

Beef seared in a smoking-hot wok, crisp broccoli and a glossy honey finish take on the warm, sweetly anise-scented perfume of Place des Épices’ organic five spices, where genuine Ceylon cinnamon replaces the usual cassia.

In the mortar, five kinds of berries crack under the pestle before becoming a crust on seared salmon: Place des Épices’ organic five pepper blend brings warmth, bite and a hint of citrus to every flake.

The seeds crackle open after barely a minute in a dry pan: Place des Épices’ organic cumin seeds, warm, earthy and slightly bitter, balance the honeyed sweetness of carrots roasted until caramelized.

Bare orange rounds glistening with honey and orange blossom water wait for one last touch: Place des Épices’ organic cubeb peppercorn from Java, whose clove-like warmth and fresh, almost eucalyptus finish lift the citrus.

Steam rising from a small saucepan of ginger, cardamom and cinnamon carries the intensely floral fragrance of Place des Épices’ organic cloves, their full, handsome heads the mark of a perfect clove, into a cup of milky spiced tea.

Butter foaming in the pan, brioche turning golden, maple syrup waiting on the table: Place des Épices’ organic ground Ceylon cinnamon, more complex and gentler than cassia, fills the kitchen with warmth and finesse.

For centuries these small black berries stood in for pepper, and on lamb skewers charred over high heat, Place des Épices’ chaste berry monk’s pepper, grown organically in Morocco, brings a mild heat and a gently herbal aroma.

Rosy slices of pork glistening with pan juices, a few pieces of mango, then a last grinding of Place des Épices’ Voatsiperifery black pepper, hand-harvested wild in Madagascar, woody, citrusy and floral, with a fresh, lingering heat.

Ripe strawberries release their juices with a little sugar and basil, then a few turns of the mill change everything: Place des Épices’ organic Tellicherry black pepper, intense and fruity with delicate citrus notes, lingers long and elegant.

Warm potatoes drink in the vinaigrette best, and a generous grinding of Place des Épices’ organic smoked Kerala black pepper, smoked for four hours over pine shavings, gives them a round, gentle smokiness and lovely depth.

Few sauces are as indulgent as this one, where cream meets a crust of crushed Penja black pepper from Place des Épices, an organic pepper from Cameroon, powerful and long, with notes of wood, amber and musk.

Garlic sizzling, shrimp turning pink and a sticky oyster sauce glaze in under fifteen minutes: the organic PGI Kampot black pepper from Place des Épices, mild in heat yet deep and fruity, is what perfumes the wok.