Products

Webb James Fennel belongs to the Umbelliferae family, such as coriander and cumin, and is native to the Mediterranean area. The main producing countries are India, China, Indonesia, Egypt, and Pakistan. Its most used parts are the leaves of the basal stem, fleshy and full of water, which are improperly called “bulbs” and are eaten as a vegetable. Its fruits, called seeds, are widely used as a spice in many recipes.

Webb James Cassia, also known as Chinese Cinnamon, belongs to the Lauraceae family such as cinnamon and it originates from China. It is cultivated in Malabar, on the island of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, and Vietnam. Its reddish-brown bark is rough and thick.

Webb James White Pepper Brazil is produced in limited quantities (about 2,000 tons per year) the quality of Brazilian white pepper is good and appreciated in the marketplace. It is processed between October and November by soaking in water which, in compliance with the latest government regulations, should no longer be freely taken from polluted rivers and streams with an obvious positive impact on the quality and safety of the product, even from the microbiological point of view.

Webb James Turmeric, like ginger, belongs to the Zingiberaceae family and is grown natively in southern Asia and India. This state is the largest producer and consumer of turmeric. It is also cultivated in southern China, Africa, Brazil, and Central America. The spice consists of a rootstock( rhizome), reddish-orange when fresh, and bright yellow when dried.

Webb James Pimento (Allspice) also called “Jamaican pepper” or “pepper cloves” belongs to the Mirtaceae family, like Mediterranean myrtle. It is an evergreen tree native to Jamaica, with berries gathered in clusters. Its fresh berries are harvested when unripe and green, which turn brown after sun drying. It looks like pepper with larger grains.

Webb James Mace is the name of the grid pattern,(reticulum) botanically known as “aril” which covers the shell of nutmeg. When mace is fresh it is fleshy and bright red, when dried it turns orange or amber-yellow. The plant is native to Band Island, in Indonesia, but is also widespread in tropical or subtropical areas (Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, India, Caribbean).

Webb James Curry in India, the country of origin, is called “masala”. The term generally means all the curry seasonings used to prepare vegetables, fish, or meat, served with rice or bread. Depending on different tastes and master chefs' skills, a mixture of fresh herbs, roasted and ground, combined with oil, butter or yogurt is added to this great variety of spices in order form a paste which gives flavor to any dish.

Webb James Parsley belongs to the Umbelliferae family and is traditionally grown in Central and South Europe, England, in Africa, East Asia, and India. It can reach 80cm in height, and its flowers are white or greenish. It is used as an aromatic herb for its healing properties.

Webb James Ginger belongs to the Zingiberaceae family and is native to Asia. It is cultivated in India, China, Japan, Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Thailand. The rhizome of this aromatic plant is the part used as a spice. It can be sold either fresh or dried, with skin or peeled.

Juniper belongs to the Cupressaceae family. It is an evergreen shrub with prickly and needle-like leaves. Its fruit, called berries, are green cones when immature and turn blue black after two years of maturation time. Juniper grows wild in Europe, Asia and North America, typically in mountainous areas. Italian berries are the best in flavor.

Webb James Coriander, like caraway spice, belongs to the Umbelliferae family from the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. It is grown in Eastern European countries (Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria), North Africa (Morocco and Egypt), and also in Holland, France, Italy, Spain, and India. Its flowers are white or pink and borne in umbels. The coriander seeds are spherical, and similar in size to pepper.

Webb James Chili belongs to the Solanaceae family and is native to tropical America and widespread throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is similar to sweet pepper, but its fruit contains a very spicy substance – the capsaicin, contained in larger quantities in the seeds. Its fruit is red, green, or yellow with different sizes and shapes depending on the variety.

Webb James Vietnam White Pepper is produced from dried high specific gravity black pepper (from 580 to 620 and beyond g/l). It is left soaking for ten days, sometimes with the fraudulent addition of enzymes in order to speed the process of natural fermentation and reduce production times. During this short period, the pericarp absorbs water until it almost completes its separation. This process is helped by the use of rudimental machines. At the end of this process phase, the product is light brown and has an unpleasant pervasive odor. Pepper is laid on the ground for sun-drying and then washed with hydrogen peroxide. This action allows to whiten the product, at least superficially, also reducing naturally present bacteria.

Webb James Celery is a biennial plant that belongs to the Umbelliferae family like cumin, native to Asia and the Mediterranean region, cultivated as a vegetable. In India, on the contrary, celery is grown almost exclusively for the production of seeds, traditionally used as a spice. Celery seeds are brownish to brown.

Webb James Spearmint belongs to the Labiatae family like oregano and rosemary. It grows wild throughout Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. Its leaves are oval, pale green. Its flowers are light purple.

Webb James Paprika is a spice produced from specific varieties of dried ground peppers without seeds. The spicy paprika is obtained by grinding the same fruits together with the seeds. They give the spice a taste of more or less spicy, due to the content of capsaicin. All varieties of peppers used for the preparation of Paprika belong to the Capsicum annum species, native to tropical America. Its use in Europe dates back to the Turks, who brought it from India, Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Morocco, and the USA have a long tradition in the cultivation and production of Paprika. Recently its cultivation has developed in Peru, Chile, Brazil, South Africa, Israel, China, South Africa, and Mozambique.

Webb James Cumin is a biennial aromatic plant belonging to the Umbelliferae family such as Parsley or Egyptian and Asian Celery. It is grown and exported mainly from India, Syria, Turkey, and Morocco. Its seeds are elongated and slightly flattened, yellowish brown, and characterized by a distinctively strong aroma.

Webb James Cubebe Pepper belongs to the Piperaceae family. It grows wild and is cultivated in the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Malay Archipelago, as well as in the West Indies and in a few African areas. Its berries are very similar to those of the black pepper variety. They have a small beard which is the stalk by which they were on the plant. They are harvested before reaching full maturity. The pericarp of the berry is brown or blackish, while the seed inside is whitish, and resinous.

Fenugreek belongs to the Fabaceae family and is native to western Asia and northern Africa. It is cultivated in India, Egypt, Morocco and southern France. Its leaves look like those of clover, its seeds are diamond-shaped and yellowish brown colored.

Webb James Oregano belongs to the Labiatae family like spearmint and rosemary; it is native to Mediterranean countries. It grows wild in dry places, even in mountains. Traditionally spontaneous, it is cultivated as an aromatic plant and for therapeutic use. It is harvested two or three times a year during summer. The most common variety – the Origanum vulgare – is widespread in Italy, the Asian peninsula, and the Balkan area.

Webb James The clove plant belongs to the Myrtaceae family and comes from the Moluccas islands in eastern Indonesia. Most production comes from Zanzibar, Indonesia, Madagascar, Comores Islands, Brazil, and China. The spice is made up of flower buds picked before flowering and then sun-dried.

Webb James Caraway belongs to the Umbelliferae family such as coriander and is native to Europe and northern and western Asia. It is cultivated in the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Austria, England, Spain, Russia, Morocco, and Egypt. Its seeds are elongated and slightly curved, darker than those of the very similar cumin. Its smell is either very intense or sweet, but it is more pleasant than Cumin.

Webb James Nutmeg belongs to the Myristicaceae family, an evergreen tree native to the Moluccas in Indonesia. Its fruit is yellowish, similar to apricot at first glance; when ripe it splits and opens in two valves, showing the deep red mace, which is the fleshy coating that covers the dark shell. There is a sort of almond inside, which is the proper spice.

Webb James Cardamom belongs to the Zingiberacee family. It grows wild but is also cultivated in tropical South and Central America. Its fruits are oblong or round-shaped capsules, divided inside into three sections containing twenty reddish brown aromatic seeds.

Webb James Cinnamon belongs to the Lauraceae family. It is cultivated in Sri Lanka, Java, Sumatra, Seychelles, Vietnam, Madagascar, Brazil, and Jamaica. The tree is evergreen, with tough leaves, with small yellowish-white flowers. When the branches reach 2 mt. they are cut and then defoliated to remove the bark. This is scratched out the outer cork and then hand-rolled to form long cylinders, then dried and cut to the desired measures.

Webb James Pink Pepper belongs to the Anacardiacee family and is a native to Peru and Chile. It is not a variety of pepper. It takes its name because of the similarity of its fruits, yet they have totally different textures and flavors. It is also cultivated in other parts of America, Africa, and some Mediterranean countries. It is a small evergreen tree with aromatic leaves and clusters of pink fruit. It is remarkably able to adapt and tends to be rather invasive so in some states (Florida, Australia) its cultivation is controlled, in order to protect the existing flora and not to create environmental troubles.

Webb James Star Anise belongs to the Illiciaceae family. It comes from Southern China and Cochin China originally. It is also grown in Japan, Java, and the Philippines. Its fruits are star-shaped. They consist of 6 - 12 oval and pointed woody lobes, each one containing a light brown seed.