Zesty Spices

• Sumac is an ingredient in za'atar, a savory blend of herbs and spices used in Arabian countries. Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images

  Zesty spices have a strong, pungent flavor. Zesty spices give a dish extra flavor without adding salt, making them a pantry necessity for anyone on a low or no-sodium diet. Zesty spices can be sweet, hot, sour, smoky, earthy or any combination of strong flavors. A little zesty spice goes a long way, so add only small amounts at a time until your dish has just enough zing to please your palate.

Amchur/Amchoor

• If you slice unripe mango, sun-dry it and grind it to powder, you get amchur, a spice from India. Amchur or amchoor, as it it sometimes spelled, is often mixed with turmeric, a saffron-colored spice, and is used to add a slight sourness to curries. It has a warm, sour-sweet scent and a sweet, acidic flavor. Amchur can be used as a substitute for lemon or lime juice, vinegar or tamarind-based sauces such as Worcestershire, according to the culinary website, The Epicentre.

Star Anise

• Licorice-flavored and stronger than regular anise, star anise is the dried seed pod of the star anise flower. Native to China and Vietnam, star anise is used in Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Caribbean and Pinoy cuisine. Star anise is often used in stir fry preparations. It is one of the ingredients in five-spice powder, which also includes cassia or cinnamon, clove, fennel and sichuan or szechuan pepper in equal parts. Whole star anise can be combined with other spices to make a five-spice powder.

Fennel

• Fennel, like star anise, has a licorice flavor. The entire plant from bulb to seed is edible. Fennel is one of the ingredients in the French spice blend, herbes de Provence. Fennel is used to flavor rye bread and season pickled vegetables such as sauerkraut.

  Fennel is known as marathon in Greece. In Greek mythology, the god Pan gave Pheidippides a fennel sprig as a pledge that Athens would win against the Persians despite Sparta's delay in providing relief. Pheidippides ran from the battlefield at Marathon to seek aid from the Spartans.

Sumac

• Known as Rhus coriana or Sicilian Sumac, this plant is similar to the Rhus glabra that is native to the United States. Rhus coriana is an ingredient in the Arabic spice blend, za'atar. Rhus coriana grows wild throughout the Mediterranean, especially in Sicily and southern Italy. It also grows wild in Iran in the Middle East, according to Epicentre's Encyclopedia of Spices.

  Do not handle, gather or consume sumac or za'atar if you are allergic to sumac or the related plants, poison ivy and poison oak, advises Lakota herbal medicine practitioner, Gene Rowand.