Madagascar Spices

What are the great spices of Madagascar?

Madagascar spices are prized for their aromatic intensity, freshness and diversity. They range from rare peppers to warm spices such as cinnamon, clove, turmeric, ginger and kaffir lime.

Madagascar's most iconic spices

Among the best known are wild voatsiperifery pepper, black pepper, clove, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger and pili-pili chili. Each brings a distinct profile: woody, citrusy, warm, fresh or hot.

How to use them in the kitchen?

These spices work in curries, sauces, marinades, simmered dishes, grilled foods, fruity desserts, hot drinks and certain cocktails. They lift everyday cooking without masking other flavors.

Which page should I visit to buy Madagascar spices?

If you are looking to buy Madagascar spices, head to our Madagascar spice collection instead. This wiki page is mainly a guide to understanding the varieties, their uses and their differences.

See also: Madagascar spice trio pack and our feature on black pepper.

Products that pair well

Madagascar wild combava powder (20 g jar)
Wild Kaffir Lime Powder (20g) 5.0 (5) €9,00€5,90
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract (20ml)
Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract (20ml) 5.0 (3) €8,90
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Our terroirs

Where each spice comes from

Our map holds two points. Vanilla grows in the SAVA, in the north-east. Peppers, spices and combava come from Vangaindrano, in the south-east.

Madagascar · our terroirs SAVA Vangaindrano
Bourbon vanilla pods laid on marble Bourbon vanilla
Madagascar black peppercorns spread out Peppers and berries
Stacked cinnamon sticks, rolled bark Cinnamon
Whole dried cloves Clove
Turmeric powder and pieces of rhizome Turmeric
Ginger rhizome and fresh slices Ginger
Glass jar of Désiré combava powder Combava
Dried pili-pili chillies and a dish of crushed chilli Pili-pili chilli

Prepared Bourbon pods, standard grade.

Madagascar black pepper, whole peppercorns.

Dried bark, rolled into sticks.

Whole cloves.

Turmeric powder and cut rhizome.

Ginger rhizome and slices.

Our combava powder, in a glass jar.

Dried pili-pili, whole and crushed.

01
SAVANorth-east coast
02
VangaindranoSouth-east coast
03
VangaindranoSouth-east coast
04
VangaindranoSouth-east coast
05
VangaindranoSouth-east coast
06
VangaindranoSouth-east coast
07
VangaindranoSouth-east coast
08
VangaindranoSouth-east coast

Vanilla

Sambava, Antalaha, Vohémar, Andapa. Our vines climb there, on the north-east coast, and flowering runs from September to November.

Peppers and berries

Black pepper, white pepper, pink berries. Voatsiperifery is not planted: it is gathered from the vine, in the forest.

Cinnamon

Our cinnamon trees grow in agroforestry. The bark is taken from young branches in the rainy season, when the sap rises.

Clove

The clove is a flower bud, picked before it opens. It then dries until it hardens and turns deep brown.

Turmeric

The rhizome comes out of the ground, is washed then sliced. We dry it at low temperature: that is what preserves the colour and the curcuminoids.

Ginger

Same soil as turmeric, same botanical family. We offer it as a powder and in a grinder, depending on how you cook.

Combava

A small green citrus with a bumpy skin. Everything is in the zest, which we dry before grinding it into powder.

Pili-pili chilli

Picked bright red, with no green patch. It dries in the sun on racks, then is sorted by hand, fruit by fruit.

Two terroirs, one family. No broker between the plot and your jar.

Vanille Désiré · Madagascar

Photographs from our own catalogue. The outline of the island is a simplified drawing with no cartographic value. With us, vanilla comes only from the SAVA; peppers, spices and combava come from Vangaindrano.

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